Bar Chords - What are they? And how will they help you?
You may have already heard the term Barre Chord or, as it is more commonly known as, Bar Chord. It is a very common term amongst guitar players and learning Bar Chords is the next logical step.
The previous chords we have been working on are called open chords. This is due to the fact you are using open string (strings with no fingers on them!) These chords are not movable. They can only be played in this one place. Try moving the G chord up to another fret and, unless you are very lucky, it will sound naff.
Bar Chords allow to take a shape and play it anywhere on the neck. This means from one shape you can play it in 12 different positions and you have all of a sudden learnt 12 different chords! how cool is that!
Now these Bar Chords can be a little awkward to master but it is worth taking the time to get it right. As with the previous chords, at first they will feel unnatural and difficult to play. All of a sudden they will become second nature.
There are some chords that simply cannot be played in an open position so it is essential to master this. One of the first chords is very common in most music. The Bm chord. Lets take a look:
As you can see this is a 5 string chord. It also starts on the second fret on the A string. You first finger is going to create the Bar. This means that it lies across all 5 strings on the second fret. Lets go through the correct fingering for this chord.
1st finger - Across all 5 strings on 2nd fret
2nd finger - B string - 3rd Fret
3rd finger - D string - 4th fret
4th finger - G string - 4th fret
At first you may struggle to get all the notes to ring out. Do not worry - this is totally normal and to be expected. Concentrate on repositioning your fingers until every note rings out.
You may have been clever enough to notice that this shape is the Am shape that we previously worked on. The only difference to this is we have changed our fingers round a bit to allow for the first finger to create the bar.
If you take the lowest string of our chord - the A string - and count up to second fret : A - A # - B We get to the B string. Being the shape we are working on is from the Am the B chord will automatically be a minor chord.
If we shift this exact pattern up one fret can you work out what chord it will be? ……………………..
Its a Cm chord. Simply count up the notes on the bass string - in this case A - A# - B - C
This works anywhere on the fretboard, So if someone says to you play a Dm you can move this shape to the 5th fret and hey presto - a Dminor chord.
I appreciate this is probably a lot to take in for some people but we will go over it again at another time. If there are any parts you do not understand please leave a comment and I will answer.
