barre chords ?

[waynep]

I am trying to learn barre chords. I like the theory, being able to slide it up and down the neck to hit different chords. Cool!

I assume this is normal, but I find the hardest one to get right (all strings down to frets and not muted) is a F . . . closest to the nut. As I move up the neck a little it gets easier? I guess it's because it's harder to barre the strings closer to the nut than away from it.

Do you all use a open string F or a barre F or does it depend on where you come from and are going? For example, my instructor showed me to use the 3&4 fingers for Em instead of 1&2 because the following chord was a barre F.

I can see that it's going to take some practice to hit the barre chords and likely develop my hand strength also . . . .

wayne

[JedimasterPaul]

Good luck with the barre chords. Keep at it. It's not just developing hand strength, but learning how to properly use your hand strength. When I first started playing I would squeeze way too hard in doing the barre chords; now it doesn't take nearly as much pressure to play the F barre chord. You will find the same thing once you've learned how to do it.

The F barre is the hardest to do for precisely the reason you mentioned. You don't get as much leverage on the strings because you are right next to the nut.

You may also want to just practice playing a barre by itself - once you can play that cleanly, then add the notes for the rest of the chord.

good luck!

[mnewton]

Originally Posted by JedimasterPaul

You may also want to just practice playing a barre by itself - once you can play that cleanly, then add the notes for the rest of the chord.

Good advice. A lot of nights I will start with a barred B and then play every string to make sure the barre is good. I will work on playing a lot of different barred chords without playing them in a song or a chord progession. Then after practicing the barre chords, I will practice the songs that we are playing at church that week. It makes things a lot easier.

[510picker]

F barre chord made me want to quit playing until one day, it just sort of formed itself. The F was the toughest. Once you get that, all other barre chirds will be simple. Just keep practicing and it will come.

[thisisbrianly]

I'd suggest forming the E shape with your middle ring and pinky finger and then using your index finger to get the other 3 strings...it's easier to bar 3 strings than all 6 when you only need 3. Keep at it, it'll come!
Peace,
Brian

[kkrauss]

Get your guitar to a good tech and have them check the string height in the nut. Most guitars ship from the factory with them too high, just because it's too much work for a high-production company to make each one perfect (takes 15-20 minutes to do). A properly adjusted nut will make a world of difference in forming that "F" barre chord!

As a test, put a capo on the first fret, then try your "F" (actually an F# now) barre. If it's easier to play with the capo, then your nut definately needs to be adjusted.

Good luck,

Kent

[waynep]

I just took it yesterday for a check. They said it was fine. The place in Kansas City where I bought it, offers checkups and adjustment when you buy the guitar, up to 4 times a year. I have another thread on that subject . . . I think I just need to keep at it. I have been on barre chords for a week, and it's been a busy week with less than usual pracice.

wayne

[MadeintheUSA]

alot of places my friends. once you get the majors and minors down you can play so many songs.........especially popular music. the next steop when you get that structure down is to start playing a bit of lead guitar. say you are in the key of F. F barre chord....some of the lead structure follows exactly with the placement of your fingers fo that chord. same with E, B, Bm, yadda yadda yadda, did you get a chance to pick up that book i recommended? the guitar handbook by ralph denyer? it has a great section on barre chords and a huge chord dictionary in the back of the book. keep up the practice and enjoy!

[sdm]

Originally Posted by waynep

.

I can see that it's going to take some practice to hit the barre chords and likely develop my hand strength also . . . .

wayne

that is the ticket

[scegla]

Hey! We've all be there. You WILL come out on the other side. Practice Practice, Practice. Learn it right... do the full barre chord... you're going to have to conquer it someday anyway. Once you feel like you're getting it, relax your grip and see if the notes still ring clear. Many people put on the death grip and just plain cramp up. Use only the pressure you need. If you form the barre properly your arm itself will provide some of the leverage you need. Let gravity help rather than squeeze the daylights out of it. Form the chord, ley you elbow drop slightly and you'll see what I mean. Every once in a while I do a sanity check on myself... am I working harder than I need to be?

Practice and then relax the grip til you have just the pressure you need.

[jonesbrass]

Lots of good advice here.

Waynep, check out this website: guitarprinciples.com. Jamie's books and articles have a lot of really good advice on barre chords, and just about everything else. He has a lot of practical, methodical advice about everything from barre chords to practice techniques. I'm sure there are others out there, too.

[wcs02]

Understanding some music theory can help tremendously...it takes the magic out of moveable barre chords. One specific thing that I feel helps tremendously is learning about intervals(i.e minor major 2nds,3rds,6ths,7ths, perfect unisons, 4ths 5ths octaves and so on). It helps you see how things repeat on the fretboard. It may sound boring, but when you understand the patterns a lot of things will open up for you.

[waynep]

Originally Posted by wcs02

Understanding some music theory . . . . .

Is there a book or something that you recommend ?

wayne

[samchar]

Learn to barre chord on a 12 string and then move to the 6. It's like learning how to type on a manual typewriter and then moving to a computer keyboard.

I avoided songs with F chords for the first several months of my playing. Wish I'd attacked F's and barres earlier. I'd be further along by now.

[wcs02]

hmmm, don't know of the top of my head, but any college level intro to music theory (work)book would suffice. Anything that covered notation, scales, intervals and then chords would be adequate. That's the order that you'd go through to build a solid understanding that you could then apply to the fretboard. Guitar is sort of strange because most people start out learning chords and then work backwards (unless you are content to play just cowboy chords) which is fine but then you're in a position where you're deconstructing rather than building up. One idea I've heard that can be sort of enlightening is the idea that a guitar is just 6 small keyboards in parallel. That may be sound daunting, but concentrating on less than all 6 strings, like just the 2 bass strings, can help you see things that you weren't seeing. Hope this helps.