You are not logged in. Please login or register.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Love writing songs-hate playing barre chords on acoustic-help!!
Hi, i,m a singer songwriter. I have wrote loads of tunes which are well received.Im actually a bass player but took up the acoustic 2 years ago.i hate barre chords, even with lots of practice, normal chords i dont even think about but when im ready to strike that f or bm, it all turns to s##t. any suggetion of other places to play these nasty chords and still sound great.
many thanks folks
andy
It's not what you are going to want to hear but barre chords I would say are essentual and will open the doors to finding that missing chord your searching for when witing a song. My suggestion would be to keep practicing those dreaded barre chords and I promise one day you will think back and say oh yea I remember they where kinda hard to master
Cheers for that, Im getting there, just frustrating, especially as im not a bad bass player, seems like im going back to school but like you say, they are essential.
Well, instead of an acoustic, why not practice on an electric one instead? Although it's good to practice on an acoustic, you'll find doing barre chords a bit easier on electric.
Cheers for that, Im getting there, just frustrating, especially as im not a bad bass player, seems like im going back to school but like you say, they are essential.
Dont forget that you can use a capo to transpose songs to more guitar friendly keys
Practice the Barre chords after a while you will strike them without even realizing it
Quit worrying about using barre chords on your acoustic...the acoustic was actually meant to be played at the upper part of the fretboard...you don't really need to know barre chords for any good song while playing the acoustic. use ya barre chords on the electric it's much more forgiving
Thanks guys, if you go to http://www.myspace.com/redfootcoventry you will hear our songs. My two songs are all in am,c,g and d lol!!!!
Barre chords are a problem on acoustics because of the higher action. I have worked with them on a 1953 Martin D-18 and a 1967 Guild F-30 (Hoboken). My suggestion is to use a capo. Shubb capos (http://www.shubb.com/capos.html) are very popular with a lot of players, but I recently saw Bryan Sutton using an Elliot Capo
(http://www.elliottcapos.com/), which was much smaller and less obviously intrusive than the Shubb. I'm almost 61 now and beginning to develop a fair amount of arthritis in my hands, so barre chords are becoming problematic on the acoustics. Capos and /or working with your arrangements in order to arpeggiate the chords rather than holding down the entire six string voicing may also help you.
Bob
Quit worrying about using barre chords on your acoustic...the acoustic was actually meant to be played at the upper part of the fretboard...you don't really need to know barre chords for any good song while playing the acoustic. use ya barre chords on the electric it's much more forgiving
Actually barre chords are essential on acoustics too. I only play acoustic, no electric, and I use barre chords ALL the time. I find there is no way around that milestone if you got a high action and high tension strings, but if you do have a high action and don't want to change it, start with light or super light strings and that should be able to get you started. High actions should be lowered though.
Another thing is, DON'T just always try and find other ways to get around playing barre chords.
Be determined and practice practice practice, and it will come and open up a whole new world for guitar playing.
Good luck!
Well if you would like my humbel opinion learn barchordes. KramL is absolutley correct barchords are essential to the instrument electric or acustic. try going for C and G minors and their sharp companions and work your way up back the fret board. the fact is that barchordes are important for guitar in general.
I'm with KramL & sanguine too--the first 3 years I played I was afraid of barre chords...I was "good", but if a song involved a barre I'd cheat or just couldn't play it. What wound up happening is that I played in my room a lot but had no confidence to play with anyone. Sure, you can capo...but then you have to transpose if you're playing with a band...want to do that?
Make sure your action is low enough--I play a Carvin which is set up with a fantastic, low action, and then just practice. I made myself try to do barre chords for 30 minutes a day...then I could go on to other things. What helped me a little, was I found myself trying to "push" with my index finger, instead of "pinch" with my thumb on the back of the neck and my index finger. Once you get 'em--you can do so much from a chord & rhythm standpoint. Everyone you see playing fantastic guitar on stage or video's or wherever, went through the same thing you're going through--just work and fight through!
will keep on trying, its not just barre chords, i like to song write and i want to involve minor chords like f and b but when i try them it makes my composition sound crap and i give up on them.
I am kind of in the same boat as you with barre chords (been playing about 5 months). I'm actually going to try changing my strings and lowering my action (which will probably be an adventure in itself as I've never tried, but that's another story). Anywho, what I've started working on is just playing the top four notes of barre chords (strings D through high E) and it makes it a little easier. I still stink at it, but at least it's doable, especially with Bm and Cm, and I'm getting better....hit a Cm the other day while playing desperado without losing a beat for the first time! I think by barring only the top two strings in F my fingers are getting stronger, and eventually my fingers will be strong enough to move up to the full barre. The chord doesn't sound nice and full, but at least it's there.
Practice the Barre chords after a while you will strike them without even realizing it
this is the correct answer
Hi Andy,
Having listened to, and enjoyed, your songs and performance on MySpace I know you have a lot of talent but I am afraid my answer is the same as most others. You do need barre chords and only practice will make you learn them.
What may help though is a few lessons with a good guitar teacher to assist you to get your hand position correct and be able to give you exercises too. Just a thought.
Good luck,
Roger
Hi,
Try practicing half barres first. put your index finger over three of the strings, and move it around, try it on different frets. Then try a full barre and do the same thing. Also use different fingers.
Good luck!
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Love writing songs-hate playing barre chords on acoustic-help!!
