IN my fledgling attempts trying to turn myself from a ne'er -do -well rogue into something of a tunesmith, I never really mastered the barre chord, trying to change from just about any standard chord to a barre chord has left me with nothing but frustration over my bumbling fingers trying to position themselves. Any suggestions from the league of musicians we have here to help me improve the dexterity required to master these fucking things??

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I'm no guitar player, but as a former Sax player I would say scales....know your scales and practice them over and over and over....then as you get good, go faster and faster and faster.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

Tune that motherfucker to an open E and let 'er rip.

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Don't take it personally.

It is an acoustic and the action isnt all that high. I guess its more of Im used to not using my pinky as much in first position chords but it becomes more necessary to use it as obviously my index finger is taken out of play so my remaining 3 fingers are the ones doing the actual fretting, and it just doesnt feel comfortable. I guess the solution as it is with trying to get good at most anything, is more fucking practice.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

uh, not only is that an opinion that is totally incorrect....it's also NOT true.
somewhere Slash is laughing. so are The Beatles...The Who....pretty much any famous rock band is laughing at you right now.

you have to make your hands stronger badrogue. play scales to a metronome over and over and over until you can fret open position chords without using your index finger at all, as if it you didn't have one.
guitar is a physically demanding instrument and the only way to get better at it is to consistently practice. think of it as exercise for your forearms and fingers. do this for 3 months or so, and you'll get better.

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@audioidkid

that's not what you typed though...you said they didn't sound quite right. and no, I don't think they "ring out too much" compared to barre chords as they are one in the same. an open position chord becomes a barre chord as soon as you move up a fret.

They may "ring out" more for a certain player as the odds are that player (beginner, novice, intermediate) is fretting and playing more strings properly than they would a barre chord. But a good player can get a barre chord to sustain nearly as long as an open position chord. I say nearly because the wavelength is longer at open position versus say 10th position. So an open E would resonate longer than a D in 10th position.

Paradise City is a loud jam. Izzy played knocking on heavens door in all open position chords. that was his dichotomy to Slash.
Open position C, D, G, A, and E chords are used all the time in rock music.

An open Am with tons of gain sounds wicked to me. and I love me a Cmaj7/9/E chord. E,C,E,B,D,E.

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@audioidkid

in your original comment you said open chords are not used much on electric guitar and don't sound quite right.

there was nothing about wavelength or ringing out in that statement.

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@audioidkid

I know! And I'm saying they sound great with distortion! because they do...

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@audioidkid

1A- practice, lots of it. Until your fingers and wrists hurt.
1B- don't listen to Panther.

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Essentially everything doug stated is correct. There are a couple things I agree with Panther on, as well, however I think a lot of what he is saying depends on the music you are trying to play.

Personally, I prefer to go the route of "whatever is easiest" when I play. I have some tiny hands that don't span very far on the fretboard, so where some players will use a barre chord, I try to use a different position. Even if this means changing the key.

I'm more of a right-hand man, though. Love me some rhythm.

Kinda in the same boat, I dont have very large hands either which is limiting in of itself. Though there are many guitar players who arent exactly the Hulk but are fantastic players so obviously having smallish hands isnt that big of a deal

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

No, you don't.

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Fine, you know the zip code but not my address.

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Panther, has it occured to you that I have moved since mid-summer?

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I am more of a "if a random box of candy shows up at my door, I know the creepy fuck that sent it " kind of guy.

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Badrogue...
Play your open chords reorganizing your fingering to eliminate use of your first finger.
So when you play an Open E Major, use your pinkie and ring finger for the B and E (Second Fret, 4th and 5th strings) and your middle finger for the G#. Now, if you wanted to slide that up one fret to the F Major Chord, you just slide your hand up one half step and flop that pointer finger right down across the 1st fret. That's a movable chord, it works across the fretboard, becoming an F#Maj, G Maj, G#Maj, A Major, as you move that shape across the board.
DOUG's main advice about making your open shapes without using your pointer finger is the CORRECT ADVICE.

NOW, MY advice would be for you to pick out a song that uses some of these chords and just train your fingers to reorganize. Soon you'll be floppin down those wack chords in no time.

I do understand what Panther was saying. He has a point but I believe he stated it poorly. No guitarist unless we're talking the prodigy of all prodigies is going to play an A maj as clean and bright with a 5th position Barre Chord as he is with an open chord or on 5th position with a capo.
But those open chords aren't right in most songs.
But many many dirty open chords are played throught history. And many distorted barre chords too. We use both in Beneath 51 many times. When we play "SOLAT" I use a 1st position F Major Barre and mix in an open Am, C, G and a triad B.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Thanks Darko and Doug (and everyone else for that matter ,I will commence with the suggestions fortwith.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

and when I play SOLAT with them, I use an 5th position Fmaj with the root on the 8th fret of the 5th string, then an Am barre chord in 5th position....because I can.

Most rock music uses 5th or "power" chords. B triad would have the 3rd (Eb). think Metallica. however, a open G, A, E, D, or C chords do work nicely to break things up.

If you can't fret a barre chord correctly and get it to ring out cleanly, then you're doing it wrong! this is where short fingers can be helpful...prodigy be damned.

Chromatic exercises up and down the fretboard will help with hand strength.

I should send you the church modes...

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@audioidkid

Careful... he might boil.

And when I play SOLAT, I play bass!

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like Jeff Vedder...or Eddie Ament.

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@audioidkid