Julie Swihart

Minor Second Chords

Let’s look at how to play a Bm2 chord on the piano. We’ll also look at the pattern for building any other minor second chord.

What Are Minor Second Chords?

Minor second chords are minor chords with an added note. The added note is the second note of the matching major scale.

So to build a minor second chord, we’ll start by building a minor chord. We can build a minor chord by taking the matching major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step.

To convert the minor chord into a minor second chord, we’ll add the second note of the matching major scale. 

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).

Get the Printable

How to Play a Bm2 Chord

So to play a Bm2 chord, we’ll first build a B minor chord by taking a B major chord, B – D♯ – F♯, and lowering the middle note 1/2 step: B – D – F♯

Then we’ll add the second note of the B major scale to the chord: C♯

So to play a Bm2 chord, we’ll play:

B – C♯ – D – F♯

We can use this pattern to build any other minor second chord, by taking a minor chord and adding the second note of the matching major scale.

A Bm2 chord uses the same notes as a Bmadd9 chord. A Bmadd9 chord is a minor chord with an added note. The added note is the ninth note of the matching major scale. The ninth note is the same note as the second note of the scale, just one octave up. So the Bmadd9 and Bm2 chords have the same notes, just in a different order:

Bm2: B – C♯ – D – F♯
Bmadd9: B – D – F♯ – C♯

Other Chord Types

Some other chord types you can learn are:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Suspended
Fifth
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Major Ninth

Conclusion

Now you know how to build a Bm2 chord on the piano, and you can use this knowledge to build any other minor second chord!

Minor second chords can make nice chord substitutions for minor chords, since they only add one note. This gives us more options when playing creatively at the piano.

Using chords to learn and play the piano is a wonderful way to enjoy music!