Barre chords

The barre is the guitarist's great milestone: the index finger lies across all strings at one fret, and the other fingers form a shifted open chord. Once mastered, it opens up all twelve keys with just two shapes.

E shape (root on string 6)

F major = the E shape with the index at fret 1. Lift the middle finger and you get F minor. Slide to fret 3: G and G minor; to fret 5: A and A minor.

A shape (root on string 5)

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=66
K:F clef=treble-8
"F"[F,CFAcf]4 | "Bb"[_B,F_Bdf]4 | "C7"[CE_Bce]4 | "F"[F,CFAcf]4 |]

Getting a clean barre

• Place the index just behind the fret, rolled slightly onto its thumb-side edge: the bony side presses better than the soft pad.
• The force comes from the weight of the arm pulling gently towards you, not from a thumb squeezing the neck.
• Check string by string, as with an open chord. If a string buzzes, move the index a few millimetres.