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  #91  
Old 10-23-2019, 08:19 PM
JAMKC JAMKC is offline
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Originally Posted by raysachs View Post
So I started this thread about 2 1/2 weeks ago. And since that time, every time I sit down to play I start with a group of 6-7 songs that heavily feature the Bm chord, trying the method that Gene (Capefisherman) recommended a few pages back. I identified my "problem fingers" as the ring finger and pinky that land on the G and D strings, 4th fret as the problems - they were the last to arrive and often missed their landing(s).



So taking Gene's advice, I've been focusing on putting these two fingers in place first and letting the middle and pointer fingers fall into place. As he suggested, it was awkward at first, but I've been making a LOT of progress with this. After just a very short couple of weeks, I'm nailing the chord about 99% of the time. At first I had to skip singing just to focus on landing the chord. Then it started coming more and more consistently, then more and more in the flow and on time. Now I'm singing and still hitting it pretty much every time.



I'm not at the point where the chord comes as unconsciously and blindly as most of the chords I play, basically without thinking about them at all. I still have to anticipate when this one is coming up and I'm still mostly looking at the fretboard when I play it. So I'm not all the way there yet. But after 40 years of problems with this recalcitrant chord, I'm making really substantial progress with it. I'd guess that it won't be too long before I'm playing it less and less consciously and then it'll just be another chord. I could sort of tell as soon as I started working with this approach that it was gonna be the ticket and I'm way more convinced now given how much progress I've made with it in such a short time.



So to anyone having trouble with one or two chords that just don't come easily to you, I highly recommend Gene's approach. At the very least, it's worth a try - it may not work for everyone, but it seems to be working for me and it may work for anyone...



-Ray


Ray, while I can tell you are further along as a player than I, my issue with Bm is identical. This thread gives me a plan to work on and some good alternative options.
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  #92  
Old 10-24-2019, 12:25 AM
pjroberts pjroberts is offline
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Originally Posted by J-Doug View Post
Prescription: Play Wild Horses by the Stones over and over again. If that doesn't fix it, I don't know what will.
Wild Horses is actually how I nailed my Bm. Since it was fairly easy to sing and play otherwise, i forced it. And I did try the 7th fret for awhile. Which has now been awhile. I think that didn’t work back then. I play it now, and the two Bm positions sound very similar, but I can’t get that song rhythm to sound suitable going from an open G or a bar G to the 7th. It’s obviously some sonic psychological disorder I’ve got going on.
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  #93  
Old 10-24-2019, 04:37 AM
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raysachs raysachs is offline
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Originally Posted by pjroberts View Post
Wild Horses is actually how I nailed my Bm. Since it was fairly easy to sing and play otherwise, i forced it. And I did try the 7th fret for awhile. Which has now been awhile. I think that didn’t work back then. I play it now, and the two Bm positions sound very similar, but I can’t get that song rhythm to sound suitable going from an open G or a bar G to the 7th. It’s obviously some sonic psychological disorder I’ve got going on.
I’ve got a little group of songs that feature the Bm that I play nearly every time I pick up the guitar. Wild Horses may be my favorite of them, but the Bm comes around more often in Powderfinger (Neil Young), Crazy Love (Van Morrison), Time To Get Going (Petty), and Oh Sister (Dylan). The Bm comes up in almost every line in those. Others on that list are If You See Her, Say Hello and Sara (Dylan), Peggy-O (Dead version), and Althea (Dead). Sara uses the Bm in a really quick transition that I used to not be able to handle at all and now I’m getting surprisingly decent at - maybe not having time to think about it helps.... Peggy O only has one Bm per verse but comes at it from an Em - it usually seems to come from a G, C, or D. The other two are just songs I like where it comes up a couple times per verse.

I like all of these songs so it’s no bother to be playing them a LOT these days - they’re really good practice...
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  #94  
Old 10-24-2019, 05:53 AM
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TBman TBman is offline
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It might help to practice the Bm without the barre. Just do the Am shape using the middle ring and pinky. Practice switching from that position to open chords and back again. (Until your fingers fall off).

Fretting the barre, once the muscle memory of the other fingers is better, will be easy.
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