Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

[Zamiale]

I have been struggling with this for years and I still can't get it right. When playing a major barre chord from the 5th string, every lesson book I have read says you need to barre the 4th 3rd and 2nd strings with your third finger, and the 5th and 1st strings with you first finger. For the life of me I cannot do this without muting a string or it just sounding like crap. Lets take the chord C# major for example. This is how it is supposed to be played barred at the fourth fret:


----4----
----6---- \
----6---- - barred with 3rd finger.
----6---- /
----4----
----x----

I have explained it the best I can. Anyone else had a problem with this and figured out how do it playing all 5 strings without buzz/muting?

Thanks guys.

[Emthrax]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Maybe this sounds weird, but I use all my fingers to play 5th string major barre chords.

First finger barres 5th and 1st strings
Second finger on 4th string
Ring finger on 3rd string
pinky on 2nd string

I have long, thin fingers though, so I don't know if this would work if you have chubbier fingers as you have to squish them all in there. LOL. Its tricky to play like this on the higher frets obviously. So when playing the higher frets I don't barre the first string. I use my first finger on the 5th string and my ring finger barring 4,3,2 strings and I don't worry about the 1st string at all. I just mute it.
Boy, I'm really a lot of help aren't I? [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]
Good luck. If someone else has a better idea I would like to know too.

[VitaminG]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Originally posted by Emthrax:
So when playing the higher frets I don't barre the first string. I use my first finger on the 5th string and my ring finger barring 4,3,2 strings and I don't worry about the 1st string at all. I just mute it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Same here. I have long fingers and it's always been difficult to get my 3rd finger to bend enough at the first knuckle to allow the high E to ring. So I don't worry about it and just play the middle 4 strings.

[SeventhSon]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Can you play the minor version of that chord cleanly? (substitute 5 for 6 on the B string in your tab)

[fuel0707]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

For that chord, if I really wanted the high E string to sound out with the rest of the chord, I'd barre my first finger across all of the strings and use my third finger on the D and G strings and my pinkie on the B string.

It may feel strange at first but it works if you practice.

[Ace]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Just practice. It IS possible. However, if a different fingering feels more comfortable to you, go with that, but I would still practice doing it both ways.

[Basswood]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Believe it or not, I use my pinkie. Due to an unfortunate accident with a cat, my third finger will not bend correctly, so I have developed the pinkie of steel method. Seriously though, Keep practicing and try different fingerings. You will find something that works for you.

[Dana]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

I also use my little finger in place of my third. My hands are pretty beat up and it feels more comfortable. There are a lot of different ways to get to the same place. Experiment and see what works for you.

[DJROBA]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

"First finger barres 5th and 1st strings
Second finger on 4th string
Ring finger on 3rd string
pinky on 2nd string"
That's how I play it as well Emthrax

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Guys, think about it this way. When you do an A major chord, x02220, you're using three of your fingers for that chord, one for each string that requires fretting at the second fret. Try that chord with JUST your pinky/ring finger barring the 2nd fret... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[tigertailz]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

<font color="red"> </font> just what i was going to say

[delt]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

This is more of a flamenco "anything goes" technique, along with diagonal bar chords, both-direction fingerpicking, etc.....

it's possible to do on a classical guitar because there's enough space between the strings, but i wouldn't try that on an electric guitar (it's impossible!!) Just play it with your 1st finger barring strings A to small E, and your 3 other fingers playing strings D G B.

[Twisteramps]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

You can finger those three strings in a row with the ring finger and leave the E to ring... but instead of being totally flat, the finger is a little rolled. I usually just do the all three fingers for those three strings method, or I just don't worry about the high E string ringing.

Then again, I have small hands, so I usually just use a pinky instead of third finger anyways for 5th string barres. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

[Greg Crowe]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Oh man, when I first started playing and was taking lessons, my guitar teacher let me start playing those barre chords with my pinky instead of my 4th finger. It took me like 10 years to get over it. My advice would be to just keep practicing it correctly or you'll develop bad habits.

[Twisteramps]

Re: Barre chords starting from the 5th string?

Oh well, my bad habits work ok for me. I do use the third finger if I have to reach a suspended or a 'rock and roll' 5th to 6th boogie rhythm, but I would worry more about playing the songs more than the mechanics, unless you're dealing with 64th notes at 200bpm or something ridiculous like that.

Even with my little hands, I can go from 1st to 6th fret, which isn't too bad. Plus using my pinky for barres and bending made it pretty strong - I rarely just do the three finger lead thing, which I think is a lot more limiting than using a pinky sometimes for barre chords. Just my opinion, however.

Pete