Barre Chords
A barre chord uses a flattened index finger to fret most or all of the strings, with the index finger usually playing the bass and root note of the chord. This technique allows for a few common shapes to play different chords simply by changing position.
Contents
PreReqs
Common Shapes
6 String
| Major | Minor | |
|---|---|---|
R |i|-|-| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |)|m|-| R |)|-|p| 5 |)|-|r| R |i|-|-| |
R |i|-|-| 5 |i|-|-| 3 |i|-|-| R |)|-|p| 5 |)|-|r| R |i|-|-| |
These shapes resemble the open position E major and minor chords, but instead of using the open strings, we use our barre. The minor shape above most clearly illustrates the power of a barre - it is like being able to move the nut wherever you want on the fretboard.
5 String
| Major | Minor | |
|---|---|---|
5 |i|-|-| 3 |)|-|r| R |)|-|r| 5 |)|-|r| R |i|-|-| |-|-|-| |
5 |i|-|-| 3 |)|m|-| R |)|-|p| 5 |)|-|r| R |i|-|-| |-|-|-| |
These barre chord resemble the shape of open position A major and minor. Notice for the major shape, we have to barre both the index and ring fingers, making this chord more difficult than first appears to master. It may be possible to use middle, ring, and pinky instead; but this can be especially difficult on the lower frets.
4 String
| Major | Minor | |
|---|---|---|
3 |)|-|r|-| R |)|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|m|-| R |i|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |
3 |)|m|-|-| R |)|-|-|p| 5 |)|-|r|-| R |i|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |
These resemble the open position D major/minor chords. Notice that the index finger only plays one note here, and we don't actually need the barre at all. It's best to learn it anyway, as other chords closely resemble this shape but make use of the barre.
Example
Let's say our goal is to play a I - IV - V - I progression in A♭ Major. On other instruments, it may be necessary to know what the 4th and 5th of A♭ is, and to know what notes compose each of the chords involved. On guitar, we only need to know where to find those root notes on the fretboard and which shapes to play.
e-------------- b-------------- g-------------- d-------------- a-----4--6----- e--4--------4-- Ab Db Eb Ab
Here are the root notes. We can figure out where these notes occur quickly:
- We know that the open A string pitch is equal to the 5th fret of the low E string. A♭ is just one half-step or fret below.
- We know that the guitar is tuned to 4ths on all but the G and B strings. Thus, the note a P4 interval above our current note is simply the same fret on the next higher-pitched string. The root of the IV chord is A string, 4th fret D♭.
- We know that the 5th is just a whole step, or two frets, above the 4th. The root of the V chord is A string, 6th fret E♭.
I - IV - V - I consists of all major chords. Let's simply apply the shapes above to our root notes:
Ab Db Eb Ab e--4--4--6--4-- b--4--6--8--4-- g--5--6--8--5-- d--6--6--8--6-- a--6--4--6--6-- e--4--------4--
Now let's say we want to change the key to B♭ major. We know that B♭ is one whole step above A♭, so we can move the entire progression above two frets higher, and that's all there is to it:
Bb Eb F Bb e--6--6--8--6-- b--6--8--10-6-- g--7--8--10-7-- d--8--8--10-8-- a--8--6--8--8-- e--6--------6--
Are you beginning to see why guitar is such a popular instrument?
Don't Get Lazy
Just because guitar can simplify the way you play this or that progression doesn't mean you should get intellectually lazy. It's easy to perform the above and call it a day. It's nice that we can reduce a progression to a few root notes and some chord shapes, but you should really try to learn all the notes for the key you are playing in and what notes are contained in each chord and how those notes translate to the fretboard.