Obsesión in B

Obsesión in B

Pedro Flores, el puertorriqueño que redefinió el bolero, compuso 'Obsesión' en 1934. Es uno de los grandes boleros del repertorio hispanoamericano: 'por alto esté el cielo en el mundo, por hondo que sea el mar profundo'. Trío Los Panchos, Luis Miguel y cientos de intérpretes la han grabado. El Bbmaj7-Bbm del puente — el recurso de la sombra modal — da a este bolero en Fa mayor su dimensión de obsesión verdadera.

Obsesión in B

B major mixes barre and open elements. The B chord itself is a barre at fret 2, but E and A are comfortable open chords forming the IV and V. The open B string rings as the root, allowing creative drone-based arrangements. B is a intermediate-level key on guitar because the open B string rings as the root and the open E strings provide the 4th — useful for sus4 voicings and drone effects. This key mixes open and barre shapes, making it a good intermediate challenge that builds fretboard fluency.

Voice Leading

The bass line moves through B to C# (ascending whole step), C# to F# (ascending perfect fourth), F# to D# (descending minor third), D# to G# (ascending perfect fourth), G# to E (descending major third), E to E (ascending unison). The root motion by larger intervals (fourths and fifths) gives each chord change a strong, decisive character. When the progression loops, the bass returns from E to B by perfect fourth.

Scales for Improvisation

B major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, B Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.