[gcd23]

I have gotten pretty good with most of the major chords and such but I am having problems trying to get the barre chords down and transitioning to the barre chords (ie from Am to F and such). Any tips would be helpful.

[KaZu]

Practice. Thats probabally what you are going to hear from most.
B.T.W. Give me examples because an Am can be played at many places.

[gcd23]

sorry for the horrible example. I meant the transitioning from one chord to another; doesn't really matter where exactly the chord is playedon the fretboard.

[janschek]

Why don't you try practising your E major (x22100) without using your forefinger on the 1st fret of the G string? ie. using the index/ring/pinky. Once you get proficient at that (and it takes a bit of practice simply because using the forefinger is so much easier), the transformation to a barre chord is simply laying the forefinger across the fretboard wherever you you need to -eg. do your E beginning on fret 4, then lay your forefinger across fret 3 and you have your G.

[goldrush]

The above replies have good advice on transitioning. I notice you also asked about just "getting barre chords down". One of the most crucial aspects of learning barre chords (besides finger strength) is thumb positioning. Your thumb should form a solid counter-point anchor to your fingers, allowing you to use it to help press your fingers firmly against the fretboard. And above all: practice practice practice!

[epearson]

One mistake people always make when learning barre chords is that they try and use the muscles in their hand. You'll never learn them if you try to manhandle a barre chord. Keep your forearm straight and don't slant your wrist much, use the muscles in your forearm to provide your strength. This typically works fine if you have pretty good technique.

[gcd23]

Thanks guys, I noticed that my wrist starts to hurt after attempting to barre for a long time. I guess I just don't have the technique down.

[dogpoo]

thumb behind the neck, make the shape wothout the barre, and then place the forefinger to barre.

you might want to try maybe an Fminor barre first though, where you first put your fourth finger and your pinky on the pattern and then use the forefinger to barre, and then with your third finger, reinforce the barre. i don't know if i'm explaining very well but that will build strength in your forefinger.

[AxSlinger]

Thanks guys, I noticed that my wrist starts to hurt after attempting to barre for a long time.  I guess I just don't have the technique down.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think EVERYONE has had that problem. I had it myself. Practice the song Flake by Jack Johnson. Your arm will get tired. You just have to practice it every day for like a week. Use your forearm too. You'll get the hang of it.

Like I said, if you learn to play Flake, you can play almost any barre chord song. It's a good song to practice transitioning.

Good luck!

[gcd23]

Thanks guys for all the help, I guess I am doing it right but it just sucks to have small fingers because my index finger has to really stretch and by then its all crooked looking but I guess it works.

[janschek]

Thanks guys for all the help, I guess I am doing it right but it just sucks to have small fingers because my index finger has to really stretch and by then its all crooked looking but I guess it works.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just on this....I used to find that I had the guitar face facing upward so that I could see what I was doing, but of course it should really be facing away from you (ie. guitar is perpindicular to the ground). All your chords, barre chords included, will benfit from this and sound better. Further, it will reduce the pain. You may already be doing this, I don't know, but just in case...

[cheguevara_007]

In my guitar youth, I used a little crutch on the barre: I pulled the neck slightly with my arm while I played the chords to help out my hand. Adding the extra squeeze that way got me through the intial pain and frustration.

[XXFENDERXX]

HEy all those are good suggestions..... just find a couple songs you like... you seem to know the chords already... play those songs as bar chords only as much as possible!!!!

Above all play as much as possible...
Oh and you mentioned your finger is crooked... i assume you mean the barre finger in which case thats fine as long as the tone is clear(no buzzing)
when i played e-based barres my barres finger is always alittle crooked thats how i was able to get clear tone.

one last tip try flexxing your hand just as you strum
meanning dont squeeze the whole time just the instant before you strike the strings... in the interim yuo kind hold firm but not clamped down i hope thats a decent explanation let me know how it goes

[gin~n~tonic]

I found a song from a show i used to watch when i was young...dont know if any of you know it but it is the theme song for " the littlest hobo" it was on air in canada so dont know if it was aired anywhere else....It is a great song for learning transitions between chords and barre chords...

http://www.e-tabs.or...e_littlest_hobo

and most of all just keep strummin'

[nem2k]

a good song for practising barres and transitions is man who sold the world (nirvanas version)

and also, if you only press down as ur about to hit the strings, then ull end up muting it which might not be something u want

[janschek]

Same with Lightning Crashes (Live - E, B, F#) - because it's rythmic, not fast, and gets you changing between diff barre shapes, it's a great song to learn on, and is a tremendous song anyway.

[acousticblues]

hey lightning crashes is originally by LIVE right? i remember pearl jam did an awesome cover of that song.....
Paul

[wannalearn01]

You can barre one of two ways...

Straight-line...using the pointer as the barre, or if you have monkey-like hands, you can grip the guitar like a club(or a bat)...and if you are accenting the bass side of things, use your thumb to hold down the tonic, top, note...and if you want more of a high chord, use your pointer to pin the bottom strings down...it is harder to learn but you should know of both.

As for regular barres...another thing you can try is barring just with your pointer and thumb...straight accross the strings...then doing some sliding from say 3-5-7-8-7-5-3 frets...just to get the clamping feel you will need.

Don't loose faith, it takes time and dedication to be a "barrer"...it took me about 4 months of trying to be able to do anything with barres that sounded even a little bit good...but remember the longer you stick with it, the faster it will come...and barres with any music will help to add a lot more dynamic sounds to what you can play!!!

T^roy

[gcd23]

You can barre one of two ways...

Straight-line...using the pointer as the barre, or if you have monkey-like hands, you can grip the guitar like a club(or a bat)...and if you are accenting the bass side of things, use your thumb to hold down the tonic, top, note...and if you want more of a high chord, use your pointer to pin the bottom strings down...it is harder to learn but you should know of both.

As for regular barres...another thing you can try is barring just with your pointer and thumb...straight accross the strings...then doing some sliding from say 3-5-7-8-7-5-3 frets...just to get the clamping feel you will need.

Don't loose faith, it takes time and dedication to be a "barrer"...it took me about 4 months of trying to be able to do anything with barres that sounded even a little bit good...but remember the longer you stick with it, the faster it will come...and barres with any music will help to add a lot more dynamic sounds to what you can play!!!

T^roy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Using my thumb and pointer is basically impossible for me since I have small fingers. I have noticed that my finger is getting stronger because I am getting some sound but its not clear and is dampened sometimes. Either way its not good enough and sounds like crap. When I barre my wrist seems to face all crooked instead of straight as possible. I tend to tilt the guitar towards myself a little when I play to make it easier on me to strum and I feel completely comfortable playing like this but it adds extra stress and hurts my wrist as a result when attempting to barre. Any suggestions?

[ctshaynes]

Funny no one else has mentioned it, but instead of laying your index finger flat across the strings. Try rolling it over slightly so that the outside edge closest to your thumb is making the barre. It takes less clamping force to get a clean sound beacuse your finger stays flat instead of trying to curl over the fretboard, which tends to mute the middle strings.