Lesson 6 Barre Chords

There are only three types of instruments that can play chords: (1) harps, (2) keyboard instruments like the piano, and (3) stringed instruments like the guitar. Of those three, only the stringed instruments, specifically the guitar, can use the same fingerings anywhere up and down the fretboard. To be able to move the same chord position anywhere up and down the fretboard makes learning chords in any key much easier. This gives guitar players a tremendous advantage over harp and keyboard players. The same type of chord can be played on any fret and produce that type of chord (Major, minor, 7th etc.) in every key. Barre chords enable the guitarist to use the same chord position on any fret on the fretboard.

Many guitarists learn barre chords early on because of their usefulness. Barre chords are easy to learn, but generally more difficult to finger than open position chords.

Barre Chords Are Based on E and A Chords The most common barre chords come from the open position E chord and its forms (minor, 7th, Maj7, m7) and the open position A chord and its forms.

The E chord uses as its bass and root the open 6th (E) string (See Figure 1, following page). The A chord uses as its bass and root the open 5th (A) string. The barre is produced by placing the first finger over all six strings for the “E” chord forms, or by placing the first finger over the 1st thru 5th strings for the “A” chord forms.

If you were to play a standard E chord using the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers (instead of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), then the 1st finger becomes available to use as the barre finger (see Figure 2, following page).

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 72 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Figure 6-1 E and A Chord Forms

Figure 6-2 Standard E Chord and Modified E Chord Fingering

The new fingering for an E chord can now be moved up and down the fretboard, placed on any fret depending on the chord desired. The root is on the sixth string. The letter name of the chord is that note on the sixth string. Likewise, the minor, 7th, and other forms can also be used and moved anywhere on the fretboard to produce chords from any key. Barre the first fret, and use the E chord form and you’ve moved the E chord up one fret (a half step). Now you are playing an F chord.

Figure 6-3 F Barre Chord (E Chord Form) F

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 73

Likewise, if you were to play an open position A chord without using the 1st finger, then the 1st finger becomes available to use as the barre finger.

The A barre chord form uses the root on the 5th string, and it can be fingered several ways. Try them all and see which fingering works best for you.

Figure 6-4 Different Fingerings for 5th String Root Barre Chords (A Chord Form)

This chord position can now be moved up and down the fretboard, depending on the chord desired. The root is on the fifth string. The letter name of the chord is that note on the fifth string. Likewise, the minor, 7th, and other forms can also be used and moved anywhere on the fretboard to produce chords from any key. Barre the 2nd fret (1st thru 5th strings), apply the A chord position, and you’ve moved the A chord up a whole step. Now you are playing a B chord.

Figure 6-5 B Barre chord (A Chord Form) B

The chart on the following page contains diagrams for Major, minor, 7th, major 7th, and minor 7th chords. The barre chords work in two parts: (1) the root placement, and (2) the quality of the chord (Maj, minor, 7th, etc.). The root can be identified either on the 6th string or on the 5th. If you choose a root on the 6th string, use the chord positions with the root on the 6th string. If you are using the root on the fifth string, use the chord positions with the root on the 5th string. (Remember, the root includes the sharp or flat.)

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 74 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Figure 6-6 Barre Chord Diagrams

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 75

Barre Chord Rules

To find and play a Barre chord, follow these three simple rules: 1. Find the root of the chord you want to play. (The root is the bass note that names the chord, and includes the sharp or flat.) 2. Identify the string. (6th string root or 5th string root?) 3. Choose the correct barre chord position (Major, minor, 7th, Maj7, or m7.)

You can use either the chords with the root on the 6th string or the chords with the root on the 5th string. But most often, you would choose the root that is closest to the chords you play before and after. For example, if you needed to play a C#m7, the chord position with the root on the 5th string 4th fret would in most cases be preferable to the chord position further up the fretboard with the root or the 6th string 9th fret. Likewise, if you needed G chords, the chord position with the root on the 6th string 3rd fret would in most cases be preferable to the chord position further up the fretboard with the root on the 5th string 10th fret.

Figure 6-7 C#m7 and G Barre Chords

Barre Chords Practice Examples Lets work through a few examples of playing barre chords so you can see how easy it is. Here’s an example: Aa7. If you needed to play an Aa7 chord, follow the three barre chord rules.

1. Find the root of the chord you want to play: Aa. There’s an Aa on the 6th string 4th fret or the 5th string 11th fret. 2. Identify the string: 6th string—since the 4th fret’s not as far up the fretboard. 3. Choose the correct barre chord position: The chord is a 7th chord, so use the 6th string root 7th chord position and barre all strings on the 4th fret. You now have a Aa7 chord.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 76 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Figure 6-8 Aa7 Barre Chord 6th String Root

If you move that chord position down one fret (a half step) to the 3rd fret, what chord are you playing? G7. The position can be barred on any fret, so that one 7th chord position can form 7th chords in all 12 keys. You could have played an Aa7 on the 5th string 11th fret, but most likely the 11th fret is further up the fretboard than you want to be. But who knows? If you can get there quickly enough, you might like the sound of that chord voicing better.

Let’s look at another example: Bmaj7. If you need to play a Bmaj7 chord, you’d just follow the three barre chord rules.

1. Find the root of the chord you want to play: B. There’s a B on the 5th string 2nd fret or the 6th string 7th fret. 2. Identify the string: 5th string—since the 2nd fret’s not as far up the fretboard. 3. Choose the correct chord position: The chord is a maj7 chord, so use the 5th string maj7 barre chord position and barre the 1st thru 5th strings on the 2nd fret. You now have a Bmaj7 chord.

Figure 6-9 Bmaj7 Barre Chord 5th String Root

If you move that chord position up one fret (a half step) to the 3rd fret, what chord are you playing? Cmaj7. The position can be barred on any fret, so that one maj7th chord position can form maj7th chords in all 12 keys. You could also have played the Bmaj7 on the 6th string 7th fret using the 6th root Major 7 position.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 77

Barre Chord Guidelines

If the chord is not identified major, minor, 7th, etc., then assume it’s a major chord. A, Aa, F#, Ea are all examples of major chords.

The sharp (#) or flat (a) is part of the root name.For example, Ga,C#,Ba,F#. The root of the Ga is Ga not G.The root includes the sharp or flat.

There are two forms for each chord: (1) the 6th string chord position and (2) the 5th string chord position. The one that’s best is usually the one closest to where you’re playing at the time. If possible, avoid moving far away from the chords you’re currently playing. Economy of motion is a good rule of thumb.

The most common barre chords (for most forms of music) are the major, minor, and 7th forms. Memorize and practice these positions first.

Figure 6-10 Pictures of How to Barre

123

1. Slightly arch your 1st finger and move it right up next to the fret wire closest to your body. The closer the finger to the fret wire, the easier it will be to produce a clean sounding chord.

2. Keep the thumb position in the center of the neck and keep the wrist down towards the floor.

3. The Major7 form with the root on the 6th string is the only barre chord that is not actually barred. Finger it as illustrated in Figure 6-10, Picture 3. The 1st finger actually “sluffs” down across the 5th and 1st strings slightly touching them and muting them so that they don’t ring. The chord can still be moved up and down the fretboard, just like the other barre chords.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 78 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

The following exercise will help you better understand how to create Barre Chords.

Exercise 6-1 Creating Barre Chords (reference diagrams on page 74) Diagram these chords based on the barre chord rules: 1. Find the root. 2. Identify the string. 3. Choose the correct position.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 79

Power Chords

To create the traditional distorted chord sound favored in rock, metal, and punk music, you use “Power Chords.” These Power Chords (also known as "5" chords) are made from moveable positions like barre chords. In fact, these chords come directly from the Major Barre chord positions. Power chords are a simplified version of the chord.

In the power chord, the 3rd tone of the triad is omitted. Because of this, the chord is neither major nor minor, since it is the 3rd tone that determines the quality of the chord: Major (135) or minor (1a35). The chords are formed by playing the bottom three strings of the Major barre chord positions with the root on either the 6th or the 5th string, as in the following illustration.

Figure 6-11 Barre Chords

You can finger just 3 strings for each position like this:

Figure 6-12 Power Chord Fingerings

The chords are also called 5 chords (A5, G5, etc.) because the chord only contains the 1st and 5th tones of the major scale.

These two chord positions can be played on any fret in exactly the same manner as barre chords. The name of the root identifies the name of the chord being played.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 80 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Figure 6-13 Power Chord Fingerings and Roots

For example, an A5 would be played with the 6th string root power chord position on the 5th fret or the 5th string root power chord position on the 12th fret. An Ea5 would be played with the 5th string root power chord position on the 6th fret.

Figure 6-14 Power Chord Positions

Because these power chords don’t have the 3rd tone in the chord, pentatonic minor scales (see Lesson 13: Pentatonic Scales) with a flatted 3rd (1 a3 4 5 a7) are usually played over these chords in Rock music to improvise over the chord progressions. The pentatonic minor scales with the a3 and the a7 produce the rock and bluesy sound so common in Rock and Roll. If the power chord doesn’t contain the 3rd tone of the scale, the a3 in the pentatonic minor scale won’t conflict with the 3 in the chord. If the chord did contain the 3rd tone as in the major triad (135), then a major scale or pentatonic major scale would have to be used over the chord.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 81

Form Hundreds of Chords from Four Barre Chord Voicings

Once you understand how to use the barre chords in Figure 6-6, you should definitely memorize the voicings of just four of the barre chord positions: (1) The 6th string Major chord position voicing (2) The 6th string Maj7 chord position voicing (3) The 5th string Major chord position voicing (4) The 5th string Maj7 chord position voicing

Figure 6-15 Four Barre Chord Voicings to Memorize

Memorizing and learning how to alter these voicings empowers you to create hundreds of other chords. This is one of the most useful PlaySmartGuitar system concepts. Let’s look at the major positions first.

Forming Triads from Major Barre Chord Voicings Major, minor, and suspended triads are easily formed from the two major barre chord voicings. The augmented and diminished triads, however, are more difficult to form because of the voicing of the chord and the placment of the barre.

Augmented chords are rarely used in popular music. Augmented triads don’t work very well in barre chord forms because there are two 5’s in the major barre chord voicing and you don’t have enough fingers to raise both of them. The best solution is to eliminate one of the fives when creating an augmented barre chord. These augmented chords are possibly best played as open position chords which we illustrated in Lesson 4: Triads.

Diminished chords are more common than augmented chords, but the diminished 7th chord (1 a3 a5 aa7) is usually used, not the diminished triad (see Diminished Chords section in Lesson 5: Beyond Triads).

Here are the triads that can be easily formed by altering the major barre chord voicings.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 82 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Figure 6-16 Triads Formed from the Major Barre Chord Voicings

Forming 6th and 7th Chords from the Major7 Barre Chord Voicings All 6th and 7th chords are easily formed from the two Major7 barre chord voicings from Figure 6-15. The 6th string root Major7 barre chord position doesn’t actually use a barre and is easily altered to form any 6th or 7th chord. The 5th string root Major7 barre chord form does use a barre although it is sometimes eliminated in order to form some of the 6th and 7th chords. This can be done because the barre is giving you an additional 5th tone on the 1st string. The chord already has a 5th tone on the 4th string and both 5th tones are not needed.

Figure 6-17 Maj7 (eliminating 5th Tone on 1st string)

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 83

Here are the 6th and 7th chords that can be easily formed by altering the voicing of the Major7 barre chord voicings.

Figure 6-18 6th and 7th Chords Formed from the Major7 Barre Chord Voicings

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 84 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

You now have the ability to turn four barre chord voicings into almost any chord you’ll ever need. The following exercise will help you better understand how to alter barre chord voicings to create chords.

Exercise 6-2 Create Chords by Altering One of the Four Barre Chord Voicings Diagram these chords by altering the voicings. If the chord is a triad (maj, minor, aug, sus, dim), use the major voicings. If the chord is a 6th or 7th chord, use the Major 7 chord voicing.

Chord Formulas Major: 1 3 5 minor: 1 a3 5 aug: 1 3 #5 sus: 1 #3 5 dim: 1 a3 a5 Maj6: 1 3 5 6 m6: 1 a3 5 6 Maj7: 1 3 5 7 7th: 1 3 5 a7 m7: 1 a3 5 a7 m7a5: 1 a3 a5 a7 mMaj7: 1 a3 5 7 sus7: 1 #3 5 a7 dim7: 1 a3 a5 aa7

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 85

Exercise 6-3 Forming Chords Using All Barre Chord Forms

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 86 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

11th and 13th Chords 9th, 11th, and 13th chords are all built on the Dominant 7th chord (1 3 5 a7). The formulas are as follows: 9th: 1 3 5 a79 11th: 1 3 5 a7 (9) 11 13th: 1 3 5 a7 (9) (11) 13 There can be several variations of the 11th and 13th chords in which notes of the chord formulas are actually included in the voicing on the guitar.

In the 11th chord, sometimes the 9 is included and often times the 3 and 5 are omitted, like this: 1 a7 9 11. In the 13th chord, sometimes the 9th and 11th tones are included and the 5th tone is often omitted, like this: 1 3 a7 9 11 13. Experiment with which notes to include in the voicings of these chords to help you find the coloration of voicing you’re looking for. 11th chords are not as common as 13th chords, but here are some voicings for 11th and 13th chords. Like Barre Chords, the roots are on the 5th and 6th strings, and you can place them on any fret depending on the chord you need.

Figure 6-19 11th and 13th Chords

Learning All the Notes on the Fretboard In general, most guitarists don’t have a very good understanding of the location of every note on every string all the way up the fretboard. There are two reasons for this: (1) most guitarists are playing open position chords within the first three to four frets, and a knowledge of all the notes on the fretboard is just not needed. (2) It’s difficult to learn where all the notes are, and most guitarists are thinking about chords and scale positions, not individual notes.

What most players do know, however, are the notes on the 6th and 5th strings, because of the root placements for all the barre chords. You can know the name of any note on any string by relating octave notes to the 6th and 5th strings. If you haven't learned all of the notes on the 6th and 5th strings, we highly recommend that you do now! If you calculate whole steps and half steps up the open strings, you can identify all of the notes on the 6th and 5th strings.

If you know the 6th string, you also know the 1st string because they are both E strings. If you need to know any other note on any other string spontaneously, look at the octave relationships back to the 6th and 5th strings. The 2nd and 3rd and 4th strings can be related to the 6th and 5th strings through octaves.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com Lesson 6: Barre Chords 87

Figure 6-20 Octave Patterns to relate all Notes to 6th and 5th strings.

If you want to know the name of any note on the 4th string, look at the 6th string 2 frets lower as in position (1).

If you want the name of any note on the 3rd string, look at the 5th string 2 frets lower as in position (2).

If you want the name of any note on the 2nd string, look at the 5th string 2 frets higher. This is a quick way to identify any note on any string all the way up the fretboard; simply relate it to the 6th or 5th string.

Figure 6-21 Named Notes Derived from 6th and 5th String Roots

The key to being able to see all the notes in these examples is knowing the root notes on the 6th and 5th strings for the barre chords.

www.PlaySmartGuitar.com 88 The PlaySmartGuitar WorkBook

Summary

• The guitar is one of the very few instruments where you can use a universal chord fingering position and move it up and down the frets to create chords in all 12 keys.

• Barre chords are based on the open position E and A chord forms.

•Power chords are a simplified version of the 6th and 5th string major barre chord positions. Only three strings are played, and the 3rd tone is omitted.

• Knowing the voicings for the 6th and 5th string Major Barre Chords empowers you to create major, minor, augmented, and suspended triad chords.

• Knowing the voicings for the 6th and 5th string Major7 Barre Chords empowers you to create any 6th and 7th chords.

•You can know spontaneously the name of any note on any string by relating octave notes to the notes on the 6th and 5th strings.

You now have the skills to create several different types of chords. Hundreds of chords can be formed by altering the voicings of barre chords. You know all about open position chords and barre chords. To further increase your chord arsenal, you must learn chord inversions.