Barre Chords

I sometimes wonder if the Marque De Sade invented Barre Chords. :(

I have been practicing like crazy with little to no real results as my fingers just will not contort enough to play them correctly.

Does anyone know if there is a way of substituting less finger wrenching chords instead?

I am well into the beginners course 2 but am hesitant to move on until I either master or give up on Barre Chords.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Jazzn

Barre chords will get easier over time, don't give up! :)

Hi Jazzn,

In some cases there are "open chord" substitutions for barre chords. Razbo is right - you will get the barre chords in time. Keep at it.

But meanwhile, there may be some substitutions you can use that will allow you to enjoy playing some songs that are currently giving you trouble.

For starters, any barre chord on this list has an "open chord" version, down at the first position on the neck: C, D, Dm, E, Em, F, G, A, Am, B7.

Secondly, there is a neat trick you can try using what I call "Open Barre" chords, where you are traveling up and down the neck, but not requiring your hand to maintain full pressure across all the strings.

Here are some lessons on that technique:
http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=11244

Keep us posted - have fun! - Lisa

Hi Lisa,

THank you for the advise and direction. I will check out the lessons and give some feedback. I'm sure other newbies are experiencing the same problems with Barre Chords that I am.

FYI: I really enjoy your teaching style and have learned quite a bit from your lessons so far. Kepp up the good work.

Jazzn

I don't know how it worked for other folks but with the barre chords, it was really weird. I couldn't do one for the life of me but I kept at it and suddenly one day, it worked like a charm.

Believe me, it's well worth it. Keep after it and one day you'll do the perfectly. And it really opens up the fretboard for you.

Good luck. :)

Barre chords are funny in that they work a little different than you would expect.
Instead of pressing your index finger down it is more of a twisting motion using the thumb on the back of the neck as a pivot point.
This will give you more leverage for your index finger.
You use more of the side of your index finger that the pad.
Hopefully this explanation will help you learn it faster.