Bm major issue

hey, i'm new, i've just recently taken up the uke and i love it but i can't comfortably do bar chords and i'm worried that spells death for certain songs i want to learn. Here is my issue.

It doesn't matter how hard i press on my index finger, where i place my thumb or how i curl my hand. My index finger won't stay on the A string and when i go to put my middle or other middle finger on the C or other strings i not only cause a sad sound but i also can't stop my finger from hitting the next string down. It hurts... i keep trying and then i have to stop playing it just plain hurts. What do i do?

Welcome to UU Rosa!

You could try strengthening your fingers by training them separately by forming full barre chords. It is easier when you start practising in the middle of the neck. If your uke has high action at the nut it will be much harder than it needs to be. So, I would suggest that you don't immediately focus on the chords, but rather at developing the muscles and the strength. As mentioned before, try/train several fingers. I find a D7 much easier with middle and ring finger, and if the chord progression allows for it I will always use those for that shape.

Here are two tricks that work for me:

1. Barre all the strings with the index finger.

2. Instead of trying to press the barre into the fret board with more force, allow the hand to sag toward the ground. In other words, form your barre chord as usual, but then pull downward slightly.

It's totally a practice thing. Barre chords take awhile as does the dreaded e chord. I'm still working on it.
One thing someone showed me is that if you kind of butt your fingers up against (not on top of) the fret while holding down strings, you can use a lot less pressure to have the notes ring for you. I just use that hand placement for all chords. It helps me a lot.

Uncle Rod's Boot camp is good for learning how to just transition through chords smoothly. Some people learn better with this approach, others learn better just plowing through songs.

Good luck

perhaps this can help, particularly with the Bm chord:

I tell my students they can substitute a Bm7 (2222) for the Bm (4222),
in most cases

Also, instead of a full Bbm (3111) a Bbm6 may be substituted (0111).

As mentioned above, however, with practice some of those 'impossible'
chords can be mastered. Just don't shy away from them totally. Work on
them as they show up in songs you like to play and in time you'll be
forming them... and helping others do the same!

keep uke'in',

Rosa, The others offer sage advice.

My first uke was a Fender Nohea tenor that I purchased from Amazon. It practically took a set of ViceGrip pliers to barre the first two frets. Then I found out about ukulele setups.

The strings from the Fender factory (what you get from Amazon) were very high and the strings were Nylon. Plus my knuckles seemed to fall in exactly the wrong places so that no matter how I held my finger across the neck, one of the strings wasn't getting a clear note. And it really hurt to hold a barre at the first or second fret. Here is the process I went through to fix the problem:

First thing: Did you have a setup done on your uke? It makes barred chords MUCH easier.

Second: What strings are your using? Fluorocarbons are, in general, thinner and more flexible and bendy than Nylon strings. So, they are easier to barre. (I find Living Waters and Fremont BlackLines the easiest on my fingers.)

Third: Move your barring finger across the neck to find the best position for your finger. I know several people who have the end of their index finger hanging over the top edge of the neck by quite a bit, when they barre chords. So don't be afraid to try different placements to get one that works for you. Then practice it until you automatically go to it without looking.

Fourth: You can lay your middle finger on top of your index if you need to, to help push downward, then use your ring and pinky for the other finger positions.
Alternatively, you can rotate your forearm slightly towards the nut, using your thumb as the fulcrum, to apply more pressure. (Applying both downward and rotational pressure simultaneously.) Only hold it as long as you need to and release.

Fifth: Experiment to find exactly how much pressure you need to get 4 clean notes when you barre. As others have said, you do not need to push the string all the way to the fretboard. Lighten the pressure to the point where the strings start to sound muffled and then reapply just a touch more to get clean notes.

The late UkuleleMike has a YouTube video with exercises for barring chords. He was taught to do them every time he picked up a guitar or ukulele. Basically barre at the 7th fret then work your way up to the first fret. Making sure you pick each string at each fret to get a clear note. Adjust until you do. Then do the same with the D7 fingering at the 7th to the 1st. Then holding the Bm shape. The advantage of starting at the 7th is that it is easier to hold than the 1st fret barres are. So you accomplish a good barre right away. As you practice, you build strength and muscle memory and it become easier and easier to do. When you first start, your hand & finger will get tired pretty quickly. But after a while, you'll be playing those pretty well, and then they will become almost easy. When that happens, start at the 10th or the 12th fret...

Keep at it. Even just a few minutes a day. You'll get there in no time.

Much good advice has been given, and no one learns to play barre chords without a lot of practice.

Pressing harder is not the answer; press smarter by positioning your hand to gain some mechanical advantage:
1. As ripock wrote, "allow the hand to sag toward the ground." Having a strap helps here. If the strap is holding up the neck of the uke, your hand can hang from the neck and gravity increases the force on your barring finger.
2. Don't put your thumb directly behind the barre. Move it up or down the fretboard so that your hand rotates a bit creating some leverage on the barring finger. This technique also puts the edge of your finger against the strings. The edge of the finger is usually straighter and less fleshy that front surface.

These techniques are described in these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJEY26RUPzo
https://www.playukulelebyear.com/3-questions-interview/3-questions-interviewdave-egan-ergonomics/

Kenn2018 said:

Third: Move your barring finger across the neck to find the best position for your finger. I know several people who have the end of their index finger hanging over the top edge of the neck by quite a bit, when they barre chords. So don't be afraid to try different placements to get one that works for you. Then practice it until you automatically go to it without looking.
.

Click to expand...

This is the only way I can barre cleanly. I use my second knuckle and third and I also rotate my hand a little.

for barre chords, I use my thumb as a fulcrum(pivot the elbow toward your body) while pushing my thumb into the back of the neck. gets me to press into the board harder.

The first thing that came to mind when I read the thread title was, "Try Ex-Lax"! :rofl:

lolz :rofl::shaka:

My uke teacher told me to play anyway, even if i was missing or muting. He told me from this i would grow familiar with the position of my fingers on the strings and learn to transition to and from this chord. I did as he asked and i started to get it right occasionally. When i got it i would stop and look at my fingers and try to see and feel what i did differently that time. I can do it now, no problems at all. Give yourself permission to sound bad for a while and go for it.
I am trying the same thing now with f#, with mixed results :wallbash:

Emmjay said:

My uke teacher told me to play anyway, even if i was missing or muting. He told me from this i would grow familiar with the position of my fingers on the strings and learn to transition to and from this chord. I did as he asked and i started to get it right occasionally. When i got it i would stop and look at my fingers and try to see and feel what i did differently that time. I can do it now, no problems at all. Give yourself permission to sound bad for a while and go for it.
I am trying the same thing now with f#, with mixed results :wallbash:

Click to expand...

Is your problem the G string? If so, may I suggest you solve the problem by avoiding it; don't play the G string. You can mute it by having your index finger nudge into it as you're fretting the C string, thereby choking off its sound.

ripock said:

Is your problem the G string? If so, may I suggest you solve the problem by avoiding it; don't play the G string. You can mute it by having your index finger nudge into it as you're fretting the C string, thereby choking off its sound.

Click to expand...

Honestly sometimes it is sometimes it is not. I seem to be pretty inconsistent with my finger position. I will give it a try though, thank you.

Emmjay said:

Honestly sometimes it is sometimes it is not. I seem to be pretty inconsistent with my finger position. I will give it a try though, thank you.

Click to expand...

If it is a case of 'sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't' I would take it as an emerging skill, which will get better with practice. Once you manage it, you can move it, like all four finger chords. Keep at it, I would say.

I have the same problem and thought the same thing at first. My finger can’t keep the A string down and my hands are so tiny that it’s hard to reach the G string without laying my finger on more of them.

Barring the first three stings and muting the G string with the tip of my finger is somewhat easier. But my favorite work around is to put fingers 1,2,3 on C,E,A and mute the G string with my thumb.

Maybe some day I will build enough strength and flexibility but for now I’m playing for fun and thankfully there are work arounds for many of the chords I thought were impossible.

Gary52 said:

Much good advice has been given, and no one learns to play barre chords without a lot of practice.

Pressing harder is not the answer; press smarter by positioning your hand to gain some mechanical advantage:
1. As ripock wrote, "allow the hand to sag toward the ground." Having a strap helps here. If the strap is holding up the neck of the uke, your hand can hang from the neck and gravity increases the force on your barring finger.
2. Don't put your thumb directly behind the barre. Move it up or down the fretboard so that your hand rotates a bit creating some leverage on the barring finger. This technique also puts the edge of your finger against the strings. The edge of the finger is usually straighter and less fleshy that front surface.

These techniques are described in these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJEY26RUPzo
https://www.playukulelebyear.com/3-questions-interview/3-questions-interviewdave-egan-ergonomics/

Click to expand...

Excellent videos. I'll pass them on to others. Thanks for posting them.

I follow Uncle Rod's advice and substitute (Bm7) 2222 for Bm. Most of the time I don't barre it, just play it as a 4 fingered chord. Barre chords will always be a work in progress for me.

And once you can make a secure bar chord, you’ll spot all Kinds of places where a bar makes your life easier

It just doesn't seem to be that hard. I've played guitar since 1970, which means the Bb is the same as the F, far more difficult on the guitar...Don't see how this could be so hard to do. Sorry, not much sympathy, ukulele is far less difficult.