hi Im a newbie here and wanted to know if guitar tricks advocates when forming barre chords to position the index finger first then the middle, ring and pickie fingers or is it the other way around? Im bit confused because in guitar fundamental 2 Lisa teaches a example when moving from a open chord to a barre chord she teaches you position the index finger first then the others.What is the most effecient way to form barre chords for good habits and future success?
Question for technique about barre-chords
# 1
Hi'
I am a beginner. I put the index finger down first to establish the initial fret position and then the other fingrers. As you get more proficient you will find that the interval between putting the index finger down first then the other fingers will get progressively shorter until the time period disappears. This takes time of course. Just practice and practice. You will get there.
Don't forget your posture. Correct posture makes barre chords a bit easier.
Pay atention, stay focused. Eventually it becomes automatic. Like driving a car.
I wish you success.
Joe
# 2
Originally Posted by: SurburbanBoredomhi Im a newbie here and wanted to know if guitar tricks advocates when forming barre chords to position the index finger first then the middle, ring and pickie fingers or is it the other way around? Im bit confused because in guitar fundamental 2 Lisa teaches a example when moving from a open chord to a barre chord she teaches you position the index finger first then the others.What is the most effecient way to form barre chords for good habits and future success?
Lisa has it right. Use the index as a literal bar to hold down the frets, and then the other fingers should be positioned to hold the other notes. It takes time, it hurts a little but you'll be that much better from learning it!
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# 3
Barre chord difficulties made me give up on guitar, I changed strings, but still struggle...is it essential to learn barre-chords?
# 4
Originally Posted by: alexinaBarre chord difficulties made me give up on guitar, I changed strings, but still struggle...is it essential to learn barre-chords?
Hi Alexina,
No, it is not essential to learn barre chords. You can play many,many songs without having to use them.
I would suggest you carry on playing and concentrate getting aquainted with open chords and playing songs.
The one barre chord that is very usefull to get under your fingers is the 'F' barre chord. Have a go at that every now and then but don't worry if you can't manage it. There are alternatives to playing it.
Enjoy your playing, learn what you can and, over time, maybe you will develope enough to be able to attempt the barre chords again.
Just don't give up and have some fun learning and playing.
Regards
Joe
# 5
Suburban, what worked for me was to play whatever I was playing very slowly. I found that my delay in getting barre chords was because I was thinking about where to put my fingers. Practice some chord changes at a really slow tempo (40 bpm or less) to where you can place all fingers at once. Think of it as training your fingers in where to go--it's muscle memory. Once you have it perfect at a slow tempo, start speeding it up.
Another technique that helped me is the "fake it till you make it". If you're strumming a chord progression at a faster tempo, keep playing even if you mess up. For example, every four beats go to the next chord, even if you didn't have the previous chord ready at beat 1. Once you get a fluid motion, your hands will start to work on their own. You'll also notice based on your strumming that your minor mistakes are covered up. Not a good performance strategy, but a good workout strategy--remember, you're building and training muscles doing this.
Finally, see if your action is set too high. Most guitars come from the store with really high strings, and it's hard for even a skilled player to get barre chords right. If you're playing with a new acoustic, your strings might be as much as 1.5 times as high as they should be for you. I recommend checking your string height and making adjustments if you're comfortable. You could always go to your guitar store and pay to have it professionally set up. Once the strings are adjusted to your play style, then you can be confident that all the hard work will come from your hands.
# 6
Originally Posted by: Joe105Originally Posted by: alexinaBarre chord difficulties made me give up on guitar, I changed strings, but still struggle...is it essential to learn barre-chords?
Hi Alexina,
No, it is not essential to learn barre chords. You can play many,many songs without having to use them.
I would suggest you carry on playing and concentrate getting aquainted with open chords and playing songs.
The one barre chord that is very usefull to get under your fingers is the 'F' barre chord. Have a go at that every now and then but don't worry if you can't manage it. There are alternatives to playing it.
Enjoy your playing, learn what you can and, over time, maybe you will develope enough to be able to attempt the barre chords again.
Just don't give up and have some fun learning and playing.
Regards
Joe
I'll second this!! I've played with somebody in the church choir that can't play barre chords and they manage to play rather well. A capo can be used to make things easier.
Many barre chords shapes can be simplified so you still have a moveable chord shape be you don't have to make a full barre. For instance, the "open" F chord. As long as you only strum the strings you are fretting, that's a moveabe shape. You can add your pinky to it to get a fuller sound. "Open" B, same thing. Their minor variants...on and on.
Though I can play barre chords, I only play them when I absolutely have to.
# 7
