Bar chords

[jseth]

Some good advice in this already...

Seriously, there's no reason to make learning barre chords any more difficult... it REALLY is just one more thing to learn and master on this glorious instrument of ours! Sure, you can "avoid" them, and to tell the truth, I don't play them all that often (especially on my 12 string!), but there's nothing that hard about them...

One tip I would give you is to remember, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SOUND EVERY NOTE CLEARLY IN A BARRE CHORD!!!! This is actually true about any chord, really, as there are precious few times that you will want to play all six strings at once... so, you only have to be "clean" on the notes you're playing... no need to waste your strength to make all the strings ring cleanly, when you only want 3 or 4...

Another thing; at first, just find the different positions for that E shape barre... third fret G, 5th fret A, etc. etc. Once you know where they are, start playing using your barre form, but don't even press down fully, just go back and forth between the chords you want to learn, just to get used to moving that shape around. As you get more adept with that, start pressing down a bit more, but ONLY when you are centered over the chord you want to play; otherwise, keep your left hand pressure light while your right hand keeps up whatever strumming/picking pattern you have chosen to use...

Don't forget about your open chords, either! Get used to using them in conjunction with the barre chords - for instance, play an open E maj chord, then form the barre at the 5th fret for an A major chord, then slide that barre up to the 7th fret for a B major chord... repeat that, maybe varying the sequence of where any chord follows another...and VOILA! You are playing a "I - IV - V" chord sequence in the key of E major!!! I believe that the sequence will strike some serious memories of 100's of different Pop and Rock tunes...

Keep having fun with it! And,
play on................................................ ...>

[kevets]

Originally Posted by motojunky

I'm genuinely curious how you've been able to play for years without playing bar(re) chords. I've seen several posts over the course of a couple of years that tell me you aren't the only one. I can see how you'd do an F or Bmin, but what about say an F#min? Are you just playing the bottom three strings?

I had this illusion early on that if I learned to play barre chords I'd be "good." Turns out that it is possible to be able to play barre chords and still be no good. I have an adequate chord vocabulary at this point (~2.5 years in) but I'm far from being a musician.

I know it's possible but I've not really looked at alternatives. I'd like to hear how you (or others) who play around using barre chords.

Thanks!

It seems like most jazz chord voicings aren't barres. I think the only place you'd really miss barres are in heavy strumming.

[SFCRetired]

Originally Posted by motojunky

I'm genuinely curious how you've been able to play for years without playing bar(re) chords. I've seen several posts over the course of a couple of years that tell me you aren't the only one. I can see how you'd do an F or Bmin, but what about say an F#min? Are you just playing the bottom three strings?

I had this illusion early on that if I learned to play barre chords I'd be "good." Turns out that it is possible to be able to play barre chords and still be no good. I have an adequate chord vocabulary at this point (~2.5 years in) but I'm far from being a musician.

I know it's possible but I've not really looked at alternatives. I'd like to hear how you (or others) who play around using barre chords.

Thanks!

I can make e shape barre chords and always could. But I don't unless I have to.

In folk and country and Blue Grass type music that I have always played, barre chords are the exception, not the rule. I don't know about todays newer Country but most all of the past stuff can and is played without the use of many barre chords at all.

If you can make a Bm, which there is also an open type position BM you can use, and you can make an F barre, then you can make the F#M if you need to. Like I play City of New Orleans in D, and it uses a Bm and an F#M.

But if one wanted to, you could start playing today and not stop until you were dead and never have to use a barre chord if you didn't want to. There are way more songs without them than there are with them.

It all comes down to do you want to become a great guitar player, or do you just want to be able to play music and songs you like. There is no requirement when you start learning as to how far you can or should go.

Play Amie by Pure Parairie League? One Bm. City of New Orleans in D, Bm and F#m. Play it in G and it's even easier.

I have been playing for 30 years and some of the folks here who are really good would tell me I'm not worth a hoot. And then I could play Lodi, which uses 4 chords, and people who don't play the guitar will tell me how good I am.

Personally I never understood why people would make a difficult barre chord when they could use a perfectly fine open position chord and do the same thing with less effort. Music and guitar playing have evolved and just because some people today use all those fancy chords does not mean you have to.

These are the opinions of someone who has been making music for 30 years without fretting, (no pun intended) over how many chords I can make. See, to me using that e shape up and down the fret board is cheating and I have heard people who do it call it cheating. Is it? No, not if that's what you want to do.

don't get me started on power chords on the electric guitar.

[Bucc5207]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

don't get me started on power chords on the electric guitar.

But those are the true 'bar chords.'

[BreedloveRDMH]

So far I'm rolling my bar finger "in" toward the thumb to bear a bit more on the bony side than the fleshy part...that was new to me.
Also I have gone to D'Addario ultra light strings

I'm still not clear on whether I am to bear down so hard that I get every string clear.... seaming very difficult so far
Some folks indicate I don't have to get each string clean and therefore it isn't a pressure issue if I accept that principal

Also I've adjusted my finger over the fret and moved it to the best spot that I can find.

So I guess my question is: Is a clear tone when strummed or picked across the strings the realistic goal of playing bar chords, or do most folks settle for a little less than that and go on?

Thanks, I'm practicing every day

[Bucc5207]

All strings ringing clearly is indeed a realistic goal. It might help (a little) to keep in mind that in standard tuning, you are not barring all six. For an F chord, for example, you only have to get 1, 2, and 6 with your index finger. Keep working it, and you'll get it. Rest when you get tired, and come back stronger later.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by BreedloveRDMH

So far I'm rolling my bar finger "in" toward the thumb to bear a bit more on the bony side than the fleshy part...that was new to me.
Also I have gone to D'Addario ultra light strings

I'm still not clear on whether I am to bear down so hard that I get every string clear.... seaming very difficult so far

If you have "ultra light" strings (9s? 10s?) and still find you need to "bear down hard" to get every string clear, it sounds like your guitar needs a set-up.
With a nut at the proper height, and good action, it needs very little pressure to fret strings. (Too much pressure will push light strings sharp.)

Originally Posted by BreedloveRDMH

Some folks indicate I don't have to get each string clean and therefore it isn't a pressure issue if I accept that principal

Also I've adjusted my finger over the fret and moved it to the best spot that I can find.

So I guess my question is: Is a clear tone when strummed or picked across the strings the realistic goal of playing bar chords, or do most folks settle for a little less than that and go on?

You can certainly settle for that and carry on.
What you will find is that the more you play barre chords, the more your hand will find the optimum position and pressure itself. Your hand adapts to the task you set it, if you repeat the action often enough.
It's the same as when you were learning the basic open chord shapes. You struggled to begin with, but now I'm guessing they're no trouble! You didn't have to think too much about specific exercises, you got the fingers in the right places (as near as you could) and slowly your hand adapted until everything went to the right place straight away and it felt like you needed much less force than when you began.
Every beginner feels like they need to hold on like grim death to get just one fretted note to sound! But after a while it feels easy as anything. Your hands haven't strengthened (much), they've just learned the optimum distribution of force.

Likewise with barres, eventually it will be easy to fret all 6 strings with just the index and have them all sound clean. Obviously check you do have your hand in the best position, with index up close behind the fret and parallel, as straight (all the way from the knuckle) as you can get it, and with the thumb supporting on the back of the neck. With a full barre chord, the thumb tendx to press opposite the fret above the index, so it supports all fingers equally.

Personally I don't find I need to roll the index and use the side of it, but if that's working for you you'll find you can use a kind of leverage to increase the pressure. I.e., not just squeezing between index and thumb, but kind of rotating the hand (anticlockwise as you look down on it), as if trying to bend the neck back between thumb and index - if the thumb is on the bridge side of the index, that will exert extra pressure on the side of the index. But don't let the other fingers lean so much that they don't work so well!

[sam.spoons]

Lots of good advice here I'd just answer the OP's question regarding strings which I don't think anybody has properly addressed yet, I apologise if I'm repeating something (I have read the whole thread just now but may have missed something).

Lighter strings will help if you find barre chords hard work, somebody mentioned a capo at 2nd and tune down, that's another way to achieve a similar result with the added advantage of removing the nut from the equation (a 'too high' nut will make lower position barre chords hard).

Jazz chords do use the barre but not in a one shape fits all way, for me the progression was open chords, partial barres (thumb over or 4 string F shapes etc) then full barres. Then I progressed to jazz type '4 finger' chords and progressions with moving notes etc. I'm currently learning to play Gypsy Jazz, Django only had full use of two fingers on his left hand and his chord shapes are different again......

[s0cks]

I just wanted to add (as I've been trying to better perfect my barre chords due to hand cramps in songs that use a lot of them) that pushing down on the other end of the guitar with your right arm helps a lot!

Think of it like leverage. The left arm and hand stay still, and the right arm pushes against the body of the guitar, which in turn, pushes the neck of the guitar away from your body and into your left hand. Doing it this way requires no pressure from the thumb, and you can play the barre chord without the thumb even touching. It's easier to learn if you wear a strap and stand up.

Generally though I try and avoid long runs of barre chords as it does tend to strain the hand. You might also notice that in songs that use a lot of barre chords, the guitarist will utilize a lot of muted strums/ghost strums. This releases any sustained pressure while playing the chord.

[naccoachbob]

Originally Posted by jman60

Breedlove and Mystery, just take your time as you form the barre chord shapes you're practicing, no need to place a deadline on what you want to accomplish.

And practice as much as possible, the more you do, the quicker you'll become proficient at playing barre chords.

Ljguitar has some nice videos, especially the overhead view. See how he's holding the guitar and where his thumb is on the back of the neck?

I remember how much I hated the "F" barre chord when I first started, and it took a good while before I could play it proficiently.

+1 on these comments, and the others as well. If you want a good song to practice them on, try Hotel California. You can get the chords by googling the song title. Just play along with it until you get tired. That will happen quickly enough while you are learning them, but after a while, you'll be proficient.
And have fun with it.

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi RDMH

Here are three short (one minute) videos I made years ago for students and friends. They help harness some of the essentials for learning barre chords.

If a guitar is setup properly, the barre chord doesn't require much strength. It's not a squeeze maneuver…


Where is the Pressure? - CLiCK


Barre From Above and Behind - CLiCK


Barre from Front - CLiCK

Hope these help…

Looks like I'm was not made for bar chords, well, at least not if it needs to use the outside edge.
My 1 and 2 (index and middle) fingers are kinda curved/tilted towards 3 and 4 fingers.
So when I try to bar with the outer edge, it's not possible as the curve on the top part won't ever press the strings unless I completely curve the wrist like a cripple.
I can do bar with flat part but the gap/s always mute one of the strings.
I'll take a picture of how odd it looks with that curve.
Weird thing is 3 and 4 fingers are perfectly straight but can't do bar with them.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

…I'll take a picture of how odd it looks with that curve.

Hi M123

I look forward to seeing it. And if you can get someone to snap a picture of you while you are playing that would be good too (so we can see how you are holding the guitar when you barre)

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi M123

I look forward to seeing it. And if you can get someone to snap a picture of you while you are playing that would be good too (so we can see how you are holding the guitar when you barre)

Here's my hand.
The top half knuckle of index/middle finger is tilted downward at an angle and the also twisted towards the other side.


If it were straight like the 3 and 4, it'd be much easier to barre.
I'll try to take a picture of me doing barre chords on guitar later.

[Ditch]

Thanks Larry. I kinda had the barre chords but once in awhile I'd hit one that wasn't great. Watching your video I seen my issue. It was where I was placing my thumb. Changed that and my barre chords are spot on, thanks!!

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi M123

I look forward to seeing it. And if you can get someone to snap a picture of you while you are playing that would be good too (so we can see how you are holding the guitar when you barre)

When I barre with index finger, it curves away from the fret board so there is no way to press with the edge.
Even if I did with extreme curve to press on the first knuckle part, the lower edge portion won't press as it's not straight.
I guess pressing flat is the only alternative.