It really is just a matter of practice.
If I'm playing a mixture of open chords and barre chords I find it faster/easier to use a short barre with the forefinger and the thumb barring the low strings.
If you're playing purely barre chords it's probably easier using a full barre
Some people tend to press too hard when playing barre chords which makes playing more difficult as their hand become too tense.
I agree with alvee33 about open chords on an acoustic but some chords really have to be played as barres.
Try playing the root 5 barre major chords with your ring finger holding down the B G & D strings. At first you'll probably mute the top E string but with practice you'll hopefully be able to bend your finger just enough to clear the top E enabling it to ring.
If you're just strumming I doubt that many people would notice that you're muting top E so long as the other strings are ringing reasonably clearly.
Root 6 barre major chords are played using the E chord shape which hopefully won't be too difficult.
Root 5 barre minor chords also use the E chord shape.
As an exercise try playing a G barre chord then changing to a C barre chord.
Place your forefinger over all of the stings on the third fret and play an E chord directly below the barre - middle finger on the 4th (G) string, 4th fret, ring finger on 2nd (A) string, 5th fret and little finger on 3rd (D) string, 5th fret.
To change to C keep the G barre shape in place then simply flatten the ring finger to cover the 4th, 3rd & 2nd strings lifting the little finger out of the way at the same time (this may naturally happen as you flatten your ring finger).
Use a bit of a rocking action between the two shapes and keep repeating slowly until it feels comfortable and natural.
Once you have mastered the change you can try muting the 6th string by slightly lifting or moving your barring forefinger. Don't worry about this until you've mastered the change.
I hope this makes sense. It's difficult to explain in words.
Don't worry if the chords sound muffled at first, with practice they'll soon start to ring.
1 2007-11-01 18:10:15
Re: How to play different chords (14 replies, posted in Acoustic)
2 2007-10-23 09:47:52
Re: Playing by ear (14 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply and give tips.
Patrick, it's encouraging to hear that I'll get better with practice. I probably do give up too easily and by trying too hard seem to develop a mental block. When I can't find the chords in the first few minutes I get impatient and look them up on Chordie.
I'm gonna give it a real go over the next few days.
Jerome, at times I can hear the IV & V when they're together. I must admit that I've never learned scales. Too lazy I guess. How does knowing the major scale help. I'd persevere in learning them If I knew how I'd use them.
3 2007-10-21 15:20:29
Re: Playing by ear (14 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Thanks for the tips. I'll try everything. I'll get there in the end, I hope
4 2007-10-19 11:04:05
Topic: Playing by ear (14 replies, posted in Acoustic)
I started playing the guitar about four years ago and can play most open chord songs if I have the chords in front of me, for example, songs provided on Chordie.com
The thing that's driving me crazy is my inability to listen to a song and work out the chords myself.
Sometimes I can recognize a simple progression in a song and find the first couple of chords but as the song progresses I'm knackered.
If I can get the first chord of the song I then know the key and can work out the chords in that key but actually hearing the chords used in the song is doing my head in.
Any tips would be appreciated as I feel that I can't progress until I can play by ear.
A pal of mine can pick out the base line and work the chords out just by listening to the song once. I've tried and tried but just can't do it.
HELP HELP HELP
5 2007-09-21 15:57:16
Re: Gibson or Taylor or Martin (20 replies, posted in Acoustic)
I've got a Taylor 814ce and will keep it forever. The action, sound and quality is superb.
6 2007-09-21 15:18:09
Re: What's the hardest chord you ever encountered? (133 replies, posted in Acoustic)
i saw a really freeking ugly chord (in my opinion) a few days ago, was something like a... donno... D#m7/Bb
not only does it sound terrible to play, it ISe 3
B 0
G 3
D 3
A -
E 3think it was something like this,... how am i supposed to play that when i gotta keep the A-sting out?
plz, hints, tips, alwayts welcome.. been playing for half a year now, can hardly do anny barré cords 2, so tips about that are also very useful
This chord sound awful but if you want to play it use the following fingering:
e Little finger
B open
G Ring finger
D Middle finger
E Forefinger which also lightly touches the A string to mute it.
7 2006-12-18 16:28:12
Re: B Chord - how to play (8 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Try playing with a full barre with your index finger, use your ring finger to play D & G with your pinkie playing B.
I learned to play it this way until I became comfortable playing D, G & B with my ring finger.
I now use a short barre with my index finger with my thumb curling over to play E & A. Using this kind of barre helps me change faster.
Hope this helps.