How to Play Barre Chords On Guitar 5 Tips & Tricks


easy barre chords

Struggling with playing barre chords? Believe me, I’ve been there. Barre chords are a kind of right of passage in the guitar world – those who have mastered them have truly proved their mettle.

Snark Tuner Review - Best Guitar Tu...
Snark Tuner Review - Best Guitar Tuner? (2022)

That said, there are some secrets that are rarely talked about that can make your barre chords a bit easier to play, and get you over the hill faster. I’ll reveal these secret hacks to make playing barre chords easier right now! Let’s jump right in.

1. Find a Happy Medium

The biggest tip I can give you for playing barre chords easier is to find a happy medium in the pressure you’re exerting to form the barre chord itself.

You don’t want to press so hard that you’re hurting your wrist and hand, and creating unnecessary tension (perhaps the most common barre chord mistake).

At the same time though, you want to press hard enough that you’re still getting a clean sound, and clearly fretting all the notes of the chords. Walking this line of the happy medium is the key to barre chord success.

2. Experiment With The Height of Your Barre-ing Finger

Moving your finger higher or lower on the fretboard will allow you to find a sweet spot, where you’re able to find that happy pressure medium explained earlier.

A lot of this depends on how your body (or fingers) are built, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Experiment with moving your barre-ing finger higher or lower to find a nice leverage point.

3. Experiment with the angle of your Barre-ing finger

Which area of your finger you’re using to form your barre is another important factor affecting your barre chords.

By rolling your finger to the side, you may be able to find an ideal leverage point, where you can use more pressure from your arm and shoulder to press down and form the chord, rather than pressure from your wrist and hand.

4. Posture, Posture, Posture

Practice with your wrist neutral and your back upright / straightened. This will help reinforce that you’re using pressure from your upper body to apply the pressure that forms the chord, rather than pressure from your wrist. If you practice this consistently every day, you won’t even have to think about it anymore, and will be nailing perfect barre chords easily every time.

5. Use a Capo

Yes, this one is kind of cheating, I’ll admit it. But hey, it will do in a pinch. If you’re really struggling with barre chords and need a simple trick to get out of playing them, experiment with capos. By moving them around the fretboard, you can easily change keys, and play your barre chords as open chords instead. The ultimate hack!

By the way, if you’re looking for an awesome capo, Schubb provides both quality and affordability. You can get an awesome Schubb capo here on Amazon.

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Corbin Buff

Corbin has played guitar for over a decade, and started writing about it on Acoustic World in an effort to help others. He lives and writes in western Montana.

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