Bar Chords

Hi,

I struggle a bit with bar chords. A single bar chord I can do somewhat ok, but probably have to exert more force than should be needed, causing the fingers to tire more quickly. And the biggest problem is when I have to bar with the index, plus also use some or all of the other fingers to fret. Like bar the 7th fret with the index, and then fret the 10th with my ring or pinky. Stretching to the 10th, pulls some pressure off the barred index finger, then left with C and/or E strings not barred cleanly.

And often times, the problem is made worse because the strings line up with one of the creases on my finger, so dont get the pressure needed and then have to squeeze the life out of it to fret it cleanly.

I do find, if I use the middle finger and put in on top of my index finger to get more pressure, then this helps, but cant always do that if I have to use the middle or stretch the other fingers to reach another fret.

I have one uke that has a radius fretboard, and I do notice it is slightly easier to bar, but still not totally solved.

Just wondering how others are able to bar so cleanly and effortlessly. I am sure most of it is just practice and repetition, but wondering if any tips or techniques that might help or practice exercises. And do other people have issues when the string aligns with the crease in your finger and how do you deal with that, or are you always able to avoid the crease. I should note that I have small hands/fingers. And especially about bar chords, plus having to use other fingers to fret. How do you bar cleanly, when you have to stretch the other fingers to fret, which pulls pressure off the bar finger. Thanks.

> the problem is made worse because the strings line up with one of the creases on my finger,

Barring is not easy. Here are some hints that I found helpful

(a) Position your thumb behind the neck, opposing the middle finger so you can use clamping action. In other words, your thumb should be perpendicular to the strings and the web between thumb and index should not touch the neck. This is the most economical way to exert the force.

(b) Turn the index finger slightly such that the side of the finger (boney) is pressed against strings. For a right-handed player, the turn is counter-clockwise by about 15 ~ 30 degrees?

(c) Good set-up job and low action help a lot.

(d) Adjust the positioning of the index finger so the "crease" (joint) won't match up with strings. Also, most barre chords do not require all four strings securely pressed. For example, if your chord is G chord and you need to use 4 2 3 2 (barre 2). Notice that your barre is not doing anything on G and E strings (other fingers are fretting) so the crease can line up with G or E. and you can ease up on the pressure.

Also, a chord like 4 2 3 2 doe not require a full 4-string barre. You can barre C E A strings (with less pressure on E string). A little bit of analysis can help.

> if I use the middle finger and put in on top of my index finger to get more pressure, then this helps

That helps, and I do that often but only when I can.

To be honest, I despise barre chords

But things will come easier as time go es on!

Cheers
Chief

Chief speak with straight tongue. You can never always avoid the crease problem. Try barre-ing with your middle finger rather than your index. Doesn't always apply since you might need all four fingers. Your M is longer and more flexible than your I though. This is far superior to the doubled up IM position you describe; but whatever floats your boat.

Which ever finger you use place the flat of your finger firmly on the 3rd and 4th strings. This will cause the crease and second joint to bend up backwards. Sounds better and works for partial barres too!

The bit about the thumb? What chief says is right. You should try to locate your thumb a fret or two above the fret you wish to barre for max. leverage. The thumb thing doesn't usually work for me. -Too much accumulated damage in my hands from 60 years of falling. Give it a try.

Radius Fretboards are heavenly. Clean and effortlessly? You've got to be kidding. Practice and repetition it is. I prefer to call it playing and repetition though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YafhDexY6I

This video has the best advice I have found starting at 2min 50 seconds.

Here are some left hand technique tips also:

http://youtu.be/hM_3Sb-xfXk?t=1m25s

Thanks for all the advice.

I do have all my ukes all set up with low string action.

Do find that barring with more of the base of the finger rather than too much on the fingertips helps, as well as the other comment in the other video about trying to bar right against the back of the fret. And the thumb directly behind and perpendicular is good too. And sometimes I do try to rotate/angle my finger and fret. using part of the side of the finger a bit and experiment if that helps. And the rest is just practice and practice and more practice.

UkeInTW said:

And the rest is just practice and practice and more practice.

Click to expand...

Yes, but practicing "badly" will just reinforce bad habits. The key to getting clean barre chords is this: whenever you get a poor sounding chord, STOP. DO NOT CONTINUE PLAYING. Then, micro-adjust your finger(s) until the strings ring cleanly. Usually, all it takes is a slight rotation or a small lateral shift of the barring finger. When it finally sounds clean, concentrate on your fretting hand and try to remember exactly how it feels at that point. Then, take your fingers completely off the fretboard and see if you can duplicate the chord cleanly once more. Eventually, your muscle memory will take over and you'll no longer have to think about it. The only way to get there, though, is to slow down, get your hand to do the right thing, and repeat. It is very important to STOP playing and correct the problem immediately - not just "power through" the rest of the song hoping that it will get better through practice.

Barring has never been easy for me either. My hands are not overly large but that's not the problem. Both index fingers curve inward a fair amount. I use my middle finger most of the time, only problem is that it looks like I'm flipping someone the bird! I noticed that Jake uses his middle finger in some situations. I've met Jake many times and our hands are the same size.
I've been studying privately and my teacher reminds me to apply more pressure with my thumb, that definitely helps. Rolling the barre finger a bit also helps. Do the best you can. Most people here play for the enjoyment. Even the pros have their own physical limitations.

Like peanuts I use my M finger to barre AMAP. I use my R finger for partial barres when the chord progression makes this sensible. - Never can have too much strength in R finger.

OregonJim: welcome to UU. I like your advice a lot. Very sound.

The Dave Egan Video has lots a good pointers that go way beyond barre-ing. Using optimal leverage is always sound. I was troubled by his suggestion to locate the thumb on the A string side of the Uke. I can't do that at all - with my hands I probably never will. Sigh!

UkeInTW said:

the problem is made worse because the strings line up with one of the creases on my finger

Click to expand...

Here's a very in-depth demonstration of how to deal with that:

How To Master Barre Chords Without Hurting Yourself

He's demonstrating on guitar, but the techniques are identical for all fretted instruments.

I have a lesson on the Bb chord (and tips for any other barre chord) on my blog, here
http://philsukelessons.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/two-minute-tips-13-bb-chord.html

OregonJim said:

Here's a very in-depth demonstration of how to deal with that:

How To Master Barre Chords Without Hurting Yourself

He's demonstrating on guitar, but the techniques are identical for all fretted instruments.

Click to expand...

The video had been removed.

I find barre chords quite easy,which seems quite strange. Except for where barring just the lower two strings for some reason. Bb for example has improved quite a bit,but can still be hit and miss, but if I bar all four strings at the first fret,its not a problem (is that a bad habit though?)
E chord, no problem .D barring the three strings is easy, I can't even do it fingering each string individually.

Its funny.Have been reading through all the old posts,and people all have problems with different things.And when its something that you also struggle with,then it is obviously a really tough thing,but when you can do it easily you say "How can anyone struggle with that,its so easy"!!!

So, the tourist asks the fireman, "How do I get to Carngie Hall?"

Wait for it...

The fireman says, "Practice,practice,practice."

Saldawop said:

I find barre chords quite easy,which seems quite strange. Except for where barring just the lower two strings for some reason. Bb for example has improved quite a bit,but can still be hit and miss, but if I bar all four strings at the first fret,its not a problem (is that a bad habit though?)

Click to expand...

I don't think it's that strange for some/many people to have little trouble with barre chords. Some people start teaching kids with barre chords: put the uke in an open tuning (simple major chord, rather than C6), then have the kids lay a barre at the 5 and 7th frets—in minutes they have all they need to play thousands of songs. Use the 2nd, 7th and 9th frets, and you've pushed the key up a whole step (e.g. from C to D). Use the chords at the 7th and 2nd frets, along with the nut, and you've switched the key up a 5th (e.g. from C to G). Kids don't have a fear of the barre (or worry that it doesn't sound perfect), and this approach shows them from the get-go that the mapping between shape and particular chords is positionally-dependent, not one-to-one (mental fixity that holds back a lot of adults).

I find most barre chords easier than four-finger chords, but admittedly my experience isn't typical, since I studied classical guitar and banjo long before taking up the uke. On guitar they cause me all kinds of grief (the 5- and 6-string barre chords, at least), but on uke they're a breeze. I'm one of those who thinks to himself, "How can anyone struggle with that, its so easy," but then I consider how easy guitar barres are to a lot of folks, and then I get it.

No, barring all the strings unnecessarily isn't a bad habit, except in that it may lead you to apply more pressure than you need (always a bad thing, habit-wise). For the B chord, for instance, I commonly barre all the strings, even though you only need to barre (or finger) the first two strings—even with a full barre, you really need to exert pressure only in the small region of those two strings. The barre is, for me, a more comfortable hand position and facilitates a lot of common chord transitions, as when going to B7, A7 [2434] or another barre chord anywhere on the neck. Sometimes a partial barre is preferable, such as when switching between the C voicings 5433 and 0433, for an alternating bass. Whatever works best, most fluidly, is right.

Brian1 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YafhDexY6I

This video has the best advice I have found starting at 2min 50 seconds.

Click to expand...

I did master barrè chords on guitar "somehow" but not at all on ukulele, now i do ;-) thanks for the hint

phil_doleman said:

I have a lesson on the Bb chord (and tips for any other barre chord) on my blog, here
http://philsukelessons.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/two-minute-tips-13-bb-chord.html

Click to expand...

hELPFULL VIDEO; THANKS

I don't claim to be an expert, but after about a year, I think I am finally getting somewhere with barre chords. To be honest I had watched that Gerald Ross video ages ago, and I found that putting my finger further over the fretboard as he suggests actually made things worse for me. If I am barring all four strings with my index finger, it just overhangs the 4th string by a fraction - that seems to work for me. But if I try the same with my middle or ring finger, I do have to go further across.

As others have said, it really is practice, practice, practice. And if it sounds bad - STOP - ADJUST - and then carry on.

What I do find is that if I pick up a different uke, it can all go to pieces again, but I hope that this too gets better with time.

I'm primarily a guitar player (55 years) and have no problems with barre chords. That is, until I tried an F7 (5th fret) on my recently purchased Islander tenor Uke. I enjoy playing 'You're True' by Eddie Vedder on my Martin soprano which calls for a full barre F7 on the 5th fret. Works o.k. on the soprano - Not so much on the tenor. It's a humbling experience but I know what is needed - practice and fretting hand adjustment. I'm working on it now and it's getting better. So the moral is - keep at it and you should improve. Sounds simple but you need to put in the time.