Topic: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

I can play songs right now, but it's difficult for me to pluck some chords like B, Bm, something like that. The thing that confuses me is, when I look at the picture of the chord(it's my guide when playing) it looks like, for me, I need more than 4 fingers to play it, like the chord B.

Some tips to improve my skills?
Thanks in advance.

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

What I do is just skip the low E string when I am playing a B.
cool danspr

Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel
Jimi Hendrix
cool danspr

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

Learn to barre.   You can play B with two fingers, and Bm with three.

It really is the jumping off point for the next level of playing for you. It will open up the neck.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

if you find the chord chart here, it will show you more than one way to play certain chords.....i printed almost every way to play each chordeans it has really helped me alot

it takes one to know one. roll

jessica<3

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

All great answers to a very common problem.
I myself don't play the low E like danspr, mainly because it fits into what I like (sounds OK to me)
Keep in mind your next chord and the chord before as you want to be able to get to the next or get from the previous chord easily, and if using the same shape for placing your fingers then your music will flow better and more quickly as your fingers "learn " these new shapes.

Jessica<3 is correct in using the Chordie tab page as you can refresh the page to get your variations as you need them ... but be aware that you need to fit the sound of your chord into the pitch of your song (I do anyway, its an ear thing) If you can stay in the same relative area on your fretboard its best to.

As Jerome says "It really is the jumping off point for the next level of playing for you. It will open up the neck."

Stay with it and one day it will just happen and you'll be the one doing the advising thinking "this is so easy"

Lastly, there's heaps of advice available here on CHORDIE, just ask.

All the best mate

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

Hi,
jerome im abit curious how you manage to play a B chord with two fingers with a barre.

just wondered i use four. Always open for a easier way.

Ark

7 (edited by brainsaladsurgeon 2007-06-10 22:46:24)

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

2
2
4
4
4
x was that so hard? Jerome has it!!

Yeah, I said my dog doesn't bite, but that's not my dog.

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

arkady wrote:

Hi,
jerome im abit curious how you manage to play a B chord with two fingers with a barre.

just wondered i use four. Always open for a easier way.

Ark

There's actually a couple of ways to get B with two fingers.  The first is an A shape chord, and the other is the bottom of a G shape.  Both are portable.

Barre completely across the fretboard at the second fret with the index finger.  Barre the B G and D strings at the 4th with the ring finger.   That shape is moveable all the way down the neck.   


That would be this

-2-
-4-
-4-
-4-
-2-
-2-

The other would be to barre B G and D with your index finger, and play B on the e string with your pinkie.  This is a G shape.  If you can play a barred G shape, you can fret the A and E strings as well, but it's easier to just play the four note variant.

-7-
-4-
-4
-4-
-x-
-x-

This is also portable all the way down the neck, and gives you a lot of options for major chords. 

I like this shape because it just by moving the pinky up the e string one fret I can get a Bmaj7

-6-
-4-
-4-
-4-
-x-
-x-

and

by moving it one more I can get a Bdom7

-5-
-4-
-4-
-4-
-x-
-x-

And those tonalities are perfectly portable, too.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

Hi,
jerome thanks for your detailed answer. I'm certainly going to try them out.

Ark.

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

arkady wrote:

Hi,
jerome thanks for your detailed answer. I'm certainly going to try them out.

Ark.

Happy to help.  I think the underlying premis of all this is "Don't get hung up on the chord chart."   For any given chord there are probably three different voicings available to you within reach of where you are on the fretboard, and each of those voicings could be fretted in a number of ways.  So there is no "right" way to play a chord.  It's going to be completely dependent on what you just played, and what you're going to play next, and most importantly, what feels and sounds best to you.

The only hard fast rule I have is that whatever chord form I play can only contain the notes in the chord I'm playing.    No faking it with odd, but easier forms that don't produce a pure chord.  But that's just me.   smile

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Difficult Chords for Beginners like me

ei guyz thanks for all the replies, THANKS!! ^____^