Hey guys, what’s up? I’ve just got off from work and I’m getting ready to go charge. But I wanted to show you guys some video really quick. And we’ve got a lot of questions for the last couple months about they’re having trouble playing with Barre chords and I thought two videos on learn how Barre chords work and I talked about how the notes go up. I want to do a video really quick and just give you some advice and tips on a couple things will make Barre chords easier.
All right, couple things, there are things that you can do and there are things that you can do to your guitar. The first thing you can do with your guitar is you’ll actually get your action lower, okay. Basically that means is your action is so high off to the neck that the strings are. Okay, so lots are pretty close. Some guitars, you would see with higher action and basically what that mean is that’s far until you get to push the string down.
So you can actually go to guitar shop. Take your guitar in and say, “Hey, I want to lower the action on my guitar.” They will do some things whether with you truss rod. But more likely, they’re probably going to shape down your bridge. And I’m not an expert on that stuff, but that’s the first thing is you should learn your action.
The second thing you have to do is give lighter strings. So if you’re medium, just try lights or try extra lights for string, okay. Remember, there’s difference between strings for electric guitar and for an acoustic guitar. So, light strings will make it easier. I always play to mediums. When I started, I just played extra lights because my arms weren’t strong. I also don’t want to mess this from big strong guy saying, “Hey, they can’t do Barre chords. They’re just skinny kid that can do Barre chord better than me.”
I rated that when I first started. I expect that I will do one of the Barre chords. It’s a different kind of strength. So you might be a big strong guy with big strong forearms or a girl, it doesn’t matter how strong you are if you keep playing Barre chords, you’re going to develop the muscle in your hands and your wrist and you can do all the Barre chords down. So they sound at each string and ring that clearly.
So those are the couple things that you can do. Also, if you just can’t get on acoustic guitar, electric guitars are much, much easier to bar on. So if you want to play an electric and you’re having trouble from acoustic, try that out.
Okay, as far as what you can do with yourself in playing, the number thing you want to make sure that thigh is directly on the back of the guitar, opposite to your finger. So, whatever you’re pitching down the Barre chords, you want to make sure that this thumb is opposite to your point finger. So you can squeeze down with your strengths.
The second thing you want to do is you want to make sure you’re keeping it in your elbow as close into the body as you can. If you try to do a Barre chord up here on the 10th fret, you’ll find it’s much easier to hold the strings down and this is the 1st fret. If you notice this, because in the 1st fret, it all goes out here, the 3rd fret, it all goes close to your body, just like if you’re lifting weights or you’re trying to pick something up. It’s much easier to pick it up close to your body and you’re just trying to pick it up way up here. It’s just physics you know.
So, that’s one thing you can do is make sure you keep your elbow close to your body. So, sometime you see classical guitars that play with the guitar in their lap like this [Demonstration] like that. But if you’re going to play either way like that or like this, make sure that you keep your elbow close to your body, all right. It’s going to give you a lot more strength in your Barre chords.
One more thing that I like to do and I’ve heard other opinions that I honestly I’ve got for this one, when you go to make a Barre chord, don’t lean, don’t put your Barre down first and then put your other fingers. Because what happen is, you put your Barre straight across here, stay on the 2nd fret. You put your finger straight across, okay the same level of strings. And then you got to put your fingers on, you actually have to tilt your point finger up a little bit like this. Okay, so it goes from like this, start across to a little bit angle up, the lower you’re going to down the strings, from six is closed for the fret down the one. It’s little higher above the fret.
So what I want you to do is I want you guys to lead with your other fingers, these three, your middle ring pinkie. So if you’re making an F—say, you’re making a B minor Barre chord which is buddy Travis Marco, the favorite chord of all. When the B minor chord at your ring pinkie or on your two little strings, all right, so just your three, your four string and only fourth fret, okay. Now, I’m going to have to do my tuning, so my sound will be different than yours but still have a good point across.
So, you go up here at the 4th fret in your two middle strings, your D and your G string which also your three or your four. Put your ring and pinkie there, your middle finger then goes on the 3rd fret in your second string. The last thing is going to on is that Barre chord, your Barre, your pointed finger, which Barre is bottom five strings, okay and the second fret.
And so if I’m playing the song that goes, let’s see an E chord [Demonstration] to an A, you’ve got B minor. So I go to B minor, I don’t make my Barre first and input this down. What I actually do is actually bring these two fingers up here, put them down here first and middle finger comes on and the Barre goes less because your Barre is easy to put on less. These are little more difficult if you put them on less.
So, those are couple of tips. I want you guys to practice in the Barre chords. I’ll probably think of some other ones once I’ve get in the car and leave my house. But for right now, for the guitar, remember lighter strings. So if you’re in mediums, you can always try lights or extra light strings. You can always go to guitar shop and get your action lower so the string set closer to the neck and you don’t have to push down as far. Make sure that your thumb and your pointed finger or your thumbs in your hand are opposite to each other, okay. If you’re going to pinch somebody or hold someone’s risk, you want to make sure they're opposite. So you want to do the same thing on the neck of your guitar, so you can see that. Because if you wreck your thumb, you don’t have any pinching powers, you know it’s all just [Demonstration], it’s so hard for me.
So if you make that thumb in the back, it’s going to make a lot easier. Remember, try and keep your elbow enclose to your body, okay. Because if you put your guitar right here, your elbow is way far away, but if you saw the guitar, this little leap here, you just stay on the top of your leg, it mostly likely, but you can keep your body close to you body and these Barre chords appear. If your elbow has to come off a little bit, if you have short shoulder or you have short arms, you get better in time.
And then the third thing is, lead with your ring pinkie first, ring pinkie then your middle finger and then your point finger, so work your way up because when you learn open chords—if you’ve learned open chords, you go from E to G to B, A, A minor like that. Okay, that’s really the same way I want you to do is that muscle memory you’ve developed. I want you to develop with the Barre chords.
If you’re going to make a B minor, just remember that these two middle fingers here, or ring finger and your pinkie kind of stay together, you’re going to go right here, like I said in the B minor, 4th fret, two middle strings, middle finger, it goes in the 3rd fret and pointed finger and bars across the other rest of strings. So try it with some other chords, some other Barre chords. Try it with your E minor, it’s a common one. Always try it with your F.
Another tip too if you play an E like this, you slide it everything at two frets and put your Barre down and it’s a F. I would also try with a C#m which all that Barre chord is a B minor, which you get everything at two frets, so don’t get scared off by the names. So C#m is another popular Barre chord you’d use a lot. So, your middle and your pinkie going the six frets, two middle strings and your middle finger goes here on the 5th fret of your B string and two string. And the Barre through your pointed finger comes all over here on the 4th fret Barre across and a lot of that.
So try that, try your F chord, your B minor chord, C#m, okay. And the way I recommend practicing is I’m going to play a D minor. So you put your ring pinkie on first, then your middle, then your pointer, strum it a couple things and take your hand off. And just keep practicing that until you can get it pretty quick, take it off, take it off, try a C#m. Take it off, F chord.
First, it may take you 78 seconds to get it now. Don’t worry about, it’s going to work. If you’re hearing buzzing you’re playing Barre chord, try and play down every string buzz, make sure they’re all clear. So if you play that to the Barre chord, you just buzz in. You can pick down to each of these chords. That is kind of dulling or buzzes, it’s going to do a better job for that string, that’s fine, that’s fine, fix it.
So that’s a Barre chord. I hope it helps. Remember to checkout freeeasyguitar.com. I think we’ve got like 240 or almost 250 lessons on there, so got a lot of new instructors, putting up some new and different type of stuffs. They are really talented guys, actually lot of better at guitar than I am. But they’re nice to help, so check them out and checkout freeeasyguitar.com. Take care.
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