Barre Chords

Alexander Blue

Surfers Rule !!!
I would like to hear YOUR best advice/technique/tip for learning to play barre chords ... how to make them sound like something other than what mine sound like which is a "Muffled Mess" of flat "thunks" ... Need a little help here from you experienced folks please  :) ... went over the DVD a bunch of times and still having the problem ... Is it really just a matter of keep on keeping on until it sounds better ?  Somehow it just seems like I am missing something   :-/
              Thanks in advance  :) ... Guess I should have posted this in the BBG questions thread ...  
 

SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
mine sound ok for the most part, now and then i get the muffs too, but only can say keep fingers cleanly on strings...hoping there are some good suggestions too!

So Alex you are doing the barre chords now! YIPPEE!!
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
AB, it really is just keep on keepin' on, but there are a few things that you can look at.

1) Check your hand position try getting your wrist under the guitar more.
2) Move the neck of your guitar closer to your head (Less parallel to the floor maybe 45 degrees or more).  Check out youtube for some classical players.
3) Practice Practice Practice.
 
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IrishRover

Guest
As far as hand position goes - try to keep your barre finger very close to but not on the fret and also roll it slightly toward the head so there is contact along the whole finger with no gaps.  And oh yeah practice, practice, practice.   :cool:
 
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bplavoie

Guest
Yeah, Alex - don't let it get you down. Barre chords have taken me a long time, and I'm still not happy with them. They slowly get better, though, if you just keep pounding away at them...
 
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Tokio

Guest
MikeS advice of moving the neck closer to your head has helped me a lot!! on barre chords.
 

johnc

systematic
It's also a lot to do with building finger strength and toughening up the parts of your fingers that contact the strings.

There is only one way to make this happen and yeah it will sound messy for a while.  We all have to go through that.

My first and only private guitar teacher confessed that he almost gave up over barre chords and he is a brilliant player now.  He said it took him a year or so to get them sounding clean.  He now can't remember why it was so hard.

You will get there everyone.  Persist, persist and persist.
 

wgabree

Blues Newbie
Barre Chords are the right of passage for guitar players - cherish the challenge;  before you know it you'll be looking back fondly on when they finally clicked!
 

Alexander Blue

Surfers Rule !!!
Barre Chords are the right of passage for guitar players - cherish the challenge;  before you know it you'll be looking back fondly on when they finally clicked!
Hey Wayne,
  I am going to try and think of this as I continue to play barres that are a "muffled mess of flat thunks" ... LOL ... thanks for all the advice my Forum Friends ...  :) :) :) ... I am sooooooo glad I am a member of BBG and BGU and whenever the new course comes together and Tater gets it out I'll be a member of that too ... this place is truly a one-of-a-kind gig !  :cool:
 
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Lame_Pinky

Guest
Alex you'll need to refresh my memory , do you play on an acoustic or Electric ? Acoustic will always seem to sound " off " or muffled when starting barre chords on an electric you can turn up everything louder than everything else & you'll find you may not have to put as much pressure on the neck when forming a barre chord.
Who was it that said on this forum " the Vulcan death grip " ? I liked that one  ;D

LP
 

Steve_M

Blues Newbie
Well I have been on the barre chord lessons (6th string) in BBG for a couple of weeks now and I am really pleased with the way its all progressing. From something that I dreaded I am now almost getting it right.
Now dont get me wrong - there are dead strings sometimes and muffled sounds - but it is getting better and easier.
I followed the advice of getting the guitar neck higher, turned my index finger slightly to improve the barre, watched Griff on the DVD and practised when I can.
My only real question is that I find my wrist on my fretting hand really starts to ache after a few minutes.  My left hand is almost perpendicular to my wrist/forearm when I fret a chord. It looks to be a similar position  to that which Griff has on the DVD.
Is this normal- is more practice required - is it an age thing - will it ease at all ?
Now off to annoy 'Straight down 6th Avenue' again ;)

Thanks,

Steve
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Steve, it's hard to tell if you have a probelm or if you just need to build strength. (I'm guessing the latter) AS long as your wrist isn't bent too much (it has to bend a little), it shouldn't hurt.
 
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IrishRover

Guest
It sounds like this is a case where skype would come in handy so Steve could show you Mike.  It can be difficult to describe a hand position verbally.
 
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b0b_b4rk3r

Guest
Steve....the aching wrist is fairly normal 'till you've been playing them for a while.... ;) It can also be from gripping the neck too tight as well.....it's all about technique which will slot into place with a bit of practice.... ;)

Keep plugging away at it and it'll come together...... :)

Bob
 

SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
i practice them a wee bit when i practice. not a whole bunch but just enough not to get frustrated. they are coming along, just coming along. not in any rush anyway. and LP said one of the secrets is not to grip the neck too tight so I have tried that too...prob need the strength going into the fingers instead of into holding the neck.
 

luckylarry

Student Of The Blues
Alex, barre chords are not easy. when i first tried them i positioned my fingers before using my barre finger. that helped a little. LP put a whole lesson on the forum and it is very helpful. my chords had a lot of buzz. then by relaxing and playing only on the 5 to 7th fret it started to sound better. now i can sometimes get a complete barre chord with no buzz (sometimes). my left hand still gets tired too quickly but i know it will strengthen over time. hang in, don't rush, practice, and it will come. :)
 
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Lame_Pinky

Guest
Larry you're cheating I said to practice it between the 1st & 3rs frets (F & G) it will be a bit harder but you'll gain strength quicker.

LP
 

Steve_M

Blues Newbie
I think my left wrist ache must be due to needing more practice....although I am possibly clamping too tight between thumb and barring index finger on the neck causing strain. As my wrist stops aching as soon as I stop barring, it must be stiff joints/lack of practise, as Im sure it would continue aching even after playing stops.
Thanks for all the tips (LPs guide etc)

Cheers

Steve
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Although I'm still not getting my barre chords perfect everytime 2 things that really help are LP's Guide and this video that CT posted a while back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtqEOpd5g4
the bit that made all the difference to me is where the guy demonstartes how pulling your elbow into your body actually rolls your barre finger into the desired position... with the bony part against the strings, rolled slightly toward the nut. Add this to keeping the neck high & you begin to be able to relax the 'Vulcan Death Grip'

As I said, I'm still working on this but the biggest & most lasting improvement for me was as described above :)
 

Steve_M

Blues Newbie
Right...thanks for that Ray. I thought my elbow was tucked in - but I'm not so sure now having looked at the vid.  :-/
I will practise that again later today. Will growing my hair help :cool:

Cheers

Steve
 
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