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.
Like this lesson? Join Tony's Acoustic Challenge to keep going!
Responses
You've been invited to experience Tony's Acoustic Challenge
Stop Dabbling, Start Playing
GET STARTED
Watch the free class to discover the fun guitar learning method used by over 35,000 students to learn guitar through nostalgic songs from the 60s and 70s.
Day 5 – ‘A’ Shape Exam
Responses
-
I’ve always avoided this position. Now must face it!
-
I was originally taught to play this chord with the middle, ring and pinky on the DGB strings. Tony’s method is much easier when you skip the high E string. It’s hard to get enough pressure on the high E using this method. Really appreciate this technique and the thought behind the method to improve BARR chords. By the way this looks like a much younger Tony with a lot less ink!
-
very tough. I had to use my pink to barre as my ring finger was not cooperating. I think if I do it alot i will get more strength and less buzz.
-
As a rank beginner I did better than I expected and will practice these over, as I think they will enhance the easier chords.
-
Of you master these two barre chord positions (and of course you can) a whole new world of strumming will open up to you. Just take it slow and practice them every day. They will get easier with time!
-
-
I learned my barre chords in the 70’s so I’ve taken a break from TAC this week.
-
Me too! I went through each day very quickly…it seems the 5th week on a five week month is just a bummer sometimes… ;-(
-
-
Yes, I got it!
-
Could hold clean chords/strings for 3 rounds and then the thumb started to ache and strings began to buzz BUT held them for 3 rounds at least!
-
Surprised myself in doing this several times. I can tell you that my wrist hurt the day following the F exercises. Will see how it feels tomorrow after the A. Not easy for me to get my ring finger in the best place on D, G, and B to sound good. hope it comes with practice.
-
Progress. Still very inconsistent so will need to come back to this but better than yesterday at 60 bpm. I’m not sure the point but if it’s to force feed muscle memory, it seems to be working to some extent and my fretting fingers sure to feel it.
I’m confused by the terminology. The website says ‘A’ Shape but Tony is talking about the B chord, which doesn’t look anything like this in any of my storebought chord charts. What am I missing here?
Thanks in advance.
Patrick -
I recheck and realized I joined TAC on April 27, 2025. Because I would probably not be classified as a beginner as I’ve messed with guitars for years but never put a lot of effort into it. One of the first skills courses i took was the 5 day barre course and did poorly on it. Since then I usually spend a few minutes, a few days a week on those exercises we have just completed. Slowly the E and A shapes came together so I added the E minor and the A minor shapes to the exercises. I didn’t spend a lot of time on the exercises but did do them week in and week out for the last 5 or 6 months. My barre chords have improved to the point that I seldom have an issue with any of the 3 treble strings. Today i started trying to conquer the C shape barre chords starting with strings B, G, D, and A. It is a struggle but I know if I continue working on the C shape I’ll be able to add that to my guitar list of available ways to punch out a tune. Don’t give up just take it in small weekly doses and you will be surprised at the results and the confidence you’ll gain in your playing. Today i was trying a progression of 4 String G chord to 5th string A shape barre chord to the 4 string C shape D chord. and the 1st two chords( G and C) were clean and on time at 80WPM. The last chord was slow to form but sounds clean at least 75% of the time. I’ll try to add in the 5th fret 4 string A minor 7 tomorrow. The hand is numb and I did enough today… Do the squeeze ball and metal Chinese therapy ball exercises tonight before I go to bed and sleep the sleep of the almost righteous.
-
I still struggle either way bar chords but working on it
-
E bar and F bar possible but the A bar is most difficult but not giving up.
-
Today was a good day, the barre A sounded good, but I need to practice more.
-
I found that if I augment my ring finger with my pinky, I get a clear tone. Without the pinky, that darned B string sounds muted. These barre chord challenges helped me see that with practice, I am improving.
-
Whew! I’m trying to get back to daily guitar but I gotta say this was a baadddd week for barre chords for me. Too bad but I’m trying not to get too discouraged. I blame my sucking at barre chords on a few things A) I don’t like them because they are virtually impossible for me to accomplish B) I’ve had multiple tendon surgeries on both my hands which I’m certain has affected my ability (disability really) to play these AND C) I just can’t make the finger stretches required (small hands). It’s a bit discouraging but I keep trying and hoping….
-
Small win: barre chords are getting easier!
-
Well, I was frustrated at first with the B chord, but I can play it on my parlor guitars by using my pinky, ring and middle to play the B, G, and D, and my index on the A. That worked and I could move it. So, that will be a work around for me. Small win!
-
Bill Brown mentioned the C shaped barre chord and I watched a couple of videos explaining the fingering. That is definitely going to be added to my warm up exercises a few times a week. Going to take a lot of effort and time to master that position. Thanks for the mention Bill.
-
Reviewed each of the challenges this week and played through them back to back, that was a good workout! Still need to be conscientious of how I’m fretting the B chord to get the B string to ring clearly. This exercise really helped me figure out how to adjust pressure with my ring finger so that’s a small win. Hope y’all have a great weekend!
-
No, problem holding that cord shape and going through the exercise but when I try to move into the chord ie from e chord to a B I tend to over shoot my ring finger and touch the A string
-
My introduction to barre chords. Curious how this will develop over time.
-
Both the E and A shaped barre chords have come easily to me, perhaps because they’re some of the first chords I ever learned to play, and I continued to use them throughout my guitar journey. My small win for this week is that I used my extra time to work on my C shaped barre chords. I’m still building the muscle memory for the shape, but I’m getting a little quicker and a little better each time I sit down to give it a go.
Hope you all had a fun Halloween and I’ll see you back here on Monday 🙂
-
Bill what are your finger positions for a C shaped barre chord? Thanks
-
Barre the first fret with index finger. Middle finger on the B second fret, ring finger D third fret, pinky A fourth fret. You have a C# chord. Root note is the A string. Move up one fret and you have a D chord. Have fun!
-
Hey @jorgemac , I think @tomlarkin173gmail-com has answered that question, but just to give an example – I’ll use a D chord out of the C shaped barre chord – X54232 – with the index barring the hiE, B & G strings, 2nd fret, the middle on the B string, 3rd fret, ring finger on the D string, 4th fret and the pinky on the A string (root), 5th fret. The key being that the fretted note on the A string is the root of the chord.
-
Thanks Bill and Tom, I was able to work it out and have been exploring that format up to include the G position. Good stuff and will be working on it regularly. Much easier the higher up the neck. I remember trying this a few years back and giving up on it. Much easier now but still needs much practice.
-
-
-
Hard, but found that by putting the ring finger down first, then the index finger, things got easier.
-
These are excellent exercises; I’m adding them to my daily routine. They highlighted a string I wasn’t clean on and brought my attention to being closer to the fret.
-
I’ve used this week’s daily challenges as warmups for repeating last week’s CCR gem, with some Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd mixed in.
-
I’m thinking that using my pinkie versus the ring finger to bar the upper strings works better. Easier to hold and works better when changing to other barre chord shapes (E, A min). I can do it the way Tony shows it but it seems better to me to use the pinkie. Wonder if there is a reason I’m not seeing to not do it the “pinkie” way.
-
This is hard, but a good challenge to stretch and strengthen finger placement.
-
Crushed it. Consider yourself tamed, B Chord. Now on to B flat
-
I didn’t used to play this barre chord at all…couldn’t; however, over time, I have finally started to use it in songs with some confidence. Practice is helping! Been in TAC since 2020 during the first COVID hit.
-
I’m better at this than I was 4 years ago, but I don’t think I would want to play very many songs in the key of B in a set. Or E or F for that matter, but at least the B7 is an open chord instead of a barre so I guess E is okay. I still need practice grabbing the B7 because is isn’t very common.
-
Well, I would say very small improvement from Monday to Friday. I re-read your Monday Momentum of Oct 27th. It was excellent. I will now run through the daily’s of last week and incorporate them into a warm up session prior to working on the current lessons. They won’t take much time but should strengthen my hands and toughen up the fingers. Bonus! Will add structure. Thanks.
-
Today was a win. I found the E cord to be much harder. Part of it may be the guitar? Getting alot better with my picking. I am not looking at at he strings as much. Good week, Hope everyone has a good weekend.
-
In the past this was a tough one for me, nailed it tonight. I play every day and the payoff – stronger fingers that now can hold these bar chords.
-
Well, there was many a time when I thought I would never be able to do barre chords! That time is gone! I was even able to get the double barre and have the notes ring clearly! It is still tough on the hands, though.
-
Had a rough time
-
Definitely a tough week. I do believe I’ll get stronger with repeated practice, but can’t say I passed my exams! Not even close. For me the A shape is easier. Less strings to worry about.
-
Glad to know I’m not the only TAC person struggling with this one. The B string the most difficult one. I just can’t get the ring finger there to press down hard enough to hit a clean note. A few times it was clicking but no consistency and my hand/fingers ache. Is this really necessary to strum along campfire songs? I’m not trying to impress anyone; just trying to learn and grow and have fun. Not sure I’m on that path right now but will keep trying.
41 straight weeks, and I ain’t no quitter. -
This A Shape is easier for me than the E Shape. I can get clarity for a short period and play through both lines of the lesson at speed. After a pass or two it becomes painful and I have to take a break. It is not an easy stretch for my ring finger and still maintain pressure on the D, G, & B strings for a length of time. For now now I’ll take the small win of having clarity for a short period. Happy Halloween!
-
you can have two treats tonight if you gave this a strong try. If not, work hard on the exercises and you can have treats next year…
-
Sorry, but this weeks barre chording is out of my league. My hands do not fit like your’s do, Tony! Work as I might, ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Will put this on the back burner for the time being.
-
I agree with you, Rosey…my hands are small and my fingers are old, not all that supple anymore. I just can’t do these barre chords. But today’s A shape was a little easier to substitute, using 3 fingers instead of 2. And that may be what I have to do till I get better at fretting…substitute.
-
-
Well, its clear… the F can be a @$%&*$ and the B a #@$%&! The F was a whole lot easier than the B. Really hard to get my fingers open and spread to bar with the ring finger and reach up to the A string with the index. By the end of the week I could get all the strings to ring for the F but fatigue within 2-3 attempts. For The B all the strings ring except the B. Kinda essential to the B chord! LOL! Have a great weekend everyone!
-
I can see how practicing this will pay dividends. A little past my ‘comfort zone’
-
Definitely works the fretting hand and wrist.
-
Okay I gave it a solid effort but A shaped barre chords are beyond my ability at this time. I do a little better with E shaped barre chords but neither one sounds very good. Maybe later after a lot more practice.
-
wow! this one is very difficult for me, I have a problem with my ring finger muting the strings, but i will keep trying.
-
Happy Halloween !
-
This really tests my endurance, but at least I can do the barre chord. It will take lots of practice to gain the endurance factor, though. It really, really drains the strength out of my fretting hand.
But I will practice it. -
I used the barred f chord to the tune of Dell Shannon’s “Runnaway”. If you know the song. It’s mostly a sliding f chord. I’m terrible with Barr chords.
-
Where was the fun in this week’s exercise? This completely varies from the whole “let’s have fun” mantra.
-
My left hand definitely sore after this week. Nothing worth while comes easy!
Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
I’ve always avoided this position. Now must face it!
I was originally taught to play this chord with the middle, ring and pinky on the DGB strings. Tony’s method is much easier when you skip the high E string. It’s hard to get enough pressure on the high E using this method. Really appreciate this technique and the thought behind the method to improve BARR chords. By the way this looks like a much younger Tony with a lot less ink!
very tough. I had to use my pink to barre as my ring finger was not cooperating. I think if I do it alot i will get more strength and less buzz.
As a rank beginner I did better than I expected and will practice these over, as I think they will enhance the easier chords.
Of you master these two barre chord positions (and of course you can) a whole new world of strumming will open up to you. Just take it slow and practice them every day. They will get easier with time!
I learned my barre chords in the 70’s so I’ve taken a break from TAC this week.
Me too! I went through each day very quickly…it seems the 5th week on a five week month is just a bummer sometimes… ;-(
Yes, I got it!
Could hold clean chords/strings for 3 rounds and then the thumb started to ache and strings began to buzz BUT held them for 3 rounds at least!
Surprised myself in doing this several times. I can tell you that my wrist hurt the day following the F exercises. Will see how it feels tomorrow after the A. Not easy for me to get my ring finger in the best place on D, G, and B to sound good. hope it comes with practice.
Progress. Still very inconsistent so will need to come back to this but better than yesterday at 60 bpm. I’m not sure the point but if it’s to force feed muscle memory, it seems to be working to some extent and my fretting fingers sure to feel it.
I’m confused by the terminology. The website says ‘A’ Shape but Tony is talking about the B chord, which doesn’t look anything like this in any of my storebought chord charts. What am I missing here?
Thanks in advance.
Patrick
I recheck and realized I joined TAC on April 27, 2025. Because I would probably not be classified as a beginner as I’ve messed with guitars for years but never put a lot of effort into it. One of the first skills courses i took was the 5 day barre course and did poorly on it. Since then I usually spend a few minutes, a few days a week on those exercises we have just completed. Slowly the E and A shapes came together so I added the E minor and the A minor shapes to the exercises. I didn’t spend a lot of time on the exercises but did do them week in and week out for the last 5 or 6 months. My barre chords have improved to the point that I seldom have an issue with any of the 3 treble strings. Today i started trying to conquer the C shape barre chords starting with strings B, G, D, and A. It is a struggle but I know if I continue working on the C shape I’ll be able to add that to my guitar list of available ways to punch out a tune. Don’t give up just take it in small weekly doses and you will be surprised at the results and the confidence you’ll gain in your playing. Today i was trying a progression of 4 String G chord to 5th string A shape barre chord to the 4 string C shape D chord. and the 1st two chords( G and C) were clean and on time at 80WPM. The last chord was slow to form but sounds clean at least 75% of the time. I’ll try to add in the 5th fret 4 string A minor 7 tomorrow. The hand is numb and I did enough today… Do the squeeze ball and metal Chinese therapy ball exercises tonight before I go to bed and sleep the sleep of the almost righteous.
I still struggle either way bar chords but working on it
E bar and F bar possible but the A bar is most difficult but not giving up.
Today was a good day, the barre A sounded good, but I need to practice more.
I found that if I augment my ring finger with my pinky, I get a clear tone. Without the pinky, that darned B string sounds muted. These barre chord challenges helped me see that with practice, I am improving.
Whew! I’m trying to get back to daily guitar but I gotta say this was a baadddd week for barre chords for me. Too bad but I’m trying not to get too discouraged. I blame my sucking at barre chords on a few things A) I don’t like them because they are virtually impossible for me to accomplish B) I’ve had multiple tendon surgeries on both my hands which I’m certain has affected my ability (disability really) to play these AND C) I just can’t make the finger stretches required (small hands). It’s a bit discouraging but I keep trying and hoping….
Small win: barre chords are getting easier!
Well, I was frustrated at first with the B chord, but I can play it on my parlor guitars by using my pinky, ring and middle to play the B, G, and D, and my index on the A. That worked and I could move it. So, that will be a work around for me. Small win!
Bill Brown mentioned the C shaped barre chord and I watched a couple of videos explaining the fingering. That is definitely going to be added to my warm up exercises a few times a week. Going to take a lot of effort and time to master that position. Thanks for the mention Bill.
Reviewed each of the challenges this week and played through them back to back, that was a good workout! Still need to be conscientious of how I’m fretting the B chord to get the B string to ring clearly. This exercise really helped me figure out how to adjust pressure with my ring finger so that’s a small win. Hope y’all have a great weekend!
No, problem holding that cord shape and going through the exercise but when I try to move into the chord ie from e chord to a B I tend to over shoot my ring finger and touch the A string
My introduction to barre chords. Curious how this will develop over time.
Both the E and A shaped barre chords have come easily to me, perhaps because they’re some of the first chords I ever learned to play, and I continued to use them throughout my guitar journey. My small win for this week is that I used my extra time to work on my C shaped barre chords. I’m still building the muscle memory for the shape, but I’m getting a little quicker and a little better each time I sit down to give it a go.
Hope you all had a fun Halloween and I’ll see you back here on Monday 🙂
Bill what are your finger positions for a C shaped barre chord? Thanks
Barre the first fret with index finger. Middle finger on the B second fret, ring finger D third fret, pinky A fourth fret. You have a C# chord. Root note is the A string. Move up one fret and you have a D chord. Have fun!
Hey @jorgemac , I think @tomlarkin173gmail-com has answered that question, but just to give an example – I’ll use a D chord out of the C shaped barre chord – X54232 – with the index barring the hiE, B & G strings, 2nd fret, the middle on the B string, 3rd fret, ring finger on the D string, 4th fret and the pinky on the A string (root), 5th fret. The key being that the fretted note on the A string is the root of the chord.
Thanks Bill and Tom, I was able to work it out and have been exploring that format up to include the G position. Good stuff and will be working on it regularly. Much easier the higher up the neck. I remember trying this a few years back and giving up on it. Much easier now but still needs much practice.
Hard, but found that by putting the ring finger down first, then the index finger, things got easier.
These are excellent exercises; I’m adding them to my daily routine. They highlighted a string I wasn’t clean on and brought my attention to being closer to the fret.
I’ve used this week’s daily challenges as warmups for repeating last week’s CCR gem, with some Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd mixed in.
I’m thinking that using my pinkie versus the ring finger to bar the upper strings works better. Easier to hold and works better when changing to other barre chord shapes (E, A min). I can do it the way Tony shows it but it seems better to me to use the pinkie. Wonder if there is a reason I’m not seeing to not do it the “pinkie” way.
This is hard, but a good challenge to stretch and strengthen finger placement.
Crushed it. Consider yourself tamed, B Chord. Now on to B flat
I didn’t used to play this barre chord at all…couldn’t; however, over time, I have finally started to use it in songs with some confidence. Practice is helping! Been in TAC since 2020 during the first COVID hit.
I’m better at this than I was 4 years ago, but I don’t think I would want to play very many songs in the key of B in a set. Or E or F for that matter, but at least the B7 is an open chord instead of a barre so I guess E is okay. I still need practice grabbing the B7 because is isn’t very common.
Well, I would say very small improvement from Monday to Friday. I re-read your Monday Momentum of Oct 27th. It was excellent. I will now run through the daily’s of last week and incorporate them into a warm up session prior to working on the current lessons. They won’t take much time but should strengthen my hands and toughen up the fingers. Bonus! Will add structure. Thanks.
Today was a win. I found the E cord to be much harder. Part of it may be the guitar? Getting alot better with my picking. I am not looking at at he strings as much. Good week, Hope everyone has a good weekend.
In the past this was a tough one for me, nailed it tonight. I play every day and the payoff – stronger fingers that now can hold these bar chords.
Well, there was many a time when I thought I would never be able to do barre chords! That time is gone! I was even able to get the double barre and have the notes ring clearly! It is still tough on the hands, though.
Had a rough time
Definitely a tough week. I do believe I’ll get stronger with repeated practice, but can’t say I passed my exams! Not even close. For me the A shape is easier. Less strings to worry about.
Glad to know I’m not the only TAC person struggling with this one. The B string the most difficult one. I just can’t get the ring finger there to press down hard enough to hit a clean note. A few times it was clicking but no consistency and my hand/fingers ache. Is this really necessary to strum along campfire songs? I’m not trying to impress anyone; just trying to learn and grow and have fun. Not sure I’m on that path right now but will keep trying.
41 straight weeks, and I ain’t no quitter.
This A Shape is easier for me than the E Shape. I can get clarity for a short period and play through both lines of the lesson at speed. After a pass or two it becomes painful and I have to take a break. It is not an easy stretch for my ring finger and still maintain pressure on the D, G, & B strings for a length of time. For now now I’ll take the small win of having clarity for a short period. Happy Halloween!
you can have two treats tonight if you gave this a strong try. If not, work hard on the exercises and you can have treats next year…
Sorry, but this weeks barre chording is out of my league. My hands do not fit like your’s do, Tony! Work as I might, ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Will put this on the back burner for the time being.
I agree with you, Rosey…my hands are small and my fingers are old, not all that supple anymore. I just can’t do these barre chords. But today’s A shape was a little easier to substitute, using 3 fingers instead of 2. And that may be what I have to do till I get better at fretting…substitute.
Well, its clear… the F can be a @$%&*$ and the B a #@$%&! The F was a whole lot easier than the B. Really hard to get my fingers open and spread to bar with the ring finger and reach up to the A string with the index. By the end of the week I could get all the strings to ring for the F but fatigue within 2-3 attempts. For The B all the strings ring except the B. Kinda essential to the B chord! LOL! Have a great weekend everyone!
I can see how practicing this will pay dividends. A little past my ‘comfort zone’
Definitely works the fretting hand and wrist.
Okay I gave it a solid effort but A shaped barre chords are beyond my ability at this time. I do a little better with E shaped barre chords but neither one sounds very good. Maybe later after a lot more practice.
wow! this one is very difficult for me, I have a problem with my ring finger muting the strings, but i will keep trying.
Happy Halloween !
This really tests my endurance, but at least I can do the barre chord. It will take lots of practice to gain the endurance factor, though. It really, really drains the strength out of my fretting hand.
But I will practice it.
I used the barred f chord to the tune of Dell Shannon’s “Runnaway”. If you know the song. It’s mostly a sliding f chord. I’m terrible with Barr chords.
Where was the fun in this week’s exercise? This completely varies from the whole “let’s have fun” mantra.
My left hand definitely sore after this week. Nothing worth while comes easy!