Hi all, been with Justin since January and have completed first 2 beginner course. Really enjoying play along app but thought I’d try a few 121 lessons locally to try and speed up/enhance my journey.
Went to local blues guitar teacher with fairly big following on YouTube and he offered me some (what I thought was) odd advice. He advocated barring all 6 strings and playing the low E string when playing the A string barre chords.
His rational is that it’s fine because the note is simply a duplicate of the note on the high E string and it’s much easier rather than to keep adjusting barring finger) Seems strange advice to offer me as a beginner.
Any thoughts please friends? Has anybody been offered similar advice?
The problem with that theory is that the root note of the chord is no longer the lowest frequency note in the chord. So, playing a A-string B barre chord using this method would actually be a B/F#.
It might sound good in some circumstances, but sound wonky in others.
I would think that you’d want to learn to play using the “traditional” technique and decide to follow this “odd” method because you preferred the sound rather than because you couldn’t play the “traditional” way.
Was thinking that myself, having just done Justin’s slash chord lesson. It was my second lesson with teacher and I’m not too far away from being able to play moving barre chords accurately anyway. In any case if you can’t play an A barre chord how are you supposed to play an E barre. This definitely seemed to be his policy.
It seemed ridiculous advice from a supposed guitar professional. Just wondered if it had been suggested to anybody else.
Not related to your question yet but can you please clarify, do you mean modules 1 and 2 or grades 1 and 2?
If the latter than that is breakneck speed and I worry that you have rushed through with all the pitfalls of not having established a solid foundation and / or embedded your learning with thorough consolidation and the building of a broad song repertoire.
As to your 1-to-1 teacher advising to barre all 6 strings for A-shape barre chords, in my view, that is short term and less than optimal advice.
You want sometimes (only occasionally) to have the option of extending your index finger to the 6th string to play that lowest note as part of the chord. It should not be habit, default or the soft option however.
Good technique is good technique and is worth working for.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | Community Moderator, Official Guide, JustinGuitar Approved Teacher
