My System for Playing Bar Chords That Never Fails - Guitar Lessons for Beginners
Hi there, I'm Tomas Michaud. In this video, I'm gonna show you a step by step systematic
approach to learning bar chords now you can use this video to learn how to play bar chords
and it'll save you a lot of time and frustration but most importantly I want you to see what
the system looks like. You really can learn much faster and more efficiently by breaking
things down and practicing them in a concentrated fashion so watch this video, hopefully you'll
be able to use the stuff and make sure and watch the very end of the video because I'm
gonna come back explain a little more about what I was doing (0:40) to your best advantage.
The first step is to practice the chord form in the open position so as you probably guess
there are many chord forms depending on the type of bar chord but were gonna stick to
one chord form, this will be the A major. Make you're a major normal with the first
finger, second finger and third fingers. This is going to make bar chords that are called
all major bar chords and the rule of the bar chord or the name of the bar chord will be
on sixth string so right now, you can actually say this is not a bar chord but the rule is
the E the low E. So we're gonna reform that chord to get rid of the first finger so you'll
put the second finger on the third string first fret. The third finger stretch over
to the fifth string second fret and the pinky right next to it you see now you got my first
finger free as for the bar, still an E Major chord so you wanna practice that with just
your second, third and fourth fingers . Go and play it again.
For step 2 we're gonna practice the bar form. A good way to practice that is just to put
your first finger. I called this the bar chord exercise across the first fret and then strum
to see if all the strings are sounding. Usually at first that's how it goes to my students
-- some sounding some don't so you wanna keep adjusting your finger until you get most of
them sounding. It's okay if it doesn't work perfect the first times around you're going
to practice this so I'll show you the exercise. Don't worry if you don't get it perfect now
but aim for 80% just about all sounding. The hardest one is the first fret by the way as
you go up it's a leisure.
Let's do the second fret now that's what you're aiming now so they're all sounding. You can
help with your second finger if you want. Eventually you're gonna have to take that
off because you gonna need these fingers for the bar chord. But at first, you could strengthen
it with your second finger. Over time, your finger will get stronger anyway so adjust
your hand a little bit. You'll find over time that a little adjustment will help, third
fret and so on.
Now I'm gonna teach you another aspect to this exercise still a part of the second step.
Let's go back to the first fret. As we play this, you're gonna name the note on the sixth
string, that's gonna be the name of the bar chord so in this case it's an F (3:12) open
E this one is F so you play that then you go up to the second fret and name that note.
We will call this F sharp then the third fret that's G. Let's gonna end up making a G bar
chord and so on -- G sharp, A, A sharp, B, C that's (3:42), C sharp and D this is far
as we have to go. We hardly have bar chord past that.
Okay now we're gonna go down and on the way down the sharps are gonna turn into flats
so let me explain that as I go. This is D. When we go back to C sharp you can also call
that D flat. It's sort of just a different way of looking at it. It sounds the same but
you'd write it either C sharp or D flat. There's reasons you might use one or the other but
not important now. We call that D flat, C. Now, there's nothing between B and C so it's
(4:23) there's no flat or sharp then B flat instead of A sharp, A just practicing the
name of the note A flat. I called that ( 4:37) harmonic by the way. When the note looks different
on paper but it actually sounds the same --G keep going G flat, F and F flat Noooo E between
E and F there's no flats or sharps. Okay, so you wanna practice that up and down the
neck, name the notes that's step 2.
Now for step 3, the fun part. We're gonna put it together. Start with the chord that
we made. You might wanna start with the regular E and then re finger it, get your bearings.
Now slide it up one fret and put down the bar that now becomes an F bar. The reason
it's a little more difficult, the tension is higher right next to the knot. As you go
up, it gets easier until you get way up here, now that's F so go up a half step. Remember
the name of that base note. You will if you practice it that's F sharp. G, G sharp, A,
A sharp, B, B sharp Nooo C, remember between B and C half step, C sharp and D. Okay, we
will stop there and go backwards that C sharp gonna be D flat now D flat, C, B, B flat,
A, A flat, G, G flat, F and E so that's the third and final step. Practice that up and
down.
So here's a great practice exercise. Start with the E chord like that then go to the
G, A and then back to E and practice it so you can do it faster so it gives you a sense
(6:36)
So here's another one I'd like my student practice. You'll recognize this chord progression
F, B flat, C -- C, B flat, back to F listen now with a little rhythm if you like. Okay,
a little more advance that's after you practice the other exercises.
So now you've seen kind of a concentrated version of how I teach students bar chords.
Now normally what I do is I take these steps and I integrate them throughout my course
so it's not all at one time. For example, I'll show them how to play the open chords,
how to switch the fingers around and then integrate that bar chord exercise before they
actually have to play bar chords. It's much easier that way. By the time we get the bar
chords in the song, they've already practice their fingers up and down the neck of the
guitar. It's strong. They know the name of the chords. The bar chords seems to flow.
The main points are find something that you need to work on. Break it down to a concentrated
exercise or technique then practice that over and over starting slow building up and then
apply that to a song. You can do this for yourself or what's great if you have a teacher
that can either do it for you or has a series of exercises that they can integrate at the
right time. The best time to do this is before you need it and that's why a systematic approach
to learning guitar is the most efficient way to learn.
Thanks for joining me.