It is time to test your A shape barre chord.
This test is really designed to evaluate where your barre chord is currently at and where it can go in terms of its clarity and your ability to hold it down for a length of time. By using this exercise you will develop strength, and also gain perspective on where the weak points/strings of your A shaped barre chord are.
Once you have identified the weak points you can then go in and refine them, which in a way is like barre chord surgery.
Try this guitar challenge
STEP 1: Watch the video to learn the bite-sized piece of music
STEP 2: Click the “PLAY” tab below the video to play along with Tony until you can do it on your own.
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Responses
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Responses
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OUCH! My B is buzzing! lol
now that I’m cramped up.. better than the last one. Barre chords on an acoustic is a completely different animal. Needs work. C for showing up -
I;m finding it easier to barre this on pinky.I just need more practice to get the strength to hold it longer.
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All good except that B string sounds horrible
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Good exercise, definitely need to keep working on this one.
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great strengthing exercise and took out my fear and avoisance of barre chords!
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Compared to yesterday’s bar chord shape this one is a breeze
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Got it!
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This was good, but one of the strings cuts into the top crease of my ring finger, if I’m using enough pressure to make it ring clearly. I’ll be working on calluses there!
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I use my index, ring finger and pinky, you get a great clean sound. It may not work for everyone, I think you should try it.
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Is there any reason why I can’t barre with my pinky? It’s so much easier and clearer than my ring finger.
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well, yes and no. If you do not need to do any sort of extensions on top of the chord then the pinky is fine. However its common to use the pinky on the B string to turn the barre chord into a sus chord, so you’d need that pinky free to add the sus.
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Holding the guitar in a classical guitar position is sometimes easier for barre chords for me.
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My pinky wants to dive under the neck. Decent strum. Not too shabby.
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The B string falls into the crease.of my ring finger and i cant cover it. Pinky is much eaasier but then it covers the E as well. Anyway, ive made more progress on the B then I ever did on my own.
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Did not do very well at all with these chords – if and when….
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It weird that I’m more comfortable with the b chord. Then my f chord..
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Good F and B Baree Chord Study (E and A Style) Awesome, back to March Madness! Thanks Tony!
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I don’t have enough strength in my ring finger to give pressure on the 3 strings, so I give pressure to D & G and use my pinky on the B string and voila I have clarity on all strings. As I reach over for the A string the bottom of my index finger mutes the high E string.
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How do you mute the high E on this chord?
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This was easier than the F chord
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My barre chords have improve significantly science working on this course. I would agree with Rando, the A shape is easier on the hand than the E shape, but both are much better than when I started. Thank you Tony!!!!
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I’m not sure why, but I don’t seem to have near as much problem with the A shape as I do the E shape. I can take an A shape up to the 7th fret and run through the exam 3, 4, or 5 times before my thumb starts to cry uncle. With the E shape, I might be able to do that at the first fret.
Shows me where I need the most practice.
Thanks, Tony. I can tell this is helping, but I’m not sure my thumb would agree. 🙂 -
I have a better sound with the pinky instead of the ring finger but I can get it sounding very solid.
-
This course has really help my barre chords. Thanks Tony
-
So today I was practicing barre chords by bouncing. Without using my index finger at all, I played the B string with my middle finger and the G and D strings with my pinky and ring fingers. I pressed the strings and strummed, then lifted and flexed my fingers, then pressed them to the strings again. I bounced from B,G,D to G,D,A and back again over and over stopping every now and then to flex my
hand then press strings again. This is definitely building muscle memory. I see improvement already. I also noticed for the first time that I can play a barre chord at the 7th fret without any buzzing, just a nice clear sound. Finally! -
I have gone through all of these, but more practice is needed. I will come back to these again.
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I have to use my pinky finger to do the barring. If I use my ring I can’t reach my index to the A string.
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My ring finger doesn’t seem long enough to cover the three strings.
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The F chord is a love/hate relationship. When it is “right”, it is so-right. When it it is not, it seems like it is back to square one. Time and practice (practice, practice…) will tell.
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I don’t have a problem with the B chord, but have a 50/50 chance of muting the B string in an F chord. I have to really press harder than I would think should be needed.
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Me too, I have the same issue. The full F and B chords used to be like sky high, I couldn’t reach. However, not following the lesson it became approachable. For the B chord I thought the high E must be ringing so every time I tried I just gave up in a few minutes. For some of my friends they can bend their ring finger almost like a U, I thought this chord was made for them to play. Overall, when I learned to not care the highe E, so now I am getting it much much better. For the F chord, I think our issue again comes from the finger shape. As you practice, maybe a few minutes you start to see the red lines on your point finger. And usually the second, and 3rd lines from the left are not clear. That means that part of our finger wasn’t touched, or closer enough to be touched. It’s all because of the the bone shape at the middle blocked. Therefore, the perfect spot is just so hard to place. I found two ways to improve. First is move the point finger to the fret as close as possible, it even seems like it is right on it, just beware the sound is acceptable. Second, is to place the bone shape that is wider right on the 2 and 3 string. It’s gonna be really painful, I hope in the future I will think it’s worthy.
Sharing from my experience.
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took this really slow but it paid off big time. I’ve added the E and A shape exams into my rotation of daily warm ups to keep the strength and stamina up.
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Hmm, that wasn’t too bad
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I play barre chords fine in songs but this exercise really highlighted “weakness” of my fretting hand. Will be great exercises to work in periodically to build strength!
DMart -
Need more work in my case but exercise to remember & revisit
-
This was a great lesson, my fingers are much stronger, notes crisper! More than a small win for me.
-
Coming along quite fine although tough to do for any length of time at the moment ,but with practice I think I’ll be able to sustain a lot longer
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I don’t have a problem sounding the high e string. You weren’t clear whether the high was just too difficult to play so just ignore it. Can I play this chord and sound the high e which is actually a g note I believe
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Yes. Chord charts typically show the high E as part of the chord.
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Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
OUCH! My B is buzzing! lol
now that I’m cramped up.. better than the last one. Barre chords on an acoustic is a completely different animal. Needs work. C for showing up
I;m finding it easier to barre this on pinky.I just need more practice to get the strength to hold it longer.
All good except that B string sounds horrible
Good exercise, definitely need to keep working on this one.
great strengthing exercise and took out my fear and avoisance of barre chords!
Compared to yesterday’s bar chord shape this one is a breeze
Got it!
This was good, but one of the strings cuts into the top crease of my ring finger, if I’m using enough pressure to make it ring clearly. I’ll be working on calluses there!
I use my index, ring finger and pinky, you get a great clean sound. It may not work for everyone, I think you should try it.
Is there any reason why I can’t barre with my pinky? It’s so much easier and clearer than my ring finger.
well, yes and no. If you do not need to do any sort of extensions on top of the chord then the pinky is fine. However its common to use the pinky on the B string to turn the barre chord into a sus chord, so you’d need that pinky free to add the sus.
Holding the guitar in a classical guitar position is sometimes easier for barre chords for me.
My pinky wants to dive under the neck. Decent strum. Not too shabby.
The B string falls into the crease.of my ring finger and i cant cover it. Pinky is much eaasier but then it covers the E as well. Anyway, ive made more progress on the B then I ever did on my own.
Did not do very well at all with these chords – if and when….
It weird that I’m more comfortable with the b chord. Then my f chord..
Good F and B Baree Chord Study (E and A Style) Awesome, back to March Madness! Thanks Tony!
I don’t have enough strength in my ring finger to give pressure on the 3 strings, so I give pressure to D & G and use my pinky on the B string and voila I have clarity on all strings. As I reach over for the A string the bottom of my index finger mutes the high E string.
How do you mute the high E on this chord?
This was easier than the F chord
My barre chords have improve significantly science working on this course. I would agree with Rando, the A shape is easier on the hand than the E shape, but both are much better than when I started. Thank you Tony!!!!
I’m not sure why, but I don’t seem to have near as much problem with the A shape as I do the E shape. I can take an A shape up to the 7th fret and run through the exam 3, 4, or 5 times before my thumb starts to cry uncle. With the E shape, I might be able to do that at the first fret.
Shows me where I need the most practice.
Thanks, Tony. I can tell this is helping, but I’m not sure my thumb would agree. 🙂
I have a better sound with the pinky instead of the ring finger but I can get it sounding very solid.
This course has really help my barre chords. Thanks Tony
So today I was practicing barre chords by bouncing. Without using my index finger at all, I played the B string with my middle finger and the G and D strings with my pinky and ring fingers. I pressed the strings and strummed, then lifted and flexed my fingers, then pressed them to the strings again. I bounced from B,G,D to G,D,A and back again over and over stopping every now and then to flex my
hand then press strings again. This is definitely building muscle memory. I see improvement already. I also noticed for the first time that I can play a barre chord at the 7th fret without any buzzing, just a nice clear sound. Finally!
I have gone through all of these, but more practice is needed. I will come back to these again.
I have to use my pinky finger to do the barring. If I use my ring I can’t reach my index to the A string.
My ring finger doesn’t seem long enough to cover the three strings.
The F chord is a love/hate relationship. When it is “right”, it is so-right. When it it is not, it seems like it is back to square one. Time and practice (practice, practice…) will tell.
I don’t have a problem with the B chord, but have a 50/50 chance of muting the B string in an F chord. I have to really press harder than I would think should be needed.
Me too, I have the same issue. The full F and B chords used to be like sky high, I couldn’t reach. However, not following the lesson it became approachable. For the B chord I thought the high E must be ringing so every time I tried I just gave up in a few minutes. For some of my friends they can bend their ring finger almost like a U, I thought this chord was made for them to play. Overall, when I learned to not care the highe E, so now I am getting it much much better. For the F chord, I think our issue again comes from the finger shape. As you practice, maybe a few minutes you start to see the red lines on your point finger. And usually the second, and 3rd lines from the left are not clear. That means that part of our finger wasn’t touched, or closer enough to be touched. It’s all because of the the bone shape at the middle blocked. Therefore, the perfect spot is just so hard to place. I found two ways to improve. First is move the point finger to the fret as close as possible, it even seems like it is right on it, just beware the sound is acceptable. Second, is to place the bone shape that is wider right on the 2 and 3 string. It’s gonna be really painful, I hope in the future I will think it’s worthy.
Sharing from my experience.
took this really slow but it paid off big time. I’ve added the E and A shape exams into my rotation of daily warm ups to keep the strength and stamina up.
Hmm, that wasn’t too bad
I play barre chords fine in songs but this exercise really highlighted “weakness” of my fretting hand. Will be great exercises to work in periodically to build strength!
DMart
Need more work in my case but exercise to remember & revisit
This was a great lesson, my fingers are much stronger, notes crisper! More than a small win for me.
Coming along quite fine although tough to do for any length of time at the moment ,but with practice I think I’ll be able to sustain a lot longer
I don’t have a problem sounding the high e string. You weren’t clear whether the high was just too difficult to play so just ignore it. Can I play this chord and sound the high e which is actually a g note I believe
Yes. Chord charts typically show the high E as part of the chord.