Bar Chords Make Jamming Easier

Bar chords may seem hard at first. Some of the best things in life start that way. They get easier with practice. You need your "Notes Card" to follow along so if you don't have one yet, go make one. (click here)

Why do you need your notes card? If you know the notes on strings 6, 5 and 4, you'll eventually know where to put the Bars shapes to make the chord.

The Bar is your index finger pressed across all 6 or 5 or 4 strings to make the Shape. Then you simply slide it to what ever fret you want, to play the chord.

That means you memorize one shape for 12 chords up and down one string. 8 shapes times 12 equals (let me check my calculator, carry the 1) 96 chords!! And you could learn even more than 8 different bar shapes!

First up is the E major shape. Look at the Open E major chord below. You should recognize it from Majors page, but this time I'm using different fingers so I can set up the Bar. The next picture is my index finger coming down on the nut.

See, the nut is it's own Bar.

If you take this shape (with your finger across) up to the 3rd fret.

What note does your card say the 6th string at the 3rd fret is?

Correct answer: G. So what we have here is a G major Bar Chord.(see below) It's that easy to learn!

Move it to the 11th and what is it?

If you look at the 6th string on your card, you have the answers. Instant 12 Major chords!!

Pretty cool huh?

It gets better.

Any form of E chord, major, minor, sevenths, minor sevenths an more, can go sliding to those frets on the 6th string to make that note's chord. That is why I showed you those open chords first.

Slide open E minor (use 3rd and pinkie finger to press 5th and 4th strings, use your index finger to bar it, like I did in the first picture with the E major) slide to 3rd fret and you have????

Answer: G minor bar chord. (see picture below)

12 more chords, only one more shape used!

Practice: take the open forms of E7 and Em7 to make 24 more chords from moving up and down the 6th string. Remember the 6th string open at the nut is E.

Since the notes on a Bass guitar's 4th string are the same as your sixth, you'll be able to move the same fret you see the bass player on and do a bar chord that will match. Lots of players do this when jamming for the first time with each other, unless they have a super good ear.

Notes: Other countries may call these Barre Chords. It means the same thing.

Also, don't slide these chords too often when you first start messing with them. They can cause blisters and you know that can put your playing on hold, so pay attention to what your hands tell you. If you start to feel crampage, (that's your new word for the day)...

Stop!!

Move on to the A shape bar chords.

Click Here to Go Learn A Shape Bars Next

Click Here to Go Learn D Shape Bars After

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