Play Bar Chords Gracefully

by Lutz Richter

Bar chords are an important part of guitar playing. If you don't want to stay very limited with what you can coax out of your guitar, there is no way around mastering bar chords. However, without proper technique they can be challenging to play well. 

In this article, I'm going to show you some simple but effective ways to make it easy. By practicing these elements, you'll develop the skill to play bar chords with accuracy and ease.

Playing Posture

Playing posture is something that many guitarists do not think about, but makes a BIG difference for how hard or easy bar chords are! By fixing only this 1 thing, I helped many students to go from "Unable to make the full chord sound." to "There it is!" in 3 minutes. 

Which posture do you use? Do you have your guitar on the right leg (as a right-handed player - fretting with the left hand, pick/strum with the right hand) and the guitar neck is parallel to the ground (or - even worse - the headstock lower than the body of the guitar)? If you play like this, you are working against yourself! 

You can make it much easier. I highly recommend the posture of classical guitar players: sit upright at the edge of the chair, left foot elevated by a footstool, guitar on the left leg, the guitar neck is about 45 degrees into the air. Now it is way easier to put your fretting hand into the correct position, especially if you like to achieve this without pain.

Correct Hand Position

How does proper hand positioning for playing bar chords look like? It DOES NOT look like the position you probably use for playing open chords: the thumb is wrapped around the neck and can touch the thick E-string for muting it when needed. This is fine for open chords, especially when you strum rhythms. However, this does not work for bar chords - you need to learn a very different hand position and then learn to smoothly switch between this bar chord positioning and the open chord positioning. It is not hard, but you need to be very aware and intentional about it. Start with learning the proper bar chord position: your thumb needs to move down, it definitely should not be visible above the neck. Point your thumb upwards toward the sky and it should touch the neck in the middle, about behind the middle strings. Relax your arm, let it hang loosely and get into this position. Then you'll be ready for the next step.

Correct Finger Position

Make sure that your bar chord finger does only the work it needs to do. 

1. If you have to bar all 6 strings (for example a full G Major bar chord in the third position), then avoid to severely overlap beyond string 6 (part of your index finger goes beyond the fretboard into the air). I often see this from inexperienced players. This makes it harder, and it looks funny. :) Just bar the necessary - you'll have an easier job and you'll look cooler. 
2. If you have to bar 5 strings (for example a B Minor chord in the second position), then avoid to keep your index finger the same as for a 6-string chord. Again, I see many players do this - not being aware that the root note of that chord is on string 5 and that you work unnecessarily hard. Unless you intentionally want to add that low extra note, only bar the strings you want to play and mute the lower (in pitch) unwanted string with the tip of your index finger.
3. Be aware that many chords don't require you to press down all the strings where your index finger is! Take a look at all the notes in the chord: which ones are actually fretted with finger 1? Example: for the common B Minor chord in the second position it's just the lowest note (on string 5) and the highest (at string 1). In between the index finger doesn't need to fret. For those chords your index finger can look like a slight banana curve.

Where The Gripping Pressure Should Come From

If you strangle the guitar neck between your thumb and fingers, you are doing it wrong. Here is what you should do instead: just put your hand and fingers in the correct position. Pressing down happens naturally by itself. The mere weight of your arm will pull your fingers towards the fretboard - at least at an electric guitar with a common setup. If you play an acoustic guitar with thick strings and high action, this might not be enough. However, still don't press your thumb! Instead, add some pulling power from your whole arm (pull your fretting hand arm from the shoulder joint back). You should feel the guitar body slightly moving forward/slightly pressing against your right forearm. This gives you a kind of superpower - you can play bar chords nonstop for long periods of time without fatigue. Practice this by playing without the thumb touching the neck. If you do it correctly, you should be able to play bar chords without even needing the thumb.

About The Author: 

Lutz Richter is a professional guitar teacher in Potsdam, Germany who successfully helped many people to master bar chords on the guitar.