building up barres

Welcome to a new Friday 10-second tip.

Today, I have a little barre chord tip for you.

It’s all about building up your barre chords, one string at a time.

 

Instead of trying to do a five- or six-string barre with your index finger.

…Start with a two-string barre.

Get that sounding good, ensure the notes are clear, and that you’re nice and relaxed.

 

Then, try a three-string barre.

Take your time and repeat the above process.

Then do it again, until you can play a four-string barre, and so on.

For added benefit, you can try doing this on a variety of frets and even with different fingers.

 

It’s a simple tip I never really see anyone else mention, but do give it a try.

Of course, you need to keep in mind things such as getting the guitar in a good position, avoiding tension, and relaxing your fretting hand’s shoulder (this will help you get your arm, hand, and fingers into a better and less stressful position).

I’m a big fan of breaking barres down into small bite-size chunks so you can build them up nicely.

 

With barre chords, it’s like building up a mansion.

To do so, you need to be methodical, precise, and willing to be a barre chord architect.

When it comes to barres, many out there teach their students to use brute force, which rarely works.

That is the equivalent of sticking up some planks of wood and hoping to end up with a mansion.

It’s just not going to happen.

 

Anyway, the above little tip will help you build up your barres.

Just be very methodical with it.

…And if you want to be a barre chord architect, tomorrow is the last day to get the new Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy lessons which include 9 new barre chord exercises, the 5-minute barre chord workout, and a really fun lesson on two-finger “Carulli chords”. 

Find out more about The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy

 

Have a great Friday!

Dan Thorpe

Guitar Domination

 

P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.

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