Your Solution For Learning Bar Chords Fast And Easily On Guitar

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By Mike Hayes | December 15, 2010

The critical point in the development for most guitarists is when
they come face to face with bar chords; I can clearly remember my
first guitar teacher making a point of the significance of
learning these chords.

The routine went like this … almost very week my instructor
would say “one day you will be ready to begin learning bar
chords”. This went on lesson after lesson, I figured I needed to
practice a whole lot more in order to be worthy of learning these
chords, there seemed to be an almost religious significance about
this particular aspect of guitar playing.

Long story short, when the day finally come (I had given up hope
of ever qualifying to play bar chords by this time) it was one of
the biggest let downs of my life; the chords were physically
difficult to play and sounded quite boring and flat compared to
the open chords I could already play, but most of all the shapes
were very confusing and hard to remember.

By now you are probably thinking, what’s the point of learning
them anyway they seem like more trouble than they are worth; good
point … as time went by I did make a few important discoveries
about learning and playing bar chords, here’s a few tips that
will make learning them a whole lot easier.

How to learn bar chords the easy way!

1. guitar set up - first things first; make certain to have your
guitar’s action (distance between the strings and the fretboard)
adjusted by a competent repair person. This one thing alone will
make bar chords so much easier to play.

Choice of string gauge also plays a large part in playability and
getting a good sound; I recommend using medium gauge strings.

For acoustic guitars:

1st = .012
2nd = .016
3rd = .024
4th = .032
5th = .042
6th = .053

For electric guitar:

1st = .009
2nd = .011
3rd = .016
4th = .024
5th = .032
6th = .042

BTW – knowing which string gauge you want for your guitar will
help the repair person set the guitar up for optimum performance.

2. Use the keynote system - I recommend using the keynote system
for learning and recalling your chord names.

There are two main types of bar chords commonly used by
guitarists (there are many types of chords played with a bar)
however the ‘E’ shape and ‘A’ shape bar chords are the most
frequently used by the majority of players.

The “E” shape chords take their name from the first and sixth
strings.

The trick is to know the names of the notes on either string;
luckily for us the names of the notes on both strings are exactly
the same!

Most players prefer working off the sixth string so here are the
names of the notes on the sixth string. (numbers on the left hand
side refer to the frets, letters refer to the names of the
notes).

0 = E

1 = F

2 = F#/Gb

3 = G

4 = G#/Ab

5 = A

6 = A#/Bb

7 = B

8 = C

9 = C#/Db

10 = D

11 = D#/Eb

12 = E

3. ‘E’ shape chords – The trick with remembering bar chords is to
relate the ‘new’ chords to something you already know, that way
you will be learning in a connected way.

Practice playing your ‘E’ major, ‘E’ minor and ‘E’ dominant
seventh chords without using your first finger. Simply replace
your first finger with your second finger, your second finger
with your third and your third with your fourth.

I’ve marked the fingers in brackets() next to their respective
strings in the chord shapes below.

E (major)

-0-
-0-
-1-(2)
-2-(4)
-2-(3)
-0-

Em (minor)

-0-
-0-
-0-
-2-(4)
-2-(3)
-0-

E7 (dominant seventh)

-0-
-0-
-1-(2)
-0-
-2-(3)
-0-

The reason for doing this is to get used to playing the chord
formations with the fingers that will be used in the bar chord
shapes, once you are competent with playing these chords using
the new fingering start moving these shapes around the guitar
fretboard.

The first finger with cover (bar) all six strings for each chord
and the chord will take it’s name from the sixth or first
string.

Summary: An ‘E’ major shape moved to the third fret will produce
a ‘G’ major chord; an ‘Em’ minor shape moved to the third fret
will produce a ‘G’ minor chord.

Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Guitar Chords | 2 Comments »

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