Every guitarist has a story about the F chord. Three months of struggling. Buzzing strings. Sore fingers. Eventually you either give up or it clicks. We are going to make it click.
What is a barre chord
A barre chord uses your index finger like a capo, pressing all six strings at one fret. Your other three fingers then form an E major shape above the barre. The result: a movable shape that plays any major chord depending on where you put it.The diagram above shows F major at the first fret. The "barre" is your index finger flattened across all six strings at fret 1. Middle finger on the G string fret 2. Ring + pinky on the A and D strings fret 3.
The technique that makes it work
- Thumb behind the neck, opposite your middle finger. Not wrapped around. This is what gives your barre the leverage.
- Barre with the SIDE of your index finger, not the flat pad. The side has bone behind it; the pad is squishy.
- Press hard but not at fret 1. Start higher (5th fret, where the frets are closer together) until the technique feels right, then move down.
The 60 BPM drill
Practice metronome
60BPM
- Set the metronome to 60 BPM.
- Fret F. Strum on beat 1. Listen for buzz.
- Lift your hand off on beat 2. Re-fret on beat 3. Strum on beat 4.
- Each strum should ring more cleanly than the last. Stay with it for 10 minutes.
Movable
Once F works at fret 1, slide the shape to fret 3. That is G. Fret 5 is A. Fret 7 is B. The E-shape barre plays every major chord just by sliding.Next: the second barre shape, A-shape, that gives you B major and a whole new region of the neck.