NEw one and Beginner

houssainxp
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:22 pm
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:45 pm

Hey Guyz i m new one with you here
and i hesitate to put my problem
i can't play Barre chords
have anyone here tips to Learn how to play it
the time isn't important for me :d


dennisg
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:34 am
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:59 pm

houssain,

This question comes up periodically, and the answer is always the same: practice. There's not a TG member among us who didn't struggle with barre chords as a beginner. My suggestion is to become a Target member, watch Neil's beginner's lessons, follow his suggestions, practice, and in a couple of weeks you'll be playing barre chords.

Trust me on this: becoming a Target member is the absolute shortest distance between where you are now and where you want to be. Everything else is just staggering around in the dark.

One more thing: the muscles in your fretting hand are likely very weak because you've never used them for the purpose of forming barre chords. There are little hand exercisers that I think work wonders for strengthening the muscles connected to individual fingers, which is exactly what you need for barre chords. You can find one of the devices here: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Planet-Wave ... 1435423.gc

Good luck.


haoli25
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:06 am
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:04 pm

Welcome HOUSSAINXP. Glad to have you with us. As to your question, everyone has had problems with barre chords in the beginning. Don't give up, be patient with yourself, work on them often, and they will come. Try turning your index finger ever so slightly, so that more of the side of your index finger is making contact with the strings. Also, make sure that your thumb is directly behind your index finger on the back of the neck. You can apply enough pressure to make the notes come out cleanly, yet not so much pressure as to fatigue your hand. Stay with it!



Bill Image


tovo
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:35 pm
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:28 pm

Absolutely agree with Dennis and Bill. Practice and patience. The tip Bill gave you about turning your finger onto it's side it a great one, it made the difference for me. I would suggest putting down just the barre, then picking out each note to ensure they are all ringing clearly, strum once, pick them out again. Do it until the notes come clearly each time. Short sessions, your fingers will tire quickly. Good luck.


BigBear
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:02 am
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:40 pm

Houssain,

Welcome to Totally Guitars! You have come to the right place to learn the guitar!

Dennis and Bill have given you great advice; especially about developing hand strength. I can generalize with absolute certainty that anyone who has ever played the guitar has struggled with the dreaded Barre Chord!

The first challenge is usually the open F chord. How are you doing with those?

Spend some time every day working on barre chords in the E shape. Start with your index finger making the barre at the 3d or 5th fret (because the pressure required there is less than at the first fret) and work until you can play it cleanly.

First, you have to train your hand to play an E chord with your middle-ring-pinky fingers and then develop enough hand strength to hold down all 6 strings with your index finger at the same time. It's seems impossible at first but soon you won't even think about doing it!

Dennis is also correct that if you really work at it hard, you can play decent barre chords in two weeks but it will take many years to master them, if that's even possible. Don't forget, there are barre chords in 5 chord shapes (CAGED) although most humans (except Neil) only play 2 or 3 of them.

If you have the resources, give TARGET a try and you will make more progress faster than any other method around. I wish I had it when I was first learning and I wouldn't have so many bad habits to break!

Again, welcome and Happy Playin' :cheer:


songman52
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:32 pm
Status: Offline

Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:31 pm

Welcome Houssain. Agreed, we all struggle with barre chords in the beginning (and even middle, lol.)

One thing I might add to what has been said above is to check the action on the guitar you're playing. "Action" is essentially how easy or hard it is to push the strings down in order to fret chords. Generally speaking, the lower the strings (closer to the fretboard) the easier it will be to push the strings and form chords. The size (gauge) of the strings also makes a difference. Heavier/thicker strings will be harder to fret, as a rule.

This is a simple explanation, as there are optimal (best) heights for each string to make them easier to play, but not produce buzzing. A guitar shop can check out your guitar and advise you on adjusting the action.

If someone is trying to learn barre chords on a poorly setup guitar (with high action) it's going to be more difficult, and frustrating, and even hurt. Go to a shop and play around with a good electric guitar (like a Strat or Tele or Les Paul) and you'll notice how much easier it is to fret than most acoustics. That's the "action".



Hope this helps, good luck with your playing, and welcome.

Jerry


houssainxp
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:22 pm
Status: Offline

Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:27 pm

thnks guys for the Gold Advices
Really i m verry happy now , beacause now i know what should i do
Really Practise is the key To open The doors
and i ll Play Good By time
thnks all
and sorry For my bad English ^^ i m Arabic Speaker ^^
and About Target should i paid for that :d
i have to find a resource of money


Hydroman52
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:52 am
Status: Offline

Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:36 pm

houssainxp,

Welcome to TotallyGuitars. I would tend to agree with Jerry (songman52). When I was first beginning to play, I didn't have access to a good quality and properly set-up guitar. I practiced for about 2 or 3 years on poor instruments before I got my hands on a higher end one that was set-up correctly. Needless to say, I was amazed at how much easier it was to play and how good it sounded. I think that it was a Martin HD-28 and that experience reinforced my confidence that I could actually play guitar.

So, if you don't have a high quality guitar already that has been tweaked by a good luthier, I would recommend that you practice for a while and then go into a music store where you can get your hands on one (make sure it has new strings on it and not some old worn out ones), and gently play a few of your favorite barre chords.

Other than that, I would recommend practice, practice, and more practice. Oh, and a TG membership would most likely help, too.

Hydroman52


d_dog
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:41 pm
Status: Offline

Wed Jul 28, 2010 6:37 pm

houssain,

There is nothing more I could add. Everyone has said it, practice. But Dennis is correct, joining this community and becoming a TARGET member will be your fastest and most efficient route to learning to play the guitar, including barre chords, and funnest, if that is a word. :-)

Bear, I gotta say "I can generalize with absolute certainty" is my new favorite saying. I love it!


Post Reply Previous topicNext topic