There are two barre chord shapes that prove to be the most useful and the ‘E’ Shape is certainly one of them.
This workout is designed to get your fingers comfortable with the E shape, as well as be able to troubleshoot what area of it may be giving you problems.
The benefits of this exercise can be gained by players of all experience levels whether you are just nailing down the chord shape itself or you are looking to make this barre chord shape smoother and easier.
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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B string is touchy, some times it rings, sometimes not so much. Depends on how sore my hand is
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my fingers are remembering where to go
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It seems to me barring the first fret is the hardest. Does it make sense to start higher up (say the 5th fret) and then work back towards the first fret as technique/strength/calluses develop?
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Yup, the b string
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yep, B is a stinker
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I like this. I’m surprised how many I muffed!!! This should be a daily exercise for me to strengthen the old fingers!
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I’m glad you mentioned that B string, because sure as shootin, thats the one that always gets muffled for me too.
I can’t sustain any of this for too long, my hand begins to cramp up, and I have to stop, stretch everything out a bitg and go back to it.
At 67 I just don’t have a lot of strength in my hands any more.
But, I’ll keep trying. -
Good exercise, need to keep working on this one.
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Had trouble with the b cord also but getting better.
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The win – I can do it with clear sound, my strength is better now for the barr.
It is painful on my index finger after no time, I need to build a callus on my index knuckle where the high E string digs in. -
Tough! I’m 66 and don’t have the same strength in my fingers as when I was younger. I found it VERY difficult to get anything close to a clear sound on the B and High E. Frustrating. I know I need to keep exercising with these barre chords. Hopefully it will get better with time.
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I can’t get my index finger to work!
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I really have a hard time with the B.
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I’ve have always shied away from barre chords, not easy for me to accomplish cleanly. Well, it’s time to dive in. Oh man! This kills my forearm. I’ll get over it…….
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I’m going to mark this complete even though I cannot do it. If I roll my index finger over, the other fingers don’t reach their frets, let alone arch enough to not mute other strings. I’ll keep trying, though, to see if continued use gets my hand to stretch better (after 5 months I should hope so).
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I think when it clicks in your head it clicks. Finally, I’ve got it. No longer muted, sometimes twang but with practice it’ll become clearer. Yay!
My index is flat right at the fret bar. For the B and G, I’m pretty much using the fatty flesh of index between the knuckle joint and next. No curling of index just kind of pressing thumb under each chord with index simultaneously. I shift that fatty flesh of index just a hair back towards high E for the G and B to ring clear. Hopefully this may help someone who has struggled with this. -
Day 5 on this E Shapen
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Ouch my thumb !!
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This is a great exercise. I have always had problems with bar chords so hopefully things will improve.
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Feel like giving up until i read many of the comments below.
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Another challenging exercise. So glad I am doing them though. Need to practice more so that I can play the chord without any buzzing.
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So difficult – it seems I will have to do the first 2 exercises every day for a while!
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this one is tough to keep consistent sound clarity
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struggling getting the B string to ring clear not mattter how much a press. Any suggestions?
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Barre chords are tough and will be doing the E and A exercises each day as a warm up. I think doing this way will build me up to doing this better over time
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Yes, I got that idea to Happy Jack!
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Believe it or not I have large hands and the hardest note to play clean was the low F the upper C and High F no problem. Good exercise though, my hand is sore!
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I find that; as I pick from the low E down to the High E. I apply pressure to the tip of the index finger and follow the pick. Apply more pressure to the string you’re plucking. Let the index finger pressure follow down the fret. As I get closer to the B string I need to roll the bottom of my hand toward the body of the guitar. Using the side of my index finger to make the B string ring out better.
As I go back to the top; I concentrate on applying pressure from the index finger to the string I am plucking and follow to the top.
I hope I’m saying this in a way that is helpful. But it seems to be working well for me. Takes a while to make it a habit. -
Get an ice pack and best of luck!!
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Still having a muffled sound on the G string.
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How can I use the bottom of my index finger better? The B and the high E strings is where I need help. Only on Guitars that the acksion’s are Not Set up Like All Of My Guitars. Can You Help Me? And Will You Reply To Me? I Guess I’ll Just Haft To Wait And See.
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RDs Guitar,
In my personal experience, that seems to be the common problem. If you notice during the Learning video, Tony even has to re adjust his B when doing the 8th notes.
What helped me is trying to move my index finger a little higher or lower on the fretboard because the crease of my index finger was right over the B string. What I mean by higher or lower is not along the fret board, but having a little more or less of the tip of your index finger over the top of the fret board. I hope that makes sense. That seemed to help me considerably.
Hope that helps you. If not, don’t give up. Try different things on your own to help you through problems for any issues you have. You will find something that helps you.
-
Placing the guitar neck at a higher angle is very helpful. I can curl my index finger and angle my fingers for more pressure. I’ve got this.
-
-
The muscle of my Thumb is burning xD
-
It takes a while to relate and learn how to receive from any person. Tony is a very good teacher and although I am a very base player, and tend to get frustrated and over whelmed easily I apricate Tony’s continual encouragement. It would be easy to quite without it. thanks, Tony
-
This is a great exercise for building strength. It’s making a difference with my Barre chords. Thanks, Tony! 🙂
-
The B is a witch, if you know what I mean. Definitely a good lesson to build strength.
-
That B string is really difficult for me when I barre all strings. It’s a challenge… Keeping at it though…
-
Not perfect, but I’m getting better.
-
OK – I’m going to mark this “complete” – not that I can do this perfectly (or even well). However there are some lessons that are just going to become part of my daily practice. This is one of them. I had a related “victory” moment this AM on the KC3 in E daily challenge exercise. My chord chart said that another version of the B major chord was to do a barre at the 7th fret and make an E shape underneath it, so I tried that – and got a nice sounding B chord. This stunned me, since I am not getting nice sounding chords on this exercise (at the moment) – but one glistening moment in time – I actually got a nice sounding chord using an E shape under a 7th fret barre. I hope there will be more to come.
-
I liked the idea of going through each string to make sure it sounds clean.
-
I’ve put off barres long enough. They are painful for me since I have an old fractured left wrist injury. Wearing a simple wrist brace wrap helps to reinforce it. Getting the B and e strings to sound true will take time, effort and, most of all, patience to develop consistent barre chords. Just need to remember no pain, no gain. No longer can “barre none’!
-
On the E shape, I have to talk to my fingers and place each one on the proper string….like talking to little kids . You stand here, you here, you here and you here . Actually it helped but more playing needed!
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I can’t get a clear note on the G and B strings yet!! Still playing with it.
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“it’s always the B string.”
Yup.
-
ouch
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How long does a normal person work to get barre cords sounding OK? I’ve been trying for several months and still just thuds!!!!! So frustrating!!!!!!
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@Dawndawnf – it takes a whiled it seems like itt’s one of those things that you just can’t do and just can’t do until one day you can. One thing that helps me (it’s an ongoing process) is to use the staccato technique from the first video — trying harder and squeezing harder and trying to force it just doesn’t work for me here.
-
Thanks, tails wagging! I am glad there is hope! I am just starting this course and wondering why I can’t get the barre chords quickly. It’s like my old instructor told me, “time and practice.” In our case it is time and playing….for fun! We can’t give up!
-
-
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The B string has always been my nemesis with the F chord. I’ve found that placing the very tip of my index finger on the low E instead of extending the finger seems to help. That having been said, I just need to build more strength and muscle memory. Doing this exercise for more than 5 minutes cramps my fingers.
-
This Barre: E shaped F chord is difficult stretch for me.
The barred first fret keeps muting strings. When I try rolling my index finger, then I can’t reach to the other strings needed to fret.Without the barred first fret, the notes are clean.
I’ll keep working at the barre portion, with stretches in between.
-
Barre cords are not my friends. Action on my guitar is good. I am not. Takes a lot of strength. Better when I get up on those frets
-
Am I missing something? These five courses teach two barre cords?
-
this isnt about learning different barre chords.Its about getting every note to ring cleanly
-
Two shapes. Depending on your guitar, that’s upwards of 24 chords. 😀
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-
I find resting and stretching once in awhile a big help too.
I also think it’s time for a sting change on this guitar -
My B string keeps getting muted. no matter how I roll my index or position the guitar. What am I doing wrong or not doing? Help!
-
Have you tried Keeping your index as close to the fret as possible without muting the strings, Roll your index finger toward the nut of the guitar. It takes time for sure for Barre chords.
-
Thank you, Yes I have been doing that, but have found concentrating on another aspect of the lesson most helpful. Tony says the index finger is only really responsible for the high and low E strings, so I turned that into an exercise in itself. Pressure on and off, low E and high E using only index. Getting the feel for that! It’s working! Cheers!
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Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
B string is touchy, some times it rings, sometimes not so much. Depends on how sore my hand is
my fingers are remembering where to go
It seems to me barring the first fret is the hardest. Does it make sense to start higher up (say the 5th fret) and then work back towards the first fret as technique/strength/calluses develop?
Yup, the b string
yep, B is a stinker
I like this. I’m surprised how many I muffed!!! This should be a daily exercise for me to strengthen the old fingers!
I’m glad you mentioned that B string, because sure as shootin, thats the one that always gets muffled for me too.
I can’t sustain any of this for too long, my hand begins to cramp up, and I have to stop, stretch everything out a bitg and go back to it.
At 67 I just don’t have a lot of strength in my hands any more.
But, I’ll keep trying.
Good exercise, need to keep working on this one.
Had trouble with the b cord also but getting better.
The win – I can do it with clear sound, my strength is better now for the barr.
It is painful on my index finger after no time, I need to build a callus on my index knuckle where the high E string digs in.
Tough! I’m 66 and don’t have the same strength in my fingers as when I was younger. I found it VERY difficult to get anything close to a clear sound on the B and High E. Frustrating. I know I need to keep exercising with these barre chords. Hopefully it will get better with time.
I can’t get my index finger to work!
I really have a hard time with the B.
I’ve have always shied away from barre chords, not easy for me to accomplish cleanly. Well, it’s time to dive in. Oh man! This kills my forearm. I’ll get over it…….
I’m going to mark this complete even though I cannot do it. If I roll my index finger over, the other fingers don’t reach their frets, let alone arch enough to not mute other strings. I’ll keep trying, though, to see if continued use gets my hand to stretch better (after 5 months I should hope so).
I think when it clicks in your head it clicks. Finally, I’ve got it. No longer muted, sometimes twang but with practice it’ll become clearer. Yay!
My index is flat right at the fret bar. For the B and G, I’m pretty much using the fatty flesh of index between the knuckle joint and next. No curling of index just kind of pressing thumb under each chord with index simultaneously. I shift that fatty flesh of index just a hair back towards high E for the G and B to ring clear. Hopefully this may help someone who has struggled with this.
Day 5 on this E Shapen
Ouch my thumb !!
This is a great exercise. I have always had problems with bar chords so hopefully things will improve.
Feel like giving up until i read many of the comments below.
Another challenging exercise. So glad I am doing them though. Need to practice more so that I can play the chord without any buzzing.
So difficult – it seems I will have to do the first 2 exercises every day for a while!
this one is tough to keep consistent sound clarity
struggling getting the B string to ring clear not mattter how much a press. Any suggestions?
Barre chords are tough and will be doing the E and A exercises each day as a warm up. I think doing this way will build me up to doing this better over time
Yes, I got that idea to Happy Jack!
Believe it or not I have large hands and the hardest note to play clean was the low F the upper C and High F no problem. Good exercise though, my hand is sore!
I find that; as I pick from the low E down to the High E. I apply pressure to the tip of the index finger and follow the pick. Apply more pressure to the string you’re plucking. Let the index finger pressure follow down the fret. As I get closer to the B string I need to roll the bottom of my hand toward the body of the guitar. Using the side of my index finger to make the B string ring out better.
As I go back to the top; I concentrate on applying pressure from the index finger to the string I am plucking and follow to the top.
I hope I’m saying this in a way that is helpful. But it seems to be working well for me. Takes a while to make it a habit.
Get an ice pack and best of luck!!
Still having a muffled sound on the G string.
How can I use the bottom of my index finger better? The B and the high E strings is where I need help. Only on Guitars that the acksion’s are Not Set up Like All Of My Guitars. Can You Help Me? And Will You Reply To Me? I Guess I’ll Just Haft To Wait And See.
RDs Guitar,
In my personal experience, that seems to be the common problem. If you notice during the Learning video, Tony even has to re adjust his B when doing the 8th notes.
What helped me is trying to move my index finger a little higher or lower on the fretboard because the crease of my index finger was right over the B string. What I mean by higher or lower is not along the fret board, but having a little more or less of the tip of your index finger over the top of the fret board. I hope that makes sense. That seemed to help me considerably.
Hope that helps you. If not, don’t give up. Try different things on your own to help you through problems for any issues you have. You will find something that helps you.
Placing the guitar neck at a higher angle is very helpful. I can curl my index finger and angle my fingers for more pressure. I’ve got this.
The muscle of my Thumb is burning xD
It takes a while to relate and learn how to receive from any person. Tony is a very good teacher and although I am a very base player, and tend to get frustrated and over whelmed easily I apricate Tony’s continual encouragement. It would be easy to quite without it. thanks, Tony
This is a great exercise for building strength. It’s making a difference with my Barre chords. Thanks, Tony! 🙂
The B is a witch, if you know what I mean. Definitely a good lesson to build strength.
That B string is really difficult for me when I barre all strings. It’s a challenge… Keeping at it though…
Not perfect, but I’m getting better.
OK – I’m going to mark this “complete” – not that I can do this perfectly (or even well). However there are some lessons that are just going to become part of my daily practice. This is one of them. I had a related “victory” moment this AM on the KC3 in E daily challenge exercise. My chord chart said that another version of the B major chord was to do a barre at the 7th fret and make an E shape underneath it, so I tried that – and got a nice sounding B chord. This stunned me, since I am not getting nice sounding chords on this exercise (at the moment) – but one glistening moment in time – I actually got a nice sounding chord using an E shape under a 7th fret barre. I hope there will be more to come.
I liked the idea of going through each string to make sure it sounds clean.
I’ve put off barres long enough. They are painful for me since I have an old fractured left wrist injury. Wearing a simple wrist brace wrap helps to reinforce it. Getting the B and e strings to sound true will take time, effort and, most of all, patience to develop consistent barre chords. Just need to remember no pain, no gain. No longer can “barre none’!
On the E shape, I have to talk to my fingers and place each one on the proper string….like talking to little kids . You stand here, you here, you here and you here . Actually it helped but more playing needed!
I can’t get a clear note on the G and B strings yet!! Still playing with it.
“it’s always the B string.”
Yup.
ouch
How long does a normal person work to get barre cords sounding OK? I’ve been trying for several months and still just thuds!!!!! So frustrating!!!!!!
@Dawndawnf – it takes a whiled it seems like itt’s one of those things that you just can’t do and just can’t do until one day you can. One thing that helps me (it’s an ongoing process) is to use the staccato technique from the first video — trying harder and squeezing harder and trying to force it just doesn’t work for me here.
Thanks, tails wagging! I am glad there is hope! I am just starting this course and wondering why I can’t get the barre chords quickly. It’s like my old instructor told me, “time and practice.” In our case it is time and playing….for fun! We can’t give up!
The B string has always been my nemesis with the F chord. I’ve found that placing the very tip of my index finger on the low E instead of extending the finger seems to help. That having been said, I just need to build more strength and muscle memory. Doing this exercise for more than 5 minutes cramps my fingers.
This Barre: E shaped F chord is difficult stretch for me.
The barred first fret keeps muting strings. When I try rolling my index finger, then I can’t reach to the other strings needed to fret.
Without the barred first fret, the notes are clean.
I’ll keep working at the barre portion, with stretches in between.
Barre cords are not my friends. Action on my guitar is good. I am not. Takes a lot of strength. Better when I get up on those frets
Am I missing something? These five courses teach two barre cords?
this isnt about learning different barre chords.Its about getting every note to ring cleanly
Two shapes. Depending on your guitar, that’s upwards of 24 chords. 😀
I find resting and stretching once in awhile a big help too.
I also think it’s time for a sting change on this guitar
My B string keeps getting muted. no matter how I roll my index or position the guitar. What am I doing wrong or not doing? Help!
Have you tried Keeping your index as close to the fret as possible without muting the strings, Roll your index finger toward the nut of the guitar. It takes time for sure for Barre chords.
Thank you, Yes I have been doing that, but have found concentrating on another aspect of the lesson most helpful. Tony says the index finger is only really responsible for the high and low E strings, so I turned that into an exercise in itself. Pressure on and off, low E and high E using only index. Getting the feel for that! It’s working! Cheers!