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From: happyt@aol.com (HappyT)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic
Subject: Help! with barring
Date: 5 Nov 1995 07:47:53 -0500


>>  I have been playing guitar for about four months and have great 
difficulty with forming barre cords...in fact, I'm not even able to press 
down two strings with one finger..

Very often simply shifting your hand position can help a great deal. Try
the following:

- Make sure that your wrist is curved, elbow down (not tight against your
body, which causes your hand to scrunch up). Relax as much as possible,
and put the effort into playing the chord properly.

- Your thumb should be in a vertical position behind your barre finger,
providing the necessary pressure to press all the strings evenly. Use the
flat, fleshy part of your thumb, pressing in about the middle of the neck.

- Start barring on the higher frets, as the strings feel looser than they
do just behind the nut. Another trick is to put a capo on your guitar at
the 1st or 2nd fret, and then practice barring. This will lower the action
and make it easier until you have enough strength in your hand to make
good clean barres.

- You may want to get your guitar action checked to make sure it's not too
high, or that your neck is not warped or out of line. This would make it
very difficult to execute a good barre chord.

- Finally, don't give up. Barre chords are an essential element to your
progress on the guitar, and will give you a much wider knowledge of the
fingerboard as well as many more chords to choose from.

Happy Traum