How to Play B Major and B Minor on the Piano

The five sharps contained in the B major scale make it one many pianists choose to exclude. Learning the scale and playing in the key of B, though, will improve your piano skills, and you may find it really isn't as difficult as it seems. Here is how to construct a B major chord and its minor counterpart.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find the B. B is a half-step below C, so find middle C on your piano. From here, B is the adjacent white key directly lower or to the left of middle C. This is the root note for your B major chord.

2. Place your right thumb on the B. Proper fingering is key to transitioning between notes and chords so be sure you learn chords with proper fingerings. You won't always use this exact fingering, but it is a good way to learn. On your right hand, most chords will start with your first finger, which is your thumb.

3. Put your middle finger on the D# and your pinkie on F#. Counting up from your thumb, your middle finger is the third finger and your pink is the fifth. This should be easy to remember because your basic chord construction is the first, third and fifth of the scale, so your first, third and fifth fingers correlate with the notes.

4. Play the chord with your left hand. The fingering in your left hand is opposite from your right hand, so your fifth finger on your left hand (the pinkie) will play the B. Then your third finger will play the D# and your first finger, which is your thumb, will play the F#.

5. Drop the D# to D to make the chord minor. To do this, you need to drop your middle finger on both of your hands down a half step.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice arpeggiating the chord to get more comfortable with your hand positions. Also work on transitioning between the major chords in the B major scale, such as B major to F# major.