B5 Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

B5 is a power chord chord made of 2 notes: B, F♯. It sounds strong and neutral, with no third to make it major or minor, and you hear it in rock, punk and metal, especially with distortion. It is the I chord of B major and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on B5 with 14 shapes up and down the neck, starting with hand-checked ones. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in B5

Note	Degree	Interval from B	Semitones
B	1	root	0
F♯	5	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – 5. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.

How to play B5

Fret 2Beginnerx244xx

Fret 7Beginner799xxx

Open positionBeginnerxxxx02

Open positionBeginnerxxx40x

Fret 9Beginnerxx9(11)xx

Fret 12Beginnerxxxx(12)(14)

Fret 2 (root on the 5th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 2nd fret (B, the root).
3rd finger (ring): 4th string, 4th fret (F♯, the fifth).
4th finger (little): 3rd string, 4th fret (B, the root).
Strum from the 5th string, and keep the 6th string and 2nd string and 1st string quiet (touch the muted string lightly with the finger next to it).

Tips

The fret 2 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 7th fret (799xxx): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with B5

B5 belongs to 6 keys: V in E major, IV in F♯ major, I in B major, VII in C♯ minor, VI in E♭ minor, III in G♯ minor. In B major, try I–V–vi–IV: B5 – F♯ – G♯m – E.