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Barre Chords
Guitar
Barre Chords and
Movable Chord Shapes
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.
The "barre" refers to positioning one of your
fretting fingers (most often your index finger) flat across more than
one string.
You'll see how different types of barre are used in different chord
shapes throughout this course.
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...
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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.
-------------------------------
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!
At
first, ouch! You'll find that barring your index finger across all 6
strings like that is difficult to begin with.
With only your index finger barred, try picking each string - does each
one sound
cleanly? Is there any buzzing?
If there is buzzing, it means the string isn't being fretted properly.
Adjust your barre finger position, and try again, until each string
sounds cleanly.
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.
Be patient - it won't feel comfortable at first, but judge it based on
whether all 6 strings sound cleanly... if they do, it's simply a case
of physically getting used to it, and trust me, you
will!
TIP: Give that index finger a workout! Barre the
strings, like above, for 10 seconds, play all 6 strings, then release
the barre, barre for 10 seconds again, then release etc. This will help
the
muscle memory set in.
Like I said before, just make sure each note sounds cleanly when you're
barring.
When you're confident with your barring strength, apply the other
fingers of the E-shape major chord, and once again make sure each note
in the chord rings cleanly.
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)...

Once you're confident
with the above, try changing from an open position chord to an E-shape
barre chord. Try the below exercise for reference (the barre chords are
underlined)...

Guitar Example - Download
Jam Track
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
>
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
Barre/Movable Chords
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!
Learn
another
barre chord shape >
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