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Position:Home>Performing Arts> I'm learning to play guitar and...?Question: I'm learning to play guitar and!.!.!.!? I seem to have a problem with baring a fret!. Like, my index finger doesn't seem to be able to hold down all the strings at once!. It might be becuase I'm not holding my wrist right or something, but if anyone knows any techniques so that I can play it right, please tell me!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The secret is to not press too hard! I know that sounds strange, but that really is the secret!. It's about accurate placement, rather than pushing hard!. Your barre finger needs to be as close to the fret as possible, pressing lightly!. You want to avoid pushing the strings all the way down to the fretboard!. While you're learning, you may want to switch to a very light guage until you get the hang of it!. Light strings are easier to barre, and it will help you learn that it's not about strength at all!. A set of strings starting at 9 or 8 would be good!. 8 might be a little light for an accoustic guitar!. Strangely, super-heavy guage strings may help you make that connection too, because pushing the strings all the way down to the fretboard just isn't an option!. (13 guage, or so)!. A very strange fact: heavy guage strings actually need a lighter touch than medium guage strings!. But I'm not sure that I would recommend that at your point of learning!. You'd also probably need to redo the guitar setup to get a really good feel out of 13s!. Position may also help with full barres!. (assuming you're right-handed), try putting the curvy bit of the guitar body on your left knee, to get a better position!. If you like it, you can play around later with strap length to get an equivalent position on the neck when you're not sitting!. It's a tough phase to work through on guitar -- making the connection with light touch!. Stick with it!. It's worth it!. ehem!. Something else to consider: full barres are not actually as important in practice as you might think!. I'm an expert jazz player, and 99!.99% of what I play is half-barre; and 4 or 5 strings, rather than the six string monsters!. Not to say that I can't play full-barre chords; I can!. But there's a real freedom, and a particular sound that comes from playing more carefully selected and less arbitrary chords!. (Playing all the notes just because you *can* is a bit arbitrary, and doesn't neccessarily sound better)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I had the exact same problem when I started learning!. The best technique is to press the TIP of your thumb against the neck of the guitar and PRACTICE!. There really isn't any other way but hang in there and it will come!. The other way of doing it would be to not bar the chord and just strum 5 string!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Are you keeping your thumb on the middle of the back of the neck!? This will give you maximum power!. It's not easy to bar a chord and it's not only, not always necessary, it's not always best!. Here're some diagrams of the F chord!. Notice on the third one you just play the first four strings!. This positioning is useable for any barre chord!. It will sound fuller if you use all six strings but that's not always best!. There are also issues about getting around on the fingerboard, changing chords and such, that lend themselves to the four string style better!. http://www!.8notes!.com/guitar_chord_chart!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |