Anyone find that to get your index finger to sit parallel to the fret and the next three fingers to not lie flat against the strings, you have to pull your elbow in to your waist? I know that my anatomy is not unique to the world…lol, so i’m sure some find this. I guess I wonder if everyone has to do this.
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Funny you should ask, Steve. I’ve been working on Bm the past couple of weeks, and I definitely notice I pull my elbow in - more when changing from some chords than others. So there are at least two of us!
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If I was able to change to Bm quickly and cleanly, I’d be a happy man. No matter how much I practice it, it’s a struggle.
Before guitar I always thought BM = Bowel Movement… 
Now, Bm is pretty much the same thing!!! 
That & the F chord are very aptly named!
Seriously, in answer to your question, yes.
My elbow is definitely closer to my body whenever playing A-shaped bar chords. It’s actually one of the reasons I stopped learning bar chords several years ago… I just had the hardest time changing to & from (mostly to) ANY bar chord.
I thought that I’d just use Cowboy Chords exclusively for the rest of the Journey… now, at the very beginning of Grade 3, Justin’s PFCs have enabled me to change to bar chords much more effectively & also to be much more conscious of my posture & body positioning. I still have a long way to go, however… yet see that IT CAN BE DONE!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!
Good luck!
Tod
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Hey Steve, G’Day,
Yep, great timing that you ask that. around middle of this year I became frustrated and felt shackled in my learning because I couldn’t effectively play barre chords
So I decided to just hammer repeatedly practicing F, Bm & F#m over and over every playing session. I also picked a few songs I wanted to play with those in them and also added that to my sessions.
So… Here in December I’m actually able to play those songs fairly comfortably, pretty sure the muscle on my left thumb is larger than my right 
When I read your post I grabbed the guitar to check my position, and yes my elbow is definitely closer to my body playing say Bm than an open chord, not touching my body though. As I change from say D to Bm I can see the elbow shift slightly closer to my ribs, 1st finger is parallel to the fret and fingers 2,3,4 are upright.
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Thats exactly where you want to be as a default position, so all good.
Cheers, Shane
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It’s good to know I’m not alone…lol. The hours I have put into trying to perfect this chord. Maybe some day it will magically happen for us.
haha… maybe it is common to all! Go us!
I have got F down relatively well. Oddly enough, it seems that after months / years suddenly something just works all of a sudden… none of my playing is very clean but definitely I’ve improved overall. You would think getting F down pat, would bean Bm would easily follow… not so much…lol. Maybe this is common to all that the elbow pulls in on barre chords . Judging by the replies it seems to be the case.
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BM …baaaahhhhaa … agree… it is aptly named. I’m on the last module of grade 2. It is great to know there is hope out there. I will hang my hat on those words “It can be done” and keep going.
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I am just beginning my journey with full barre chords (working on all 3 of the ones mentioned so far - F, Bm, F#m, along with Cm7, Fm7, Ab7, and G7). I’m at the point where I can reliably make them sound good given the time to settle into position. But changes between chords are absolutely not there yet. And my instructor also keeps on me about my posture. I can’t seem to get my 2, 3, 4 fingers upright. I have to roll my hand to the side a bit and I can only get my index finger parallel to the frets on some of them so far. The farther up the neck I am, the easier that part is.
But I’m also spending time on them every practice session and I think I’m slowly starting to see my fret hand get a little bit more upright. So I think what’s going on is related to flexibility or something that I just have to keep pushing on to keep getting progress. And maybe being able to hold my fingers upright will help with changes.
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This is exactly where I am at as well. The beginning of grade 3 and limited by my ability to play F, Bm, and F#m, and I’ll throw in B7 as well although not a barre chord. It seems like every song I want to play has one of these in it. I get real tired of just practicing the chord changes. Trying to stay motivated.
Dan
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Dan, you’re exactly where I am. Don’t get frustrated! One thing that has worked for me: I choose a song that contains one or two (but not more) of the following: challenging chord changes, strumming or picking pattern, muting technique, power chords, or other technique. I just keep working on it! So much more satisfying than just playing chord changes. To keep it interesting: start playing slowly, maybe one strum per bar or one strum per beat, until you really have it down. Then add in a more interesting strumming pattern. Or increase the tempo (but not too much!). Just keep working on each smaller goal. What I’ve noticed is that working on one song in this way spills over into new things I try. For example: I don’t have the full F barre chord mastered, but when I play a new song with that chord it goes pretty darned well! I’ve also noticed that I pretty quickly have memorized the chord progression.
Also (and maybe I should have written this first): break the song into sections, and learn them one at a time. Verse, chorus, bridge. If a part (a verse for example) is played slightly differently in different parts of the song - each one gets its own section. For me, this is very satisfying. Learn all the sections, then glue them together.
And it’s clear there are a lot of us in this same situation. Must be part of many learning journeys! Conversations like this one help keep me motivated as well. I now realize I’ll be in Grade 3 for quite a while, but I don’t mind because I’m becoming a better guitarist. And that’s the goal!
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I have played for a while and I still find that Bm a master at frustrating people of all talents it is no doubt a pain in the but cheers Hec
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A tip for B minor:
The index finger does not need to barre all of the strings, it only has to mute the sixth string while fretting the fifth and first strings. Try to curve your index finger a bit to increase the pressure on the fifth and first strings. Your middle, ring and pinky finger will cover strings 2, 4, and 3 respectively.
A couple of notes on barre chords in general.
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finger placement is key - try to practice getting your fingers in exactly the right position. You can do this without even pressuring the strings - just focus on the position.
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Over time, the skin on your index finger will begin to toughen up and make fretting the barre much easier - just as callouses on your finger tips did
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Instead of trying to hold down the whole barre chord for an entire bar, try pulsing the pressure with each strum, this will allow you to apply more pressure right when you need it and then relax in between beats. Over time you will build the strength and pressure control (plus toughen up that skin) that will allow you to play full songs with barre chords.
This video was really helpful for me in developing my barre chord technique. I still can’t really play a reggae rhythm, but I have gotten much better with barre chords!
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And the reggae beat has got what to do with practising Bm?
Bm - Bob Marley?
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I think Rob was saying that he found the techniques presented helpful in improving his barre chords in general. He describes the technique in his third note, just above the quoted line.
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This Is also a good substitute, and knowing this reminds me to be mostly concerned with making sure I solidly fret the 1 string, and not be too concerned if I mute either the 5 or 6 string with the barre.
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It all depends on what you’re trying to do. I’m currently trying to learn John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over).
It goes A, Asus2,Asus4, A, Bm, Bsus2, Bmadd11, Bm, E sus4, E, Eadd9.
Jumping from A to Bm is driving me mad because if you don’t get the Bm perfect, the Bsus2 and Bmadd11 don’t work. The Bm substitute doesn’t work for this.