KeyofAaron

 

Barre Chords

Rather than having each string pressed down by one finger with open chords, barre chords include atleast one finger being flat on the fretboard to hold down multiple strings. Any open chord can be duplicated by barre chords for either ease of movement or for tonal choice. Learning barre chords can open up so many different areas of the guitar to you.

Basic major and minor chords can all be formed with four basic barre chord shapes. In order to understand how to apply these shapes though, it's important to take a look at the            on the 5th (A) string and 6th (low E) string, as these are the notes that the barre chords are based on and named after. Assuming you've given a look at the            overview, now we'll see how we can apply just four shapes to virtually get any major or minor chord anywhere on the guitar.
 

Major shape (root on the E string)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chord shape shown above is a moveable chord shape with the root (starting point of the chord) on the 6th (low E) string. It is based off of the open E chord. Imagine the barred first finger as the beginning open strings of the guitar with the other fingers shifted down to the beginning of the guitar and you have the E chord. The placement of this shape is dependent on the letter of the chord. In order to form any major barre chord whether it's natural, flat or sharp, you can match the fret on the 6th (low E) string to the corresponding letter of the chord you're trying to play and place the rest of this shape on top of that.

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In this example, we will be finding the G barre chord with the root (G note) on the 6th (low E) string. if you take a look at the             overview, G is on the 3rd fret of the 6th (low E) string. Matching your pointer to the third fret of the 6th (low E) string, then flattening it across all strings and placing the rest of the major barre chord shape down in relation to your pointer finger (3rd fret) will give you the G major chord.

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The diagram above shows what the full G major barre chord would look like. Your 1st (pointer) finger will be pressed down on all strings on the 3rd fret. Then to correspond each finger of the major barre chord shape using your 1st finger as a point of reference, your 2nd (middle) finger will be on the 4th fret of the 3rd string, your 4th (pinky) finger on the 5th fret of the 4th string and your 3rd (ring) finger on the 5th fret of the 5th string.

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Now, let's try and find another chord with the root on the 6th string. We will now find the C# major barre chord with the root on the 6th (low E) string:

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First, we will use the note overview page to find C# on the 6th (low E) string. This ends up on the 9th fret of the 6th (low E) string.

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Now, let's place down the same shape we've been using for the other major chords with the root on the 6th (low E) string. This brings your 1st (pointer) finger to the 9th fret of all the strings, your 2nd (middle) finger onto the 10th fret of the 3rd string, your 4th (pinky) finger onto the 11th fret of the 4th string, and your 3rd (ring) finger to the 11th fret of the 5th string. The concept of shifting the chord shape can be used for any barre chord, depending on the root note of the chord.

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Minor shape (root on the E string)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using the same formula used to find the major chord, you can also find the minor chord, but it's a slightly altered shape (releasing the 2nd finger). This is because there is only one note that changes between a major and minor chord (the third note of the scale). This shape is based off of the E minor (Em) open chord shape. Imagine the pointer finger is the open string beginning of the guitar and that the other finger placements are shifted down to the second fret and you have an Em chord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the example above, we have the minor shape placed down with our pointer barred (flattened) on the 3rd fret, making the 6th (low E) string root note a G. This means we are playing a G minor (Gm) chord.
 

Major Shape (root on A string)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same "moveable shape" concept can be applied to the 5th (A) string. The shapes change however from the shapes rooted on the 6th (low E) string to the 5th (A) string. This is because of the B string being tuned to a lower interval than the other strings. The diagram above shows the major shape rooted on the 5th (A) string.

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In the next example, we will find the C major chord with the root on the 5th (A) string.

 

 

 

 

 

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Again, using the note overview, we can find the C note root on the 5th (A) string. C is on the 3rd fret of the 5th (A) string.
 

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Here is an example of C major with the root on the 5th (A) string. Our pointer finger is on the C note on the 3rd fret of the 5th (A) string. This makes this chord a C major (or just C) chord.
 

Minor Shape (root on A string)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, you can see from major to minor, the difference is only one note, but you have to change your fingering configuration in order to reach these notes more comfortably and with efficiency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the diagram above, this minor shape is placed down with the pointer finger barred (flattened) on the 3rd fret of the 5th (A) string, which is a C note. Since we've placed the minor shape down using our 3rd fret pointer as a reference, this makes this chord a C minor (or Cm) chord.