Lesson 9 - Barre Chords
To do this lesson, you will need to have looked at the previous lessons to understand all the terminology.
also, its worth refering back to it every now and again to jog your memory.
And Remember, take the lessons at your own speed, there is no rush, good luck!
What's involved in this lesson?
This lesson concentrates on Barre chords and how they can be moved.
Contents:Barre Chords
F Major
E major Shape Barre Chord:
A Major Shape Barre Chord
A Minor Shape Barre Chord
E Minor Shape Barre Chord
Summary
Barre Chords
So... what is a barre chord? A barre chord is where a finger has to press down on more than one string to play the chord. A lot of people dislike barre chords, because they find them difficult. Well... no one said playing the guitar would be easy! If you have gotten to this stage, you'll know it's not easy at all. It takes time and practice like anything else. But hopefully you have come along in leaps and bounds since you started. Think of this as another hill, a challenge.
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F major
We will look at minor and major chords, so make sure you know which you are playing. The first chord we will look at is a basic way of playing F major. Look at the diagram. As you can see there are 2 dots with the 1st finger in it. Place your first finger so it covers both these strings (across the high-E string, and the B string, both on fret 1).
Note your 1st finger should be slightly on the side... this should make it easier. Place your 2nd finger on the G string, 2nd fret. Your third finger goes on the A string, 3rd fret. And your 4th finger goes on the D string, 3rd fret.
This is the full way of playing F major: (instead of barring the first two strings you barre all of them in the first fret).
Bit of a stretch? It was for me too when I first did it. But with practice it becomes easier, and your fingers will adjust and stretch further over time. Try to make each string sound, without dead notes. Re-position your fingers if need be.
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E major Shape Barre Chord:
This chord is much like the E major chord hence its name. It forms the same shape as the E major but to replace the open stringed notes, you barre a fret. This shape can be moved up and down the fret board, to make different major chords. The chord name depends on the root note. The root note for this shape is the note played on the low-E string. So if you play the chord at fret 5. The chord will be an A major (the note at string E, fret 5 is A).
So to play this, you place your 1st finger across fret 5, barre all the strings. Your second finger is placed on the G string, fret 6. Your third finger goes on the A string, 7th fret. And your fourth finger is placed on the D string, 7th fret. Play all the strings.
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A Major Shape Barre Chord
This chord gets its name from the A major chord. Hopefully you can notice the similarities to the A major chord. It used the same shape as A major but it is moved up. The open strings are replaces by a barre. The root note to this shape is on the A string. So let's take a look at B major
Place your 1st finger across the 2nd fret, strings high-E to A (don't barre the low E-string). Place your second finger on the D string, fret 4. Your third finger should be placed on the G string, fret 4. And your fourth finger should be placed on the B string, fret 4.
Remember the tips from the previous chord lessons when you are practicing these chords.
So those were the major barre chords, let's look at the minor ones.
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A Minor Shape Barre Chord
This shape acts in the same way as the A minor shape. The chord can be moved up and down the fret board. And by looking at the root note on the A string, you can determine the name of the chord. Look at the diagram. The root note is B (on the A string, 2nd fret).
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E Minor Shape Barre Chord
Like the F major shape, this chord can be moved up the fret board to create chords that would be unreachable with open chords. By looking at the root note on the E string, you can determine the name of the chord. Look at the diagram. The root note is F (on the F string, 1st fret). As it is a minor shape the chord is called F minor.
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- It will probably take you some good practise to get these. But that's okay, it does everyone.
- Practise the chords and try to avoid dead notes.
- Try to understand that these shapes (excluding the first F major) can be moved up and down the fret board to create other chords. The root note (either on the E or A string) is what the chord is named by. The minor or major part of the name depends on which shape you use.
Unfortunately that's it for the lessons at the moment. THERE WILL be updates and more lessons will be added soon. So keep checking back, until then check out this site: Music Theory.
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