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Barre
Chords
The
Four Essential Types of Barre Chords
Now
that you
know the essential chords now let’s learn a very useful type of chord –
the
barre chord. This type of chord enables you to play different chords
using the
same chord shape by just changing the fret where you play the chord.
Doing barre
chords require you to place your first finger on all of the strings
(like a
bar). You need to press hard on the strings so that when you pick or
strum, all
the strings will sound perfectly. This takes quite a bit of practice
but it’s
well worth the effort. With just these four essential barre chords you
can
literally play thousands of songs.
The
type of
chord played is dictated by either the 6th string or the 5th string
depending
on the type of barre chord. Let’s look into this further.
Barre
Chord with Root on 6th String
The
barre chords below base their pitch on the fretted 6th string i.e. the
sound produced by the 6th string (the thickest and lowest sounding
string) determines the overall sound the chord shape makes.
There are two essential chord shapes which base
their sound on the 6th string.
Major
Chord Root on Sixth
  
This chord shape
is called the major chord root on sixth. This means that this shape
makes up
the major chords A, B, C, D, E, F, G depending on which fret it is
played on
the guitar. It is determined by the key (the chord sound) that is
produced by
the 6th string.
Let’s ignore the
other strings and just concentrate on the sixth string for a moment.
Imagine
all the strings are taken out except for the 6th
string.
Play the 6th string on the first fret and you have
the key of F.
Each fret
represents and different key on the sixth string as you might have
guessed. The
F key is produced when you play the sixth string on the first fret so
when you
play the power chord on the first fret, that chord is an F.
When you play on
the third fret, the sound made on the 6th string
is G so when you
play the power chord on this fret you will get an G chord. Etc.
Remembering the
notes on the 5th and 6th
string would soon prove to be
useful.
Minor
Chord Rooth on Sixth
To really explain what a minor chord is, I'd
have to go
into music theory but let’s just say that major chord sounds ‘happy’
while a
minor chord sounds ‘sad’. The
power chord shape
is only slightly different from the major shape but a little bit easier
to do.
Barre
Chord with Root on 5th String
In
this type of barre chord the key now depends on the sound made by the
5th string instead of tne 6th string which is muted.
Major Chord Root on Fifth
 
Minor Chord Root on Fifth
 
Something to try:
- The most challenging part of doing barre chords
is putting your finger across the strings and making them all sound
clearly. Try to practice barre chords every time you pick up the
guitar. The more you use them the easier it becomes for you.
- Test yourself by calling out a random chord and
then play the power chord version of that chord on the 5th
and 6th string.
- Substitute all your normal open chords with
barre chords until it becomes effortless.
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