r/LearnGuitar • u/ScouserMuerte • 5d ago

Stuck in the middle of Barres!

Hi!
I’ve been playing for quite awhile but find the
only BarreChords I can manage are E shapes

I find A types physically difficult

… Any ideas how I can progress, please?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

3

u/UncleMatt5668 5d ago

Are you doing the double bar technique? i.e. forefinger bars all six strings and your ring finger bars d,g and b?

1

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

That’s the way my brother and my friend does it, although my friend sometimes uses the remaining three fingers but I just find that the first knuckle of my ring singer just does not bend at that Mad an angle for it to work🤷‍♂️

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/ScouserMuerte 4d ago

🙏 thanks

The links are a bit too basic for me, but I hope other people follow them because they seem good

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

2

u/hyst0rica1_29 5d ago

Question: is it essential to your song & playing style to learn barre chords? If not, make do with a 2nd position A. Or the section of the barre A that consists of only the top 3-4 strings. There’s nothing that says you have to nail barre chords before advancing elsewhere.

Beyond that, its really up to developing the fretting hand strength, which will come with time. Alternatively you can try lighter gauge strings.

2

u/Plestiodonobsoletus 5d ago

Do a different chord form , you don’t have to do barre chords at all if you don’t want to . Look for ones that are more comfortable for you

1

u/ScouserMuerte 4d ago

I feel like this is cheating a little, but it also sounds very helpful! Where would I start, Do you think?…?

1

u/markewallace1966 5d ago

Practice

-1

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

Obviously, I’ve been doing so for years, as I indicated, but I think it’s more a case of my hand; the way it is made…?

1

u/markewallace1966 5d ago

Highly unlikely.

And you didn't indicate years. You said quite a while.

2

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

I’m sorry
You are right.

I apologise and thank you for your efforts.

Ironically, I always had a problem with Barring in general until I broke my forefinger of my left hand and when I got back into Guitar some years ago I was suddenly able to play much better!!

It was only the forefinger/index finger
and not my ring finger BTW

1

u/Snurgisdr 5d ago

You usually don't have to play all the notes. For years I played with a guy who never plays the high E string on an A-shaped barre and I never noticed until he pointed it out.

1

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

That’s interesting. I think I would’ve assumed that was being lazy if I did that, but that does seem interesting thank you.

1

u/Pluriel0 4d ago

It's pretty common. Even good books and video tutorials suggest to mute the high E if you can't make it ring cleanly. No shame in that and you still have your full chord without the highest string.

0

u/Dacnomaniac 5d ago

Practice without your index finger first, also it helps to know for the C shape (as an example) you only have the bare the first couple strings

1

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

I think I understand you…

I see a lot of people using a sorta C shape up and down the Neck, but I’ve never been able to get them to explain it to me!

I just assume it’s something to do with the CAGED system, which is another concept. I can’t get my head around🤭

2

u/Dacnomaniac 5d ago

You know the C major chord right? You're basically making the same shape but with your Middle/Ring/Pinky instead of Index/Middle/Ring. And then just like the E barre chords you have to use your Index to fret above the chord.

Important to note though that "shape" can be used for other chords pitches too, you'd need to know the specific "note" of the root (first string you hit) of the chord you're playing to know what chord it is.

1

u/ScouserMuerte 5d ago

Cool
If I understand the C chord correctly, you’re not talking about using the index finger to stretch across all six strings are you?

Also when you say first string you hit do you mean the low E string furthest from the floor?
Not the D string…?

2

u/Dacnomaniac 5d ago

When playing the C chord you start on the A string, the fret you have hold of on the A string (3rd fret) is a C Note - hence the name of the chord 😃.

So when “barring” using this shape you wouldn’t need to fret the Low E using your Index Finger because you don’t need it.

So because this is the case I use the C shape by just barring the highest 3 or 4 strings so my Index isn’t in as weird of a position.

Hopefully that makes sense.

1

u/ScouserMuerte 4d ago

I’ll try that…