Hey guys,

For weeks i have been struggling with Barre chords getting to sound good is not the problem but moving around on the neck is what i am having problems with can anyone give some advice to make this easier for me?

thx in advance

Have you checked out Kris's lesson on barre chords? It can be really helpful

I have had ALOT of trouble with those too.

What helped me the most, was to start on a comfertable position, like 7th-9th frets, and practice E and A shape barre chords. When that goes well, you can start doing them on other positions, like 10th-12th frets or 3rd-5th frets. Then it is just a matter of time before you advance to the first fret.

e---7------
B---7------
G---8------
D---9------
A---9------
E---7------

e---7----
B---8----
G---9----
D---9----
A---7----
E---7----

To make things more clear, see above tabs. First tab is B barre chord (in the shape of E), other is E barre chord (in the shape of A). You can leave out the 8th fret in the chord, making it minor, but it might be easier to play. For me, playing the 8th fret here actually helped me get more strenght out of my index finger barre.

the only tip there is is to just practice moving around the fingers. There is no magical technique for Barre Chords, besides placing the index finger comfortably on the frets

Practice the things that you find hard and after a while they will not be hard anymore

Hey pal!

A lot of people struggle with barring chords, its mostly down to hand position I usually find, you say the sound is ok but its moving around thats the problem?
Could it be that you are gripping the neck a bit tight? Try to loosen up enough to barre the chord but not strangle the life out of your guitar, also check your thumb position, a lot of people use the thumb over the top method but this can make barring difficul, try placing your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck and press with the ends of your fingers, not the pads.
Once you can do both types of grip (They both have benefits in playing) you can switch easily between the two.

Check out the attached photos.

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

that one is a minor.. leaving out the 8th would give you a.. well.. something else..
you gotta change the 8 to a 9 to make it the E major chord in the A shape..

Oh, and loose the low E string.. like this..

e---7----
B---9----
G---9----
D---9----
A---7----
E---x----

edit: actually you dont have to mute the low E on this particular chord.. just dont fret it and it will add another E to the chord, but i guess it's just a matter of how you like the sound.. (mute on other A shaped chords tho)

try putting your index finger just a very little bit sideways so you get a bit of the strong bone on the side and not all flesh. and also try that non of your folding places in the finger(i have no idea how are they called in english) are not on one of the strings

Now this is what I call a nice barre grip man!

sted doing it Jimi style

Thanks allot guys i'm sure it will go better with the advice you guys just gave me

a little add:
try to apply presure with your arm(by pulling back) instead of your thumb, else u'll tightn up

-Frederik

Seems I also learned something here today

Mayby a bit offtopic question, but just to know I got it right this time :
E-shape minor :

e---7----
B---7----
G---8----
D---9----
A---9----
E---7----

E-shape major :

e---7----
B---7----
G---7----
D---9----
A---9----
E---7----

A-shape minor :

e---7----
B---8----
G---9----
D---9----
A---7----
E---x----

A-shape major :

e---7----
B---9----
G---9----
D---9----
A---7----
E---x----

As I understand, the above is correct, right ?

Top to bottom:

B Major

B Minor

E Minor

E Major

Have a look at this site for figuring out chords and relevant positions mate, its really good!

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php...mm=&get=Get

Excellent pictures !
I never play chords with my thumb actually , maybe I should give it a go ?

Thanks sted and - Zion-,

I think I'll take a deeper look into chord constructions. The site really helps !

you are very welcome mate...

we are here to help eachother..

I always say that to play barre chords the main thing is not to put too much strenght but to find a really good balance of the finger and how you manage to put equal strenght to all the strings so you'll have all the notes ringing instead of some. Maybe you notice that sometimes the notes of the 4, 5, and 6th string ring amazingly but the 3, 2, 1st strings are not, or sometimes viceversa (and could be a rare case where the 1, 2, 5 and 6 strings ring perfectly and the 3 and 4 not). All that happend because of the bad equilibrium of the strenght and that's why I always recommend to put much more emphasys on the balance than the strenght itself.

I hope this helps

I agree with Ramiro, the hey is in posture and balance, you want to save your energy...press hard enough for good sound.

I agree with Ramiro and Vasilije !
It is essential to find good balance for right amount of pressure and for all the notes to come out clean. In the beginning it might take you a bit but after while you will be all set !

Never? Well there is a first time for everything man!