Hello, and welcome to Groove Singh and All The Things.
I'm your host Amy Halestone.
On a recent podcast and blog post, I talked about why it's important to, uh, learn bar chords when you're learning to play your guitar.
And I pointed out three reasons why you should indeed learn them.
This week, I'd like to share five tips to make the process a little bit easier when you're learning your bar chords.
So that's what we're gonna talk about on the podcast today.
Again, I'm Amy from Amy Halstone Studios.
I'm a vocal and performance coach, a guitar teacher, recording artist.
I've been teaching guitar for over thirty years.
I've been a vocal and performance coach for nearly a decade, and I love to teach my students how to play and sing with less tension and more freedom.
Let's jump into the episode today.
Whether you're learning guitar to be a guitarist, or to accompany yourself as a singer, which you're silly guitarist, but your goal is to accompany yourself, or you're a songwriter, you want to be able to have more choices when you're writing your songs.
Learning bar chords will help open up your creativity and your artistic choices.
So, number one, it's pretty simple.
Keep your wrist, uh, as neutral as possible.
So this, not this.
So you We want this, not this.
Just remember your goal is to keep your wrist as neutral as possible.
You will have to bend it, but you never want a sharp angle.
Number two is you don't have to press as hard as you think you do.
So in fact, just a bit of pressure will do, as long as your guitar is set up properly, and you're not fighting against the string, you know, pushing the strings down because they're far from the fret board, using too much pressure is gonna cause your strengths to sound muted and will cause you fatigue in the long run.
And gravity plays a big role here, and so let it help you.
So what do I mean by letting gravity do some of the work here.
You might wanna practice your bar chord, like, like, on the fifth fret, you know, rather than the first at first, like we spoke about last week.
When I'm playing this bar chord, your finger can go over the edge of, you know, past the six string as well.
Because you're gonna have to find how you're you wanna keep that finger straight when you're playing the e shape.
So I'm really I'm I'm just I'm laying my fingers on the string, and I'm applying some pressure.
There's pressure with the thumb and the fingers, and it's just like this.
It's not like this.
Okay? It's not I'm not squeezing that.
That causes tension all the way up the arm to the elbow, to the shoulder.
Just try to nip that in the bud right away.
Take your hand away.
Put it down.
The plot it's it's slight.
It's really slight.
Like, it's not like You know, it's just it's less than you think.
So less is more when it comes to that.
And at first, yes, you will feel like you are squeezing and and and pushing and pressing.
But if you can think, I don't need to work that hard, that's gonna set you up for less work and more success, basically.
Number three, If not barring, use your fingertips.
So my if my first finger is gonna be barred, the rest of my fingers are going to be curved, and I think of like a cat's claw.
Okay? That will ensure that you if you're more on the fleshy part of the fingers, you're gonna have some things that don't ring.
So, first, index fingers straight.
Other fingers are curved because you've got fingers in the same fret there.
You need to make room for it.
So think about that.
Your other fingers are gonna be curved.
This will keep the fleshy part of the finger from touching the string directly behind it and causing it to mute.
So When you think of that cat claw and mimic that sort of shape, when using the fingers and the bar chords, it sounds silly, but it works.
So number four, play each string individually and listen for it to ring.
When you first start playing your bar chords, you know, you might you might be sounding a little.
So something's not ringing in that.
Right? So I gotta figure out which one.
So let's say it sounds like that.
So what do I I need to adjust my hand? So on the a shape, your bar is with your third finger.
So I I adjust my hand.
I get that.
You're also gonna wanna be really close to the fret there.
Your first finger is actually you're just really you just need that root note.
So when listening for that for those strings to ring, keep adjusting your hand, they're the motions the movements are very slight.
Keep letting them ring.
Take the hand away, put it back.
And really, you could just lift up, put it back.
Lift up, put it back.
Okay? There's different ways to do it, but you wanna do it over and over and over.
Number five is adjust that index finger.
You're just gonna have to at first.
Then you won't have to think about it too much, but think about your first finger.
It's being the nut.
You're moving this nut.
So, basically, you can play your open chords all over the neck.
Think about that.
Like, if it was a capo, that's what a capo does.
Just moving that nut around so you can play your open chords.
On the e bar chord, again, you're gonna keep it straight, maybe lean towards the headstock a little bit.
You're gonna feel it on that on that knuckle, the more bony part of the finger.
So it's not straight down.
It's more you'll here's the deal.
Everyone's different.
Everyone's body is different.
So you're gonna have to just figure out How can I put my first finger down? And it doesn't have to be end right at the again, it can go over there.
It's gonna be all across this part of your finger, the bony part of your finger.
More the outer part of your finger, not not the inner part of your finger.
So that is a trial and error situation with the index finger.
Um, so experiment with that, and you'll get it.
Why is that the e shape? Because You see the e you see the e shaped cord right here in the middle? Sorry.
You can't see my hand.
There it goes.
That allows me to move that e shape anywhere.
Okay? Now, when I wanna make that minor, all I have to do is lift a second finger.
Okay? So that's like moving the e minor.
Open e minor.
Anywhere you want.
And so the a shaped bar chord, moving that a, Anywhere, we still see that a shape.
Those three notes right there, but underneath the, uh, third finger.
So in order to make that minor, I have to flat that third which this note under on the second string has to go down a half step, which is gonna cause me to I have to do a different fingering for the move my hand a little bit for the minor chord.
Okay? And again, I'm not really barring that first finger, that index finger.
This one, if you want that high you need a string, a two ring, go ahead.
But the most important are those inner four strings.
So bar courts allow you to get very rhythmic.
And like I said in la in last week's show or the the show about bar chords, give you many choices of where to play on the neck.
So before we finish up with the last tip on how to play bar chords easier, I'd like to offer you a gift for spending time with me today for the singers.
I've got an exclusive video called three secrets and exercises, an introduction to finding more freedom and less tension in your singing.
And I would love for you to take advantage of that.
I think it can help set you up for success.
Just access that video at amyhailstone.
com/3secrets.
And for the guitar players, I've got the video five things every new guitar player needs to know.
This will help you set you up for success, on your playing journey, please access that video at amyhailstones.
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Tip number five is to play two different bar chords shapes in a row before you you building into like a chord progression of three or four chords, just take two.
For example, I was just playing the e minor or the a minor, e shape, and the d minor a shape.
So let's make the major.
Let's say you're gonna play the a major chord on the fifth fret.
It's an e shape.
And then right next door or fourth up, you're gonna play the d chord, which you're using the a shape.
So you're going back from a To D.
So before you even add any rhythm, actually, just Four downstrokes, make sure they all ring.
And if you start to play the a, and you get a something's not ringing.
Take your hand, put it back.
Adjust.
Okay.
They're all ringing.
Now, I can do my four beads.
Two, three, go to the d.
If it's not ringing, what are you gonna do? You're gonna just adjust.
So if you're getting if you're getting that Oh, okay.
Well, um, something's not right with my first finger.
Okay.
Let me adjust that.
Okay.
So whenever something doesn't ring or something doesn't sound right, you start over.
And then hopefully you'll get the two smoothly together, just over and over and over.
Okay.
Now, let's say you wanna play a g to an e minor.
So it's a little bit of a jump.
A little more challenging.
But do it over and over and just stay with two shapes.
Okay? You take two shapes in succession just over and over and over and over and over and over and after you've done quite a bit of those, then add a third chord in there.
Learn to scan the body for tension when playing your guitar.
Tension is your enemy.
Find that balance between effort and trying too hard.
So scan your wrists, scan your shoulder, your elbow and your fingers like we talked about earlier.
Keep them keep them all as neutral as possible.
And again, gravity, let it help you here.
It's always pulling us towards the floor.
So it's trial and error, but don't force You gotta find that sweet spot and try to live there.
So where that sweet spot, like, if you're constantly feeling a pressure, when you're playing your song, a pressure in your hand between your fingers and your thumb, that is not it.
It's very much an easy motion.
Yes, there will be.
You're gonna apply some pressure, but it's less than you think.
You're gonna have to find that sweet spot for yourself, and it's gonna take time.
You're not gonna find it tomorrow if you're just starting out, but you will find it.
And tension hides can hide in the shoulder.
Uh, it can hide in the right hand.
If you're tempsing up here, um, the wrist, the thumb is gonna hide.
So if you learn to scan for it and correct it as you go, you'll be miles ahead, um, because, like I said, tension is the enemy.
It's always the enemy.
And patience is your friend and it's the key to success.
You just have to do things over and over and over until they become second nature and then get in your muscle memory.
You have to practice it correctly so many times.
So just because you're practicing your bar chords a bunch of times, But you only got it correct maybe a 100 out of the 300.
It's you're you're not there yet.
You don't have that muscle memory yet.
So you just keep doing it.
Over and over, you have to practice it correctly.
That's why we have to correct ourselves when we're in the midst of practicing something, so we don't practice it wrong.
That and then that becomes your second nature.
That is what you not what you want.
You don't want the the wrong way in your muscle memory.
So scan the body, correct as you go.
Eventually, the adjustments just happen, and you put your fingers exactly where you need need to put them instinctively because you you've done it so many times.
Speaking of where you put the fingers, I do I do wanna tell you one more thing.
When you're placing your fingers, you wanna put them straight down.
Right? You'd when you're if you build the bar chord as you go, if I'm gonna play an e minor bar chord, on the seventh fret.
If every time I have to go it's really gonna slow me down.
Right? I need it to go straight down.
So do not get in the habit of maybe put one, then another, then another, like, write down where it needs to go and then adjust.
But don't build it like that.
It's just another bonus tip there.
And again, at first, you will have to place one at a time.
But just keep in mind, your goal is to put them right down.
Alright.
Those are some of the main tips that I have for you today.
You will be glad you put the effort in and it will pay dividends for you when you know those bar chords and you can play all over the neck, and you can play whatever song you want.
So again, I'm Amy Halstone.
Thanks for joining me today on Gro, singing all the things.
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Help us out a lot.
Thanks again, and we'll see you on the next episode of Groosting and all the things