The barre chord is a challenging technique to master in the beginner stages of learning guitar. Patience and perseverance will get you a long way, and know that you will be able to play barres if you give it time.
What is a Barre Chord?
A barre is any finger that is used to hold down more than one note at a time. They can span from two strings all the way to a full six-string barre. Often you will have the remaining fingers holding down some notes in addition to the barre which can create some challenging shapes in the left hand. Be aware how how many strings you need to hold down with the barre and which notes will be used from the barre itself.
The Barre Chord in Notation
The barre chord appears in quite a few different ways in classical guitar notation. Typically you will see a number (either Roman or Arabic numeral), sometimes preceded by “C” or “B” and sometimes followed by other information. For instance, at Classical Guitar Corner, all of our scores use a Roman numeral to tell you which fret to barre, a smaller subscript number to tell you how many strings to barre, and then “h” for hinge barres.
The first example, from Robert de Visée’s “Prelude in Dm,” has “II3,” which means to barre the first three strings at the second fret. In the second example, from Bach’s “Bourree,” the “h” next to the Roman numerals indicate a hinge barre. More on the hinge barre below.
Where to start
Perhaps the first small barre that you might come across in guitar playing is the F Major chord.
The F Major chord requires the first finger to hold down both the F and C on the first fret. As these two notes are on the first fret, they are not the easiest of notes to hold down due to the closeness of the nut. The strings are in general a little easier to hold down in the middle of the fingerboard, so that F Major chord can sometimes be an off-putting experience.
If you are new to the barre technique I recommend starting with a small two or three string barre around the fifth or seventh fret. Don’t try to hold down all six strings, just start with two or three and aim to get a clean sound on all the notes.
Finger placement
Just as if you were playing a single note you need to have your finger up nice and close to the fret. Make sure it is not on top of the fret or else you will get a dull sounding note. To give yourself an easier surface to work with you can roll your first finger back towards the nut slightly, so that you can use the bonier, harder part of the finger instead of the more fleshy underside of the finger.
When placing a barre on two strings, you can get away with just using the finger up until the first joint and you can have your finger bent if need be (this is the case with the F Major Chord for example). However, any more than two strings and you will have to straighten out your finger to literally make a “bar”. Make sure the finger is straight all the way to the knuckle (the third and largest joint in the finger) and keep that knuckle up. By “up” I mean that it has to be inline with the fingerboard and not bent underneath. This will allow you to put an even amount of pressure over the strings.
Other Barre Chords
While most barre chords require you to lay your first finger flat across multiple strings, there are other possible kinds of barre chords as well.
Hinge Barre Chord
The hinge barre chord requires you to either:
- Barre lower strings while lifting the base of your finger off of an open higher string;
- Or to play just the first string with the base of the finger.
In both cases the base of the first finger acts like the hinge of a door, opening and closing to make certain fingerings easier. This kind of barre crops up a lot in repertoire and can be a great solution to tricky left-hand passages.
Cross-Fret Barre Chord
The cross-fret barre requires you to place the base of the finger on a string or strings at one fret and angle the finger toward the next fret with the tip of the finger to barre one or more strings. The finger thus barres at a diagonal, barring strings across two frets at once. This is much less common in the repertoire, but it is essential for certain passages. Take the example from Giuliani’s Rossiniana No.1, Op.119, for instance.
Barre Chord with another finger
While we do not typically execute barre chords with the third or fourth fingers like in other styles of guitar, it is a technique we can use in certain situations. For instance, take the Prelude BWV999 by J.S. Bach. The stretch from the low F on the first fret to the fifth-fret notes above it requires you to barre with the fourth finger.
Common Barre Chord Problems
Squeezing too much
The temptation with barres is to squeeze the fingerboard with your thumb and fingers so as to get all the notes sounding. Resist the temptation! Squeezing will only result in a short-term amount of pressure in your left hand but it will quickly result in your left hand becoming tired and fatigued.
The secret is in your arm. Your arm is actually quite heavy, and it has much larger muscles that your puny hand (no offence). So if you allow the weight of your arm along with a slight pressure from your shoulder and bicep to hold th barre down, you will have discovered a far more elegant and sustainable solution to getting that barre to work for you.
Holding down too many strings
Check exactly how many strings need to be held down in any given barre. I will frequently see students holding down five or six strings when in fact they only need to barre three. If you are playing a piece that requires barres, do yourself a favour and check how many strings each one needs.
You will sometimes encounter string indications next to a barre marking in a score. These are helpful because the tell you exactly how many strings you need to include in your barre.
Holding down strings too early
Because the barre technique is draining on the left hand you will be better off using it as briefly as possible. Check the score to see how late you can place the barre. You will find that fingers can be placed sequentially and therefore you save some energy.
Do you even need a barre chord?
In general, I try to avoid using barres whenever possible. You will find that in many instances you can get around using a barre by using a different fingering. Perhaps you can play the passage in a different position or take advantage of open strings. Whatever the case, it is worth checking what options are available.
Learn more about classical guitar technique at the Classical Guitar Corner Academy.
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