barre, open, barre open...

Hik starrlee and welcome to chordie. Check out this thread (with barre chord chart) - I think it will be helpful

http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11769

There was a good article on that topic in Acoustic Guitar a few months ago.  I tried to find it, but came up dry.  I'll try again later when I have more time.  Or you can check for it yourself if you have the time.

- Zurf

In many cases, barres will make your chord changes easier in the long run.  For instance, in one of my favorite songs, "Codemonkey" by Jonathan Coulton, there's a sequence A/E, A, B7, G#, C#m, B, A which come fairly quickly.  Since you have to play A/E as an E shape up at the 6th fret, changing to the straight A is as easy as laying your index finger down on the 5th.  Then you can slide up two (and lift the pinky) for the B7, drop back down 3 frets (and put the pinky down again) to the G#, keep the same shape but down one string to the C#m, down one more to the dreaded B (which I play barred with both the index and middle fingers),  then lift the index and drop two for the open A. 

Barre chords are a vital part of your development as a player, and they make many things really easy; but it will seem like torture for the time it will take to build up the strength and technique to make them possible.

That's interesting, harpfreak.  If I'm going from Bm to G, I play both as barre chords (they're on the same fret, same shape; just move down one string) which is a very quick and easy change for me.  If you work those barres as chord pairs (play one then the other, back and forth, for a minute or two every day), all those changes become second nature very quickly.

But you're right, the choice of shape depends strongly on what comes before and after.  The variation that I use the most seems to be playing the open E with either index, middle and ring (as everyone learns it first) or playing it with middle, ring and pinky if there's a barre chord following.