Barre chords help

doubletap
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:06 am

Can anyone offer additional help with barre chords. I have reviewed the lessons that cover them and understand them but my fingers just do not bend that way. I have enough trouble putting down the bar but everything goes to pot when I try to add the additional fingering. Any help would be appreciated I am sure nothing is to basic for me. The 2 I have been working on are F and Bm.


AndyT
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:23 am

F and Bm are two of the most difficult chords you will ever learn.
Make sure you have good finger flexibility before you begin. Massage your hands and give your fingers a good stretching.

Then take your time and go very slowly and make the chord. Don't worry about playing ityet, just get to where you can play it with no dead strings. Once you get to that point, you can then start working back and forth between the two.


Chasplaya
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:34 am

Barre chords certainly require more effort in practice than open chords. As Andy states make sure your fingers are warmed up and stretched first then just place the fingers in the position doesn't matter how long that takes, then without strumming relax fingers keeping them in place then tense them and repeat several times, then start again placing the fingers and relax etc. Muscle memory will eventually kick in and you'll get it. If any consolation there wouldn't be a player on this site that hasn't had difficulty at first with barres. Except Chris aka neverfoundthetime, oops sorry that was a Wine-bar for Chris!!

It really comes down to practice with these and lots of it. Once comfortable with placing introduce strumming when you tense up then introduce change chord again doesn't matter about speed yet just accuracy in placement of your fingers, oh and generally speaking Neil advocates index finger first then the rest and it might be worth considering placing the fingers in the order that they will be strummed.

I do empathise as most of the team here will, we've all been there and some still are.

Chas


lil40
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:04 am

Practise, practise and practise... Only three months ago I was at exactly the point you're at now, absolute despair at the fact my fingers wouldn't do what I wanted them to do. A lot of swear words coming out of my mouth whenever I practised barre chords :angry: Everyone else makes it look so easy.

Now I wouldn't say I'm all the way there but the improvement is immense and I'm sure within another three months I will be able to move even more comfortably between barre chords.

Stick with it and you'll be fine!!

Lil


BigBear
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:17 am

For most people, the hinged barre A shape is the most difficult barre to play, closely followed by the E shaped barre in the first position (F chord). and I don't recommend even taking the hinged barre on until you have mastered the E and Am shaped barre chords. Up and down the neck.

Here's a few tips if they haven't been mentioned before.

- Place your barre finger as close to the fret as you can get without muting it. The more you move in between thefrets the more pressure you need to get a clean sound.

- Rotate your finger as much as you can so that the edge of your finger, and not the pads. form the barre. The edge of the index finger is harder so it makes a cleaner sound.

- Always get your insex finger down first and in the proper position before you place the other fingers. If the index finger is in the wrong position the barre won't work anyway.

- Make sure your hands are warmed up before playing barres. Many/most people don't get their hands warmed up enough before they play and the barres are especially difficult.

- Use good hand position with the wrist low and cupped and your thumb firmly planted on the back of the neck. Your thumb and index finger should almost be parallel. Without good hand postion it is almost impossible to play good barre chords. And it will take you four times as long to learn them and be a constant source of frustration. All bad things!

- Get a good setup on your guitar so that the strings are as close to the fretboard as you can get without causing buzzing. A set-up will cost between $25 and $75 and it is an excellent investment. I have all my guitars set up once a year. A good, low action is worth it's weight in gold when playing barres! Make sure to tell your setup shop how you play ie. fingerstyle, or a hard rock banger so they know how how to leave the action.This will make a world of difference to you!

Good luck and hapy playin' :cheer:


AcousticAl
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:12 am

BigBear wrote:

- Always get your insex finger down first and in the proper position before you place the other fingers.

I says "PARDON"??!!!

(well someone would have pointed that out-- might as well be me) :evil:


wrench
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:02 am

The advice offered so far is good stuff, and the advice I will offer is above all else, do not injure yourself while developing your barre chord skills. There are a few folks bouncing around with sore left wrists, and I suspect barre chords may the cause of some of them.

Andy ran this thread that should adequately scare the beejeebees out of you. http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/4-g ... discussion

I personally suspect applying force through the tip of the thumb while palmward from the index finger and a simultaneous cupped wrist is a recipe for wrist injury. In other words, arch the thumb backward when applying force, align the thumb with the index finger, and minimize the cup angle of your wrist are steps that might reduce the chance of injury. Neil's videos on barre chords show all this, and his "chord pumping" drill is very effective for barre chords.

You will get there with the barres. We all have. It's just a lot more fun to get there un-injured.


doubletap
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:14 pm

Thank you everyone. These thoughts have given me the help I needed. I have been applying them and I can see a crack in the door. I will keep Y'all posted on the progress. Thanks again :)


BigBear
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:40 pm

AcousticAl wrote:
BigBear wrote:

- Always get your insex finger down first and in the proper position before you place the other fingers.

I says "PARDON"??!!!

(well someone would have pointed that out-- might as well be me) :evil:

Al- you are too sharp a reader!! I caught that later too! Oops! With all the old pervs on this site I should be more careful!! LOL! :silly:


BigBear
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Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:42 pm

wrench wrote:
The advice offered so far is good stuff, and the advice I will offer is above all else, do not injure yourself while developing your barre chord skills. There are a few folks bouncing around with sore left wrists, and I suspect barre chords may the cause of some of them.

Andy ran this thread that should adequately scare the beejeebees out of you. http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/4-g ... discussion

I personally suspect applying force through the tip of the thumb while palmward from the index finger and a simultaneous cupped wrist is a recipe for wrist injury. In other words, arch the thumb backward when applying force, align the thumb with the index finger, and minimize the cup angle of your wrist are steps that might reduce the chance of injury. Neil's videos on barre chords show all this, and his "chord pumping" drill is very effective for barre chords.

You will get there with the barres. We all have. It's just a lot more fun to get there un-injured.

Dan- that's excellent advice for all of us! Well said :cheer:


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