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Hiya @Anthony V and congratulations for sticking to it for 15 years!!! And know, that you are not alone with your struggle with the barre chords- I’ve been trying to get that dratted A-shaped barre chord for ages too… Everyone makes it look so easy, that’s true. Although I’m able to get other shaped barre chords by now, that A-shaped one is impossible for me to fret cleanly without deadening the high e string. How do you make a double-barre chord without being double jointed? The standard answer is keep practicing… and I believe there’s at least one Barre Chord workshop here in TAC under “Skill Courses” that’s one thing that might help with Barre Chord technique and finger strength in general…
I’ve also used my own work-arounds for this, and one is to try to practice it on the higher frets with a capo, as the frets aren’t as far apart making it a bit easier to reach everything. Another way I deal with this shape chord is to just play the Amajor open chord using 3 fingers (middle, ring and pinky) and save the index finger for the barre once you move the chord up the neck… Sure, there’s reasons why it’s easier to play it as a double barre chord, but if it’s not possible right now, it’s perfectly OK to find a way to work around that. The take home is to keep practicing, but at the end of the day, play it the way you are able to, and have fun!!
