Barre chord break through! - Week 4

Welcome to week 4 of the Technique weekly challenge!

This weeks video is packed with barre chord top tips! 

Example 1 - 3 Big Tips

Tip 1 - Elbow tucked into the side to angle 1st finger into a good barre chord position! 

Tip 2 - Bend 1st finger slightly - hitting strings 6, 2 & 1 (same for root 5 barre chords, strings 5, 2 & 1)

Tip 3 - Form a ‘claw hand’ with fingers 2, 3 & 4 to form the rest of the chord (finger 1 is on root note) - Fingers curled over onto fretboard on the tips

Example 2 - Mix & Match Open Chords & Barre Chords

Barre chords go well with open chords in certain keys. We need these chords practiced so we are ready for song chord progressions!

F barre common chords - C, G, Am, F

In a progression, such as in the Key of C, these chords are often open & the F barre chord is useful to know. 

B minor common chords - G, D, A, Bm

In the keys of G, D or commonly with A chord based progressions too, the B minor chord is likely to be used.  

Example 3 - Further Ideas

• Use the 1 finger open A chord to help with barring root 5 chords (e.g. A major to B minor)

• Root 5 barre chords, the first finger acts as a mute by actually touching just underneath the 6th string

• In an average chord progression, more than 2 major barre chords in a row isn’t common, so a mix of both major & minor chords are important to learn!