Clean Barre Chords

Hi All

I'm really struggling with barre chords. As try as I might, I find it very very hard to consistently get a clean barre. Sometimes it works, but far from reliable.

Part of the problem, possibly, is I have quite long fingers.

I've spent literally hours trying different angles, different amounts of pressure, different positions, and just can't get it consistently.

Any hints? How much pressure is too much/enough? (as much as that can be described).

Mark

Uke Minutes 46 - How To Hold Barre Chords hopefully this help some. Other threads . . .

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?9348-Barre-Chord-help
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?641-Help-With-Bar-Chords
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?1137-Barre-Chord-advice

Repositoon your wrist by movig it forward. That keeps you barring finger straighter. Also keep your thumb directly behind the middle of the neck opposite your barring finger.

Hmmm, done the uke minutes lesson. Gotta just persist I guess. Maybe I have a very uke un-friendly finger shape. Something to overcome!

Long fingers can be a blessing, not a curse. Just takes practice.

Aloha Moon1,
It just takes time for your fingers to get accustomed and comfotable while learning those odd positions..
Practice, Patience, and Perserverence ie tha key to ukulele success...and long fingers
can be a blessing too..You will notice as the longer you play, it will get easier....
I hope This helps...Good Luck!! MM Stan.....

Have you checked the other part of the equation? How's the action on your Uke? Many barre problems are simply due to high action making it harder to play cleanly.

DaveVisi said:

Have you checked the other part of the equation? How's the action on your Uke? Many barre problems are simply due to high action making it harder to play cleanly.

Click to expand...

This +1. I have a uke group member who cannot for the life of her play a barre Bb on her Lanikai. So she plays on her Makala Dolphin instead. Give her my Kala, sweet as, no problems. Give her another member's Flea, again, no problems... While I can play the Bb perfectly on her Lanikai, I have man hands and therefore a crocodile-death-grip barre strength. The action is ever so slightly too high for the weaker clamping strength of her hand. (Not calling you weak, btw...)

When playing a barre chord, you might want to turn your finger a bit to the side. The reason for this is that the inside of your finger consists of soft flesh and it isn't smooth because your finger consists of several bones. I'm not sure if this is necessary for the uke, but it helped me when I started doing barre chords on the guitar. When I switched to uke, I didn't have any problems with this.

One thing I found helpful was to tune the uke down to 430 Hz (still using C tuning). This loosened the strings a little and made it easier to barre chords. It also brought the tuning down to a range that was more comfortable for my voice. Of course, I am out of tune with other uke players, but I am confident others will see the light...

Uke's also come in different neck widths. If you can, try some other brands of ukes. Kala has very thin and narrow necks. Mainland has a wider neck. Fleas are a little narrower than Mainlands. You may find a different width neck makes forming barre chords easier.

I was having difficulty playing some barre chords with my Flea. The strings fell at a knuckle joint and I couldn't get the needed pressure to fret the string. I purchased a second uke with a narrower neck and there was an instant difference.

By working with the narrower neck where I could barre chords, I was able to develop the technique properly. Now I am able to apply that technique to the Flea because I know what works for me (and looser strings helped too).

Good luck.