Four Simple Steps to Improve Your Barre Chord Play

Barre Chords, we all hate them, don’t we? You finally manage to get your first guitar; you have gone past the basic EBGDAE strings and started learning about chords. Infact, you have gone past the basic chords and your finger tips had started hardening with all the practicing. You have impressed your family and friends with a few lovely tunes. One day, you decided to learn how to play one of your favourite tunes and that was when you came across the ‘Barre Chord’ and hit a glass ceiling. Though you’d love so much to learn how to play one of your favourite tunes, you found the ‘Barre Chord’ too hard to play. Somehow, you found alternative chords but it didn’t sound like the real thing. Did that sound like your story? Guess what, you are not alone. I felt the same when I started out as a beginner. Infact, I thought it would be impossible to learn the Barre Chord. Now a couple of years down the line, I laugh at myself for having that feeling.  Let me share with you some simple techniques I used to easily learn Barre Chords as a beginner, with little or no pain so that you won’t have that same feeling like I did.

NOTE:  This is not a comprehensive or detailed ‘lecture’ on Barre Chords. The truth is that, in order to advance and master Barre chords, you would have to practice playing in certain keys which enables you to combine it with open chords so that you can learn how to easily switch chords. This is just to show you the techniques that I used to quickly learn Barre Chords as a beginner a few years back. There is a lot of material on how to master Barre Chords from various experts online so go check them out. It was a moment of joy for me when I advanced because I could finally play my favourite tunes with the ‘real barre chords’ and make them sound like the original.

What is the ‘Barre Chord’? The Barre Chord simply explained in lay terms is when in playing the guitar, you have to use a single finger, usually the fore finger, to cover and press down more than one string on one or more frets. Yes, it’s possible to have two or more Barres chords. Infact, there are even special capos for some more complex Barre Chords and you will get to learn this as you advance in your lessons.  

Here is what I did that worked:

1.      In learning how to play the Barre Chord, hand positioning is very important.  Always ensure enough space between the neck of the guitar and the arc formed between your thumb and fore-finger in pressing down the strings on a fret ( arrowed in the picture). This enables you to press down the strings very well. It is very important.

2.      Get a finger exerciser and exercise regularly everyday with much emphasis on the fore finger. This is because you will be using the fore finger the most in playing Barre Chords.  The general finger exercise strengthens your grip and makes playing the Barre Chord a joy instead of a dread. I highly recommend it to you if you’re a beginner.

3.      In wanting to master, I dared to pick a song with at least three Barre Chords and I practiced regularly (that is me). In doing this, I found that playing a song with a single Barre became a ‘piece of cake’ and so on. However if you’re a beginner, you may want to start with one Barre to boost your confidence first. Many teachers will tell you this and it’s actually the best way to start. . I would suggest the ‘F’ Major with a Barre in such a case. This is because the Barre is right on the first fret and will enable you to become accustomed to finger stretching since it’s the largest fret in terms of spacing. However, once you start and gain confidence, the only way to speed-up would be to go beyond one Barre. Pick a song with at least three Barres and spend at least one hour practicing only the Barre Chord. Then go back and play one with a single Barre and feel how easy it feels.  When you become comfortable with three, increase to four and so on. You would notice how your fingers become accustomed to playing and how fast you have improved. Personally I picked ‘Africa’ by Toto to advance my technique but find what works for you.

'F' MAJOR WITH A BARRE

4.      Practice, practice, practice! Yes, practice is the most important thing after knowing these simple techniques. Most people have little time for practice but I found that placing the guitar by my side during breakfast is fun. I get to pick it up and practice only the Barre Chord in-between munches and sips. I am sure you can find something that works for you, just don’t put the guitar in the case.

Feel free to share and ask any question. Enjoy playing the guitar.