Feeling very stuck on learning to play Barre Chords

[Ben64]

The F barre chord is difficult because you barre the first fret. It’s the closest to the nut so the distance between the string is narrower and you need to apply more pressure to produce a clean sound. Try moving the same shape to the fifth ( A chord) or seventh fret (B chord). Once you get a clean sound there try one fret lower and so on. Take your time to place your fingers and then strum string by string to check for a buzzing string. Hope this can help you!

[Moose408]

Barre chords are hard. I had 300+ hours of practice in before I could comfortably do it and another 100 before it was automatic.

Looking at the phot my comment would be that your bar finger should be straighter parallel with the fret. Rotate it towards the neck so you are on the side of the finger.and just keep practicing.

If you have access to an electric guitar it is much, much easier to barre on an electric than an acoustic. Helps to get the technique ingrained

[the-old-coach]

Jim—

One thought would be to start with the “mini-F”. If you’re not familiar with this, do your own search(es) and go from there.

I can easily play the (full?) F, but just don’t see any need to. The mini is MUCH easier “to go to and from” in a chord progression.

There’s also a (my fave) chord website– “chordbook.com” that shows several different versions of common chords.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[Jim-NavarreFL]

Thanks Coach, great site.

[Skyman911]

I know this may be hard to explain, but try using more of the outside part of your index finger, and not so much the fleshy part. It can be a little uncomfortable at first. One trick I would suggest is, Try to get as much of the outside part of your finger barring the third fret in (C shape). Just use the index finger, and then anchor your middle finger kind of on top to help press the index finger into the fret. Just do this for a bit until you start getting a nice clean sound. Then start lifting the middle finger off and try that for a bit. Also, pressing the body of the guitar into your body, creating a bit of leverage toward the headstock will also help with not squeezing the neck too much with your thumb and fingers. Just work on the index finger for a bit, and then start incorporating the other strings when you feel more comfortable.

Don’t give up on barre chords. They are vital in my opinion, and I practice barre chords everyday. They’re still hard to nail though. Sometimes I’ll just play the F shape up and down the fretboard for some fun practice.

[the-old-coach]

I agree completely!

If you can learn barre chords, along with the simple “E” and “A” shapes, you’ve got a huge thing figured-out!—- because they are all moveable. This allows you to play every chord at multiple places along the fretboard.

Barre chords are a HUGE– and necessary– part of everyone’s guitar-journey.

A good place to start is to learn to play open chords- (especially A, E, D, C)- and all their variations- (minors, 7s, minor 7s, sus’s, etc)…….. without using your index finger– only using your middle/ring/pinkie.

Tough?………. yes……….. Worth it?……… absolutely.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[petelanger]

So I definitely intend to learn barre chords and have already played (or rather formed) a number of them successfully. But it’s interesting that you always have options on the guitar, in other words, there are workarounds. Andy Summers never played them at all:

“I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them”

During the interview, Summers touched upon how add9 chords with no major or minor third became one of the staples of his playing style. He said:

“And very purposely so. I mean, a lot of things influence one in life, and you can point it back to where it came from, as I often cite Béla Bartók. I had studied Bartók at college, so it was sort of already in my bag, where you could express chords without using the minor or major third, but instead use the added second or the ninth.”

“And this became very much a part of the style I used in the Police. I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them. You don’t need more than two or three notes to express a chord.”

[Skyman911]

I think this is true to a point. Basic chords, and add9 chords just won’t have the same resonance as some barred chords. I look at Dm for example. It is literally in hundreds of songs. Yes, you can do a Dm workaround, but the end result isn’t the same. But the greatest thing about this is, this is YOUR personal journey. One can play anyway they like, and should not be judged. We’re all on different paths. If just playing E, C, G, D, just these chords could keep one happy and satisfied, and there would be thousands of songs to play.

I just wanted to play simple cowboy chord songs when I first started. Then the sickness happened, and I wanted to learn it all.

[petelanger]

@Skyman911 while the sound may not be identical to the full barre chord, not using them didn’t stop the Police from selling 75,000,000 records while only recording 5 Studio Albums

[Skyman911]

1000% correct!

[Jim-NavarreFL]

THANK YOU all very much. I’m not quiting — just whining a bit. Need some cheese with my wHine!

[BarbaraM]

Don’t feel bad, @Jim-NavarreFL, and I’m glad you’re not quitting! I was tempted to, not long ago. While I can learn the barre chord shapes, I cannot physically play them due to small hands and arthritis. But I am learning the triad shapes for some of them, which makes life a bit easier.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by  BarbaraM.