Getting A Grip On Bar Chords

Bar chords are a pre-requisite for being able to play many songs on guitar. This article shares some secrets of how to learn them.

If you're having trouble getting that "big old scary" F major chord to work for you, here are some tips that if persistently applied, will bring results.

• Barre strings 1 and 2 (E and B -- the skinny strings) with your index finger. Do this at the 5th fret.
• Pick or "pluck" these strings to check they are both ringing through clearly while you are fretting them.
• Add your 2nd finger into the mix. Press down on fret 6 of the 3rd (G) string. Do this while continuing to hold down the same 2 strings from before at the 5th fret.
• Check that these 3 notes are ringing through clearly. If so, repeat the above steps at the 4th fret. If that is working, move down to the 3rd fret.
• Work your way down to the 1st fret using the above procedure. Do this every day for a week or two.

Moving Forward...

Once you can do the above with some degree of relaxation and mastery, go on to adding your 3rd finger. If you start the drill at the 5th fret with your 1st finger barring the 2 high strings, that would mean your 3rd finger would be on the 7th fret of the 4th (D) string with your 2nd finger being on fret 6 of the 3rd(G) string.

Again, work your way down step by step until all 4 notes ring clearly when performed at the 1st fret. This is an F major barre chord. Some call this a "half-barre" but that's not important. What is important is that you can now use it and it sounds good!

The F major chord is fundamental for many songs in many styles of music. It's challenging when beginning guitar, but at the end of the day it's part of basic guitar playing. As you gain experience with the guitar and other basic bar chord shapes, it will be important to know the difference between Major and Minor -- as well as which string the Root note is on. This will come with practice and time.

Other common barre chord shapes you may encounter on your guitar playing journey are B Major, B Minor and G Minor. If you can play an F major chord with relative ease, these other guitar barre chords shouldn't present you with too much difficulty. Patience!

Further Reading And Study:

• Guitar Bar Chords
  Includes 2 in-depth guitar lessons videos and barre chord diagrams.

Hope you enjoyed this article on bar(re) chords :-)

Dave

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