Playing barre chords doesn’t have to be frustrating!
Every guitar player struggles when they make the leap from playing open position chords to playing barre chords. So don’t feel bad. Don’t feel like there’s something wrong with your brain, or your hands. Mastering barre chords is an important next step in your musical growth as a guitarist. Aside from playing rhythm guitar, playing barre chords opens up the guitar neck to a new understanding that facilitates your ability to learn and improvise guitar solos. Understanding how solos relate to the underlying chord helps you break out of just playing those same scale patterns, and hoping it all just magically works out. Hope isn’t good plan. Taking action, with a good plan, is a better approach.
You can make the leap into playing barre chords less frustrating, less painful and more rewarding if you address important technical issues like:
What’s happening on the back of the neck? Thumb positioning on the back of the neck is crucial!
What’s going on with the space between your hand and the guitar neck?
A lack of finger, hand, forearm strength and endurance
Not all fingers are created equally. Addressing individual finger strength and independence, is again…crucial. They will work together better as a whole.
Why does your palm keep creeping high up in there?
Why can’t you get on the tips of your fingers, and stay there?
Your elbow. Yes, your elbow! Are you winging it out there?
Is your wrist supposed to hurt this much? No! That’s a sign of the improper technique that is holding you back! “No pain, no gain” is not the solution.
Why are some strings always muted and won’t ring clearly, no matter how hard you try?
The angle of the barring finger. If you try to lay it flat, you’ll be winging your elbow out there!
Transitioning between chords. Are you always leading off with the barring finger? There’s a better and more consistent way to set yourself up to execute.
Learning & knowing the guitar neck. Really beginning to learn the guitar neck.
Understanding how to transition barre chords, in time.
What you get with this barre chord guitar course:
A linear and organized progression of lessons and exercises, containing 9 PDFs and 20 video lessons, with me performing each example.
Lessons designed and created by me to specifically address playing barre chords, across the neck, in different keys.
Tips and instruction on improving your ear training skills
Learning how to mute, with both hands, to facilitate more musical and consistent chord transitions
Direction in counting and playing in time
8 video Guitar Skills lessons, with accompanying PDFs, to help you improve your hand position, strength and endurance so you can play barre chords, and guitar, better!
