CH-006 • Basic Barre Chords (incl. all four vid lessons)

[justinguitar]

Question for this lesson only.

Thanks.

J

[Get-Punked-Dude]

do u hav any ideas on hw i can get doing the bar chords propaly
fro about half a year iv been play teh major bar chord with my 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers. and now i realise its wrong
can u tel me how to get out of the habbit and.......
hw to hold teh bar down more!

[darkprophet]

Im comparing the the E shaped G barre chord with an open G chord and Im finding that the open chord is more lively than the G barre chord, the barre chord seems to be "creamier" so to speak...

Is that normal? Or does my technique need adjusting?

DP

[jmarc]

Hi DP

Well am not an expert but been playing for quite a while now and for me they both seems to be same.
I don't think that the open G is livelier, at least not that I can notice.

Well anyway if am wrong please guys let me know. :wink:

Cheers

.: JM :.

[darkprophet]

thanks for the reply...

They dont sound tooo different, they are very similar, but the open chord seems to be livelier....Maybe Im not pressing hard enough on the higher strings, Ive always had trouble with them...

DP

[Nolita]

No you're right.  I don't know if livelier's the right word.  But they definitely sound different.  I think it's because with the barre chord you're pressing down on every string.  With the open chord only 3 strings.  Take it from a G major barre to a G minor barre and it sounds different still.

Like you can still tell it's a G with all 3 versions, but somehow it's different.  With the G major you've got the barred off strings(well look at the pic), then the 3 extra strings, but then in the G minor the second finger slides up(well fingers aren't used the same, but where the second finger's holding slides up and becomes part of the barre).  

Speculating at this point...Root note stays the same.  It's the 6th string 3rd fret down for all three.  That's your G.  That's the main part of what the ear hears.  I'm guessing that some ears are more sensitive than others(some folks can't hear the difference between flat and sharp, is it sensitivity?).  You have sensitive ears, and long-run that's a good thing.  You'll hear the exact chord in a song when transcribing.  Instead of hitting the ballpark(yeah it's a G but which one?), ya know?

So rejoice!  It will be easier for you to transcribe songs on the radio and songs in your head .

[Nolita]

Oh and if you weren't pressing hard enough the lighter strings would be muted.  If they're not muted you're pressing hard enough.  This is a "yay!" moment for you.  Bask in it.  Something tricky's coming next, then you can wallow in the "I'm a crappy guitar player" vibe.

[Get-Punked-Dude]

k hanx jst i think iv got rsi or sumting caus eiv got a sore wrist lol! oh wel my bad!

[Nolita]

No-no!  Don't jump to that conclusion.  A sore wrist can just be a sore wrist.  Give it a rest and if it doesn't get better, see a doctor.  I was scared my calluses were nerve damage for goodness sake.  Massage it, take a pain reliever/anti-inflammitory, and give it a chance to get better.

Then when it feels better(sending positive vibes), here's how to hold the barre down easier.  Thread got semi-threadjacked there.  Just curve your barre finger a bit and press down on the side.  If you still can't muster a decent barre chord(apparently it's normal to miss a few notes at first), don't blame yourself or your wrist.  Get the guitar to a shop or someone who knows how to adjust it.  Might be the truss rod, bridge, or both needs adjusting.  The action on a guitar can be a persnickity thing.

[Get-Punked-Dude]

k its jst i was whatching this thing and it syas if u play teh bar chord in teh way i think i may hav been playion it  can get this thingy
and i really dont whatn it
an di play guitar way to much
i mean i can do a minor bar chord great in teh wrong way but stil sounds right
lol
but its not really that sore its jst iritating

[jmarc]

Hi Nolita

I agree that maybe due to 'sensitivity' or whatever it may be, some people won't be able to tell the difference between the livelier G open chord
and the G barre chord. But a G minor chord definitely cannot sound the same as a G major chord since as their name says, one is a minor and the
other a major chord. And as far as I've noticed, minor chords tend to seem sad...

Now either am totally wrong and  didn't understand anything to chords, or I'm totally missing out or not understanding DP's question and your answer.

Cheers

.: JM :.

[Nolita]

Yeah I'm still here(coffee break).  Don't worry.  Just follow Justin's lessons and you'll be fine.  The old way's yesterday.  Now you know what to do, you'll get better.  As soon as you nail a few E shapes, you'll be downright giddy:).

[Get-Punked-Dude]

k hanx
heres my you tueb thingy
ive got some gd vids if u want 2 se ethem lol
http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=GetPunkedDude

[Nolita]

jmarc, I think we're on the same page.  Cuz to me they all sound different.  All like G's but each has it's own personality.  Not sure but I think that's the point.  I mean why have 3 different chords if they all sound the same?  Wouldn't make sense to me and I'd just play all open chords.  Nope, they're definately different.   It's a good thing.

And sometimes we just want a lively/simple song, so all open chords + power chords, and maybe a major barre thrown in here or there.  It's all good .

[Nolita]

Will try to watch again.  Didn't know the f-x one would be so full of effects.  Ears need to recover(not meaning to be harsh, I'm just not a huge fan of effects, well, okay so I love them in the hands of Hendrix or Frusciante, but in general, ya know?).  Will try again with the others later.