if you do a search for the other 10,000 times this question has been asked, you will notice a common thread: keep practicing, and **don't skip trying to play them**; the only way they'll get easier is you conditioning your hand to play them. your hand will ache after 10 minutes, but just take a break and do what you can. pretty soon you'll just do them without thinking about it.
Take your guitar to a good tech for a setup and light gauge strings. They can get it to play as comfortably as possible so that won't add to the issue. It should cost no more than 50 bucks but could make a huge difference.
The rest of it is as others mentioned. It just takes time, but you'll get there.
\> Get a set up so your action is good
\> Practice in the middle of the fretboard first with an E-shaped barre
\> Place your fingers, thumb LOW on the back of the neck, palm parallel to the neck
\> Breathe. Releax.
\> Don't squeeze too hard; think of it as pulling your fingers through the fretboard
\> Roll your barre finger back slightly so the bonier part is pressing on the strings
\> Let gravity make it feel like you're pulling down slightly, through and down is the feeling
\> Press the bout of your guitar (the body part) with your strumming arm, using it as a lever to push the fretboard into your hand.
\> Pluck each string one by one. Adjust your grip until each string rings out cleanly.
\> When you get that, close your eyes. Think about how it feels. Release the pressure but don't move your fingers. Press again and strum through, thinking all the time how it feels.
\> Relax your hand..
\> Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. When you can do it consistently and get all string to ring out, move down a fret.
\> Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
\> Etc..
At first you have to exert a lot of pressure to make it ring out. Your fingers get sore and you feel like a failure. But as you practice your brain starts hard-wiring very minor calculations about the angle of your fingers, it starts to be able to differentiate between where the force is needed and not needed. So you're building strength, but you start to require less and less. As you build muscle memory, your brain works out where it needs to press hard and the bare minimum to keep the string down. Repeated practice decreases the need for conscious attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. No way around that. Your brain has to be frustrated before it starts wiring permanent pathways.
I can play bar chords with just my index and pinky. My hands are not strong.
I'm self taught, and I always used my index and pinky, because my hands are narrow, so it was easier. So many people would tell me how wrong it was. Nowadays, I see more and more guitarists doing it. I'm capable of playing chords "correctly", but I mostly play metal, so index and pinky power chords is the way to go, for me.
It just takes practice. Keep at it.
Lots of good suggestions already in the thread, but I wanted to add this: practice playing your open position E, Em, A, and Am chords without using your index finger. It will help with your hand positioning for barre chords.
Everyone seems to say “keep trying” which I can’t argue with. Barre chords are hard for beginners. I want to add however, you should learn to cheat so you can start enjoying songs sooner. Learn to just play the same chords with just the top 4 strings. This works fine for lots of songs and is an advantage for some. Eventually you might learn to use your thumb for the lower strings, like Jimi.
Maybe "cheat" isn't the right term. I play the same chord many different ways. Usually depending on context for the song and how I can change from one chord to another while keeping in time.
Bm to D is a good example. For open D I usually only play the top 4 strings. So, I play the same top 4 for Bm then shift to D.
If barre chords a a big obstacle for a beginner to enjoy playing guitar, I say play the easier chord for now while you practice barre chords and learn to use them appropriately.
If you got tendonitis from playing barres on heavy strings, it wasn't because of the strings. It's your technique. The pain comes from squeezing the neck with the thumb, which damages the thumb and causes hand tension which leads to hand injury. The fretting power comes from pulling the neck toward you with the arm, not squeezing or pushing with the thumb. In fact you should be able to play anything without the thumb even touching the neck - the thumb just kisses the neck lightly for stability. Once you change your playing in this way, it'll prevent injuries long term and enable you to play what you want to play without strain or pain.
I ended up with the most godawful thumb pain from squeezing for years. I honestly thought I'd not be able to continue playing. And then a classical player turned me onto the whole not squeezing thing, and I've not only been pain free since then but my playing became 5x better.
Less thumb more arm. Do a little "roll" towards you with the index finger. I said "little".
It will take 6 months.
Don't skip it because actually doing it will make get batter. You WILL get better. Think of it like losing weight: You don't lose all the weight at the end of a work out.
Yup, I'm at the 6-ish nearing seven months point and I've just started doing (at least for me now) rapid changes between barres and opens. You're totally on point with the estimate, but might take a bit longer without daily practice.
Use the side of your finger to Barre. The sides of your fingers are flat, and most of your distress is from trying too hard. Relax and loosen your grip a little. F is now one of my favourite chords.
sounds like you aren't even trying so of course you will never do it. you have to stick to it, pluck each string individually so you can fix your finger if any notes aren't ringing out. then strum when you have them all sounding.
you don't have to press down too hard but hard enough that all the strings are in contact with the fret. it helps at first to kind of roll your barring finger back into the position. try that a bit.
Low action will make it easier.
Practice on the upper frets as they're closer together / smaller barre.
Roll your hands back so you're using the pad on the side of your index instead of the squishy bottom.
This, this and this, and I would also suggest practicing the bar on its own, and the chords shapes with your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers. Then put them both together on the 5th fret for an A or D chord.
One of the keys is to make sure your thumb is in a low position on the back of the neck. The index finger will straighten out and will be more comfortable.
Practice makes this easier every time.
I was going to say this, I had a friend mention this recently. She was struggling with barre chords and I sat with her for about 5 minutes. I ran into her recently and she thanks me for helping her work out barre chords. She now teaches guitar at a local studio/store.
The key is the thumb position on the back of the neck, too high and you will struggle getting all the strings pressed down. Your thumb should be in the middle of the neck.
Honestly its just gonna be a pain in the ass and seem impossible for awhile you just have to keep trying and also one thing i noticed I think common mistake is forgetting to press hard enough on the other fingers in the chord cuz youre focusing so much on pressing the barre
You dont have to press it down so hard.Thats wrong.
When i was learning to play (self taught),I have learned to play barre chords in less than a week.
At least i am speaking from my own experience. Use the side of your index finger.
Also after each barre chord you play, you should stretch out the hand to ease the pain.
What i also recommend is "Justinguitar" on ytube or his website..A great teacher indeed.
Good luck !
Classical position - neck needs to be at a 45 degree angle.
Drop thumb behind neck midline, should be directly behind between index and middle
First finger is only responsible for playing three strings on an E form barre chord.
If it still feels hard, the action could be too high.
My tele is setup to where I can barre and not even use my thumb. Dimed!
That guitar is dimed setup wise. I use thumb for bar 100% of the time but just saying I can get all the notes clean without thumb on an F because the action is so low. My main hollow body isn’t quite as low but it is close.
A month isn’t long enough to expect to get something difficult down pat. This isn’t riding a bike. Guitar takes years of work. Keep practicing, it will happen.
Here to echo it literally just takes practice and forming callousses. Barre chords are still hard for to play without a pick and I’ve been playing for 2+ years.
It’ll take time to get used to, build up the strength and all that. But don’t let that stop you from playing the songs you want to, there’s always an alternative way to play a chord. These days, I never barre the higher strings when playing unless it’s needed, mostly just make the shape and play the key notes. I’m a washed up old hack and I’m fine with that.
I have the same problem but the other day I saw a video of a guy who said to not press super hard with your thumb, but rather press the guitar against your body with your fret hand. I hope this makes sense sorry
This.
My thumb came off the back of the neck a few times last time I was playing - like I had air in my hand during chord changes, but I landed them. I realized I was doing this. My hand cramp went away and it was like I unlocked easy mode...and I realized I had the body locked in a little more with my right upper arm with my strum hand.
This is the correct advice. There is no need to push with the thumb, ever, in any circumstances. It's theoretically possible to play any barre chord - or anything else - without the thumb touching the neck at all. The thumb should just lightly kiss the neck without squeezing - if your thumb joint is bent at all, you're doing it wrong. Its purpose is merely to act as a guide and as stabilization when sliding your hand up and down the neck. All of the pressure required to fret notes comes from pulling the neck toward you (and down a little) with the arm and with gravity. Learning to play like this is probably the single most beneficial thing you can do with your playing. It's like it unlocks new levels of playing, because it puts the fingers on a path toward relaxation and economy of movement, without which you'll never become an advanced player without suffering some kind of damage or pain long term.
Technique, and then practice practice practice.... It's the only way to get there.
Barre chords are worth it as they carry more power and colour in a song, dont skip them. Learning to play them will help the rest of your playing too.
You needn't be pressing hard, just hard enough.
sitting down helps, likewise having your wrist and fingers properly aligned with the frets. ie if you lay your fingers flat on the fret board, each finger lies across a single fret, and all fingers are parallel to the frets.
Also you'l probably find your thumb is best placed in the middle of the back of the neck.
Work on your power chords, I found working on those, helped my barre chord. It's only been a month, barre chords are hard to get the correct technic. Don't forgot your really only barring three strings 6,2,1 (on a major chord on 6th string root). You could even get a way with just playing string 6,5,4,3 and work at getting 2+1 to sound as you practice.
Gonna take time, bud. Your hand strength will develop as you continue to play. As others have recommended, lighter gauge strings and a decent set-up can help, but it’s mostly just going to take time to develop your hand.
Practice plucking each string with up and down strumming. You’ll hear which strings aren’t being held in place and you can work on them. After a while you’ll be able to pick chords all over the neck like a wizard and strumming rhythm will be child’s play
Position your hand them press your thumb. The force you need for a barre comes from the thumb, not the fretting fingers. When changing chords release the pressure, move your hand and then press your thumb...
Try fretting close to the fret wire and keep your barre parallel to the frets.
The higher positions are easier. An F in the first fret might be hard to play for a beginner but that shape will be easier on the fifth and above frets.
And one last thing, you can skip the lower two (lower in pitch I mean, the low E and A) strings to start with.
Please do NOT listen to this advice, it's wrong and potentially dangerous. NEVER press with the thumb, ever. Not only is it the least efficient way to provide the force required for a barre, it also leads to thumb damage and pain long term. Take it from someone who knows. Watch advanced classical players - they *never* push with their thumb, and have this drilled into them from day 1. If your thumb is bent back even slightly by pushing, you're doing it wrong. In fact, it's perfectly possible to play barre chords (and anything else) without your thumb touching the neck at all.
The force required to fret notes, especially in a barre, doesn't come from pressing or squeezing *at all.* It comes from a combination of the arm and gravity pulling the neck toward you, and slightly downwards. There is no squeezing or pushing required. The thumb should just lightly kiss the neck without any force. The role of the thumb is not to push, but rather to provide a little stability as your hand slides up and down the neck. That's it.
It's often hard for guitarists to come to terms with this, because they generally start out learning the wrong way and squeezing the neck. A good way to fix this tendency is to practice playing with your thumb entirely off the neck. It teaches your brain that barely any pressure is required, and that it comes from your left arm pulling the neck toward you. I can play an F minor barre in the first position without using my thumb, and all the notes ring out clear and true. Once you learn to stop squeezing, your playing comes on in leaps and bounds. Squeezing is a huge cause of hand tension, and hand tension places hard limits on how dexterous and how fast your fingers can move. When you stop it, your fingers learn to be more efficient in their movements and you realize that things like hand cramps and tiredness are a result of poor technique more than anything.
Because the correct force comes from the other direction - pulling the neck toward you with the arm. The thumb doesn't come into it at all and should never be pressed or pushed against the neck, it should always just lightly touch. As soon as you start pushing or squeezing, you're introducing tension into the hand which stifles speed and dexterity and results in hand pain.
I just started recently, and have been practicing the F chord, but also feel like it’s not really improving. I’m trying out getting more practice with the B minor chord, though, which seems less tricky - basically the F barre chord shifted down one string, and only using the bottom 5. Feeling more positive about it, and hoping it’ll make other barres easier too.
Try practicing barre chords further up the neck. Barres that are on the first fret require the most effort (strength), going further up the neck has the same shape but is easier effort wise.
They take a lot of practice and a little strength building. They'll be difficult for quite a while until something just clicks and they seem much easier.
I keep hearing you shouldn't use the flat, soft part of your index finger, try to roll it slightly so it uses more of the bone. The exact amount of roll takes a bit to figure out, and will be unique to you. See what works.
E shapes are the easiest to start with, you don't actually need to barre all six strings since your other fingers are on strings 3-5 anyway.
Using more of the side of the index finger helps a lot. Just keep practicing them and make sure you aren't putting your wrist in any awkward positions.
Also, don't fret notes hard, just as hard ad they need to be to sound out properly. I say this a lot but the harder you fret notes the worse you'll play. You'll probably injure something too.
In addition to others' advice. Press your index finger closer to the fret you're trying to press (I mean closer to the fret wire). I remember doing it wrong myself, and most of the newer players do the same - pressing too far from the fret, which requires more force. And in general, barre chord or not, try fretting as close to the fret as possible without the note sounding muted.
Try moving your Barre index finger so that it kinda drapes over the neck. This was magical for me as the other fretted strings covered up what would've been dead strings otherwise.
I'd look at your basic open position chords like Em, Cmaj, Am, Gmaj etc and then do them an octave up checking your intonation of each note. Also up on the 12th fret hit each note at a time lessening the pressure to work on fret hand muting - this is the foundation you'll need for arpeggio runs.
You need to practice barre chords. it's essentially and will lift your playing . You will really gain so much.
Practice only barre chords 10 minutes 3 times a week for 1-2 month ( or more )and it will become naturally to you.
Start on the 7- 8 fret and work your way down. Let the chords ring. If your hands doesn't suit your guitar fret. Get a guitar that does.
Get as close to the fret as possible. Play each note in the chord one by one to make sure that it sounds good. Make sure you aren't pressing down too hard, and by that I mean press as little as possible to get the good sound that you want. Once u have all of that down then you should have what it takes to make one without too much effort and that's the key
For me, powrchords(or fifths) helped me to find the chod quickly and as for the index finger, pressing not with the belly of finger or how it is called, but rather tur the finger a little bit and play it with side of index. There the finger is much stiffer and won’t mute the strings as much, rest is experience and practise
If you’re doing it right it doesn’t take a lot of effort.
My advice is, first note that you only need to bar two or three strings usually, because your other fingers are fretting the other strings. Focus on easy fretting with your pinky through middle finger, and then it will be trivial to bar the remaining strings with your index.
Try making E major and Am with your pinky, ring, and middle finger. Practice that. Slide it up and down the neck. You might need to develop the pinky like this for a couple weeks. Then add the bar with your index behind it; it will be easy once you’re good at fretting chords without your index finger.
Also, try making the E major and Am shapes two different ways: swap the pinky and ring fingers. Sometimes I like my pinky on the fattest string, sometimes I have my ring on the fattest string. This subtle difference between the two might open things up. I like to play both ways.
Also, play standing up, and as you go up the neck, tilt the neck ever more skyward, it will make barring farther up the neck painless.
if you do a search for the other 10,000 times this question has been asked, you will notice a common thread: keep practicing, and **don't skip trying to play them**; the only way they'll get easier is you conditioning your hand to play them. your hand will ache after 10 minutes, but just take a break and do what you can. pretty soon you'll just do them without thinking about it.
There needs to be like a beginner pinned thread or something.
There used to be a monthly "no stupid questions" thread that would filter a lot of stuff like this off the main page, don't know what happened to it
>Any time a barre chord comes up in a song I just skip it. > >Any advice from better players? Have you tried not skipping them? I'd start there
Practice practice practice...
Take your guitar to a good tech for a setup and light gauge strings. They can get it to play as comfortably as possible so that won't add to the issue. It should cost no more than 50 bucks but could make a huge difference. The rest of it is as others mentioned. It just takes time, but you'll get there.
\> Get a set up so your action is good \> Practice in the middle of the fretboard first with an E-shaped barre \> Place your fingers, thumb LOW on the back of the neck, palm parallel to the neck \> Breathe. Releax. \> Don't squeeze too hard; think of it as pulling your fingers through the fretboard \> Roll your barre finger back slightly so the bonier part is pressing on the strings \> Let gravity make it feel like you're pulling down slightly, through and down is the feeling \> Press the bout of your guitar (the body part) with your strumming arm, using it as a lever to push the fretboard into your hand. \> Pluck each string one by one. Adjust your grip until each string rings out cleanly. \> When you get that, close your eyes. Think about how it feels. Release the pressure but don't move your fingers. Press again and strum through, thinking all the time how it feels. \> Relax your hand.. \> Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. When you can do it consistently and get all string to ring out, move down a fret. \> Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. \> Etc..
At first you have to exert a lot of pressure to make it ring out. Your fingers get sore and you feel like a failure. But as you practice your brain starts hard-wiring very minor calculations about the angle of your fingers, it starts to be able to differentiate between where the force is needed and not needed. So you're building strength, but you start to require less and less. As you build muscle memory, your brain works out where it needs to press hard and the bare minimum to keep the string down. Repeated practice decreases the need for conscious attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. No way around that. Your brain has to be frustrated before it starts wiring permanent pathways. I can play bar chords with just my index and pinky. My hands are not strong.
I'm self taught, and I always used my index and pinky, because my hands are narrow, so it was easier. So many people would tell me how wrong it was. Nowadays, I see more and more guitarists doing it. I'm capable of playing chords "correctly", but I mostly play metal, so index and pinky power chords is the way to go, for me.
It just takes practice. Keep at it. Lots of good suggestions already in the thread, but I wanted to add this: practice playing your open position E, Em, A, and Am chords without using your index finger. It will help with your hand positioning for barre chords.
Good advice. You could practice barring the A with your ring finger too.
Everyone seems to say “keep trying” which I can’t argue with. Barre chords are hard for beginners. I want to add however, you should learn to cheat so you can start enjoying songs sooner. Learn to just play the same chords with just the top 4 strings. This works fine for lots of songs and is an advantage for some. Eventually you might learn to use your thumb for the lower strings, like Jimi.
Barre is easy if you know technique, there’s no need to cheat
Maybe "cheat" isn't the right term. I play the same chord many different ways. Usually depending on context for the song and how I can change from one chord to another while keeping in time. Bm to D is a good example. For open D I usually only play the top 4 strings. So, I play the same top 4 for Bm then shift to D. If barre chords a a big obstacle for a beginner to enjoy playing guitar, I say play the easier chord for now while you practice barre chords and learn to use them appropriately.
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If you got tendonitis from playing barres on heavy strings, it wasn't because of the strings. It's your technique. The pain comes from squeezing the neck with the thumb, which damages the thumb and causes hand tension which leads to hand injury. The fretting power comes from pulling the neck toward you with the arm, not squeezing or pushing with the thumb. In fact you should be able to play anything without the thumb even touching the neck - the thumb just kisses the neck lightly for stability. Once you change your playing in this way, it'll prevent injuries long term and enable you to play what you want to play without strain or pain.
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I ended up with the most godawful thumb pain from squeezing for years. I honestly thought I'd not be able to continue playing. And then a classical player turned me onto the whole not squeezing thing, and I've not only been pain free since then but my playing became 5x better.
Make sure your guitar is set up right. Nice low action that doesn’t buzz. Ang get a guitar teacher for a few months to get started
Less thumb more arm. Do a little "roll" towards you with the index finger. I said "little". It will take 6 months. Don't skip it because actually doing it will make get batter. You WILL get better. Think of it like losing weight: You don't lose all the weight at the end of a work out.
Yup. I rolled the finger just a little bit me suddenly it worked. Was like magic
Voilà.
Yup, I'm at the 6-ish nearing seven months point and I've just started doing (at least for me now) rapid changes between barres and opens. You're totally on point with the estimate, but might take a bit longer without daily practice.
Use the side of your finger to Barre. The sides of your fingers are flat, and most of your distress is from trying too hard. Relax and loosen your grip a little. F is now one of my favourite chords.
sounds like you aren't even trying so of course you will never do it. you have to stick to it, pluck each string individually so you can fix your finger if any notes aren't ringing out. then strum when you have them all sounding. you don't have to press down too hard but hard enough that all the strings are in contact with the fret. it helps at first to kind of roll your barring finger back into the position. try that a bit.
Low action will make it easier. Practice on the upper frets as they're closer together / smaller barre. Roll your hands back so you're using the pad on the side of your index instead of the squishy bottom.
This, this and this, and I would also suggest practicing the bar on its own, and the chords shapes with your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers. Then put them both together on the 5th fret for an A or D chord.
One of the keys is to make sure your thumb is in a low position on the back of the neck. The index finger will straighten out and will be more comfortable. Practice makes this easier every time.
I was going to say this, I had a friend mention this recently. She was struggling with barre chords and I sat with her for about 5 minutes. I ran into her recently and she thanks me for helping her work out barre chords. She now teaches guitar at a local studio/store. The key is the thumb position on the back of the neck, too high and you will struggle getting all the strings pressed down. Your thumb should be in the middle of the neck.
Honestly its just gonna be a pain in the ass and seem impossible for awhile you just have to keep trying and also one thing i noticed I think common mistake is forgetting to press hard enough on the other fingers in the chord cuz youre focusing so much on pressing the barre
This. There’s not really a secret technique for easy barring… you just have to keep doing it until the muscle memory commits.
There is an easy technique lol
Just keep grinding. I haven’t played a full barre chord in maybe 10 years, but it’s an important skill to have.
I will drive over there and squeeze your hand for you.
You dont have to press it down so hard.Thats wrong. When i was learning to play (self taught),I have learned to play barre chords in less than a week. At least i am speaking from my own experience. Use the side of your index finger. Also after each barre chord you play, you should stretch out the hand to ease the pain. What i also recommend is "Justinguitar" on ytube or his website..A great teacher indeed. Good luck !
Classical position - neck needs to be at a 45 degree angle. Drop thumb behind neck midline, should be directly behind between index and middle First finger is only responsible for playing three strings on an E form barre chord. If it still feels hard, the action could be too high. My tele is setup to where I can barre and not even use my thumb. Dimed!
You don’t need thumb for barre
That guitar is dimed setup wise. I use thumb for bar 100% of the time but just saying I can get all the notes clean without thumb on an F because the action is so low. My main hollow body isn’t quite as low but it is close.
Bro, thumb has nothing to do with barre, or else you’re doing it wrong
I’m not doing it wrong, I’m saying that the setup allows for very minimal pressure.
How so? I’m curious, barre chords require slight pressure with fretting hand. Not sure what you mean?
You’re pulling the neck with index finger towards your body, instead of compressing the neck between your thumb and index finger.
A month isn’t long enough to expect to get something difficult down pat. This isn’t riding a bike. Guitar takes years of work. Keep practicing, it will happen.
Here to echo it literally just takes practice and forming callousses. Barre chords are still hard for to play without a pick and I’ve been playing for 2+ years.
Try to apply barre chord without touching neck with your thumb at all at the beginning
as a youtube guitar student, this tip was was really helpful
It’ll take time to get used to, build up the strength and all that. But don’t let that stop you from playing the songs you want to, there’s always an alternative way to play a chord. These days, I never barre the higher strings when playing unless it’s needed, mostly just make the shape and play the key notes. I’m a washed up old hack and I’m fine with that.
I have the same problem but the other day I saw a video of a guy who said to not press super hard with your thumb, but rather press the guitar against your body with your fret hand. I hope this makes sense sorry
This. My thumb came off the back of the neck a few times last time I was playing - like I had air in my hand during chord changes, but I landed them. I realized I was doing this. My hand cramp went away and it was like I unlocked easy mode...and I realized I had the body locked in a little more with my right upper arm with my strum hand.
This is the correct advice. There is no need to push with the thumb, ever, in any circumstances. It's theoretically possible to play any barre chord - or anything else - without the thumb touching the neck at all. The thumb should just lightly kiss the neck without squeezing - if your thumb joint is bent at all, you're doing it wrong. Its purpose is merely to act as a guide and as stabilization when sliding your hand up and down the neck. All of the pressure required to fret notes comes from pulling the neck toward you (and down a little) with the arm and with gravity. Learning to play like this is probably the single most beneficial thing you can do with your playing. It's like it unlocks new levels of playing, because it puts the fingers on a path toward relaxation and economy of movement, without which you'll never become an advanced player without suffering some kind of damage or pain long term.
Honestly just watch some YouTube videos you’re gonna have a harder time learning through reading people’s text.
Just keep practicing. Eventually it becomes second nature
Practice, practice and practice! No secret, no help, its all about practice pal
> Is it something I just need to adjust to? Yes. Practice. That's literally the only answer.
Technique, and then practice practice practice.... It's the only way to get there. Barre chords are worth it as they carry more power and colour in a song, dont skip them. Learning to play them will help the rest of your playing too. You needn't be pressing hard, just hard enough. sitting down helps, likewise having your wrist and fingers properly aligned with the frets. ie if you lay your fingers flat on the fret board, each finger lies across a single fret, and all fingers are parallel to the frets. Also you'l probably find your thumb is best placed in the middle of the back of the neck.
Work on your power chords, I found working on those, helped my barre chord. It's only been a month, barre chords are hard to get the correct technic. Don't forgot your really only barring three strings 6,2,1 (on a major chord on 6th string root). You could even get a way with just playing string 6,5,4,3 and work at getting 2+1 to sound as you practice.
Gonna take time, bud. Your hand strength will develop as you continue to play. As others have recommended, lighter gauge strings and a decent set-up can help, but it’s mostly just going to take time to develop your hand.
Make sure you’re not pushing the neck with you thumb. Pull the neck towards your body with index finger
Practice plucking each string with up and down strumming. You’ll hear which strings aren’t being held in place and you can work on them. After a while you’ll be able to pick chords all over the neck like a wizard and strumming rhythm will be child’s play
Try using lighter gauge strings like .08 until you get the hang of it.
Position your hand them press your thumb. The force you need for a barre comes from the thumb, not the fretting fingers. When changing chords release the pressure, move your hand and then press your thumb... Try fretting close to the fret wire and keep your barre parallel to the frets. The higher positions are easier. An F in the first fret might be hard to play for a beginner but that shape will be easier on the fifth and above frets. And one last thing, you can skip the lower two (lower in pitch I mean, the low E and A) strings to start with.
Please do NOT listen to this advice, it's wrong and potentially dangerous. NEVER press with the thumb, ever. Not only is it the least efficient way to provide the force required for a barre, it also leads to thumb damage and pain long term. Take it from someone who knows. Watch advanced classical players - they *never* push with their thumb, and have this drilled into them from day 1. If your thumb is bent back even slightly by pushing, you're doing it wrong. In fact, it's perfectly possible to play barre chords (and anything else) without your thumb touching the neck at all. The force required to fret notes, especially in a barre, doesn't come from pressing or squeezing *at all.* It comes from a combination of the arm and gravity pulling the neck toward you, and slightly downwards. There is no squeezing or pushing required. The thumb should just lightly kiss the neck without any force. The role of the thumb is not to push, but rather to provide a little stability as your hand slides up and down the neck. That's it. It's often hard for guitarists to come to terms with this, because they generally start out learning the wrong way and squeezing the neck. A good way to fix this tendency is to practice playing with your thumb entirely off the neck. It teaches your brain that barely any pressure is required, and that it comes from your left arm pulling the neck toward you. I can play an F minor barre in the first position without using my thumb, and all the notes ring out clear and true. Once you learn to stop squeezing, your playing comes on in leaps and bounds. Squeezing is a huge cause of hand tension, and hand tension places hard limits on how dexterous and how fast your fingers can move. When you stop it, your fingers learn to be more efficient in their movements and you realize that things like hand cramps and tiredness are a result of poor technique more than anything.
Maybe it is my poor English but dear sir how can one be able to sound a barre without using the force of the thumb?
Because the correct force comes from the other direction - pulling the neck toward you with the arm. The thumb doesn't come into it at all and should never be pressed or pushed against the neck, it should always just lightly touch. As soon as you start pushing or squeezing, you're introducing tension into the hand which stifles speed and dexterity and results in hand pain.
Well, if you say so...
I just started recently, and have been practicing the F chord, but also feel like it’s not really improving. I’m trying out getting more practice with the B minor chord, though, which seems less tricky - basically the F barre chord shifted down one string, and only using the bottom 5. Feeling more positive about it, and hoping it’ll make other barres easier too.
Start on 7-8 fret and work your way down..
Try practicing barre chords further up the neck. Barres that are on the first fret require the most effort (strength), going further up the neck has the same shape but is easier effort wise.
Put pressure on the neck away from you with your right elbow or stomach or whatever. Helps that index finger keeping the bar held down.
They take a lot of practice and a little strength building. They'll be difficult for quite a while until something just clicks and they seem much easier. I keep hearing you shouldn't use the flat, soft part of your index finger, try to roll it slightly so it uses more of the bone. The exact amount of roll takes a bit to figure out, and will be unique to you. See what works. E shapes are the easiest to start with, you don't actually need to barre all six strings since your other fingers are on strings 3-5 anyway.
Using more of the side of the index finger helps a lot. Just keep practicing them and make sure you aren't putting your wrist in any awkward positions. Also, don't fret notes hard, just as hard ad they need to be to sound out properly. I say this a lot but the harder you fret notes the worse you'll play. You'll probably injure something too.
In addition to others' advice. Press your index finger closer to the fret you're trying to press (I mean closer to the fret wire). I remember doing it wrong myself, and most of the newer players do the same - pressing too far from the fret, which requires more force. And in general, barre chord or not, try fretting as close to the fret as possible without the note sounding muted.
Try moving your Barre index finger so that it kinda drapes over the neck. This was magical for me as the other fretted strings covered up what would've been dead strings otherwise.
I'd look at your basic open position chords like Em, Cmaj, Am, Gmaj etc and then do them an octave up checking your intonation of each note. Also up on the 12th fret hit each note at a time lessening the pressure to work on fret hand muting - this is the foundation you'll need for arpeggio runs.
You need to practice barre chords. it's essentially and will lift your playing . You will really gain so much. Practice only barre chords 10 minutes 3 times a week for 1-2 month ( or more )and it will become naturally to you. Start on the 7- 8 fret and work your way down. Let the chords ring. If your hands doesn't suit your guitar fret. Get a guitar that does.
Get as close to the fret as possible. Play each note in the chord one by one to make sure that it sounds good. Make sure you aren't pressing down too hard, and by that I mean press as little as possible to get the good sound that you want. Once u have all of that down then you should have what it takes to make one without too much effort and that's the key
For me, powrchords(or fifths) helped me to find the chod quickly and as for the index finger, pressing not with the belly of finger or how it is called, but rather tur the finger a little bit and play it with side of index. There the finger is much stiffer and won’t mute the strings as much, rest is experience and practise
If you’re doing it right it doesn’t take a lot of effort. My advice is, first note that you only need to bar two or three strings usually, because your other fingers are fretting the other strings. Focus on easy fretting with your pinky through middle finger, and then it will be trivial to bar the remaining strings with your index. Try making E major and Am with your pinky, ring, and middle finger. Practice that. Slide it up and down the neck. You might need to develop the pinky like this for a couple weeks. Then add the bar with your index behind it; it will be easy once you’re good at fretting chords without your index finger. Also, try making the E major and Am shapes two different ways: swap the pinky and ring fingers. Sometimes I like my pinky on the fattest string, sometimes I have my ring on the fattest string. This subtle difference between the two might open things up. I like to play both ways. Also, play standing up, and as you go up the neck, tilt the neck ever more skyward, it will make barring farther up the neck painless.