Playing barre chords before actually learning them

[brianlarsen]

@Richard_close2u

The key of C has no barre chords

I see a big ol’ ugly F

[Richard_close2u]

@brianlarsen

I see a big ol’ ugly F

There’s always one isn’t there.
haha
Fmaj7
F mini barre
@elenathanasiadou can play the F barre chord

Okay, I’m not 100% strictly correct.
D’oh.

[elenathanasiadou]

We can never escape this

[brianlarsen]

Haha, I remember when learning my songs, songs, songs thang, pulling out the trusty circle of 5ths to find the six-chord section with the easiest chords to play and slap on the capo if necessary… Because songs often don’t use all six, I often got away with avoiding the barre chords altogether.
I should’ve just learned how to play them straight off, eh?
(you can, of course play mini bm too…)

[Richard_close2u]

I have made a modest and discrete edit to the text @brianlarsen quoted.

[RodC]

This.

Gordon has nailed it. Just learn the chords you need. If required just jump ahead and look at Justin’s lesson for the Bm chord (Am shape Barre).

Rod.

[sairfingers]

Hi Richard. Your explanation of all this is, as usual, excellent. And of course knowing how to use a capo is an important part of learning guitar.

However is there not a danger that teaching people a way of avoiding barre chords could make the prospect of learning them even more daunting, rather than just getting down to it and learning them.

[stitch]

I agree with Gordon. Just learn to play the Bm it’s the same shape as the F barre chord(root note on A string and up one fret) and the OP said they can play the F barre chord.
Using a capo to avoid barre chords is using it as a crutch.

[brianlarsen]

@sairfingers & @stitch That’s what I was just saying. But it’s a balance, isn’t it?
Sometimes it just feels so good to be able to learn a song without too much struggle.
Shortcuts and avoidance are ok, as long as you’re aware that’s what you’re doing and prepared to address it on your journey.
It does make learning new songs so much more enjoyable though, when you don’t avoid them just because they have barres in them.

[stitch]

@brianlarsen there is nothing worse at a jam than someone pulling out a capo changing key and hacking their way though a well known song. The original question was about leaning barre chords so they could play with other people. I say learn the chords
Using a capo to make things easier is not helping if you want to play with other people.

[brianlarsen]

Couldn’t agree more, and I’m sure that’s the Holy Grail of many of us on this site.
You are on the other hand, much farther down the path than the OP and me.
We’re talking about a learner guitarist and singer here.

@elenathanasiadou

That’s extremely helpful and, indeed, a bit beyond my current level of theory… most of the times we use a capo just to match with the singer’s tone (the singer is an amateur musician as well).

There are times it can make sense to simplify the process to promote the fun/enjoyment aspect of making music

[Richard_close2u]

@Richard_close2u

Okay.
First, you can just learn to play the barre chords and do the business… That may take you ahead of your current place, in which case, I would say that playing in the context of songs, to help you in joining in with a ‘band setting’ is about the best reason there is to skip around a little and not stick rigidly to the one step at a time approach.

In light of recent comments, this quote shows my first response. Basically, encouraging the OP to go for it, playing songs is a perfect reason to step beyond a comfort zone and have a go at learning the barres.
My second comment, and subsequent posts, arose because @elenathanasiadou said a capo is already in use and she struggles with barres, Bm especially.
Plus a full practice session including playing barre chords can be severe on the muscles so having an alternative that prevents cramp and pain is good.

[TheMadman_tobyjenner]

@Richard_close2u

Fmaj7

Get out of jail card every time !!