WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES Barre Chord discussion

AndyT
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Tue May 18, 2010 3:29 am

In Fig 3 you see the tendon in its actual location. Notice that it will pull the thumb at an angle to the fingers and never face to face. Image


AndyT
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Tue May 18, 2010 3:31 am

In Fig 4 you can see that the thumb is designed to move at an angle to the fingers and should not be forced to be face to face. Image


AndyT
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Tue May 18, 2010 3:34 am

The obvious conclusion here is that the thumb should be at an angle to the barre finger. To have it face to face would place sideways pressure on the joint and tendons and could cause the same symptoms that people know as 'Trigger Finger'.

So, Now that I understand how that hand works, I should be able to figure out the best position to keep from causing any further pain. I'm going to have to move my fingers around to a position where I can get my thumb face on to the neck. Then I can apply the barre.


Comments?


mark
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Tue May 18, 2010 4:04 am

I think ideally your finger would be straight, because as Bear says, if you have to play a chord without the extra fingers down it won't be clean.
Try playing just the bar without any other fingers and see if the notes are clean.

If you are getting pain playing these chords it might be an idea to give them a rest for a bit.


AndyT
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Tue May 18, 2010 4:09 am

Mark,
With my thumb angled in the new position, (90 degrees off the neck, thumb aimed at the headstock) there is no pain, and the barre by itself plays very clean and rather easily. I can feel the pressure in the muscle where it should be and not on the side of my hand. It's a huge difference. Now, I'm sure Neil will disagree with this, but so far, I'm liking this 'wrong' position.

I'm not worried about making a chord yet, I'm just looking for the anatomically correct position to play barres.

EDIT
Also,
With my thumb angled this way, my barre finger is actually straighter across the strings.


willem
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Tue May 18, 2010 6:19 am

Andy , i work also on Barre chords and have read other discussions on how to do,,in my opnoin your index must be straight and at what after the fret,,also you must roll your index at what to the headstock,,i for me discover that when i push my elbow more to my body the index is straighter and you roll it a bit,,hope you uderstand me, i read this in other discussions must say it works,,,of course we get some pain while excersice something we never done,,how do we feel after a run through the city,while we did'nt it for a month,,,well the next day we have a lot of muscle pain,,,that goes away,,also your pain must goes away...


pbraun
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Tue May 18, 2010 8:05 am

I sure can't add anything but I have the same issues with the barre chords so reading the comments and suggestions will help me alot.
Andy-what a great idea to film your question it certain got the message across and will help alot of players
Pete


AndyT
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Thu May 20, 2010 4:22 am

Thanks Pete. Glad you liked it. That was the main reason I filmed it.


izzyhara
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Thu May 20, 2010 7:46 pm

This is very interesting, and I plan to study it more and more. My first inclination, after watching your video, is - hey, you can play clean-sounding barre chords. Lucky you !! But then the pain part came in, and I can see why you are pursuing this. Thanks... I believe I will learn some valuable lessons here. Izz


Yamaha48
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Fri May 21, 2010 3:09 am

Hello Andy my friend.

I play now fore three years barr chords.
Starting with a couple off minets evry day.
When i play a song in open chords,then i play it also in barr.
In the beginning i feel the cramp in my hand.
Now i can play the barr much longer.
Yes a good hand posission is needed fore this.
Thanks fore this discussion.

Greetz Anton


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