Buzzing Barre Chords - B and top E strings

[SomeGuy]

I'm assuming this is technique issue in regards to acoustic vs electric, but I play Barre Chords on electric no problem, but on acoustic they tend to buzz when I strum hard, in particular the top B and E strings. Whats interesting if I isolate the strings and play them individually, they all sound ok, but when I go back to strumming with power I get buzzes.

Perhaps this all comes down to me not being use to playing acoustic guitar and will work itself out with practice? But would love some feedback on this issue from experienced players. Do you have to clamp much harder on acoustic vs electric for barre chords, or have I just not found a good way to play them yet? I've watched youtube videos where they say to play Barre chords with the side of your 1st finger (which I do) rather than flat, but still getting buzz, which is most noticeable when playing with full strumming; fingerpicking or light picking sounds fine.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

It's hard to tell from here if the buzzing is a result of not having your fingers close enough to the fret when chording, or if your guitar's action is so low or your strings are so light that hard strumming causes the strings to oscillate against other frets. Either one could produce the buzz you're describing.

That it happens under hard strumming but not fingerpicking or light picking makes me think it's the latter. What gauge strings are you using, and how low is the action on your B and E strings?

See if this helps: https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/14-string-buzz/

[rodmbds]

I don't know how to describe it, I'll try and hope it helps you.

Try not to "squeeze" the strings onto the neck. Instead, use your fretting hand to bring the neck towards you and at the same time keep the body of the guitar in place with your picking arm, which is resting at the bout.

Another way to think of it is to try to make the barre chord without using the thumb at the back of the neck. You shouldn't really do this when playing, it's just so you can get an idea of the movement.

When you do, try it again with the thumb and you'll get more "torque" against the strings.

Please tell me if it makes sense, if not, I'll be happy to make a video to demonstrate it.

Btw, can I post links from other forums? I remember one which explains it much better than I tried to.

[ChalkLitIScream]

Hmm.
as was mentioned, the strings could be too low and buzz on the frets, or your barre chord technique may not be producing enough pressure to cleanly fret.

Try playing barre chords and when the buzzing arises, clamp down super tight on your fretting hand and play with the same force on your right.
If the buzzing stops, its because you did apply enough pressure to fret down the strings.

Its very easy (compared to acoutics, ime) to fret on electrics and get a clean sound. less tension on the strings, shorter and flexible strings help.

[rodmbds]

Ok, found the article. It was not from another forum, instead it's written by classical guitarist and instructor Douglas Niedt. Here's a link to his website:

https://douglasniedt.com/index.html

I've cut a paragraph or two because of character limit on a post.


Copyright Douglas Niedt. All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.

Having trouble getting your bars to sound clear and clean? Do you think your fingers are too small or that you are just too much of a wuss to get a good bar? Let me tell you the story of "Little Jennifer".*

"Little Jennifer" was a student of mine many years ago. Jennifer was seven years old, small frame, small hands, kind of skinny--but just a normal little girl. But she played the guitar quite well and was able to play bar chords with no problem.*

At the same time, I had a student, "Big Dennis". Dennis was in his thirties, a well-built, very strong guy who was learning to play bar chords. But his bar chords buzzed and the effort he exerted was considerable. I thought, "Now wait a minute, what is going on here. Little Jennifer can play bar chords with ease and Big Dennis can't. What does Little Jennifer know that Big Dennis doesn't?"*

Well folks, here is Little Jennifer's secret.*Little Jennifer knew intuitively to use her ARM STRENGTH to hold down a bar. She had little strength in her left hand.*

To hold down a bar, you pull the guitar lightly against your chest with both arms. No, you aren't going to pull as hard as you can--just enough to hold the bar. You will not harm or affect your guitar in any way! But don't practice this concept by holding a full bar all by itself. Keep reading, and see below how to practice. YOU DO NOT USE THE THUMB and fingers to squeeze the guitar neck. Those thumb muscles are relatively weak and get fatigued fairly quickly. But the arm muscles are strong (even in a little child) and once developed will not tire easily. The thumb is just there to stabilize the left hand and channel or direct the brute strength of the arms to the hand and fingers. IT IS A PASSIVE, NOT ACTIVE participant in playing the guitar, ESPECIALLY bar chords.*

Once again, you use your arm strength to hold the bar. Pull the guitar lightly against your chest by pulling with both arms. If you are doing it right, you will feel it in your forearms, elbows, and/or shoulders. You will feel the guitar digging very lightly into your chest. Again, you will not harm your guitar in any way--pull firmly, just enough to hold the strings down with your bar, NOT with all your might! Big Dennis tried to man-handle the instrument and in squeezing with his thumb, made matters worse, because squeezing with the thumb tends to make the barring finger arch up or bend instead of remaining flat across the neck, not to mention soreness and fatigue in the thumb. Little Jennifer knew intuitively to just use her arm strength. In fact, it is a great idea to practice bar chords without the thumb on the neck at all! (Keep reading, see below.)*

A second oftentimes overlooked factor in bar technique, is that when playing a full bar, the back knuckle or joint of the first finger (the joint closest to the wrist) must be "up". It is hard to explain in words, but keep this knuckle or back joint even with the tip of the finger (or even slightly higher but not so high that the finger lifts off the fretboard of course) so that the finger lies flat on the fretboard. Many people, when struggling with a bar, pull that knuckle or back joint down which makes the middle joint pop up slightly. No, no, no. Keep that knuckle or back joint up!*

And course it goes almost without saying that the bar finger must be close to the fret and parallel with the fret.*

Once again, remember:*You don't use massive amounts of strength--just enough to get the job done. Most of the time the weight of the left arm (balanced with an almost imperceptible pull of the right arm) is enough.*Many good guitarists are actually unaware that they play with their arm strength, not hand strength. It is often that subtle. Because the arm and shoulder muscles are so much stronger than the small hand muscles, most of the time the body is unaware of any real effort and certainly no strain--there is no upper body tension. If you are playing a difficult passage requiring heavy duty bars and stretches, than yes, more effort is required.*But your body will perceive that it is exerting far less strain and overall effort if the arm and shoulder muscles are used instead of relying heavily upon the hand muscles. In the face of a difficult passage, many beginning guitarists panic and use a vise grip on the neck between the thumb and fingers. They just have to re-train their bodies to use their arm strength instead.

Here's a little additional sidelight to all this for the more advanced player. When playing heavy vibrato without the thumb on the neck, guess what muscles you use to hold the notes down? Yes, once again, it's the arm muscles!*

So stop struggling and use Little Jennifer's secret.

https://douglasniedt.com/Tech_Tip_Little_Jennifer.html