WHY !?!

Feel free to get outside the box here.
AndyT
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Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:51 pm

Why is it harder to barre at higher frets? I can play a decent F and Bm now, but if I try and take them higher, I have trouble. Whats up with that?


mcfingers
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Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:33 pm

Hey Andy,
Maybe it's harder for you because there is less room to fit fingers higher up on the fretboard. If your position isn't near perfect there is less room for error.
That should correct itself with time. It takes tons of practice to become comfortable with Bar Chords and to develop the muscle memory necessary to have them sound good. I have been playing for a long, long time and some still give me fits.
Just keep at it, it will come.

Steve

BTW. I don't mean to be irreverent, but your avatar would make an awesome dashboard figurine. :)


AndyT
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Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:52 pm

Steve,

Thanks. I'll just keep on working the fingers.

I never thought about a dashboard figure of that. I thought of a sew-on embroidered patch though. LOL But I did not create the picture so I don't have the right to use it that way. Cool idea though.

I liked it enough to make it my desktop also. With a few modifications.

Image


BigBear
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Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:00 am

Andy- another thing to consider is the action on the guitar is usually getting worse the higher up the neck you go so you are faced with less space and a higher action. It has to be this way or your strings would buzz like crazy.

Make sure you keep your barre finger very close to the fret; the closer the better. And remember to place the barre first, preferably with as much of the side of your index finger as you can. I have huge paws and I can barre all the way to the 11-12th fret. It just takes a lot of practice!

Good luck buddy!! :cheer:


AndyT
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Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:49 am

Neil teaches that your barre finger needs to be straight. Because of my past hobbies, LOL, I am not capable of that. However, I get a very lovely sounding F with my finger bent about 45 degrees. My mangled fingers surely play a part in this.


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neverfoundthetime
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Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:37 am

Higher action and closer strings is, as Bear sagely points out, is the reason for barres getting tougher the nearer you get to the sound hole. It's just practice an strength Andy. If I'm using open tuning, I have to double up on the one-finger barre by pressing my middle finger on top of my index to get the pressure on. Of course, you can't do that if you need to finger the chord too as in normal tuning. When I would get a bit wimpy about playing barres, I'd go play my 12 string and then I'd be so happy to get back to barring my 6 string nylon which then seem real easy! Psycho tricks help too!


wrench
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Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:58 am

Not only is the action getting higher, but the neck is getting wider. This means you need to use more of the index finger to make the barre, and that means using the fleshy area of your finger below the center joint. This fleshy area is difficult to barre with. I find that when I barre at the 7th fret or higher, I need to shift the position of my index finger a lot - such that the high e string is nearly at the base joint. If I don't do this, every note from the center joint down to the high e are muted. Romanza is a great exercise for this.


buzz_187
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Wed Apr 28, 2010 10:28 pm

OMG!!! Definitely am not trying to hi-jack this thread but, i've just acquired an intermittent problem myself. Sometimes, well actually every time for the past 10 mins, when i change from the D chord to the A Minor while strumming, the top part of the neck, keeps shooting away from my body, i dont think im doing anything different, but im tired as hell, and have been playing pretty much non-stop for 45mins. But when it moves outward i lose all coordination, so i guess i need to ask a question, as i was taking a better look at my hand position while in between chords, my thumb is in the middle of the back of the neck and the part of your palm at the base of your fingers where almost everyone has calases(sp?) is grasping the bottom side (small flat bottom side) to keep the neck stable! Should this be happening or should my thumb be the only part of my hand touching the neck besides the fingers being used to make chords? And also, does anyone else tilt their guitar back towards them so they can see the strings better, and if so is this bad or irrelevant? Oh and one more thing, my pick keeps flying outta my hand, but if i try to hold it tighter, i tend to strum waaay too hard?!?!!? Geeeeeeze, i wasnt doin any of this last night, i hopes its just cuz im exhausted, does that affect anyone elses technique? Okay, thats all, im done b@t$*&n, and once again sorry if this thread does get hijacked, i just didnt see anywhere for technical probs, so i followed suit with the OP! -BRAD


haoli25
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Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:04 pm

Brad, try using a guitar strap even though you are seated while playing. It will help keep the guitar in proper position. Bend your left wrist more so that as you are playing, only your fingertips and your thumb are in contact with the neck.

As for the fly-away picks, it happens to all of us. This will help with that problem;

http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-ho ... simplified


Happy playing


Bill


buzz_187
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Thu Apr 29, 2010 10:50 am

sweet, thanks a milli Bill, man couldnt have been more spot-on with that, i mean the video is labeled my exact problem almost, lol...thanks sooo much!! -Brad


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