5 Ways to Take the Pain Out of Barre Chords
Вставка
- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- Do your hands HURT after playing barre (bar) chords on your guitar? They do not have to! Here are 5 AWESOME tips that will make your time on the guitar easier, particularly for the bar chord.
www.musicandguitarlessons.com/
Become a supporting student: / rossthemusicteacher
My books - Amazon Affiliate Links
Music Theory in One Lesson: amzn.to/2w4GpFO
100 Sight Reading Exercises: amzn.to/2Nbd4ju
Rhythm Made Easy: amzn.to/2w3sgso
Magitar: amzn.to/2MIvjji
Fretboard Puzzles: amzn.to/2OT86rW
Listen to some of my orchestral music: • A Light, And It Took M...
barre chords were invented by jazz guitarists to punish us for not buying drinks in the clubs
Caleb M Makes TOTAL sense! 😁💥😁
😁
Gotttt emmm
@@akingaard3535 7u
If you are still struggling try putting your guitar on your left leg it really helped me so now I just need to get used of it on my left leg😅😅
....Finally it took Jesus..to teach me barre chords.
Gr8 lesson
Haha this made my wife laugh so hard.
Amen!! 👍😂😂
I still cant fucking do them! ahhhhh :,(
@@samueljackson315 you must relax. Frustration is the barrier to progress.
@@rossthemusicandguitarteacher i've not really used many barr chords in my learning but i did learn the F bar chord, i can do that, but tried a song yesterday and can i bugger get the Gm or the Gm (with the pinky raised) so only one finfer and i'm finding it hard to tilt the finger on it's side, maybe because I started learning too late
Aw. Hozier is a great teacher
TheGrumpyGoose oh I thought he was jesus
Damn I'm actually here to improve my barre chords to play Hozier songs
@@21units same 😎
🤣
5th
Me: *is close to tears trying to play barre chords*
UA-cam Algorithm: s a y n o m o r e
Update: your gal can play barre chords now 😎
i still can't :(
@@gerraff1518 haha what about now
@@Jadpon_ kinda
@@gerraff1518 lets go man!!!!
@@gerraff1518 I have been trying f major for over a year now hehe so xd
I have tried barre chords for 3 years... You just fixed it in 5 minutes in 51 seconds. You are a hero
RadioGuy thank you my friend!
Ha! I avoid them for years thinking ehhhh there whatever fuck a bar chord ahahah not the case..😬
Thank you for your service man kept it simple
RadioGuy They are the first thing I taught my self 45 years ago.
RadioGuy 5 minutes and 52😂😂😂
every guitar beginners need to see this
Agreed
I like the fact that went right to the lesson without all that talking before hand and was very informative... great lesson
Adrian Russell it's never too late - I'm a beginner at 64. I'm learning to barr chords myself and after much frustration, I can do some, though F is hardest for me so congrats to you! I've discovered dropping my shoulder and bringing my elbow in to my waist works for me. Don't despair, because if my tiny, old hands can do it you can!
Yes, I am an older beginner as in playing for three months. I will have a go tomorrow. Thank you for giving me heart.
This comment you made is from a while ago, but how far have you came? I hope your guitar journey is going well!
Thank you. This helped me a lot :)
Didn't need more than the basics in the 60's and haven't played since....now I'm 65 and giving it another shot!
enchanted watermelon I’m just getting notification of your question. I’m sitting outside on my tree swing (my happy place) practicing right now! I’m happy to report that though I’m not making barre chords perfectly, I have my good days! I’m into fingerpicking and recently discovered John Prine songs just before he passed with covid 19. I’m working on Summer’s End and Hello In There at the moment. We’re blessed to have so many wonderful instructors on UA-cam. Practice some every day if possible and make a quality decision to hang in there on “bad” days and never be a quitter! I’m so in love with learning guitar! 💞
SUMMARY: IT REALLY SOUND GREAT THIS WAY THNAKS FOR THIS VIDEO
1)USE SIDE OF YOUR INDEX FINGER
2)FINGER SHOULD BE RIGHT NEXT TO FRET & BE CAREFUL WHICH STRING REALLY NEEDS BAR
3)DONT SQUEEZE BY INDEX FINGER, THUMB SHOULD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK OF BAR
4)PUSH THE GUITAR BY YOUR CHEST AND PULL THE FRETBOARD BY THE CORD HAND,
5)PULL THE GUITAR BY THE STRUMMING ARM TOWARDS YOU
The one about pulling rather than squeezing is what’s saved my barre chords, thankya Jesus!!
i actually sprained my wrist trying to learn barre chords and got so frustrated I gave up on guitar for nearly 5 years. finally got determined enough to try again and found myself at this video, and barre chords actually feel achievable now. thank you so much for saving me from medical bills and frustration haha
I just want to add- Making barre chords is the place in guitar learning where a lot of people give up sadly(especially older beginners). So just a nice thought for today- you have helped more than a few people continue on their musical journey instead of giving up, all by deciding you share what you have learned...Thank you!
Bro, that pull technique VS the squeeze is a game changer
No. 4 and No. 5 are so helpfu that I don't know if I can ever figure it out myself! Thank you so much for the tips!
You are very welcome 😁
I can't express my gratitude, for months I've been trying to do bar chords. Like you have saved me from the depressing frustration of thinking I'll never be able to really play the guitar.
A couple of other things you need to look at is the height of the action on the guitar. If it's too high it will make playing barre chords more difficult even for experienced players. Another tip is to use lighter gauge strings. So if you currently use 12's (light gauge) then drop to 10's (extra light) and you'll find it a lot more comfortable to play barre chords without the pain.
UA-cam is just incredible, can you just imagine without Ross's help I'd have probably given up on my barre chords and just avoided songs with them in altogether. Cheers Ross 👏👏
Dude i've been playing guitar by myself for almost... 14 years, i know my way arround chord voicing, positions, scales and all that good stuff, but the technique man, my technique sucks. In barre chord territory i've been blindfold, at some point I even had an had injury
for playing wrong, putting all the preasure on the muscle betwen my thumb and my index finger ending in the clinic with tendonitis
.
This video is MUST SEE for every guitar player, whether new or experienced
, really a game changer!!! Thanks so fucking much!!!!
Wow nobody told me this. After years of pain I finally decided to UA-cam it and you literally just explained it point blank without wasting time. This video was here when I started. From now on I will simply solve the problems I don’t understand by looking them up. Thank you.
Very welcome! If you get a chance, visit my channel and give some of my new songs a listen, would be appreciated. :) Happy practice!
Man i was struggling so damned hard with my f and bM. 45 minutes after seeing this video, struggle no more.
Thank you so much! I'm 2 months in and i couldn't imagine how i was gonna progress beyond those two
Super happy to help. My teacher Ben Cantu originally helped me with this.
I’ve been playing for eight years and it never occurred to me that there were ways to make barre chords less painful. I thought you had to play through the pain to be good lol but it still hurt after this long. You saved my life and my hands my dude
This is brilliant - years of playing and NO ONE ever told me this. Ross should be in the guitar hall of fame just for this one piece of advice
the best tutorial i have ever watched. 5 minutes and 51 seconds and i can finally play barre chords :)
Comments like this are why I do what I do. :) So glad this helped you!
I can honestly say this is the best lesson I have seen for beginners learning Barre chords.
Glad you found it helpful!
How can this video have only 1500 views? Man you literally nailed it, I've been 3-4 years playing and always had trouble playing barre chord (mostly on acoustic guitar because the pressure needed is higher), I was never able to play songs that had only barre chords or that 3 of the 4 chords were barre chords.
You literally saved me man, big thumbs up and you got a new sub!
Happy to help!! And I am glad to hear that you have broken the barre chord barrier!
Ocsar you nailed it
Adrian you nailed it...
@@rossthemusicandguitarteacher I have literally had the same problem. Always used to put songs to the side that had barre chords in them and stick to the easy stuff! It actually sounded like a Bm (clapping hands) !!
great lesson on barre chord
The smile after you say “no squeezing needed” at ~4:26 is worth a million bucks in guitar lessons. Mahalo for sharing your know how.
This video deserves tons more views.
Notes:
01: Side of finger
02: Right against the frets - focus on parts needed for the chord
*03: Thumb should be placed in the middle of the barre = even pressure on the fingers
04: Pull with the arm
05: Push on the body
Great lesson! 😁
Omg I've been crying through some song because I've not had this technique down at all. This feel so much better after only trying out on a few chords. Thank you so much!
Before watching this video my strings were buzzing like a fridge, afterwards they were singing out like canaries. Feels quite effortless when you know how. Thanks!
Number 3,4,and 5 changed my life for ever. Thank you it is easier now
The tip on pulling is pure gold.
I don't think you understand how much I would like to thank you after playing guitar for 5 years, I've never done barre chords better. Thank you lol
You are very welcome. :)
I've been playing guitar for about15 years on and off, and i've never been able to play bar chords for more than one song at a time because my hand would start hurting and getting tired. As a kid when i told my guitar teacher that it hurt or my hands were getting tired he just said i would build the muscle eventually if i practiced enough, so i just assumed they were supposed to hurt. Now that I know more about technique i realised if it hurts i'm probably doing it wrong. And so finally i decide to look into it and see your video. You probably just saved me from rsi or an injury of some sort.
Your teacher probably also had trouble playing barre chords and therefore, couldn't really help you.
Thank you sooo muuuchh, I'm only fifteen but I have been getting very very severe wrist pain from playing Barre chords and it has been effecting my daily life. I'm so glad I don't have to quit guitar because of pain now!!!!!!!
So, my hands are pain free.
Now to my back.
and my thigh
@@creator4734 yes please
iF he can fix back, thigh and finger pain I've got this abdominal issue he could look into.
Hey thanks for the awesome tips Ross. I really appreciate the fact that you were kind enough to share your knowledge!
People: Hozier
Other people: Jesus
Me: Is there any difference...?
Yep
Oh man, this is such an eye opener! I've been playing a few months and working my way through some classical-ish music book I've got, and this was exactly what I needed to apply consistent and pain-free pressure as needed to play so many parts of the music. Thanks so much!
This is the first video of yours I've seen, but immediately I notice that you radiate all sorts of valuable qualities in a teacher - experience, perceptiveness, humility, and a pure desire to help people learn. I feel really lucky to have found this. I'm subscribing; I'll be back to learn more later.
After a 40 year break from guitar playing, it was great to learn your tip number 5. I recall my classical guitar tutor telling me about the no squeeze and push the neck into my hand (tip 4), but the addition of your 5th tip has made the barre cords sooo easy. :)
Great tips! Thank you! The last 3 points really put a fine point on some things I was intuitively trying to do but couldn't figure out exactly.
For me in the begging I found out that Barre chords are far easier to play with the guitar in classical position, neck almost perpendicular to the ground and then slowly letting the guitar neck come down until it's parallel to the ground, or whatever angle you play at.
These tips are literally genius.
Tips 4 and especially 5 are heaven sent!!!
Thank you so much for your help! You've helped me reach a break through in my guitar journey!
Just started playing guitar about 2 months ago. I just got into learning the F barre chord and this video saved me so much frustration and headache. Thank you so much!
ALRIGHT! I GOT REALLY GOOD TIPS FROM YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH
Ross the Music and Guitar Teacher
:)
this guy seems super chill, i love the unedited video format! also i have been trying to figure out barre chords for the past hour, thanks for the help!
Glad to help however I can!
Excellent lesson. Been playing guitar for years but loved that tip about using the arm to pull down on the fretboard. Soooo much easier. Much appreciated Ross! :)
This is amazing. Been playing for years and never seen any good tips but these take away any pain. Great work.
just started out on guitar and this was literally the most informative and most helpful way of playing these barre chords. I can now play them with such ease thank you so much dude!
Thanks for the kind words brother!
YESSSS @the push-pull technique, helped so much
This video change my whole outlook on playing a barre chords. The last two tips are game changers. Brilliant!
10+ years of playing and I knew only like 2/5 of these. Thank you, this was genuinely helpful
4:50 My mans out here pullin gang signs
Hahahahaha this and that Jesus comment made me really drop from the Sofa 😂
Ahahahahahaha
Thank you so much man, have been doing bar chords on and off but when I tried to learn a song with them there would always be a string buzzing and I’d be pushing very hard, now I’m starting to do them with ease!! Thanks again lifesaver
Happy to help and much love
Best Barre chord technique lesson I've seen! I can't wait to practice it!
Thank you so much for making bar chords accessible! I always tried to avoid when possible but now looking forward to trying them more often!
Best advice I believe I have gotten for Barre chords. Just holding my elbow in went from mutted strings to getting an acceptable sound, I need practice it but to working with it. Thanks!
Much love! My teacher Ben Cantu helped me greatly with this.
You are an excellent teacher!! Many thanks for the exceptionally clear lesson.
You are very welcome!
Dude the fifth tip is the best tip I have ever received for playing barre chords. Thanks a ton!!!!
Seriously you dont understand how many years ive avoided bar chords because i couldnt play it. It was all in the placement of my thumb that changed it all. Wow thank you so much youre amazing!!!!!
This was the most helpful tip ever! You, sir, are a godsend!
You are most welcome!
OMG ! You are an actual genius!!! I had an injury on my left arm and have had several surgeries on it, which has left if quite weak, so i've always struggled with barre chords, this video has been nothing short of a miracle!!! Thank you!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Very glad to help. 👌
OMG how is it already sounding so much better! You're brilliant.
Fantastic video. I have been struggling with barre chords, and after watching this, it is because I spend too much time trying to get the optimal sound while trying to "squeeze" out the chord. Great and informative to learn about using the arm, and pulling the guitar with the other arm.
I liked the Chili Peppers better before you left.
Lmao
ua-cam.com/video/h1KbRqA2MCU/v-deo.html
Edit hes back in peppers @Fred
Ahhhhhahhahahaha Funny, I just saw another vid where he's wearing a plaid shirt & I thought oh kinda like JF!
has entered the chat
THANK YOU! I’ve been using my thump to apply pressure and didn’t realize that it was making it worse. I’ve been trying to practice with my thumb off and it’s definitely helped!
You are so welcome!
thank you so much, I watched a lot of videos on how to play barre chords but this one was actually VERY HELPFUL.
Brilliant lesson. Even with 23 years playing under my belt, I needed to hear most of this (due to constant wrist fatigue).
Thank you so much for this lesson!
Thank you so much! My hands were killing me. Hopefully your technique helps my hand pain
It turns out that Jesus exists and is a guitar teacher. I mean, he just made a miracle, thanks to him I got the barre chords sounding correct
Thank you! The tip about the position of the thumb actually changed how I did it. Its much clearer now
so helpful, thank you so much. mind blown, I have struggled with this for years and asked teachers and never got this great of advice.
this video saved my life, i will forever be in debt
Bro thank you. You are a genius I love that pull on the left push on the right idea. I haven't tried it yet but thinking that is good and all these little things I haven't thought about make a difference. Truth is right now I am suffering with extreme hand pain in my left thumb. It came on a few years ago and i didn't have an injury that I did that day and then the pain was there. It was all of a sudden, I felt pain and it nagged and i don't know how many years it has been now. But i have had nights that my hand looks like i have mangled it because for some reason i feel relief when i pop the joints and i will just be yanking on the thumb in different directions till i hear the pop. And my instincts know to open it up there and i get the pop and if feels amazing when i do get it. But I wonder if it is all in my head and all i am doing is more damage. And i know I am supposed to sit up straight and have good posture, but I lay on my back alot and play lying down. It may be due to the fact I live in a bridge under a freeway that you can't stand up inside of and have to crouch to move around inside. I thought that the pain was due to the fact that my father had given me a very cheap acoustic and the action was so high you could do the limbo under it. When I lost my father, I missed him so much and would busk on the streets using that guitar and because it came from him, I loved it, and I was obsessed at that time too and would play for 8 hours straight and could still keep going I loved it. But it hurt my hands pushing down those high in the air strings for so long. And I have had a few hand injuries like ride the bike on a bike trail and not see in the dark the metal things they put there when it comes to a road to cross. And another time carrying a guitar case and the side of a computer piece of metal at the same time in one hand. The 2 items split open from each other and omg the pain was intense i had to go to a chiropractor to try and fix it. And i wondered if that moment had come back to haunt me. I have been playing guitar for over 35 years and i can't tell you the misery of being able to shred and sound like Satrani and then all of a sudden you can't play Every Breath you take because i am only about to play a tenth as good as I used to play. I see people playing and miss being able to do that. And I even got a Quartarone shot or however you spell that. But i didn't get told any exercise to do or rehab. So having to research it all myself because i want it better again and it is embarrassing when i can't open up a ketchup packet or tie my shoelaces or zip up my pants. And you would be amazed how much you need your thumb and its crippling when it goes out. According to some videos the person says that guitar playing is not the reason for arthritis. But I want this pain gone and any suggestion on how to fix this would be appreciated. And btw I am a billionaire and in the middle of trying to get to my money but when I get it, I am going to send some your way because I want heaven on earth and people like you trying to help others 0ut with sharing is how it will it work, and thy kingdom come is my belief.
You are welcome! I was VERY lucky to have an amazing teacher, Ben Cantu, who helped me develop this. His teacher, Ricardo Iznaola, was a technique MASTER!
number 4 and 5 actually made me be able to play the guitar correctly, thanks a million!
That last tip was literally a life saver. Not only did it help with bar chords but it is now way easier to slide my fingers up and down the frets just by having that pressure applied by my arm. Major thank you.
OMG I feel like crying. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
You are most welcome!
*Barre chords* : I will end your career 😎
*This random life saving Jesus lookin guy teaches* : HOLD MY GUITAR 🎸
lol bruh y u aint got more likes plus mr jesus got more views
@@amankodimela8499 thTs not nice
Been playing guitar for years but even now these tips help my with the consistency and clarity of the chords I play!
Wonderful tips! Had been playing barre chords for a while, but with this video you made everything so much easier for my tiny hands! Thanks a lot!
I'm playing almost a year and thanks to you i've mastered bar chords easily
You remind me of Sirius Black from Harry Potter :)
KiwiWRX i
KiwiWRX NOT AT ALL.
Mr Guthrie more like
nah he is guitar jezuz
dude thanks for this vid! i've been playing guitar for around 8 years, and I was playing barres in a way that was damaging my wrist to the point that I had to go to PT. Trying to relearn techniques to keep from hurting myself again, and this is SO HELPFUL!
Some superb tips!!! Tried them as he explained, instant improvement
Duuuude, I freaking hate barre chords, and I refuse a Capo.. this technique( broken down nicely), has me playing without frustrating finger cramps. The contact Points, thumb placement and using the old roman leverage technique. Nice.... UPDATE!!, in case you were like me and got frustrared playing barres and 2mnths later I'm a totally different player, I can't put real time in but I learned this lesson very part time and have these barres pretty much nailed, I don't have alien hands so the super eight fret stretch aint happening..been playing off and on when I can and love it..Im sure you'll learn playing them,using the arm is huge(I gave up, just solo over backing tracks, started out trying to play satch and got good doing so but never understood what I was playing and why?) learned back asswards no real lessons, and love the Blues now.. even different tunings with slide added.. I'm from a (dead kennedys, bad religion,suicidal tendencies,black sabbath, zeppellin,maiden,satriani,vai,Gilbert,Buckethead type Genre... now using four digits on acoustic(working on my pinky plucker..lol) playing some jimmy johnson, blue grass style music.. freakin weird how the path of music/life take you...
Update: since pretty much nailing these chords, it's put so many missing pieces of the puzzle together, notes in the scales in relation to the chord, plus a few extra for style.. Add pull offs, hammer ons, tap harmonics..= medicine.
Wyatt Sprague awesome sauce, man. Keep blessing the world, one note at a time - there isn't enough of it.
I’ve been playing guitar for over 35 years and here’s my tip, for what it’s worth: 1. learn guitar on a steel string acoustic, not electric. 2. Whenever you’re not playing guitar squeeze a squash ball with your left hand. Both of these techniques will build up strength in your left hand.
Can't thank you enough, dude! Been struggling with consistency in barre chords over the last year, and pain tended to be an issue... I heard about number four as a great trick, but three and five really helped.
I was trying to learn the F#min barre chord and the pain in my hand was killing me! I found your video and am so glad I did! Not only did I finally succeed but it became much more painless for my hand. Thanks! I have subscribed. :)
Ok, this was basically life-changing for me, thank you, Jesus!!!
do you have an advice or do you recommend a specific exercise.. if when I close my left hand fingers, the second and third finger are almost impossible to space apart to reach two consecutive frets? I see that you can go even a fret difference further...
Is your wrist very square or is it straight? Are you squeezing with your muscles in your hand? Are you squeezing with your thumb?
Try to avoid all of these things. If you can keep your wrist straight and your palm/thumb relaxed, you will not be "fighting" against yourself. The more pressure you apply with your fingers or thumb, the harder it is to control the other fingers. If your fingers are tight and can't move apart you are likely squeezing very hard in some way or another. If you are very square with your wri8st, your fingers will prefer to behave more rigidly and you will feel pain in your wrist.
Watch more videos on beginner technique.
OMG...you freaking fixed my problem. My mind is blown. Bless you forever.
Finally Im able to play barre chords. ur 5 tips are GOLD! put all together you make barre chords really easy.
unfortunately I had to injure my hand before I learned all these tips ,pulling the arm especially ,it should also be mentioned that string tension and action play huge role in ease of playing barre s
OK Ross: now show me how its done on an acoustic...
Works the same, just a bit harder.
Dude! He was using an acoustic.
@@joetroutt7425 He probably meant "classical".
Actually he's using an electric
Having lots of pain in index finger doing bar chords and will give your suggestions a go. Pretty confident you’ve cracked it for me!
After months of attempting to do barre chords on ukulele, this is the first time I have actually done it without stressing my finger! Thank you!! I'm into ukulele and yet I am your new subscriber!
Interesting!
Thanks! Hope it helps :)
the major shape shounds great, finally... But when I lift the middle finger and try to play a minor chord that note doesn't sound at all and I can't figure it out.
Move your index finger higher or lower so the knuckle is closer to the third string.
Try to roll your finger to the side if you haven't already.
One thing not mentioned in this video is that your can roll your finger to the side by bringing your left elbow in a bit closer to your body.
Try to come closer to the frets if you can.
Also, try just barring e-g-b strings with the lower part of your index finger, this may give you some insight with your other fingers out of the way.
@@BibleStorm that was super useful advice. Thanks covid!!!
Wow....now I could put away my capo because finally we have a real, unselfish guitar teacher!!!! Thanks (Bogota, Colombia...ex-pat
Thank-You. This literally helped me so much and I now feel comfortable playing new challenging songs!