Lesson 6 Barre Chords Now that you have learned the shapes, it is time to learn barre chord shapes and how to use them. A barre chord is a chord fingering that requires you to lay one finger, and some times two, flat across more than one string, so you can play all the notes needed to for the desired chord. The two most common barre chord shapes for major and minor chords are shown below. Barre Chords with Root on string 6 major minor major minor

1 11 1 111 2 1 1 1 3 4 3 4 2 3 33 34

= root of chord ______major barre chord shape minor barre chord shape with root on string 6 with root on string 6 To the right are the four barre chords from above, E major E minor each shown with the open position chord that it is related to.The relationship between each pair of chords is circled.

major barre chord shape minor barre chord shape with root on string 5 with root on string 5

A major A minor

______major Start by playing the major barre chord shown at the right on any . Remember, the root of any chord is the note that it is named after and it is shown with a square instead of a circle.

Once you have it down, move it up and down the neck. This will help give you a better feel for the chord. minor Remove your 2nd finger from the chord and now you have the minor barre chord shown to the right. Do the same with this chord.

Remember both of these chords have their root on string 6.

= root of chord Copyright © 2000 Paul Brock Now do the same with the two barre chords shown major minor to right. Both of these chords have the root on string 5. 1 1 1 2 3 33 3 4

= root of chord ______

When it comes to barre chords, the first thing that every player should know is a I, IV, V . This is a very common chord progression and can be found in the roots of all popular styles of today.

Start by learning the two "L" shaped patterns that the root notes of the chords create on the fingerboard. With the root of the I chord on string 6 With the root of the I chord on string 5 upside down "L" shape pattern "L" shape pattern

Root of the I chord Root of the IV chord Root of the IV chord

Root of the V chord Root of the V chord Root of the I chord

Here are the chord fingerings for both ways to play the I, IV, V progression in the key of "G".

G Major C Major D Major

3- 3- 5-

G Major C Major D Major 8- 10- 10-

Copyright © 2000 Paul Brock 6 5 4 3 2 1 major minor open strings E A D G B E 1 1 1 1 1 1 I- F 2 3 4 3 4 B III- G C

major minor V- A D

1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 4 VII- B E C F Power Chord Shapes IX- Root on string 6 Root on string 5 D G

1 1 XII- E A 3 4 3 4 How To Use The Chart Above 1. Determine the root note of the chord. 2. Find the location the chord's root note on the guitar neck shown in the chart. You should be able to find the root in two locations. One on string 6 and one on string 5. 3. Determine if the chord is major or minor. 4. Decide which barre chord shape you want to use. Root on string 6? Root on string 5? 5. Play the chord. 6. Move to the next chord in the song or chord progression.

Example: 1. Root of the chord is "C". 2. Find "C" on string 5 at the 3rd fret and on string 6 at the 8th fret. 3. Let's say it is C major. 4.Your choices are i) Major barre chord shape with root on string 5 at the 3rd fret. ii) Major barre chord shape with root on string 6 at the 8th fret. 5. Play the Chord.

If the chord had been C minor instead, all would have been the same except you would have used the minor shapes. Copyright © 2000 Paul Brock Using the chart on the previous page for reference, play through the progressions below. These progressions should be memorized. The first two have the guitar grids printed above to help you get started.

G C A min D

3fr. 3fr. 5fr. 5fr. ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ No. 1 & c . Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û .

G D E min C 3fr. 3fr. 5fr. 7fr. ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ No. 2 & . Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û .

A≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ D E D No. 3 & . Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÛ Û .

G≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ B min C D No. 4 & . Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ .

No. 5 E≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ A B A & . Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÛ Û .

D ≥min ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ Gmin A Gmin No. 6 & . Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ .

C ≥min ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ Fmin G Fmin No. 7 & . Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ .

Copyright © 2000 Paul Brock