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Barre Chords
Guitar
Barre Chords and
Barre chords are just a special type of movable guitar chord
- These are chords you can shift up and down the fretboard in their
fixed formation. This in turn allows you to use those same familiar
chord fingerings in any key, simply by positioning
them at a new fret.
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Barre for the Course 1)
E shape barre chords |
In these lessons, we'll be looking at 5 main chord
shapes. Why shapes?
Well, the five main barre chords are derived from the shape of those
5 open position chords most of us
learn as absolute beginners - you know the ones - E, A, D, G and C,
down at the first few frets.
These are our foundation chord shapes, and we refer
to these same basic shapes as we move them up the fretboard and create
barre chords from them.
So, in a nutshell, here's what you have to look forward to learning:
1)
Automatically knowing how to play several voicings
of the same chord in several different positions over the
fretboard. This is about expanding your creative options.
2)
Knowing how to modify the standard barre chord shapes to create
tons more interesting chords, almost as second nature.
3)
Having the physical confidence and the muscle
memory to change between what would otherwise be awkward chord shapes!
So, let's get stuck in, starting with the E-shape barre...
Quick Links > The Theory | Fingering | Exercise & Jam Track | Chord Chart
E shape barre chords - First, the theory
Time and time again, I hear people simply refer to the E-shape barre chord as the dreaded "F chord". It's often seen as the first milestone after learning the 5 main open chord shapes.So, what makes it the "E-shape"? The sequence below starts off showing us the E major open position chord that I'm sure you're familiar with. This "shape" simply gets moved up, meaning we have to barre our index finger to represent where the nut (or capo) would be.
Don't try and play anything right now - just observe and listen...
Click diagrams in this lesson to hear
...and that shape can be positioned anywhere up the fretboard depending on what key you're playing in.
Now take a look at a similar diagram below...
This is just one way of identifying the key of the barre chord. The root note of the E-shape barre (the fretted red dot) is always on the E string, so if that root note was positioned at fret 5, it would be an A major chord.
There are higher root notes positioned on the D and high E strings, but at this stage, it's easiest to identify the key of the barre chord by looking at that lowest root note, as the rest of the chord is built from this point in this particular shape.
-----Side note----------------
Know all the root notes on the low E string? If not, this lesson will help.
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The E-shape also has a minor chord shape taken, like before, from the open E minor shape we're already familiar with.
Just like before, your barring finger acts as the nut, or capo, so you can position that whole shape wherever you need on the fretboard.
Now, the physical side - Building up those finger muscles!
Notice
how the barre finger is placed as close to the fret
wire as possible, without actually being
on the fret wire itself.
The non-barre fingers stand tall and arch down onto
the strings without
collapsing back. Fret with the finger tips.Here are some more pics to help, starting with the major shape...
And now the minor shape (all we do is remove the 2nd finger)...
Guitar Example - Download Jam Track
Download your own drummer to make practicing barre chords more engaging and enjoyable. This helps you naturally develop your sense of rhythm & explore your creativity. More >
What other chords can you create using the E-shape?
There are tons of chords that stem from this one shape! You see, as you delve deeper into the theory behind chord building, you realise that you're just pulling different tones or "flavours" from the major scale. The chord shape literally just gets superimposed over whatever notes are used from the major scale. This is covered in more depth in the theory section.Now, I'm usually against just throwing chord charts in front of you (known as "parrot fashion" learning!), but now we know the basic concept of this barre chord shape, it's just a case of knowing all the variations and chord flavours we can build around it.
Either use the chart below for just some of the chords you can create based around this shape, or, if you're more interested in really understanding chords and building interesting chords from scratch yourself, take the guitar chord theory lessons here.
When playing a chord progression using regular
major and minor chords, try
some of the major and minor variations below to see if you can spice up
the
song. You'll eventually learn which chord flavours compliment
particular
movements in a song!
Note: The diagrams below use a suggested
fingering - if you're playing a particular progression, you
might want to alter the fingerings to
accommodate...
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Major E-shape Major (e.g. A) Dominant 7
(e.g. A7) Higher-voiced
Dominant 7 Major 7 (e.g.
Amaj7) Add 9 (e.g.
Aadd9) Add 6 (e.g.
Aadd6) 7
Add 9 (e.g. A7add9) 7 Add 6 (e.g.
A7add6) Higher voiced
7 Add 6 13 (e.g.
A13/A7add6+9) |
Minor
E-shape Barre/Movable Chords Minor
(e.g. Am) Minor Dominant 7 (e.g. Am7) Higher-voiced Minor Dominant 7 Minor Major 7 (e.g. AmM7) Minor Add 9 (e.g. Amadd9) Minor Add 6 (e.g. Amadd6) Minor 7 Add 9 (e.g. Am7add9) Minor 7 Add 6 (e.g. Am7add6) Higher voiced Minor 7 Add 6 Minor 13 (e.g. Am13/Am7add6+9) |
Suspended E-shape Barre/Movable Chords
This is where the major or minor 3rd is replaced with the 4th/11th - more on this in the seperate chord theory lessons (see below if you're interested). They tend to be used as tension chords because of their "unresolved" feeling within a progression.
Sus
4 (e.g. Asus4)
Sus 4 Add 6 (e.g. Asus4add6) Dom 7 Sus 4 Add 6 (e.g. A7sus4add6) |
Dominant 7 Sus 4 (e.g. A7sus4) Sus 13 (e.g. Asus13) Sus 4
Add 9 (e.g. Asus4add9) |
To really make sense of how these chords are essentially built from
their associated
major scale shape, take the
guitar chord theory lessons here.
They key thing is always the same though - EXPERIMENT!
Start with the basic E-shape barre chord, major and minor, and see what
chords you can create by adding and removing notes, using your index
finger barre as the structural base and that low E root note.
Highly Recommended
Download your own drummer to make practicing barre chords more engaging and enjoyable. This helps you naturally develop your sense of rhythm & explore your creativity. More >
Where next?...
Learn the other 4 main chord shapes in your own time. Each shape offers
an array of movable chord voicings, and the more creative options you
give yourself, the more expressive your music can potentially be.
Thanks for your time!
