Nov 5 / Steve Stine

How to Play Barre Chords: 3 Steps to Make Them Easier

Name: 3 Steps to Better Barre Chords - Steve Stine Guitar Lesson
Uploaded: 2018-02-02T08:29:23-08:00
Channel: Steve Stine
Description: Learn how to play barre chords with Steve Stine's 3 steps: guitar and elbow position, first-finger placement and smart practice, plus tab and a practice plan.

If you are learning how to play barre chords and they just sound buzzy, muted or painful, you are not alone. Barre chords are the wall almost every guitar player hits. You press harder, your hand hurts, and the strings still won't ring. The good news: most barre chord problems come from how you hold the guitar and where your hand sits, not from a lack of strength.

In this lesson, Steve Stine walks through his three steps to better barre chords: guitar and arm placement, first-finger placement, and the right mindset while you practice. He also shares a bonus tip on making your guitar easier to play. Below you'll find the video, the steps written out, simple tab examples and a practice plan you can start today.

Video: 3 Steps to Better Barre Chords, Steve Stine. Watch on YouTube

Key takeaways

Raise the guitar and angle the neck out a little, so your fretting hand has room to work.
Turn your elbow in toward your body. This tilts your hand so the smaller fingers can reach.
Barre with the edge of your first finger (between the front and the side), stay right behind the fret wire, and keep your thumb behind your first finger.
Use finesse, not force. Don't expect every string to ring perfectly at first: keep practicing and it will come.
A good setup (low string height) and lighter strings can make barre chords much easier while you learn.

What is a barre chord?

A barre chord is a chord where one finger (usually your first finger) presses down several strings at the same fret, like a movable capo. Your other fingers then make a chord shape in front of it. Because the shape doesn't use open strings, you can slide it up and down the neck to play many different chords with one fingering.

The two shapes most players learn first are the 6th string barre chord (the root note is on the low E string) and the 5th string barre chord (the root note is on the A string). If you are still working on open chords, start with our guitar chords for beginners guide first, then come back here.

Here is a G major barre chord on the 6th string, 3rd fret. Your first finger bars all six strings at fret 3:

G major (6th string barre, 3rd fret)
e|--3--|
B|--3--|
G|--4--|   2nd finger
D|--5--|   4th finger
A|--5--|   3rd finger
E|--3--|   1st finger bars fret 3

How to play barre chords, step 1: guitar and arm placement

Steve says this first step might sound simple, but it's the one people get wrong most often. If you are bent over a guitar that sits low on your lap, your wrist and fingers are fighting the instrument before you even press a string.

Raise the guitar

If the guitar sits low, it is harder to play. Bring it up closer to you. When Steve plays sitting down, he often rests on the tips of his toes on the guitar side, which lifts his leg and brings the guitar higher. A footstool does the same job.

Angle the neck out

Don't hold the guitar flat across your body. Hold the body with your strumming arm so the guitar is secure between your leg, your stomach and your arm, and let the neck point out and away from you a little. Now the guitar won't move, and your fretting arm isn't pinned against your ribs. You have more room to work.

Turn your elbow in

This is the big one. For chords like A or D, many players hold the neck like a steering wheel, with the elbow out. That works for those chords, but not for barre chords. For a barre chord, rotate your elbow in toward your body. That turns your wrist and tilts your hand so your smaller fingers point up and have space to reach the higher frets. Steve calls this the secret to barre chords. Depending on your body size, you may need to adjust a little until it feels right.

Step 2: first-finger placement (the barre itself)

The barre finger is where most of the trouble lives. Here's how Steve sets it up.

Use the edge, not the flat front. Don't barre with the soft, flat front of your finger. Roll it slightly so you press with the area between the front and the side. Steve calls this the "finger roll." It happens naturally when your elbow turns in.
Avoid the knuckle creases. A common cause of dead strings is a string sitting in the crease under one of your finger joints. Rolling the finger gives you a straighter, firmer edge and helps keep strings out of those gaps.
Put your thumb behind your first finger. Your thumb goes on the back of the neck, roughly opposite your first finger, where the most pressure is needed. Then you can squeeze the two together instead of pushing with your whole arm.
Stay right behind the fret wire. Get your barre as close to the fret as you can without sitting on top of it. The closer you are, the less pressure you need.

Practice the barre alone before adding other fingers. Bar the 5th fret with your first finger only and pick each string, one at a time. Listen for which ones buzz or go dead, then adjust the roll of your finger and your thumb.

First-finger barre drill (5th fret, pick one string at a time)
e|---------------------5--|
B|------------------5-----|
G|---------------5--------|
D|------------5-----------|
A|---------5--------------|
E|------5-----------------|

If your knuckles are turning white or your wrist hurts, you are squeezing too hard. Steve's advice: think finesse more than force. Correct placement does most of the work.

Step 3: give yourself a break

Steve calls this the most important tip. When he started, the 6th string major barre chord nearly made him quit guitar. It took him about three months to get that one chord to work, and he was convinced he couldn't play. Then one day it just started working.

Learning guitar isn't a steady climb. Sometimes you sit on a plateau and nothing seems to improve, then suddenly things click. So if you can get four strings of a barre chord to ring and two still don't, don't stress. Keep going. Practice every day, use the chord in songs and strumming, and the sound will clean up with time. What you don't want to do is spend hours on one chord trying to make every note perfect.

The 5th string barre chord: what to do when the 1st string won't ring

The 5th string barre chord (the A shape) gives most beginners the biggest headache. Your first finger bars the strings at the root fret, and your third finger bars the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings two frets higher. The problem: that third finger often mutes the high E (1st) string.

C major (5th string barre, 3rd fret)
e|--3--|   1st string: often muted at first, that's OK
B|--5--|
G|--5--|   3rd finger bars strings 4, 3 and 2
D|--5--|
A|--3--|   1st finger (root note C)
E|--x--|   don't play

Many players then try to lift the third finger to free the 1st string, and the 2nd string stops ringing instead. Steve's tip: think in order of importance. If strings 5, 4, 3 and 2 ring but the 1st string doesn't, don't worry about it. Lots of players he knows can't get that string either. The 2nd string matters more, because in this shape it holds the note that makes the chord sound major or minor. The 1st string just doubles another note in the chord.

Compare the minor version. Only the 2nd string changes:

C minor (5th string barre, 3rd fret)
e|--3--|
B|--4--|   this note makes it minor
G|--5--|
D|--5--|
A|--3--|
E|--x--|

Minor 7 barre chords use the same idea. For a close look at one, see our lesson on the Am7 guitar chord, and for another common barre shape, check out the B flat chord.

Bonus tip: make your guitar easier to play

Sometimes it isn't you. Steve isn't telling anyone to buy a new guitar, but he points out a few things that make a real difference while you learn barre chords:

What to check	Why it matters for barre chords
Guitar size	A guitar that fits your body is easier to hold in the right position. A very tall player may suit a bigger body; a smaller player may prefer a thin body.
Setup (string height)	If the strings sit high above the neck, you have to squeeze much harder. A setup at a guitar shop can lower them and make barre chords far easier.
String gauge	Thinner strings are easier to press down. Start lighter while you learn, then try heavier strings later if you want.
Neck shape	Thick or thin, rounded or flatter necks feel different in your hand. As you play more, you'll learn what suits you.

A fresh set of lighter strings and a setup are cheap places to start before thinking about anything bigger.

A 2-week barre chord practice plan

Keep sessions short and do them every day. Ten to fifteen minutes is plenty.

Days 1-3: Position check (2 min) + barre drill (5 min). Raise the guitar, angle the neck out, turn the elbow in. Then do the first-finger barre drill at the 5th fret. Roll the finger, move the thumb, and listen to each string.
Days 4-7: 6th string shapes (10 min). Play the G major barre chord at fret 3. Strum it, then pick each string. Release, relax your hand, and place it again. Do 10 slow repetitions.
Days 8-10: 5th string shapes (10 min). Play C major and C minor at fret 3. Focus on getting strings 5, 4, 3 and 2 to ring. Don't chase the 1st string yet.
Days 11-14: Use them in music (10 min). Switch between G (6th string barre, fret 3) and C (5th string barre, fret 3) with a simple down-strum, four strums each. Then try them in a song you know.

If your hand starts to hurt, stop and shake it out. Pain means too much force, not that you need to push through.

Want a step-by-step path through open and barre chords and how they connect? Our Chords Made Easy course builds them up one shape at a time.

FAQ

Why are barre chords so hard to play?

Most of the difficulty comes from position, not strength. A low guitar, a flat neck angle and an elbow sticking out all make your hand work against you. Raise the guitar, angle the neck out, turn your elbow in, and roll your first finger onto its edge. Then the barre needs far less pressure.

How long does it take to learn barre chords?

It's different for everyone. Steve says it took him about three months to get his first 6th string barre chord to work. Progress often comes in jumps after a plateau, so keep practicing a little every day even when it seems nothing is changing.

Why won't the high E string ring on my 5th string barre chord?

Your third finger, which bars strings 2, 3 and 4, usually mutes the 1st string. That's common, and lots of players can't get that string to ring in this shape. Focus on getting the 2nd string to ring, because it holds the note that makes the chord major or minor.

Where should my thumb go when playing barre chords?

Put your thumb on the back of the neck, roughly behind your first finger, where the most pressure is needed. That way you squeeze your thumb and first finger together instead of pulling with your arm. Adjust a little until it feels comfortable for your hand.

Do lighter strings make barre chords easier?

Yes. Thinner strings are easier to press down, so they are a good choice while you learn. A setup that lowers the string height helps too. Once barre chords feel comfortable, you can try heavier strings and see if you like them.