Durn bar chords!

[joemcg]

I’m just getting back into guitar after a couple of years playing primarily clawhammer banjo. I’ve got a Blueridge 341 parlor that I’ve had for a few years, and a GS Mini that I just purchased for outdoor use (I’m an RVer and Campground host currently at the beach.)

The BR341 has a wide 1 7/8 nut, the GS Mini a narrower 1 11/16 nut. Bar chords work for me on the BR341 but I can’t for the life of me get a clean bar chord on the GS Mini. 😡

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[DenverSteve]

Barre chords are all about practice. You're going from a wide to a narrow nut so it may take 10 minutes when you change over to get used to the smaller nut.

[Mandobart]

Neck profile, fretboard taper and string action have more to do with the ease/difficulty of playing clean barre chords than nut width. Think about it - most of the barres we play are up the neck, not down by the nut (XX3211 or X33211 are nearly always going to work and sound better than a barre F) so its not the width at the nut you care about but the width up at the 5th fret and higher. That's taper. Also string height off the fretboard (action) gets higher as you move up. I'd bet it has a lot more to do with the setup on your Taylor than the nut width.

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

Barre chords are all about practice. You're going from a wide to a narrow nut so it may take 10 minutes when you change over to get used to the smaller nut.

Unless your fingers just don't fit. I have large hands, long fingers, and huge callous pads on my left hand from years of playing upright and bass guitar. Anything narrower than 1 3/4" and I'm working harder to make clean barre chords. I can do it, but it's no fun.

[DukeX]

The Mini also comes strung with Mediums. Not sure what's on yours.

[Ludere]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

" ... XX3211 or X33211 are nearly always going to work and sound better than a barre F ..."

I would respectfully beg to differ on this point ... I am currently making the extra effort to replace X33211 with a 1st fret barre F; partly because I just do not like the X33211 open chord shape (forces me to 'lean' my entire hand toward the nut), and partly as an exercise to force me to consistently incorporate barre chords into my practices.
It has "slowed" some songs that I can play at-tempo otherwise, but I am determined ... and I think the barre F sounds fine.

Of course, YMMV, IMHO, just my .02 ...

~ Paul

...

[Downhillblur]

I find a full barre F to be easier than the x33211 fingering like Ludere. I'm less apt to mute strings trying to fret the B and e only due to the "lean".

[Rpt50]

Is it a Barre chord if you wrap your thumb to catch the low E, and just use your index for the B and high E strings? Although I use the both the regular style (index across all strings) and the thumb wrap methods, I find the thumb wrap generally easier, especially in the lower positions.

[mr. beaumont]

Barre chords are completely evil. You pretty much gotta know 'em, and by the time you get 'em down you realize they're pretty much the most boring thing you could play on the guitar, accompanyment-wise.

[JBCROTTY]

I had a GS Mini for a short time. If you have not replaced the strings on it, you may consider putting lights on the guitar - it comes stock with mediums. The lighter gauge might help.

I also lowered my string action - I typically take some material off the saddle to get the action height the way I like it on all my guitars. This helped me with the barre chords.

Lastly, the GS Mini was just too cramped for me, but what I ended up doing was just throwing my index finger over the fret board like a sack of potatoes and this nailed the barre chord issue for me (vs. maneuvering my hand into the proper position to fret the barre chord with the top part of my finger - the leverage was not there due to my hand size).

I should warn you I am a hack and lack any coherent skill at this hobby, but these things worked for me.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Neck profile, fretboard taper and string action have more to do with the ease/difficulty of playing clean barre chords than nut width.

I agree 100%. In fact, nut/fingerboard width works IN CONJUNCTION with the profile of the neck. As an anecdotal illustration, I am just as comfortable with my Taylor 1.75" necks with a flatter neck profile as my Martin D35 with a thicker soft V profile and 1 11/16" nut. However, when I switch to my Alvarez Yairi with a 1 11/16" nut and shallow C profile my hand fatigues much more easily for lack of support.

Nut width IMO is highly over-rated. Think of how narrow a violin neck (or mandolin) is, yet many folks with massive hands play them masterfully. Granted a guitar has different playing requirements but again, comfort and ease is based on a composite of variables.

One thing often overlooked is nut slot depth. Just a few 1000ths difference in depth can make a world of difference. IMO every guitar when purchased should be looked over by a professional technician or luthier to check the setup if you don't know how to evaluate it yourself.

[roylor4]

Well, I think neck profile, string spacing/nut width, nut slot depth can all have an affect, depending on the player.

Scale length can be a factor too. Not so much about tension, but on the wrist position of your fretting hand. If you are playing "Cowboy style" - guitar on R knee and close to parallel to the floor, a very short scale guitar will force a greater bend angle in the wrist, which, in turn, diminishes hand strength.

Personally, I can easily make barre chords standing and playing with a strap that are very difficult (if not impossible) for me to execute in the seated position. Just a thought.

[Wadcutter]

Barre chords? We don’t need no stinking barre chords!

[ctgagnon]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Well, I think neck profile, string spacing/nut width, nut slot depth can all have an affect, depending on the player.

Scale length can be a factor too. Not so much about tension, but on the wrist position of your fretting hand. If you are playing "Cowboy style" - guitar on R knee and close to parallel to the floor, a very short scale guitar will force a greater bend angle in the wrist, which, in turn, diminishes hand strength.

Personally, I can easily make barre chords standing and playing with a strap that are very difficult (if not impossible) for me to execute in the seated position. Just a thought.

I'm with Roy on this. Position, position, position.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Personally, I can easily make barre chords standing and playing with a strap that are very difficult (if not impossible) for me to execute in the seated position. Just a thought.

I'm going to guess that the lateral position of your guitar is different seated as opposed to standing. I'll go further to suggest that possibly you have the guitar positioned on your right knee while seated. If I am correct logic would hold that you are not using the leverage of your right arm while seated to pull against with your left ARM. Consequently would then require more hand strength as well as putting your left hand in a slightly different position, again giving up the advantage of leverage.