Does anyone have advice on learning how to move between different e-shape barre chords? I’m finding it weirdly difficult.
I’ve finally gotten decent at playing a single barred F, but when I try to slide, say, F# up one fret to a G and back to F# again, like in White Rabbit (the chords, not the solo), I’m having trouble getting my fingers to hold the same shape while I slide down or up the neck. Either my middle finger jumps from the G string to the D string, or my ring or pinkie finger crowd closer to the middle finger so they’re not in the right fret any more.
I know, the answer probably just boils down to practice practice practice like everything else – but I wonder if anyone has any tips for learning to keep my fingers in the same shape while I slide them.
A general tip which applies to many learning difficulties is to do it very slowly. Literally as slow as you need to get it right. Do the practice exercise 5 times in a row without a mistake. If you make a mistake the count goes back to 0 and start again. If you achieve 5 in a row then try to increase the speed.
Try to practice not to completly lift your fingers from the strings. Relax the fingers and keep them touching the strings in barre chord shape and then slide to next fret(s). Practice this slowly until you are comfortable. This will help you maintain the shape with movement, even if later you lift you fingers completely.
Justin taught two very simple exercises in the biginner grade 1 course that apply to all chord changes, The One Minute Changes and Perfect Chord Changes. Do them just like you did when learning open chords. They also work for changing between open and barre chords practice.
Maintain contact with the strings, only release the pressure and make a slide along the strings.
If moving towards your body - from F to F# say - when you grip with the index to barre once again, remember to roll it back on to its outer edge a little, which is the opposite move to the way it has just traveled.
If moving away from your body - F# to F - the movement helps place your index barre on its outer edge a lot more.
Thanks, everybody! Especially @chris_m : I think that’s exactly my problem, I was trying to practice it at song-playing speeds. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to just slow down, but when I try that, I do a lot better. So I’ll practice that way, and then gradually try to speed it up.
Regarding rotating the barre finger: that’s actually why I’m having so much trouble with this. I rotate the finger to get a better barre, but that messes up the rest of my fingers so they don’t reach the other strings all that well (the ring finger can just barely reach into the fret where it needs to be), and so they want to move out of that shape as soon as they’re not pressing on strings any more, if that makes any sense. But I need the rotation or the barre doesn’t work right across all the strings. Slow practice, I’ll do lots more of that. Thanks again!
And they work for all chords when you step into the exotic territory of 7th, 9th and the like. Anytime you learn some new voicing and have difficulty applying them in a progression, a revisit to the bed rock of 1MCs pays dividends.
For example a rhythm exercise from a non JG course I am working on. These grips are a real challenge for me at the moment.
So before I even attempt to apply the 16th note rhythm pattern, I’ll apply each change as a One Minute Change routine. I get there much quick this way and especially with grips my fingers initially say “no way jose! we aint going there” !
It’s an exercise you can use through your whole life long guitar journey and will always pay dividends !
