Quick chord question

hey fellas!

was just trying to play Cabo Wabo by Van Halen, and I was able to do it ok, but my carpel tunnel bone was aching afterwards (even after my huge warmups i do! :( )
Was just wondering how people played this chord

E---
B-4-
G-4-
D-4-
A-2-
E---

I usually play it with my index on the 2nd fret and my ring finger barring all the fours, but it tends to put strain on my wrist. do you guys play it different??

any input is greatly appreciated!!

thanks! :)

Dispy

well - i personally play that chord the same way you do, but i dont see why this hurts. do you put on too much pressure? be sure to put your finger not midway between fret 3 and 4 but as cose to fret 4 as possible. that way you eliminate fretnoise without having to use force

Well i use my pinky to barre the 3 of the strings.

if your hand is aching, then as Azrael said, I would guess you are pressing too hard!

Three ways to hold that chord :
1)barre with ring
2)barre with pinky
3)use middle,ring & pinky to fret the three 4's.


Your pain may not be just much pressure , you could be holding the guitar in a bad position and/or holding the neck incorrectly .
A holding position may be comfortable for a certain style or song bec of the chords used and so , but painfull for other stuff ... The general rule is to have your thumb at the lower back of the neck as if it's facing your middle finger.

I think Clapton uses the pinky; at least, that's what my guitar playing friend told me, and that's how my friend plays it, too. I use the ol' ring finger method. He prefers the pinky, I think because it helps the high E string to ring out.

Yea the success in playing these chords comes not from the pressure required to press the strings down, but the way you position your pinky so you dont need to apply pressure. Just trying strumming the chord as you move your pinky up and down the neck within that fret and also whilst angling your pinky in various ways. Youl find a position thats successful and requires very little pressure.
LAter

I don't know if I would play that barred or not, I guess it would depend on what's around it. I don't know which would be more strain, playing it barred or play the 4th frets with your pinky through flipper and get hit the lower B with your index. I would play around with it until you find something that works for you.

i play the chord as a full barre, using all my fingers. but then again i only have thin fingers so i'd just use whatever method works best for you