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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Since I’m having trouble with barre chords came here to work on technique. Still having trouble getting enough pressure on the B and high E strings. Not sure how to positions my index finger to get more pressure across the fret board. Maybe as I build up strength it will get better.
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not a big fan of barre chords. fat fingers sound terrible
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Looks a lot easier than it is, and just when you think you got it, ya screw up a note! Good warm up exercise to build strength!
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This was very helpful in forming Barre chords and I will be incorporating this exercise into every guitar session as one of my warmups. My wrist still gets sore because it is not strong enough yet but as I practice more Im sure it will get stronger. I also noticed that in using the index finger, most notes came out okay except the G string which is at the 2nd knuckle of my index finger and when forming a barre using the E shape, that string is fretted lower by my middle finger which fixes that muted string. Great intro; I can’t wait to see what is in the next lesson. Thx
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smooth going
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I just wrote a very short tongue in cheek song about bar chords….and if I could do an emoji here, it would be an upside down face with a tongue sticking out. AND actually I am proud to say I finally did get a couple bar chords recently, Note even just modified but full on. And as others said, certain strings are more mute than clear.
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I would love to see the thumb position on these
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I find the higher frets easier. The first fret is the most difficult
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Visiting here since I’m having problems with Barre. Need some help on how to strengthen and improve.
Question – What is going on when it’s more difficult on the first and second fret than moving up? As I move up, sound is better. In the lesson, it stated the first and second frets should be easier…
Thoughts?
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Limbering up? more like weight training. So hard to get sound out of G and B strings, sometimes D, high E.
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you and me both
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6 months later I attempted this exercise again, practicing barre chords during daily challenges.
After an adjustment of my index finger on fret one, I met success.
Fret two, success. (Yay!).
Fret 3 took a lot of effort.
Frets 4 and 5 encountered additional clarity issues.
Slightly tightened the truss rod after observing a defined dip in the neck.
Success!
5 frets of clear notes on each.
Yeah, it’s taken a total of 7 months, but YAY for me!
Thanks Tony! -
Very good exercise, even with using the other fingers pressing down on top of my index finger, i can feel the muscle pain between my thumb and index finger, good for strengthening
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going from .12 strings to .10 helps a bit to get this without cutting your palm too much
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Able to get to 2x easily.
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wish I had pudgier fingers. 4th and 5th as noted by others a challenge. Lipoinjection!
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Day one.
Limbering up – It is easier on the first three frets. Four, five and six are where I have difficulties across some, but not all of the strings. -
I’ll continue to attempt barres with normal guitar position however I find I have more strength if I sit my parkour guitar on my left leg and hold the neck slightly elevated then barres are typically successful.
Is this taboo?-
It is how classical guitar players are taught to hold the guitar – everyone else just makes it difficult for themselves! 😉
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Not quite getting all full sounds in each barr.
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Ditto for me with the G & B strings. Did anyone get any advice on fixing that?
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more practise, tbh your B and G strings will always be covered by other fingers as you will make barre chord shapes, also it takes trials and errors to see which positions works better for your index (is it too high or low? too straight or too curved, are you applying the pressure with the middle finger too?) Worse case you can get softer strings or check the guitar action with a luthier, but being honest with you, F barre chord made me gave up guitar, then i got back to guitar randomly and i could hit all barre chord with no problems, so cannot really say what helped. Sometimes rest also help and make sure to only apply pressure when actually playing the chord, otherwise you will get tired faster for no reason
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Tony, I’ve been needing more practice with hand strength and Barre chords.
This course looks great.
With the first exercise, Warm Up, I’m getting a good sound on all strings except G and B. My guess is that it’s the “softer area” of the index finger. I’ve tried rolling my finger to the firmer side as you suggest, and it isn’t helping much. Also, if I roll my index finger toward to headstock, then I can’t reach the other frets with my other fingers (to make chord shapes that we may do in other lessons). Please help, thanks. -
this is good for my hand strength and this 5 day challenge will really help strengthen barre chords is a weak area in my playing
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I need help with barre chords. I’ve tried on my guitars and my boyfriend’s guitars and I just can’t hit all the strings. My index finger was swollen this morning from yesterday’s practice. Every so often I can play a Bm and feel like doing cartwheels but is anyone else in this same boat? I’ve listened to Tony’s advise. I’ve listen to many others …. and it’s just my body mechanics, I think. Two years in the making and I need help.
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SusanC, find a barre chord you can play and keep practicing it. The 2nd and 3rd frets are easiest for me. Just keep playing the easiest one until it comes natural, then move it up a fret and practice that one. You don’t have to play all barre chords.
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While I think everyone who has suggested “stick with it” is correct, here are two other ideas:
1. You might try to go to Extra Light guitar strings, sometimes called 10s. A couple of months ago I hurt my ring finger and someone suggested lighter strings. I love them: they are easier to play and I haven’t broken one yet!
2. Take your guitar to a local guitar store and have them check to make sure the “action” isn’t too high. Just in case you don’t know, that is what people who know lots more about guitars than me call the space between the string and fretboard If it is too high, they can “lower the action”. -
Hi. I, too, am struggling with the barre chords. One useful piece of information I did find, however. I never understood how to roll my index finger backwards…it didn’t make any sense to me and my hand just wouldn’t move that way. I found a video that explained it a little further and found that I need to rotate my thumb so that it is vertical on the neck…I had it parallel to the neck pointing towards the tuning pegs. When I did this, my index finger naturally rolled backwards a little. I also found that really relaxing my shoulder at the same time helped, too. Now I’m to the point where most of you already are…sounds okay but can’t get the G and B to sound clearly. But, it’s farther along than I was before.
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Dang thumb pad on fretting hand cramping up in less than 2 minutes. Need to get it in shape.
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I ran into the same issue initially. I backed off. Practicing only until I felt pain during daily challenges. It rarely happens now but some days I feel it in my lower muscles of my forearm when I add more complicated fretting. I back off with pain. Try again later in the week or the next challenge.
It is getting easier.
I’m 9 months in and no longer avoiding barre chords. I now consider them a challenge, frustrating initially but so satisfying when it all starts to happen without any pain or fatigue.
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It’s extremely painful on my thumb and I can never seem to get a good sound out of the G and B strings.
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I have the same string issues with G and B. Also I find that unlike Tony when I’m on the 1st fret it’s the worse, moving to 3 on further down the sound is a little better.
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Me neither. This is killing me. Two years and I can’t get it.
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Hi @BlueMan and @Dawndawnf
The G and B strings are my main issues too!
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this is so simple yet so helpful in getting a feel for barring frets
Early days , but i cant believe how much confidence it has given me -
The G string is consistently the most dead one for me
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same here, at least at the top of the neck
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Great lesson, but agree – is the 40/60/80 bpm, the same as .5/1x/2x?
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My hand feels like jello right now, but I need this so badly.
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Are three speeds still available for this exercise? I have been away for a few months and the format has changed a bit.
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Marita the new format doesn’t give the 3 speeds like before, you can click the 1x at the bottom of the video to speed up the video, I just use a metronome to build sped increasing in 5 beat increments, works for me. Good luck and happy playing
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Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
Since I’m having trouble with barre chords came here to work on technique. Still having trouble getting enough pressure on the B and high E strings. Not sure how to positions my index finger to get more pressure across the fret board. Maybe as I build up strength it will get better.
not a big fan of barre chords. fat fingers sound terrible
Looks a lot easier than it is, and just when you think you got it, ya screw up a note! Good warm up exercise to build strength!
This was very helpful in forming Barre chords and I will be incorporating this exercise into every guitar session as one of my warmups. My wrist still gets sore because it is not strong enough yet but as I practice more Im sure it will get stronger. I also noticed that in using the index finger, most notes came out okay except the G string which is at the 2nd knuckle of my index finger and when forming a barre using the E shape, that string is fretted lower by my middle finger which fixes that muted string. Great intro; I can’t wait to see what is in the next lesson. Thx
smooth going
I just wrote a very short tongue in cheek song about bar chords….and if I could do an emoji here, it would be an upside down face with a tongue sticking out. AND actually I am proud to say I finally did get a couple bar chords recently, Note even just modified but full on. And as others said, certain strings are more mute than clear.
I would love to see the thumb position on these
I find the higher frets easier. The first fret is the most difficult
Visiting here since I’m having problems with Barre. Need some help on how to strengthen and improve.
Question – What is going on when it’s more difficult on the first and second fret than moving up? As I move up, sound is better. In the lesson, it stated the first and second frets should be easier…
Thoughts?
Limbering up? more like weight training. So hard to get sound out of G and B strings, sometimes D, high E.
you and me both
6 months later I attempted this exercise again, practicing barre chords during daily challenges.
After an adjustment of my index finger on fret one, I met success.
Fret two, success. (Yay!).
Fret 3 took a lot of effort.
Frets 4 and 5 encountered additional clarity issues.
Slightly tightened the truss rod after observing a defined dip in the neck.
Success!
5 frets of clear notes on each.
Yeah, it’s taken a total of 7 months, but YAY for me!
Thanks Tony!
Very good exercise, even with using the other fingers pressing down on top of my index finger, i can feel the muscle pain between my thumb and index finger, good for strengthening
going from .12 strings to .10 helps a bit to get this without cutting your palm too much
Able to get to 2x easily.
wish I had pudgier fingers. 4th and 5th as noted by others a challenge. Lipoinjection!
Day one.
Limbering up – It is easier on the first three frets. Four, five and six are where I have difficulties across some, but not all of the strings.
I’ll continue to attempt barres with normal guitar position however I find I have more strength if I sit my parkour guitar on my left leg and hold the neck slightly elevated then barres are typically successful.
Is this taboo?
It is how classical guitar players are taught to hold the guitar – everyone else just makes it difficult for themselves! 😉
Not quite getting all full sounds in each barr.
Ditto for me with the G & B strings. Did anyone get any advice on fixing that?
more practise, tbh your B and G strings will always be covered by other fingers as you will make barre chord shapes, also it takes trials and errors to see which positions works better for your index (is it too high or low? too straight or too curved, are you applying the pressure with the middle finger too?) Worse case you can get softer strings or check the guitar action with a luthier, but being honest with you, F barre chord made me gave up guitar, then i got back to guitar randomly and i could hit all barre chord with no problems, so cannot really say what helped. Sometimes rest also help and make sure to only apply pressure when actually playing the chord, otherwise you will get tired faster for no reason
Tony, I’ve been needing more practice with hand strength and Barre chords.
This course looks great.
With the first exercise, Warm Up, I’m getting a good sound on all strings except G and B. My guess is that it’s the “softer area” of the index finger. I’ve tried rolling my finger to the firmer side as you suggest, and it isn’t helping much. Also, if I roll my index finger toward to headstock, then I can’t reach the other frets with my other fingers (to make chord shapes that we may do in other lessons). Please help, thanks.
this is good for my hand strength and this 5 day challenge will really help strengthen barre chords is a weak area in my playing
I need help with barre chords. I’ve tried on my guitars and my boyfriend’s guitars and I just can’t hit all the strings. My index finger was swollen this morning from yesterday’s practice. Every so often I can play a Bm and feel like doing cartwheels but is anyone else in this same boat? I’ve listened to Tony’s advise. I’ve listen to many others …. and it’s just my body mechanics, I think. Two years in the making and I need help.
SusanC, find a barre chord you can play and keep practicing it. The 2nd and 3rd frets are easiest for me. Just keep playing the easiest one until it comes natural, then move it up a fret and practice that one. You don’t have to play all barre chords.
While I think everyone who has suggested “stick with it” is correct, here are two other ideas:
1. You might try to go to Extra Light guitar strings, sometimes called 10s. A couple of months ago I hurt my ring finger and someone suggested lighter strings. I love them: they are easier to play and I haven’t broken one yet!
2. Take your guitar to a local guitar store and have them check to make sure the “action” isn’t too high. Just in case you don’t know, that is what people who know lots more about guitars than me call the space between the string and fretboard If it is too high, they can “lower the action”.
Hi. I, too, am struggling with the barre chords. One useful piece of information I did find, however. I never understood how to roll my index finger backwards…it didn’t make any sense to me and my hand just wouldn’t move that way. I found a video that explained it a little further and found that I need to rotate my thumb so that it is vertical on the neck…I had it parallel to the neck pointing towards the tuning pegs. When I did this, my index finger naturally rolled backwards a little. I also found that really relaxing my shoulder at the same time helped, too. Now I’m to the point where most of you already are…sounds okay but can’t get the G and B to sound clearly. But, it’s farther along than I was before.
Dang thumb pad on fretting hand cramping up in less than 2 minutes. Need to get it in shape.
I ran into the same issue initially. I backed off. Practicing only until I felt pain during daily challenges. It rarely happens now but some days I feel it in my lower muscles of my forearm when I add more complicated fretting. I back off with pain. Try again later in the week or the next challenge.
It is getting easier.
I’m 9 months in and no longer avoiding barre chords. I now consider them a challenge, frustrating initially but so satisfying when it all starts to happen without any pain or fatigue.
It’s extremely painful on my thumb and I can never seem to get a good sound out of the G and B strings.
I have the same string issues with G and B. Also I find that unlike Tony when I’m on the 1st fret it’s the worse, moving to 3 on further down the sound is a little better.
Me neither. This is killing me. Two years and I can’t get it.
Hi @BlueMan and @Dawndawnf
The G and B strings are my main issues too!
this is so simple yet so helpful in getting a feel for barring frets
Early days , but i cant believe how much confidence it has given me
The G string is consistently the most dead one for me
same here, at least at the top of the neck
Great lesson, but agree – is the 40/60/80 bpm, the same as .5/1x/2x?
My hand feels like jello right now, but I need this so badly.
Are three speeds still available for this exercise? I have been away for a few months and the format has changed a bit.
Marita the new format doesn’t give the 3 speeds like before, you can click the 1x at the bottom of the video to speed up the video, I just use a metronome to build sped increasing in 5 beat increments, works for me. Good luck and happy playing