Hello,

Does anyone else struggle with barre chords as much as I do? It seems no matter how much time I spend on them, I don't get any better. My main problem is getting a good barre with my first finger so all the notes ring out. If I only have 1 muted string, I am usually doing pretty good. Plus it's hard to get my hand in a comfortable position when doing them. I usually have to raise the neck so I can barre on the first fret. And lastly, I have trouble switching between regular chords and barre chords.

So is it just me?  lol

Thanks,
Bill

My coach is teaching me "guitar players" methods.  It avoids the evil B-chords.  He's taught me how to use my thumb over the top of the neck while using my index finger on the bottom strings.  It makes F, F#, etc. a LOT easier to do.  I questioned him about it and he just said even if I'd use barre chords, I'd get to his way eventually.  I happened to see a concert on TV with Clapton and HEY, he was doing the same thing; thumb over the top.  It took a few weeks of practice to get enough flexibility in my thumb, but it works for me now.

Dean

Barre chords are sometimes called "Power Chords",  Once you learn them  they are indispensable. It may take some practice to get them where you feel comfortable, but, They really work for  a lot of differrnt genre's .You can work  them in alot of ways.

nah its not just you baree chords area a pain in the butt when you are first learning them. there are two tips i can think of at the moment for barre chords. first off, try to play them with only your thumb on the back of the neck, not your palm. this is tough to explain without showing lol, but basically it lets you extend your fingers moreover the fretboard and keep them in the correct position.

also, in any given barre chord, you only have to barre the notes that would otherwise be open strings. to use an F# chord as an example:

1=pointer finger
2=middle finger
3=ring finger
4=pinky

play this:

     E  A  D  G  B  E
1   
2   1               1  1
3                2
4       3  3
5


NOT:

      E  A  D  G  B  E
1
2    1  1  1  1  1  1
3               2
4        3  3
5

basically, you dont have to barre across all 6 strings, just the ones without some other fingering.

This is the instance where I use my thumb on the #6 string and my index finget on the #1&2 strings (mostly).  There are times when in the cntext of the music a barre chord WORKS better, though.

Good Luck!!!!!

Dean

If you want to play Rock or jazz or classical learn your bar chords.....youd be amazed how often bar forms appear in classical

xaviersky wrote:

....youd be amazed how often bar forms appear in classical

...+1, and in all other styles. Just think of the barre chord as a "human capo." That's the versatility of the barre chord.

quick question.....................where should your thumb be when playing a barre chord  behind your index finger or centerd in the chord

wiggs wrote:

quick question.....................where should your thumb be when playing a barre chord?  behind your index finger or centerd in the chord?

...behind your index finger, with the other fingers just easily pressing against the strings.

I don't have any problems playing barre chords on my guitar because it doesn't have much action and the strings are really light. Try some new strings maybe?

I've found that electrics are much easier to barre than acoustics.

i hate barre chords too.  i can never play Fmaj.  i finally decided to really start to try and practice and it is very frustrating.  i have to press INSANELY hard to allow my index finger to make the B and E strings ring true.  i have found that rolling my index finger on to its side a little bit helps.  but that is a pain in the butt to because i feel like i am contorting myself like a circus freak.  the joys of learning guitar, right?

Welcome to chordbook picnicwitants, yep, seems everyone had trouble with the Fmaj grand barre at first. You'll get lots of tips on how to do it or even some alternative shapes to play so you don't have to master the Fmaj barre but my instructor said i'd be better off learning it than not so i did and i'm glad because the rest of the grand barre chords seem easy. Notice the chat room feature too...maybe unique to guitar sites so stop in sometime and say hello.

GuitarZen