Changing from Open Chords to Barre Chords FFFFUUUU
 

I'm really struggling to change from open chords to barre chords without completely deadening all the strings into a very pathetic pause in a song. Please tell me there's something I can do, other than practice.

G ----> Bb maj7
G7 ----> Bb maj7

Thanks for the help!

I am no expert by any means but if open chords
Aren't mandatory then I would play G barre chord/G7 barre chord and thEn slide into the Bb maj 7. Curious to know other alternatives though cause I am always looking for alternative chords etc.
Also wonder if you could do power chords for the Bb maj 7. Hum...

Good news. Barres are less about practice, practice, practice then about applying proper techniques and not approaching all barre chords the same way. Just a few simple things to keep in mind and you can do a good job with them right away.

I'd like to see what voicings you're using for these chords before I break it down--I assume the G chords are being played as a third fret barre?

How about the Bb's? Sixth fret, sixth string root or 1st fret 5th string.

The blanket advice I can give for either is "economy of movement." Look at the relationship between your fingers in one chord and the next. Practice making the change with as little movement as possible--if your fingers are coming more than a half inch away from the strings you're losing valuable time.

Tell me about the voicings and we can get specific.

.............................

IMO the best way to play this progression...echoing Mr Beaumonts advice of economy of movement.....is to play the full barre of G on the third fret (top string root) and then slide it into the Bb maj 7 on the 6th fret (again top string root). Personally I discovered one small tip that helped me in playing barre chords without deadening strings and that is to roll your index finger counter clockwise a bit so youre barring more with the bone in your finger as opposed to the fleshy part of your finger. If you havent already give it a shot.....

One little tip I always gave to my students when we were working on barre chords and they had buzzing problems was to really focus on gripping/pressing with your thumb on the back of the neck. Nothing special, but it almost always seemed to help. Just a random thought.

Also, practice barring with just your barring finger first. Dont' even put your other fingers on the fretboard yet. Try to get all the notes to ring out without buzzing. You want to have that barred feel under your first finger before worrying about cleaning up the rest of the notes. Don't worry that this might not sound "musical" to you; with barre chords, it's very much about getting that first finger to cleanly lay down all the notes at the same time.

Oh yeah, and practice! :D

And roll that finger back toward the nut.

D powerchord will create a Bb maj7 sound if you have a bass player playing the note Bb. By yourself you could play a D powerchord on the 5th and 4th strings using your index and ring fingers, respectively. Then place your middle finger on the 6th fret of the 6th string and you've got Bb maj 7.


x-------------
x-------------
x-------------
D--------7----
A-----5-------
E------6------


or



x--------------
x--------------
G----2--------
D-0-----------
A---1---------
x-------------

Don't get too frustrated. I just took the guitar back up 4 months ago after a 30-some year absence and I also couldn't play a barre chord anywhere on the neck to save my life. At least one string was always muted. After practice and just getting comfortable with hand position I can play barre chords pretty well. Not perfectly all the time, but I'm up to maybe 80% of the time. Of course it's not just barre chords that are easier after practicing them. Everything gets easier (except the case of GAS I'm developing).

Alright, OP here, sorry for the late reply. The song I'm trying to play has the following two alternating lines...

Bb maj7 -> Am7 -> Dm7 -> G7

then

Bb maj7 -> A7 -> Am7 -> G

Tab-wise, for those who want to know, I play:

---1----0----1----1---
---3----1----1----0---
---2----0----2----0---
---3----2----0----0---
---1----0----0----2---
---1----0----0----3---

then

---1----0----0----1----3
---3----2----1----1----0
---2----0----0----2----0
---3----2----2----0----0
---1----0----0----0----2
---1----0----0----0----3

It's a very nice melody, in my opinion. And I find those extra bass notes really give the tune character. All that is of course lost when I can't quite grab the D and G strings from the chord change G to Bb maj7.

I won't lie, I haven't experimented with alternative chords. So far, everything I've accomplished with a guitar has been my personal inexperience, and not as much technical difficulty.

not too bad. I wouldn't put the low E on the bottom of the Dm7 chord, but that's just me...actually, all of the extra bass notes are knid of extraneous, really.

So the problem is the Bbmaj7 barre? Is that F note on top the most important? because you could grab that chord here:

6 x 7 7 6 x

Only four notes, F on top, no clutter--all the information required. Of course, not we're position jumping.

So the trouble is getting from the "G" sound back to the Bb. Some things to consider...

play the G with the middle, ring and pinky. This way the index finger is free on that chord and can be getting in poisition for the barre on the next chord. The middle, ring, and pinky then simply have to condense their triangular shape, they stay at the same frets.

The G7 voicing you're using still allows for the relationship between the ring and middle to be the same. Visualize where that pinky's going to go, and try to extend the index finger to make the barre without pulling it too far away from the neck of the guitar.

Practice these changes independently, then in the context of the whole song. Remember economy of movement, and take very clear note of what fingers move completely, which "condense," and which stay put. Make sure to practice slowly, cleanly, and with a relaxed hand--aggravation can equal tension which can equal the "death grip," which will make those chords sound ALL wrong.

You can do it.

Try using fewer notes: it's really only four notes you need for all of the chords you play (in your sequence, that is). And the 5th (not string, but note) is the one that can be dropped without changing the chord's characteristic sound much. Especially this helps if it's the 5th that you have to hold in barre with our 1st finger. Of course, the 5th is important in chords where it's flat or sharp, and can't be dropped; but this is not the case with your sequence.


So (using EADGBE order):
Bbmaj7 = x1323x (can be fingered without barre at all; the 5th - F - is played only once, not three times, as in your original fingering)
G7 = 3xx001 (no barre; nice "open" sound; requires just two fingers)

I figured this out on my own, but nice to see that it's a recommended way of teaching. It's also easier when you have "correct" hand position ;)

Hi PSM,
Almost everything I read on classical guitar websites says the opposite... don't "pinch" with the thumb, rather learn to use the weight of the arm with almost no thumb pressure. Have you tried this? Definitely made me an instant barre chord player once I understood the concept.

BD