Guitar playing sans barre chords?

[IDemo]

I began trying to learn acoustic guitar a while back but have run into a brick wall with barre (or 'bar') chords. All of the "how to" sites make a point of saying it's only a matter of time and patience before anyone and everyone will master these, but in my case I kind of doubt it. I don't know if it's from arthritis or old age (53) but my knuckles stand out quite a bit and it has been impossible to avoid one or more dead strings. I have tried putting enough force behind my index finger that it feels like either it or the guitar neck is going to snap, to no avail.

Is it possible that a finger-picking style would let me simply avoid the need for barre chords entirely?

[kysrsoze]

1. All is not lost, by a long shot. Here are a few suggestions which will help you out.

There two great solutions I know, which can get you around the barre problem:

First, I have a friend who has experienced similar problems with his hands/fingers, and he uses a capo on the neck, to move the nut wherever he wants. So if you know your basic open chords, you can replicate them all the way up the fingerboard, but you'll have to figure what your open "C" chord, for example, is with a capo on the fifth fret (F). Do yourself a favor and get a good aluminum capo. The cheapo plastic ones are just frustrating, with lots of string buzz.

Second, and this is a really free-ing method, is to ask yourself, "Do I really need to play the WHOLE up to 6-string chord, or can I get away with 3 or 4 strings played? There's no rule against playing less notes in a chord. The majority of rock songs are only played on the bottom 3 or 4 strings, so you can do the 6,5,4 (from the lower notes) strings, with maybe the 4th note thrown in if it's not too hard. You can do 3-note bottom barre chords starting with the 5th string too. Even 2-note pairs can sound great at the right time.

You can also experiment with top-string chords, middle strings, etc. What's cool is that playing a partial chord gets you some really interesting sounds, b/c you end up doing some inversions where the root note of the chord is not on the lowest string played.

Try that out and see what you think. Just take any 5 or 6-string chord and just play 3 or 4 notes. It is still musical, and you'll sound different than every schmo who wants to play The Riddle Song. I'm sure there are other ideas out there, but these two should be of great benefit to you.

[IDemo]

2. Thanks, kysrsoze

I've been intrigued by the capo, but have always assumed its use was targeted more toward the expert player. I will give it a try. One question on your second suggestion: wouldn't leaving out the uppermost strings also mean leaving out the signature of the chord - the root note?

[kysrsoze]

3. Uppermost strings to me would mean your highest strings, like B and E strings

Highest string isn't highest vertically, but your highest frequency notes. Your root note is typically on the lower E and A strings, and sometimes the D string (think a Dmaj chord). So for example, you can play a Gmaj chord, by placing your index finger on the 6th (E) string, third fret, ring finger on the 5th (A) string, 5th fret and pinky on the 4th (D) string, 5th fret. If you can manage the middle finger on the 3rd (G) string, 4th fret... then you can try forgetting about barring the 3rd fret of the E and B strings.

Even if you lose the root note on the lower strings, you're generally hitting it elsewhere on one of the higher strings. For example, with the Gmaj chord, the 6th string, 3rd fret is the same note (G) as the 4th string, 5th fret, but one octave lower. However, either is still the root note. Of course, the high E string is also a G, if you can actually barre it. When the root note is not the lowest note played, you now have an inversion.

Does this make sense? Hope it's some help to you. I think you'll only figure what works and what doesn't via trial and error.

[Glassunion]

4. Depending on the size of your hands, you may wish to try the "wrap-around" method...

For example... An A major barre chord in the 5th position. Starting from low E to high E. You would wrap your hand around the neck so that your thumb holds down the 5th fret on the low E string(A), your ring finger holds the 7th fret on the A string(E), your pinky holds the 7th fret on the D string(A), your middle finger holds the 6th fret on the G string(C#), and lastly your index finger holds the 5th position on both the B string(E) and the E string(A).

This way the only strings you are barre'ing are the top two(B and E) strings. With the exception of the thumb, the fingering is otherwise identical to a normal barre chord. With minor chords you would be barre'ing the top three strings.

There are several players that utilize this method and it actually allows for more options while playing. Basically you are adding an additional finger to your fret hand. Jimmy Hendrix made it an art form, but I think if you want to see it taken to the extreme think Richie Havens. There is a lot of good footage of his performance at the original Woodstock.

Hope this helps,
Glass

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Good Suggestions by Kysrsoze and Glassunion

I've got one more that might help some.

Work on the 2nd position barre. That's the one that is basically a A chord with one of two fingers covering the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string while you barre the fret two back from the covered strings.

It's a little tricky to get the high e string to sound without the forward fingers getting in the way by touching it a pinch.

But, if you can get the easier barre position to work, it might give you the confidence you need to keep at the primary position.

But, the others gave some really good ideas. I particularly like Kysrsoze's idea of making sure you actually need all six tones. Remember that songs like Smoke on the Water, Enter Sandman, Paranoid, and LaGrange are all played with "barre" chords, but the character of the songs actually REQUIRE that you only play two or three strings.

So, like you already heard, ALL IS NOT LOST!
GAC

[charlie]

6. You might be making it hard on yourself

A mistake first timers often make is fully extending the index finger, laying it flat and straight on the barre position, then trying to place the other fingers. If you're doing that -- don't.

Hyper-extending your finger and fretting with its flat underside will create tension in your hand and leave it in an unnatural position where the other fingers cannot be placed without strain. What you want is a relaxed, slightly bowed first finger, with the fretting done somewhere between its underside and outer side.

Take a look at this guy's hand:



Note the curve in his finger. Note how he uses the space between frets to accomodate the curve, with the tip closer to the fret than the rest of the finger. You can also see that even though the neck is angled with with headstock closer to the camera, there is more of his finger's inner side showing. That's because it's slightly rolled upward, with the fretting done under the flesh toward its outer side. Finally, notice where his large knuckle is. It's not even with the fretboard, where it would be if he'd used a straightened finger, but back toward the body.

To get a feel for this, it might help to exaggerate a bit. Curl your index finger slightly and lay its outer edge against the fretboard. Then, bring the other fingers down into position, rotating your first finger just enough to facilitate their reach. Hopefully, you'll wind up with something like the photo. Now, squeeze a bit and strum.

If the bass notes are dead: check to be sure you're fretting behind the fret, not directly over or in front of it. If the fretting is good, apply a little more pressure by using the flex available in the joint at the index finger's tip.

If the higher notes are dead: again, check fretting. If the fretting is okay, DON'T squeeze harder. Instead, apply more pressure by turning your wrist upward or pulling your arm back toward the body. Or a bit of both. This will mash the lower part of your index finger against the fretboard without giving your hands squeeze cramps.

[kysrsoze]

7. Good point too - much easier than barring all 6 strings. You don't think about it when you do it.

[IDemo]

8. Thanks all, for the suggestions

I can see I have my work cut out. I guess it will be a while before I'm up to speed with these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuFVPQuWBq0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORMsYWJ6fLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsBvCOuFoxQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcanWkRbnwQ&feature=related

[Iggo]

9. You only need to bar the strings yer other fingers ain't frettin'.

Relax. Practice switching chords quickly and cleanly. You almost never play all six strings all the time on every chord. My first guit teacher said "If you can't hit it, at least scare it as you go by."

It'll come.

And by the way, most of us have workarounds for something or other. I've got this two-finger cheating G chord that I do with the thumb wrapped over the low E string at the 3rd fret and also muting the open A, then just the very end of my index finger holding down the B and E at the 3rd fret. Works to mimic open G for acoustic Zeppelin songs, or a quick-stop G during SRV-esque hammer-on/pull-off episodes (hey, I try), or just to give my left hand a rest for extended G strumming like maybe when I'm singing (again, I try...lol).

Play what you can. We ain't all Yngwie.

[old mark]

10. Find some Jimmy Page on Youtube- He almost never uses barre chords...

He has trouble playing them.

http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003340.html


See? It is certainly possible...

mark