A question or three on barre (bar?) chords
 

I have been practicing barre (bar?) chords for 2 months now and can finally do a few somewhat ok, but I have a few questions:

Is it a Barre or bar chord?

I have finally been able to do the dreaded F but am still slow at it, however, I can't do a Fm because no matter how hard I try, I am not able to
use my index finger to keep the G string pressed down hard enough to ring out, even when I use my middle finger on top of my index finger to push down harder, so my question is; Whats the best way to get better dexterity/strength to be able to do the Fm? I know more practice, but anything I can add to help?

The next issue. I have been playing a favorite Mazzy Star tune and when I go from a normal E to a barre BM no matter how fast I try I'm still a .50 second gap from the E-to-Bm change and I can't just do an open strum during the change because my index finger making the barre immed deadens that so I get this silent half second gap during the change. I know i need to practice more, but is there any other exercises or other ways to help?

-sorry this is so long,
Stephen

Hi Stephen! One of the essentials when learning barre chords is to increase the strength and dexterity of your chord hand. Just like a football lineman lifts weights to increase strength, a guitarist sometimes needs to add strength building exercises in addition to practicing more. In addition to coordination, increasing strength is very important for clear and fast barre chords. When I used to teach guitar, I had a favorite exercise that I had students do, which helped hem (and myself) with the strength and coordination in their chording hand. It is:

Standing up, pinch the very center of a large page of newspaper and hold it. Hold your arm straight out to your side, palm up, elbow straight. Do this entire exercise with the arm straight out, elbow straight, and palm facing the ceiling. Using only your five fingers, crumple the newspaper page into a little ball in your hand. Use only your fingers: don't writhe your wrist around, or move your arm, or use your other hand - just use the five fingers and a perfectly stationary arm and hand. I have seen this make grown men cry. Do it three times daily; it builds immense strength in your hand, and when done in concert with regular barre chord practice, the "dreaded F" will become the "F that's as easy to play as a D".

Thanks for the reply and great idea. Is that along the same lines as one of the $15-20 finger exerciser's I see at guitar stores?

You can also bar an "e" shape by doing a thumb-wrap to hit the low string.

I don't advise doing that in front of your guitar teacher.

Barre chords
 

Hi Steven,
Sure you can play the Fm (and any other barre chord that is like the Fm and giving you trouble). All you have to do is play the top 4 strings. Forget about the bass E and bass A, aka the low E and A strings. I can play full 6 string minor chords but I more frequently play the top 4 strings. As your left hand gets stronger, you will easily be able to play the full 6 strings in a minor chord if you want to. michael s.

Practice
 

Like my fiddle instructor would say. Thats the move. Now do it 10,000 times and you'll have it.

Dave in NC

Either is OK.

1. Practice
2. Practice
3. Practice. :p

As another poster said, you don't need the whole barre, as long as you have at least the three notes (triad) that make up the chord. In this case F G# C (or Ab, which I prefer naming it instead of G#, since Fmaj is F A C, and a minor chord has a flatted or lowered 3rd). The F and C notes on the 6th and 5th strings give depth to the chord, but without them, it's still the chord.

http://jguitar.com/chord.gif?define=...er&chord=Minor

Notice in the chart where the triad is. Those are the essential notes for the chord. It may sound a little thin, but it's the chord nevertheless. That's a case where you can wrap your thumb around the neck to get the F note in the bass.

Another voicing is 433xxx. You have G# (or Ab) C F. But don't use it as a crutch, definitely keep working on full barre chords. Though there are times when you might use triads only (reggae uses either triads or full barre chords).

Here is Fmaj...

http://jguitar.com/chord.gif?define=...er&chord=Major

You can do the same thing as Fm as long as you have the notes F A C. xx3211 or xx321x. Those are all Fmaj.

I hope that helps and wasn't confusing.

<sigh>

It's not about strength, it's about technique. If you're arm-wrestling the guitar, you're doing it wrong. With good technique, you should be able to play 6-string barre chords without touching the back of the neck with your thumb. The problem you're describing (one dead string) is caused by the irregular shape of your finger bones - they're not flat, there are high and low spots, and you've got a low spot over the problem string. Try moving your finger back and forth across the fretboard, until you find a position where none of the strings are lost in a low spot.

Krash got it right. Low spots 'tween the joints in your fingers are probably the problem.

Has your guitar been set-up?? Specifically the nut slots??
When I finally, after more years than I'm willing to admit, learned about set up adjustments and got my nut slots corrected, the barre chords became 10 times easier. Especially the F, 1st fret position. Much less string deflection/pressure needed when the slots are right.

ds

Have you tried this? Use, your m, a, and c fingers to make the D chord. That is, your middle, ring and pinky fingers. Those are the fingers you'll be using to make the Bm (or F) chord. That makes the transition easier. When you want to change, keep the same shape of your fretting fingers, but move one string higher and two frets up. Then all you have to do is add your index as a barre, and Bm chord is made. If you're a little late getting the barre down, you can strum those three strings that are fretted and it's a decent partial chord.

-Raf

Yes, practice will make eventually perfect.

You could also try playing the Bm farther up the neck, as an Em barred on the 7th fret. This transition might be easier.

This is correct. One other thing is to note how you are holding the chord - the shape of the wrist. If you are bending your hand down to chord, that can contribute to your index finger problem. If you get your wrist underneith the neck and bend your wrist up that may help.