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Responses
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Day 2 – ‘E’ Shape Familiarity
Responses
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Ouch! I still have a lot of work to do on that “F” cord.
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I had a hard time with this lesson Holding the Barre E Chord for over the time limit. So if i hold it like i’m play a song no problem. Have A Great Day.
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the buzzing b string
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I have been playing them for a little while, but that B string drives me nuts! But, I will get it!
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Yesterday was bad and today is worse. My fingers will not do this. I cannot roll my index finger to the side and use the other fingers at all. I won’t give up but it just isn’t working for me. This has been a big problem for years. It is one of the reasons I have been a beginner for so long. Other things are improving but barring is just a big NO so far. No fun this week so far.
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Does’t take long to get fingers hurting.
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My fingers definitely got pretty fatigued fairly fast, the exercise went well, I can see the value in this…definitely a strengthening exercise:))
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That was better than yesterday’s challenge! Not as much muting going on. It is nice to see some progress! That is my small win
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This exercise makes me want to grab my electric…easier!
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Yahoo!! Today is my 100th session!
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not really getting this but i tried
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Well today was a little better than yesterday. I can sometimes get the B & High E strings to ring out. Still having difficulty maintaining pressure across all strings without repositioning my fingers to get consistent clean notes.
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Not so easy, but hanging in there.
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Did fair on this one but getting better each time I practice.
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very difficult for me to have an unmuted barre chord but like everything else in my guitar journey it gets smoother with practice!
-
Since the index finger only needs pressure only plays the low e, b, and high e strings, I found it helpful to slightly bend my index finger. I put most pressure on the b and e strings and relax the rest of my finger. That gave me cleaner notes and was also more comfortable for my hand.
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Nope. My meat hooks just dont work like that. Will have to do some cheating.
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I did pretty good with this challenge, but I’ve been playing a mini F bar (4 strings) for awhile before I started with Tony. My b and e strings are not always clear, but I did get a couple of clean plays of the challenge.
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It is hard to not mute b & high e for me. My index finger knuckle is in a bad place.
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I have to admit, I must have a birth defect in my fretting index finger – I am simply unable to twist my index finger around to get suitable contact with the B and E strings with these barre chords. Ever. I tried, and I tried again, and I tried again. To no avail. Barre chords are just not in my game. I’ve been taking these lessons for three years, and I have not improved my Barre chord technique one iota.
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I agree with Dan–sounds like the action on your guitar is too high!
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Hey people, you’re trouble with barre chords might be less with you, and more with your guitar. Some guitars have higher set strings and are harder to press down to make clear notes and chords. My Martin X series gives me fits trying to barre, but my sons Alvarez is very easy to barre.
Trying a different guitar or having your string action lowered can make a great difference and make it easier and more enjoyable to play.Good luck!! -
Wow that is tough cant get it. But will keep trying.
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No can do professor. Will keep trying.
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I struggle with the B, but I am making progress. This one is a work-in-progress for sure.
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This is a workout and my wrist and index are feeling it. Made it through by taking some breaks to do wrist stretches, but I did it.
-
This is hard. My fretting hand looks too contorted to make good contact with the strings. My wrist needs to bend more perpendicular to the strings which is hard to accomplish. I would suggest that Tony spends some time on how our fingers should be oriented to help make good contact on all the strings to make good barre sound.
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I love barre chords tho they can be hard to make. So much you can do with them once they are mastered. I feel more like a real guitar player when I can make em sound right.
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I don’t know why, but I like the barre chords and find it relatively easy to play. With the F-chord, the low E sometimes is not as clear as it should be.
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Yes yes TACsters! I agree with many comments. The good thing is it is rare to play this way. It’s a great exercise to prepare for the barre chords when they occur in our songs. It’s a bit like doing squats. No one in their daily life does squats so to speak…but when you need to all that squat work is a payoff. I don’t know if I’m making any sense. But this exercise is vital and will help you on your guitar journey! Peace and love to you TACsters!
Cheers,
DG-
I squat every work out. Course,,I am a Starting Strength guy ( https://startingstrength.com/ ). But your point is valid. Squats make us stronger…working on Barre Chords makes us better players. As someone who has been here a while…trust Tony and the system. I thought today was fairly easy…but a few years ago, I too was cursing that F’n F Chord.
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-
I absolutely hate barre chords, not dislike, hate. I couldn’t even get to the second part of today’s exercise and I was at it for nearly an hour (time I will never get back). If it’s not the low E it’s the G or B or all three. I know I am supposed to remain positive so here’s my miniscule win: I showed up yesterday and today (but don’t lay any money on whether I will tomorrow. Perhaps tomorrow I will sell my guitar to somebody who can actually play it.
And what really sucks is that it’s put me off from wanting to try to play anything else right now. -
Ugg, gave up
-
Very hard on the hands. How do I relax the death grip? My other problem is that although I line up my ring finger close to the fret, right above the pinky, as I play it inevitably slides toward the nut. I thought I was playing these things OK. But, thanks, Tony, now I know I’m not!
-
I’m getting it to sound okay but afterward my index finger has deep stripes. I wonder if that finger will toughen up
-
So I thought this would be easy. However the dreaded thud of the B string seems to haunt my playing. I had to take a break. Maybe tomorrow it will improve.
-
I did yesterday’s exercise so much, that today, lol my poor index is too sore to make the bar.
Rofl, well, that’ll get better.
I actually know I can make the F Fsharp and G bars, and I know, if you drop it down one string it chords.
I do actually practice these but not enough obviously to keep the side of my index toughened up.
I’ll give it a few hours and try some more.
Glad we’re tackling this though. -
Practice, practice, practice.. my hand gets uncomfortable, but getting better except for my low E.
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Its the hold that gets buzzy. break, stretch and return. interval practice. works for me!
-
Definitely have work to do. Low E is a dud and high e is hit or miss. B string is solid.
-
I’ve been avoiding this for too long. Time to get after it. Got through the exercise with a bit of struggle nut will keep practicing to try become more comfortable with these barre chords.
-
I found this much easier to accomplish and get cleaner sounds than Monday.
-
I was able to do this one fairly well, except for the B string–just thuds there. My left hand feels worked out for sure!
-
Kind of painful in the forearm, but, I think I’ll eventually get it, just a matter of time.
-
Currently, my barred F chord is the worst! As hard as I try, the b and e string are never clear! I’ll get it together in due time, but for now “uhg”!
-
For now my fingers don’t want to cooperate with the exercise. I’ll keep working at it
-
OK, muting the B and High E pretty bad. All the rest sound good. Any tricks out there to help with this? Reading through the comments, I am not alone! I plan to keep working on it in the meantime.
-
One of my exercises for Barre chords starts with the 3 treble string-E,B,G. Index finger across the E and b Strings. Middle finger across the 2nd fret G string. I do that up through the 7th fret a few time then switch the middle finger for the ring finger and due that a few times, then the pinky on the G string’s appropriate fret. then do the 4 string barre chord switching the fingers again so they all are used. Then the 5 finger barre chord- pinky on the 5th string/A 4th fret ,ring finger on the D string 4th fret and the middle finger on the G string 2nd fret. My index finger has crept up from the E and B string 1st fret with each added string and now that I am doing the 5 string Barre chord the tip of my finger index finger is extended to about the bottom of my finger nail over the Bass E string. the extended finger has, over the time of many months hung farther over the fret board edge. Also if I am doing a 5 or 6 string Barre chord the bottom first knuckle crease is between the 2nd and 3rd string, on the fret board. The bottom meaty portion ofmy finger is about 1n 1/8th of an inch away from the fret, not right up against it. The bass E string position of that index finger i right up against the fret. As I have said before most of my 6string barre chords only us the index finger up to blocking the 5th string and my thumb is holding down the 6th Bass fret position beginning withe the Barre G chord on the 3rd fret. I do usually use the index finger on all F chord strings as the thumb seems to get in my way. It works for me but I do some of these exercises in my daily warm up routine a few times a week so it has become much easier to make the barre chords as i practice this so much.
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F and F# chords are used in enough songs, that this is an important exercise. Repetition will strengthen your hand and reinforce the neural pathways so it becomes easier to go from a C chord or G chord to the barred F chord. Repetition works.
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Get an ice pack nearby – love it!
-
I can’t begin to do the barre chords. And at my age if I’m going to learn to play guitar I believe my time would would be better spent on alternate chords , or any other aspect of guitar playing. I realize that barre chords are a big part of guitar music, but time is not with me on learning or developing muscle strength to accomplish them.
-
I’m turning 80 on my next birthday and could not do consistent barre chords until I began applying these exercises to my daily 10 – 15 minute warm up routine. Because of that extra work I have found that my age did not hold me back from learning to do Barre chords. I do use the Squeeze ball daily to help strengthen these older forearm tendons and muscles and have recently, at the suggestion of one of our members, started using the Chinese metal 1 and 1/2 inch exercise balls to help with finger and hand co-ordination. I’m retired and do have the time to devote to actually trying to learn how to play better guitar. As I have said before it helps to not have a lot of other outside activities to compete with Guitar picking. There is nothing wrong with your suggestion. Each of us old folks has to find ways to cope with the changes in our lives as we grow older. I had to give up the Harley a few years back and that really hurt…
-
-
This is an excellent exercise. My fretting hand feels like it really got a workout! It’s more tired and weak than expected! Lots of work to do here!
-
This is very painful for my index finger! I did make each note sound out every once in a while. But it is going to be a long process for me to have the finger strength for this.
Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
Ouch! I still have a lot of work to do on that “F” cord.
I had a hard time with this lesson Holding the Barre E Chord for over the time limit. So if i hold it like i’m play a song no problem. Have A Great Day.
the buzzing b string
I have been playing them for a little while, but that B string drives me nuts! But, I will get it!
Yesterday was bad and today is worse. My fingers will not do this. I cannot roll my index finger to the side and use the other fingers at all. I won’t give up but it just isn’t working for me. This has been a big problem for years. It is one of the reasons I have been a beginner for so long. Other things are improving but barring is just a big NO so far. No fun this week so far.
Does’t take long to get fingers hurting.
My fingers definitely got pretty fatigued fairly fast, the exercise went well, I can see the value in this…definitely a strengthening exercise:))
That was better than yesterday’s challenge! Not as much muting going on. It is nice to see some progress! That is my small win
This exercise makes me want to grab my electric…easier!
Yahoo!! Today is my 100th session!
not really getting this but i tried
Well today was a little better than yesterday. I can sometimes get the B & High E strings to ring out. Still having difficulty maintaining pressure across all strings without repositioning my fingers to get consistent clean notes.
Not so easy, but hanging in there.
Did fair on this one but getting better each time I practice.
very difficult for me to have an unmuted barre chord but like everything else in my guitar journey it gets smoother with practice!
Since the index finger only needs pressure only plays the low e, b, and high e strings, I found it helpful to slightly bend my index finger. I put most pressure on the b and e strings and relax the rest of my finger. That gave me cleaner notes and was also more comfortable for my hand.
Nope. My meat hooks just dont work like that. Will have to do some cheating.
I did pretty good with this challenge, but I’ve been playing a mini F bar (4 strings) for awhile before I started with Tony. My b and e strings are not always clear, but I did get a couple of clean plays of the challenge.
It is hard to not mute b & high e for me. My index finger knuckle is in a bad place.
I have to admit, I must have a birth defect in my fretting index finger – I am simply unable to twist my index finger around to get suitable contact with the B and E strings with these barre chords. Ever. I tried, and I tried again, and I tried again. To no avail. Barre chords are just not in my game. I’ve been taking these lessons for three years, and I have not improved my Barre chord technique one iota.
I agree with Dan–sounds like the action on your guitar is too high!
Hey people, you’re trouble with barre chords might be less with you, and more with your guitar. Some guitars have higher set strings and are harder to press down to make clear notes and chords. My Martin X series gives me fits trying to barre, but my sons Alvarez is very easy to barre.
Trying a different guitar or having your string action lowered can make a great difference and make it easier and more enjoyable to play.Good luck!!
Wow that is tough cant get it. But will keep trying.
No can do professor. Will keep trying.
I struggle with the B, but I am making progress. This one is a work-in-progress for sure.
This is a workout and my wrist and index are feeling it. Made it through by taking some breaks to do wrist stretches, but I did it.
This is hard. My fretting hand looks too contorted to make good contact with the strings. My wrist needs to bend more perpendicular to the strings which is hard to accomplish. I would suggest that Tony spends some time on how our fingers should be oriented to help make good contact on all the strings to make good barre sound.
I love barre chords tho they can be hard to make. So much you can do with them once they are mastered. I feel more like a real guitar player when I can make em sound right.
I don’t know why, but I like the barre chords and find it relatively easy to play. With the F-chord, the low E sometimes is not as clear as it should be.
Yes yes TACsters! I agree with many comments. The good thing is it is rare to play this way. It’s a great exercise to prepare for the barre chords when they occur in our songs. It’s a bit like doing squats. No one in their daily life does squats so to speak…but when you need to all that squat work is a payoff. I don’t know if I’m making any sense. But this exercise is vital and will help you on your guitar journey! Peace and love to you TACsters!
Cheers,
DG
I squat every work out. Course,,I am a Starting Strength guy ( https://startingstrength.com/ ). But your point is valid. Squats make us stronger…working on Barre Chords makes us better players. As someone who has been here a while…trust Tony and the system. I thought today was fairly easy…but a few years ago, I too was cursing that F’n F Chord.
I absolutely hate barre chords, not dislike, hate. I couldn’t even get to the second part of today’s exercise and I was at it for nearly an hour (time I will never get back). If it’s not the low E it’s the G or B or all three. I know I am supposed to remain positive so here’s my miniscule win: I showed up yesterday and today (but don’t lay any money on whether I will tomorrow. Perhaps tomorrow I will sell my guitar to somebody who can actually play it.
And what really sucks is that it’s put me off from wanting to try to play anything else right now.
Ugg, gave up
Very hard on the hands. How do I relax the death grip? My other problem is that although I line up my ring finger close to the fret, right above the pinky, as I play it inevitably slides toward the nut. I thought I was playing these things OK. But, thanks, Tony, now I know I’m not!
I’m getting it to sound okay but afterward my index finger has deep stripes. I wonder if that finger will toughen up
So I thought this would be easy. However the dreaded thud of the B string seems to haunt my playing. I had to take a break. Maybe tomorrow it will improve.
I did yesterday’s exercise so much, that today, lol my poor index is too sore to make the bar.
Rofl, well, that’ll get better.
I actually know I can make the F Fsharp and G bars, and I know, if you drop it down one string it chords.
I do actually practice these but not enough obviously to keep the side of my index toughened up.
I’ll give it a few hours and try some more.
Glad we’re tackling this though.
Practice, practice, practice.. my hand gets uncomfortable, but getting better except for my low E.
Its the hold that gets buzzy. break, stretch and return. interval practice. works for me!
Definitely have work to do. Low E is a dud and high e is hit or miss. B string is solid.
I’ve been avoiding this for too long. Time to get after it. Got through the exercise with a bit of struggle nut will keep practicing to try become more comfortable with these barre chords.
I found this much easier to accomplish and get cleaner sounds than Monday.
I was able to do this one fairly well, except for the B string–just thuds there. My left hand feels worked out for sure!
Kind of painful in the forearm, but, I think I’ll eventually get it, just a matter of time.
Currently, my barred F chord is the worst! As hard as I try, the b and e string are never clear! I’ll get it together in due time, but for now “uhg”!
For now my fingers don’t want to cooperate with the exercise. I’ll keep working at it
OK, muting the B and High E pretty bad. All the rest sound good. Any tricks out there to help with this? Reading through the comments, I am not alone! I plan to keep working on it in the meantime.
One of my exercises for Barre chords starts with the 3 treble string-E,B,G. Index finger across the E and b Strings. Middle finger across the 2nd fret G string. I do that up through the 7th fret a few time then switch the middle finger for the ring finger and due that a few times, then the pinky on the G string’s appropriate fret. then do the 4 string barre chord switching the fingers again so they all are used. Then the 5 finger barre chord- pinky on the 5th string/A 4th fret ,ring finger on the D string 4th fret and the middle finger on the G string 2nd fret. My index finger has crept up from the E and B string 1st fret with each added string and now that I am doing the 5 string Barre chord the tip of my finger index finger is extended to about the bottom of my finger nail over the Bass E string. the extended finger has, over the time of many months hung farther over the fret board edge. Also if I am doing a 5 or 6 string Barre chord the bottom first knuckle crease is between the 2nd and 3rd string, on the fret board. The bottom meaty portion ofmy finger is about 1n 1/8th of an inch away from the fret, not right up against it. The bass E string position of that index finger i right up against the fret. As I have said before most of my 6string barre chords only us the index finger up to blocking the 5th string and my thumb is holding down the 6th Bass fret position beginning withe the Barre G chord on the 3rd fret. I do usually use the index finger on all F chord strings as the thumb seems to get in my way. It works for me but I do some of these exercises in my daily warm up routine a few times a week so it has become much easier to make the barre chords as i practice this so much.
F and F# chords are used in enough songs, that this is an important exercise. Repetition will strengthen your hand and reinforce the neural pathways so it becomes easier to go from a C chord or G chord to the barred F chord. Repetition works.
Get an ice pack nearby – love it!
I can’t begin to do the barre chords. And at my age if I’m going to learn to play guitar I believe my time would would be better spent on alternate chords , or any other aspect of guitar playing. I realize that barre chords are a big part of guitar music, but time is not with me on learning or developing muscle strength to accomplish them.
I’m turning 80 on my next birthday and could not do consistent barre chords until I began applying these exercises to my daily 10 – 15 minute warm up routine. Because of that extra work I have found that my age did not hold me back from learning to do Barre chords. I do use the Squeeze ball daily to help strengthen these older forearm tendons and muscles and have recently, at the suggestion of one of our members, started using the Chinese metal 1 and 1/2 inch exercise balls to help with finger and hand co-ordination. I’m retired and do have the time to devote to actually trying to learn how to play better guitar. As I have said before it helps to not have a lot of other outside activities to compete with Guitar picking. There is nothing wrong with your suggestion. Each of us old folks has to find ways to cope with the changes in our lives as we grow older. I had to give up the Harley a few years back and that really hurt…
This is an excellent exercise. My fretting hand feels like it really got a workout! It’s more tired and weak than expected! Lots of work to do here!
This is very painful for my index finger! I did make each note sound out every once in a while. But it is going to be a long process for me to have the finger strength for this.