Barre chords technique?
Discussion
Is there a secret technique or method to playing barre chords or is it just practice, practice and more practice? I’ve had my guitar about six weeks and can play a handful of the ‘easier’ chords. I’ve been practising some pentatonic scales and G major scale most of which I’m starting to play cleaner and getting quicker at. I’ve quickly realised the majority of chords, and therefore songs use barre chords so I need to crack these but generally they sound awful and it takes an age for me to position my fingers correctly.
Any hints and tips are welcome!
Any hints and tips are welcome!
An epiphone les Paul 100. Quite a relatively narrow neck allegedly though I have nothing to compare it to. I thought I had reasonably normal/thin fingers but I struggle also not touching the adjacent string with them. I think again this is just finger positioning and practice.
I will stick at this though typical me I want everything yesterday and want to do it myself not resort to face to face lessons.
I will stick at this though typical me I want everything yesterday and want to do it myself not resort to face to face lessons.
Another vote for practice. I can't remember when it all "clicked" for me, but it must have been a couple of years before a barre chord became something not to think about.
Maybe try this: take an E major chord in the first position i.e.
Then substitute fingers 2/3/1 (middle finger/ring finger/index finger) for 4/3/2 (little/ring/middle). Then move all three fingers up one fret and place your index finger across all six strings at fret #1. That's F major. Then repeat the exercise, starting with an E major using your little/ring/middle fingers but then moving up two frets; again placing your index finger across all six strings behind your middle finger.
Remember, when you're playing an E major chord in position 1 there is a plastic (or bone) nut behind your fretting hand over which the strings sit. All you're doing when you move that E chord shape up the fretboard is that your index finger is acting as the nut.
I should note that you don't need full barre chords all the time. If you can play a C major chord like this:-
Then you can play major and minor chords all over the fretboard. All you do is move the fretted G, C, and E notes in the above diagram down a string. Do that, and you have F major (2nd inversion, although you'll have to mute the low and high E strings. You could sound the high E, though, which would make it a Fmaj7 chord). From there, move that entire shape down one string each and you'll have B flat minor.
Maybe try this: take an E major chord in the first position i.e.
Then substitute fingers 2/3/1 (middle finger/ring finger/index finger) for 4/3/2 (little/ring/middle). Then move all three fingers up one fret and place your index finger across all six strings at fret #1. That's F major. Then repeat the exercise, starting with an E major using your little/ring/middle fingers but then moving up two frets; again placing your index finger across all six strings behind your middle finger.
Remember, when you're playing an E major chord in position 1 there is a plastic (or bone) nut behind your fretting hand over which the strings sit. All you're doing when you move that E chord shape up the fretboard is that your index finger is acting as the nut.
I should note that you don't need full barre chords all the time. If you can play a C major chord like this:-
Then you can play major and minor chords all over the fretboard. All you do is move the fretted G, C, and E notes in the above diagram down a string. Do that, and you have F major (2nd inversion, although you'll have to mute the low and high E strings. You could sound the high E, though, which would make it a Fmaj7 chord). From there, move that entire shape down one string each and you'll have B flat minor.
Edited by cherryowen on Saturday 18th January 23:39
Thanks all for the advice. I like the mirror idea as I find myself trying to look over the guitar at what my hands are doing.
The F major mentioned above is the chord I get most successful with so I will try your ideas for that.
Practice is evidently key here!
Is guitar set up as important as ‘experts’ on YouTube videos have you believe at my level? Do things like bridge height and neck tension make that much difference to playability?
The F major mentioned above is the chord I get most successful with so I will try your ideas for that.
Practice is evidently key here!
Is guitar set up as important as ‘experts’ on YouTube videos have you believe at my level? Do things like bridge height and neck tension make that much difference to playability?
Andy_mr2sc said:
Thanks all for the advice. I like the mirror idea as I find myself trying to look over the guitar at what my hands are doing.
The F major mentioned above is the chord I get most successful with so I will try your ideas for that.
Practice is evidently key here!
Is guitar set up as important as ‘experts’ on YouTube videos have you believe at my level? Do things like bridge height and neck tension make that much difference to playability?
Yes, very much so. If it's set up well the 'action' (height of the strings above the neck) will be lower (but not so low as to cause buzzing) and so easier to press down. Out of interest, what kind of guitar do you have?The F major mentioned above is the chord I get most successful with so I will try your ideas for that.
Practice is evidently key here!
Is guitar set up as important as ‘experts’ on YouTube videos have you believe at my level? Do things like bridge height and neck tension make that much difference to playability?
Andy_mr2sc said:
Is there a secret technique or method to playing barre chords or is it just practice, practice and more practice? I’ve had my guitar about six weeks and can play a handful of the ‘easier’ chords. I’ve been practising some pentatonic scales and G major scale most of which I’m starting to play cleaner and getting quicker at. I’ve quickly realised the majority of chords, and therefore songs use barre chords so I need to crack these but generally they sound awful and it takes an age for me to position my fingers correctly.
Any hints and tips are welcome!
Try at the 3rd or 4th frets. The tension of the strings over the nut makes it particularly tough at the first fret. Any hints and tips are welcome!
I’m sure you’re doing this but check you’re rotating your wrist slightly so you’re using a little of the bony edge of your index finger and not purely the fleshy underside.
We’ve all been there. Keep at it, it takes a while.
Set up, very important
Can recommend someone if you live anywhere near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Made a world of difference to my Fender Acoustic. My teacher reckoned that I was fighting it rather than playing it and while my Yamaha Electric was set up OK the trouble I was having with the acoustic was making the work on the electric doubly difficult using too much pressure on the strings
Can recommend someone if you live anywhere near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Made a world of difference to my Fender Acoustic. My teacher reckoned that I was fighting it rather than playing it and while my Yamaha Electric was set up OK the trouble I was having with the acoustic was making the work on the electric doubly difficult using too much pressure on the strings
My guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul 100. It started buzzing soon after i got it, I assume from the change in temperature/humidity and ended up raising the bridge till it stopped. No doubt a proper set up would get it nearer ‘right’ as I was a bit finger in the air with it.
Yes I’ve found twisting my wrist helps so I use the edge of my finger more than the front.
I guess I just need to put the hours in!
Yes I’ve found twisting my wrist helps so I use the edge of my finger more than the front.
I guess I just need to put the hours in!
FredClogs said:
Thumb, use your thumb on top string. f
k that index finger st.
That's fine if you have fingers like Hendrix / Mayerk that index finger st. Many (including me) don't, which is why I suggested above using an adjusted C/G chord shape to sound major and minor chords
To assist the OP, I'd also suggest that stripping back a given chord can also work. All a chord needs is a triad (root / third / fifth), so for a C major chord all you need are the notes C, E and G. For C minor it'll be C, Eb and G. This is based on the C major scale that has no sharps or flats, so : C D E F G A B C are the notes in the C major scale.
The root note i.e. the note that defines the chord is C. The third is E, and the fifth is G. The C minor chord has a flat third, so a C minor chord will have C / Eb / G.
OP, maybe try this approach by finding all combinations of a major chord across the fretboard. Here's a C major chord : ring finger on the 7th fret A string, then bar across strings D, G and B with your index finger. It's still a C major, but the first note is E, so it's a First Inversion.
Barre chords were something i struggled with for a couple of years until i worked out that thumb placement on the back of the neck is the most critical aspect of getting each string to ring out true. For the F chord shape, your thumb should be inline with your middle finger position. Another thing i found to help was to roll my index finger slightly as if you are trying to play using the side of your finger.
I used to struggle a bit with barre chords. Getting a proper guitar with a proper setup made a world of difference; instead of having to mash the hell out of the strings to get them fretted, you can just press lightly and get the same result with more control. It sounds like you've got a fairly good instrument, but maybe a professional setup will help you.
I also started having lessons face to face. If you just want to brush up on a couple of techniques, then this could be very valuable. You don't need to sign up for a whole year or anything, but you may find that just an hour or two with a professional can nip any bad habits in the bud, and show you what you might be doing wrong.
Otherwise, like everyone else has said, practice, practice, practice. There is a time and place for the Hendrix style thumb on the low E string, but I'd be concentrating more on getting fingers 2,3,4 down in the right shape, then making the index finger right. Keep at it!
I also started having lessons face to face. If you just want to brush up on a couple of techniques, then this could be very valuable. You don't need to sign up for a whole year or anything, but you may find that just an hour or two with a professional can nip any bad habits in the bud, and show you what you might be doing wrong.
Otherwise, like everyone else has said, practice, practice, practice. There is a time and place for the Hendrix style thumb on the low E string, but I'd be concentrating more on getting fingers 2,3,4 down in the right shape, then making the index finger right. Keep at it!
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