Thank you! I’m a violinist learning guitar, and it’s cool to see that many of the left hand ergonomics with the thumb and wrist for violin translate to guitar as well.
Notes: Angle the neck up at least 30 degrees Posture = straight back Elbow close to the body Drop the wrist below fretboard Loose shoulder - Tension free Thumb between first and second finger Thumb in the middle/back of neck Side of thumb against guitar - knuckle locked Straight wrist - dropped down - tension free Don't squeeze too hard - tension = just right Fingers close to the frets Roll index to the bony side Keep second finger knuckle curl strong - don't flatten it Pull from fretting arm and back shoulder = leverage Thumb = support - not squeezing Push/stabilize guitar with picking arm Minor chords - 2nd finger can reinforce the first If all else fails - go classical Great lesson! 😁
That "thumb between the first and second fingers" thing is something I've learned from playing bass guitar (I play a five string bass), but the idea apparently flew out of my head when I picked up my electric guitar. It's amazing how much of a game changer it is. (Now I don't have to stick with power chords, dyads,and arpeggios when playing metal /rock). I thank you for reminding me
Wow!! I have searched and searched. I appreciate all those that take the time to post help videos but I must say this is by far the best and most detailed Barre chord video that finally helped me start playing them. Thanks for taking the time to give all those details. After about a month of learning to play guitar I can now advance my playing. A happy new subscriber here.
This is extremely informative. I've been searching for videos like these but they usually just explain how to make a barre chord sound, nothing about pain Thanks!
Thank you! The channel is still fairly new, but yes, I try to be as beneficial as possible to the learner and pack as much as I can in the shortest time possible! Enjoy and let me know if you need help in anything!
Well Done! Concise and to the point....a good collection of very good advice all in one place. One of the most important things about barre chord is practice! Remember how when learning your first rudimentary chords that you felt your fingers could never bend there?....then one day you are playing clear chords.....well, this is the same thing! Do not give up or worry if it does not sound right at first....keep playing and adjusting! Work on getting it right them work on speed.
I have been having a hard time with the barre chord and having to squeeze too hard with the thumb to get it to sound right but I think you solved my problem with the foot stool, the capo, and the weight of the arm pulling down. Thank you!!
I just got a guitar for my birthday and have been trying to learn :) thank you so much for this video and all well explained the tips! Really appreciate you
Coffee, same as you and thank you for this video. I am just starting out and in need of all the help I can get. I have small hands and short fingers so it is really a challenge for me! I had to go down to a child sized electric for now as I just could not even make the C chord on a full sized small bodied acoustic. Eventually I shall try again once I get my tips calloused up and learn techniques like the ones you are giving because this will also be used to do the C & F, which I really can't do. : ( It was hard for me to turn in my acoustic as for a new guitar it had an amazing sound as if aged. Since that's where you get the "sound" from, aged instruments when made of wood in my opinion.
Classical position helped me. I was watching what the pros do and how they angle the guitars and I just found shifting to the other knee easier to get the angle :)
Brother i appreciate this video so much! I have been dreading bar chords for months. I was already naturally doing the posture tips but implementing your finger tips let me instantly do a clear bar chord. Im so excited for this! I liked and subscribed
Some really good advice here. I will have to keep coming back to remind myself of the proper techniques involved. It's so easy to get sloppy and takes more effort to shore up all the inefficiencies in bar chord technique. I like the part about using the side of your thumb and getting it lined up with the second finger and 4th string position behind the neck. It's going to take practice to relearn the proper technique, but I'll get it.
Wow, just managed to get the B string to ring out when barring the first fret... Progress! Tilt guitar, straighten neck and drop the wrist was all it took. Still got a way to go but feels like progress, thank you so much 🙏
Invaluable plethora of simple techniques to elevate your sessions. Well put together and easy to follow. Saved to my music chords playlist and a daily practice. Thank you for sharing. My favourite drink is coffee ☕️ too, which I’m enjoying right now watching and practicing barre chords. 🎸 🎼 ✅
This is very informative and I will refer back to help correct this. For me, its about just consistently trying to correct this. I'm not sure if it's affecting my playing bar chords, but I'm double jointed on both thumbs. So they both can easily bend back more than most. But my music teacher also use to suggested raising left foot and resting on left leg, over 15 years btw. Also I come from drums as my main instrument and only a few years ago during the start of pandemic learning bass properly. But this has all helped transition over effectively.
putting my finger right on the fret (Tip #13) was the most important one for me! Still have some slight buzz but MUCH better. Should be closer to first lol.
Excellent Jack! I've been struggling with a B7 sus 4 barre chord in Carcassi's Etude #3 and thanks to you I I finally got it. Sometimes the smallest things can bring so much joy- thank you.
I still find trouble on curling my knuckles (3 months of guitar practice) but everything was great. I did get lucky with a few really nice sounding barre chords
I really enjoyed your Barre Chords video tutorial on how to properly and physically place your fretting hand as well as having the proper guitar angle. I'm an old timer newbie in my 60's just trying to challenge myself and no doubt learning to play the guitar is doing just that. I will give your tips and tricks a try and see if my desire to throw my guitar out the window subsides! LOL Thanks for the lessons and I look forward to more of your guitar lessons videos now that I have subscribed to your channel.
Hey Ted! nice seeing you here. Barre chords need time, if you're very new to this give it a month or 2 and it'll work. In the meantime play Fmaj7 instead of F 😉
Jack: Thank you so much for making and posting this video. I have been struggling with Barre chords and am now making progress. BTW, coffee is my beverage of choice!
@@GuitarElevation The push pull tip was amazing..i had actually fractured my left arm because of which i have two metal plates in my wrist..and for barring i kept on squeezing my left hand which became very painful for me...ur tip really helped..thanks again😊
Hello Jack, thanks for the steps in the video but I have one question. The last step seems to contradict the looseness in the shoulder. How can you be pulling the strings/neck towards you without tightening the shoulder? I'm going to try lighter gauge strings(currently using 12) on my acoustic electric. Aside from that, thanks for the help.
You pull with the elbow and not the shoulder! That's the distinction. And don't think of it as pulling more so than just holding it in place using the elbow in its natural position. There shouldn't be any tension there! And yes, definitely a 0.12 gauge is a workout 😅
This is fantastic. The only thing is, I still can't apply enough pressure to get a decent sound out of the B string. EDIT: Actually, I think I'm getting. Pulling with the arm. That makes such a huge difference and makes such sense. Thank you.
I see the benefits. But struggling.. am guessing bad habits making it hard to hold posture and find fret positions🙈. Wish I had seen this earlier. Thank you.
note guys: if its still buzzing, don’t worry, it’ll get better over time, yes it’s annoying but soon your hands will get used to the guitar and the pain and it will make a clear sound, you can’t get better instantly
Great video! So practical and usefull! The tension and pain in the left wrist is a problem for me also... so called 'gorilla grip'... great explanation and tips to understand what is wrong and make it better!
how do you keep your thumb straight while pressing the bar chord with your index? My thumb will inevitably curl outward and try to press with the bony part of the thumb joint
I'm still having problems with the muffling once I add the first finger. I have short fat fingers with big palms, my span from thumb to pink is 8". short pinky. still working on it not giving up.
I can play barre chords very well, but it seems no matter what I do my thumb hurts even when i don't use it. I followed all these tips and they don't seem to be helping very much. I'm not sure if you know any other resources I can use? thanks very informative video
You might have a tension problem that is not related to barre chords only. It's better if you can have someone take a look at it. A professional teacher preferably. You might even have a thumb problem that is not related to the guitar if it hurts you all the time even if you're not playing. I don't want to assume things, but it's better if you follow up with that. I wish you the best!
Thank you, great video. Another question. How can I increase the power in my left hand when I do the bar because I lose power and the sound becomes cacophony.
If you're new to guitar or bar chords in general it's normal for the hand to be weak for that particular hand posture. It should get better with time. If it's not getting better then you must be doing something wrong. So monitor this for a while!
I got a nylon strung acoustic just so it'd be easier on my fingers. I can do barre chords on my nylon strung, but doing them on my steel string is a real struggle
Thank you for not spending 10 minutes talking about how useful barre chords are and only 2 minutes talking about technique like most other videos.
time stamp?
🙌🏻 Thanks Justin!
Okay, this comment is just flat out wrong
oh. i thought the pain you were referring to was existential. this is good too
👀
😭
I don’t remember making this comment😂I may have been inebriated
Thank you! I’m a violinist learning guitar, and it’s cool to see that many of the left hand ergonomics with the thumb and wrist for violin translate to guitar as well.
Yes! Lots of transferable skills!
@@GuitarElevation😮
Notes:
Angle the neck up at least 30 degrees
Posture = straight back
Elbow close to the body
Drop the wrist below fretboard
Loose shoulder - Tension free
Thumb between first and second finger
Thumb in the middle/back of neck
Side of thumb against guitar - knuckle locked
Straight wrist - dropped down - tension free
Don't squeeze too hard - tension = just right
Fingers close to the frets
Roll index to the bony side
Keep second finger knuckle curl strong - don't flatten it
Pull from fretting arm and back shoulder = leverage
Thumb = support - not squeezing
Push/stabilize guitar with picking arm
Minor chords - 2nd finger can reinforce the first
If all else fails - go classical
Great lesson! 😁
I appreciate your concise summary. Copying it.😊
That "thumb between the first and second fingers" thing is something I've learned from playing bass guitar (I play a five string bass), but the idea apparently flew out of my head when I picked up my electric guitar.
It's amazing how much of a game changer it is.
(Now I don't have to stick with power chords, dyads,and arpeggios when playing metal /rock).
I thank you for reminding me
Awesome!
I loved how you mentioned every little details and not just the basic
this actually helped me so much. i used to have no idea and got cramps in my hand, now i can finally play a clear barre chord
Wow!! I have searched and searched. I appreciate all those that take the time to post help videos but I must say this is by far the best and most detailed Barre chord video that finally helped me start playing them. Thanks for taking the time to give all those details. After about a month of learning to play guitar I can now advance my playing. A happy new subscriber here.
Enjoy the ride!
thank you sir! im just learning to play guitar and recently had a horrible thumb pain... now I know why.
These tips were extremely helpful and I'm not even done with the video yet. Those posture tips are gonna be helpful forever.
Awesome to hear ✌🏻
This is extremely informative. I've been searching for videos like these but they usually just explain how to make a barre chord sound, nothing about pain
Thanks!
Glad it was helpful Pablo!
Really helpful lesson and taught me better than the bigger channels. I hope your channel grows, thanks.
Thank you! The channel is still fairly new, but yes, I try to be as beneficial as possible to the learner and pack as much as I can in the shortest time possible!
Enjoy and let me know if you need help in anything!
Thank you.
This is the most complete video I have ever seen about this particular issue.
I'm glad it helped Jose!
Well Done! Concise and to the point....a good collection of very good advice all in one place. One of the most important things about barre chord is practice! Remember how when learning your first rudimentary chords that you felt your fingers could never bend there?....then one day you are playing clear chords.....well, this is the same thing! Do not give up or worry if it does not sound right at first....keep playing and adjusting! Work on getting it right them work on speed.
Loved your video for the many tips and the basics of barre chords. Also loved how you got right to the instruction. Thank you!!
Good stuff. Thank you! I'll probably be reviewing this video 30-40 times! (I'm a beginner.)
you have no idea how much this helped me. Thankyou so much!
I'm so glad!
I have been having a hard time with the barre chord and having to squeeze too hard with the thumb to get it to sound right but I think you solved my problem with the foot stool, the capo, and the weight of the arm pulling down. Thank you!!
Super helpful!! Loved the macro and pro tips at the end... Thanks Jack!
yoooooo😀😀 I can't believe it You're a genus, I couldn't do bar code 3 mns ago, now I'm a pro. BIG SHOUTOUT to you, God bless you
Thank you Chris Jules, I'm glad it helped!! God bless you too.
I just got a guitar for my birthday and have been trying to learn :) thank you so much for this video and all well explained the tips! Really appreciate you
Watched 3 tutorials. Still muted. Still pain.
Watched your tutorial: immediately vibrant sounds. Thanks for the thorough help.
✅ MASTER Barre Chords Today, Check Out:
✅BARRE CHORD ELEVATION: www.jhguitarschool.com/barre-chords
Coffee, same as you and thank you for this video. I am just starting out and in need of all the help I can get. I have small hands and short fingers so it is really a challenge for me! I had to go down to a child sized electric for now as I just could not even make the C chord on a full sized small bodied acoustic. Eventually I shall try again once I get my tips calloused up and learn techniques like the ones you are giving because this will also be used to do the C & F, which I really can't do. : ( It was hard for me to turn in my acoustic as for a new guitar it had an amazing sound as if aged. Since that's where you get the "sound" from, aged instruments when made of wood in my opinion.
Classical position helped me. I was watching what the pros do and how they angle the guitars and I just found shifting to the other knee easier to get the angle :)
Brother i appreciate this video so much! I have been dreading bar chords for months. I was already naturally doing the posture tips but implementing your finger tips let me instantly do a clear bar chord. Im so excited for this! I liked and subscribed
Thanks David, glad it worked out!!!
Some really good advice here. I will have to keep coming back to remind myself of the proper techniques involved. It's so easy to get sloppy and takes more effort to shore up all the inefficiencies in bar chord technique. I like the part about using the side of your thumb and getting it lined up with the second finger and 4th string position behind the neck. It's going to take practice to relearn the proper technique, but I'll get it.
The thumb advice was exactly my problem! Tysm, had to go through like 5 videos before yours 🙏
Wow, just managed to get the B string to ring out when barring the first fret... Progress! Tilt guitar, straighten neck and drop the wrist was all it took. Still got a way to go but feels like progress, thank you so much 🙏
Invaluable plethora of simple techniques to elevate your sessions. Well put together and easy to follow. Saved to my music chords playlist and a daily practice. Thank you for sharing. My favourite drink is coffee ☕️ too, which I’m enjoying right now watching and practicing barre chords. 🎸 🎼 ✅
Rock on!
Thank you for this! Open tuning chords are about to get more comfortable. Cheers from Canada!
Very good lesson! Thank you!!
This is prob the best advice I’ve gotten for barre chords thank you this helped bunch
Super helpful and some of the tips you gave helped me to get a clear sound straight way! Thank you! ❤
Thanks for saving my life bro! If only i had known pull the strings with the body man. Great stuff!
Thank you Jack. I just watched and followed along and yes, it made a difference. Thanks. And 1985, I remember that like it was yesterday.
Right on!
Thank you for the tips!
Elevated neck, drop wrist.. pure magic! Chords now ring clean. Still slow on getting to the shape, but that's just practice.
Glad it helped Sebastian!!
really really helpful ... thank you !!!
✌🏻
This is very informative and I will refer back to help correct this.
For me, its about just consistently trying to correct this. I'm not sure if it's affecting my playing bar chords, but I'm double jointed on both thumbs. So they both can easily bend back more than most. But my music teacher also use to suggested raising left foot and resting on left leg, over 15 years btw.
Also I come from drums as my main instrument and only a few years ago during the start of pandemic learning bass properly. But this has all helped transition over effectively.
Very nice look at the Macro postions of posture and arm movement!
Awesome video. Think this might actually help!
putting my finger right on the fret (Tip #13) was the most important one for me! Still have some slight buzz but MUCH better. Should be closer to first lol.
Thank you for this video. After watching I’m finding this easier.
I'm so glad it helped Ellen!
All good tips.
Great video on Barre Chords. I've been struggling with these and these tips will surely help. Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
This video relieved both my wrist and my existential pain, and I dont know which was stronger
Excellent Jack! I've been struggling with a B7 sus 4 barre chord in Carcassi's Etude #3 and thanks to you I I finally got it. Sometimes the smallest things can bring so much joy- thank you.
Oh yes, black coffee...
That makes me really happy to know! Good job my friend.
Thanks - this helped snap me out of some bad habits I’ve been developing.
I still find trouble on curling my knuckles (3 months of guitar practice) but everything was great. I did get lucky with a few really nice sounding barre chords
the #17 was the missing one for me, game changer ! thanks for the tips man !
Good lesson for me as beginner! Thanks! Now shall try it with barre chords!
Thank you I’ll definitely be trying the tips you’ve demonstrated here✌️🇬🇧🇯🇲
I really enjoyed your Barre Chords video tutorial on how to properly and physically place your fretting hand as well as having the proper guitar angle. I'm an old timer newbie in my 60's just trying to challenge myself and no doubt learning to play the guitar is doing just that. I will give your tips and tricks a try and see if my desire to throw my guitar out the window subsides! LOL Thanks for the lessons and I look forward to more of your guitar lessons videos now that I have subscribed to your channel.
Hey Ted! nice seeing you here. Barre chords need time, if you're very new to this give it a month or 2 and it'll work. In the meantime play Fmaj7 instead of F 😉
Jack:
Thank you so much for making and posting this video. I have been struggling with Barre chords and am now making progress. BTW, coffee is my beverage of choice!
I actually bookmarked it so that I can quickly review. : )
This is actually working. I started playing guitar 2 years ago and i was struggling with some barre chords but this video is really useful. Thanks!
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed!
Excellent tipps. Thanks a lot.
You're an excellent Teacher sirr, thank youu
Thank you! 😃
I really enjoyed the lesson❤
Excellent Tips. Thanks a lot 🙏
Most welcome!
I never leave a comment.. but this video really helped me ..ive watched so many videos but this one was actually very helpful ..thank you bro
I'm really happy it managed to help you! Thanks for taking the time to let me know ✌🏻
Which tip(s) helped you the most?
@@GuitarElevation The push pull tip was amazing..i had actually fractured my left arm because of which i have two metal plates in my wrist..and for barring i kept on squeezing my left hand which became very painful for me...ur tip really helped..thanks again😊
@@harshitshangvi444 Awesome! I had to learn this trick on my own, early on! Sorry about the fracture though.
Very helpful ..thank you soo much sir
You're welcome Mayur!
Great video,will try some of your tips with a cigar box guitar,classical stance looks good for me
🙌🏻
this is great thank you so much
Enjoy!
10 min video answering a hell lot of questions; is this your hero? mine is
My fav drink is STMJ (traditional drink in Indonesian) 👍🏻
Thank you for all the detail!! Very informative! I subscribed to your channel!
Thanks it was practical and helpful
Thank u so much this helped me a lot!💗💗
Thank you for the great video, it helped!
Great tips!!
Thank you! This helps so much!
This is great! Thank you!
good detailed video thanks..
Rolling the index finget works. Thank you!
it sure does! glad it worked!
Hello Jack, thanks for the steps in the video but I have one question. The last step seems to contradict the looseness in the shoulder. How can you be pulling the strings/neck towards you without tightening the shoulder? I'm going to try lighter gauge strings(currently using 12) on my acoustic electric. Aside from that, thanks for the help.
You pull with the elbow and not the shoulder! That's the distinction. And don't think of it as pulling more so than just holding it in place using the elbow in its natural position. There shouldn't be any tension there!
And yes, definitely a 0.12 gauge is a workout 😅
Actually I play steel string acoustic and a hollowbody and love the classical position as a play sitting down due to a bad back and knees
This is fantastic. The only thing is, I still can't apply enough pressure to get a decent sound out of the B string. EDIT: Actually, I think I'm getting. Pulling with the arm. That makes such a huge difference and makes such sense. Thank you.
This helped a lot. ty
Glad it did!
Thank you
really wonderful video thank you! my favorite drink is water or green tea! ^_^
Green tea is ok 😆! Glad you enjoyed.
I see the benefits. But struggling.. am guessing bad habits making it hard to hold posture and find fret positions🙈. Wish I had seen this earlier. Thank you.
note guys: if its still buzzing, don’t worry, it’ll get better over time, yes it’s annoying but soon your hands will get used to the guitar and the pain and it will make a clear sound, you can’t get better instantly
loved it ☺️
awesome :D
Great video! So practical and usefull! The tension and pain in the left wrist is a problem for me also... so called 'gorilla grip'... great explanation and tips to understand what is wrong and make it better!
Right on! Glad it helped
how do you keep your thumb straight while pressing the bar chord with your index? My thumb will inevitably curl outward and try to press with the bony part of the thumb joint
Thank you, I began to struggle again, after thinking I had got it, so this was very helpful, I’m off to have a tea with honey! :)
Haha awesome Frank!! Enjoy your tea 🍵
Thanks👍👍👍👍👍
✌🏻
Mmm...coffee. Thanx for the vid.
Any time!
I'm still having problems with the muffling once I add the first finger. I have short fat fingers with big palms, my span from thumb to pink is 8". short pinky. still working on it not giving up.
I love his long Haar.
I love his long hair.
I can play barre chords very well, but it seems no matter what I do my thumb hurts even when i don't use it. I followed all these tips and they don't seem to be helping very much. I'm not sure if you know any other resources I can use? thanks very informative video
You might have a tension problem that is not related to barre chords only. It's better if you can have someone take a look at it. A professional teacher preferably. You might even have a thumb problem that is not related to the guitar if it hurts you all the time even if you're not playing. I don't want to assume things, but it's better if you follow up with that. I wish you the best!
Thank you, great video. Another question. How can I increase the power in my left hand when I do the bar because I lose power and the sound becomes cacophony.
If you're new to guitar or bar chords in general it's normal for the hand to be weak for that particular hand posture. It should get better with time. If it's not getting better then you must be doing something wrong. So monitor this for a while!
@@GuitarElevation thank you so much and have a nice day
I wish I knew your channel early ... I will be far❤
Hères one for you . Broken my left thumb many years ago , so playing barre chords can be painful to me.
I got a nylon strung acoustic just so it'd be easier on my fingers. I can do barre chords on my nylon strung, but doing them on my steel string is a real struggle
Thanks man! 4 out of 6 strings are still muted 😄