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  • Landing those E-shape barre chords (try 2)

    Posted by RockMobster on July 27, 2021 at 6:10 am

    I’m having a specific problem, that I can’t seem to find much help with.

    I just can’t seem to change to the E-Shape barre chords from an open chord fast enough, and I can’t find a practice that seems to be driven towards this. I make the shape, but slowly and placing each finger on one at a time, and once I’ve placed it I can move it up and down the neck OK and get a clean tone.

    Anyone got any tips for practices to nail the shape quickly changing to an F Major or B Minor barre from, say, a standard D Major, which I need to do for a couple of the songs I’m trying to learn? Is just keeping at it placing my fingers one at a time OK? My speed just doesn’t seem to be improving and I’m getting frustrated. I saw one person give advice to just keep playing the song in time and not worry too much about form when playing the songs and it’ll come but that sounds like reinforcing poor form to me?

    I don’t want cheats to avoid having to play the full shape, like using a thumb, playing it two-fingered and not playing certain strings please. I really want to get better at landing the full shape in a timely manor in the middle of a song.

    I saw one tutorial that says “Just make the shape before you touch the strings and then press the whole shape down” which I’m sure makes sense if you already have the muscle memory for the shape, but it doesn’t work for me. What’s the best way to get there?

    Any and all advice gratefully received.

    (Trying to post again as didn’t seem to work last time)

    Crabby replied 3 years, 6 months ago 5 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • Loraine

    Member
    July 27, 2021 at 8:53 am

    Start out just working from D to barre chord using a metronome at a slow speed. Set metronome to quarter notes and play chord on first count, and then transition to barre chord and play on first count of next measure. Keep going back and forth. Once you’re able to transition on the first count of each measure (cleanly); then increase metronome speed by 5 bpm and repeat. Keep doing this until you’ve built up muscle memory and transition speed. It can be a slow process, but it works.

  • Bill_Brown

    Member
    July 27, 2021 at 10:03 am

    Hi @RockMobster , @Loraine has given you an excellent suggestion🤩, you can find free metronome apps for your phone. That’s what I use. 👍

    But I have another suggestion that involves an exercise for making chord shapes. For this exercise, place your fretting hand on your knee. Then start counting backwards from 5 to 0. In those 5 seconds, you must move your fretting hand and fret the chord shape properly, then strum on 0. When you strum, it must be a clean sounding chord. Once you’re able to do a clean sounding chord consistently, then you start counting backwards from 3 to 0, same rules apply. Once you’re able to do it within the 3 seconds consistently, then start doing it by counting back from 1 to 0. When you’re able to consistently make that clean sounding chord within 1 second, you’ll have built the muscle memory and coordination for playing that chord from just about any position that your fretting hand is in (including from fretting another chord). This exercise will work for any chord shape, but it requires effort, patience, and practice on your part!

  • JohnV

    Member
    July 28, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    I like @Bill_Brown suggestion. But really slow and steady is the key. You are right about going too fast and reinforcing bad technique. I’ll tell you, I still make sloppy transitions. And I’ve been playing for years, just don’t have the drive I did when I was 20 playing weekend dance halls. But that was electric guitar and drunk dancers are the most forgiving…

  • Crabby

    Member
    July 29, 2021 at 12:14 pm

    I do like Loraine suggests. I have a song that goes from strumming 2 strums of G to 2 strums of F. I just practice that change over and over. I might do it for 5 -15 minutes at a time. You may find it easier at first to do two strums each of D, the, 2 of F. That extra 1/2 second between chord changes can be enough to help your brain prepare for the next change. Also don’t be afraid to do it a seemingly silly slow speeds. 30 BPM or even 20 BPM.

    At first yes you will be doing the F Barre chord by placing one finger at a time. That is OK. Over time it will become more automatic. One thing to try just to break up the routine is try playing just part of the F chord but placing multiple finger at a time.

    For example from the D chord move just your ring and pinky finger to the 3rd fret, A and D strings. You may not be able to place all your finders at the same time but you can work on placing 2 or 3 at a time. Don’t worry about the middle or index just move your ring and pinky. D chord to ring and pinky. Then try D chord to ring pinky and middle. Maybe just try D chord to Index. My point is mix it up a little sometimes.

    When playing Barre chords there are two different issues. One is moving to a relatively complex shape quickly and, two is getting all the strings to ring out cleanly. You can work on these skill separately.

    Basically just do LOTS of repetitions changing to and from the F chord. You don’t have to do it perfectly. Precision will come with time.

    I hope these tips are clear.

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