4 Tips That Make Barre Chords Easier To Play
While there is no such thing as an easy barre chord, however I’d like to show you have to play barre chords easier.
With the proper techniques in place (and a little attention to detail) you can quickly master these shapes and start learning easy guitar songs with barre chords. Here are some tips and tricks and… how to make barre chords easier!
Finger Height
This one is pretty simple. Just nudge your finger up and down until it feels comfortable. Pay attention to the creases in your fingers and remember that it’s okay if the tip of your finger overlaps the edge of the fretboard.
Arched Finger vs Flat Finger
Neutral Wrist vs Bent Wrist
You must try your best to keep your wrist as neutral as possible. While it may be tempting to bend your guitar towards you to help you see the fretboard better this is awful for your wrist, especially when playing barre chords. Just looking at the picture of the bent wrist makes my tendons tingle!
Shoulder Support
Rather than letting your hand do all the work, it’s a good idea to spread the tension equally across the entire arm and back, all the way to your core. It might take a while to get used to it, but this will make the biggest improvement in your barre chord technique.
- Sit up straight
- Activate your shoulder by pulling back slightly
- Let gravity carry your elbow downwards
- Grip the chord
This distributes the tension evenly along your entire arm and shoulder, saving your hand and wrist a lot of strain.
Remember not to overdo it and take your time with these things. Work on them, 1 at a time, and after a while your barre chords will sound clean and you’ll be able to play for extended periods of time.
Here are some easy guitar songs with barre chords:
- Let It Be – The Beatles
- Ho Hey – The Lumineers
- Truly Madly Deeply – Savage Garden
- Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
- Angie – The Rolling Stones
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps – The Beatles
- No Woman, No Cry – Bob Marley
- Hey Good Lookin’ – Hank Williams
- Let Her Go – Passenger
- Demons – Imagine Dragons
- Stay With Me – Sam Smith
- Safe and Sound – Capital Cities
- Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men