COMPLETE TUTORIAL Main Chords with Barre for Guitar Based on E and A: Technique and Basis of its Construction, and Location.
Barre chords are based on open chords. Open chords use the nut of the guitar to sound notes without stepping on any fret (open notes). When we want to play those same chords in another position on the fingerboard, we will have to use our index finger to sound the notes that the nut was responsible for in an open chord.
How to Play Guitar Barre Chords
The trick to making a barre chord sound good is to place your thumb in the center of the neck and just behind your index finger, so you can put more pressure on the barre part.
Below is an open E Major chord, with the note that names the chord (E) on both the open 6th string and the open 1st string.
If we advance this position, and put a barre with the index finger on the first fret, all the notes change to become an F Major chord. Since the note that gave name to our E chord, has become an F. Therefore, if we move the stance up to the third fret, we will have a G Major chord.
Base Note for the Creation of Barre Chords Based on the E Open Chord
In the previous graph we can see how we managed to change the chord, without changing the fingers’ posture. We would simply have to slide the position of the E-based barre chord to change the chord, with the advantage of being able to easily place sharp and flat chords.
Obviously this system is valid for minor or seventh chords based on open E. And although the concept of barre chords is very easy to assimilate, our possibilities as a musician and guitarist increase considerably 💪
Note: when the middle finger is free in a chord with a barre, as in the case of F 7sus4 above, we can use that finger as a support for the barre, and thus be able to put more pressure on it.
Barre Chords Based on the A And C Open Chord
The same system is used with the open chords of A and C to build barre chords, but unlike the previous ones, these chords take their name from the note we play on the fifth string.
Note: in the B Major chord (above), it can be seen how we can use the little finger to apply pressure on the third finger, and thus be able to press more forcefully and comfortably.
Base Note for the Creation of Bar Chords Based on the A And C Open Chord
The barre chords based on the open A chord offer the possibility of placing minor or seventh chords with ease, just like those based on the E chord. Both types of chords would be in perfect tandem so that no song or tonality resists us.
BASIC Guitar Chords Menu: Major, Minor, Suspended, Barre, Seventh, and Ninth Chords.