The Lifted Barre Trick

Beginner Grade 3 Module 20: Chords in Keys Made Easy!
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Use this easy trick to transform barre chords like F into lush open chords you can play all over the fretboard!

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It would be great to see a module dedicated to songwriting on the guitar with different ways you can build a full arrangement - with examples of songs that use that particular technique

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Oooooo I LOVE this and itā€™s exactly the sound I want for a song Iā€™ve had in my head for 2 years. I also found some more goodies with lifting some fingers here and there. Thankyou Justin.

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Sometimes I see a video pop up on Youtube but want to log in and find it here, but thatā€™s not always easy! In this case I saw it as a new lesson. Criticism aside, it was a very fun lesson! I would point out that the Allman Brothersā€™ ā€œMelissaā€ takes advantage of the progression from E to F#m/E to G#m/E. So simple to play and yet so beautiful. Justin, this would be a really good song for you to do a ā€œhow to playā€ video lesson.

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I was trying to spice up the intro to Chris Isaakā€™s Wicked Game and tried this technique, but found it easier to switch between Major and Minor chords using the thumb up over the neck for the bass chords, I think it sounds well! Bm - A - E

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Hey there!

Foo Fighters have some songs with this kind of chords: ā€œStranger things have happenedā€ ā€“ that one Iā€™m 100% sure. Also ā€œcome aliveā€, almost sure. I thing Dave Grohl likes this trick a lot!

Cheers,
Manu

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A song that uses both major and minor chords of this type is ā€˜Who Knows Where The Time Goesā€™ by Sandy Denny

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An easy song to practice the Lifted Barre Trick is Sacrifice by Anouk, which has the same 4 chord progression throughout the song. If the finger picking parts are too hard you can use simple strumming instead.

This is a great one to transcribe as well.

Key & Chords - Spoiler
  • The chords you play are E major, B major, D major and A major.
  • Thinnest two strings are played open.
  • To play along with the record youā€™ll have to tune down to Eb.
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Alice in Chains (Jerry Cantrell) uses this often

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This seems like an ā€˜easierā€™ introduction into barre chords? Ie not having do the full barre

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George Harrisonā€™s beautiful All Things Must Pass uses the reverse of a chord progression Justin mentions here - E, F#m, G#m, A.

A lesson on All Things Must Pass would make a great tie-in with this!

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Great lesson. I found muting the base E string with my ring finger for the minor chords a bit hit & miss. Much easier for me was to use the floating middle finger to ensure the E string was muted.

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great great song for it: iā€™m on fire, Bruce Springsteen.
You have E, A and B ā†’ sound perfectly well with this barre trick
Plus some challange C#M which is a barre chord wih fingers on a little bit different strings, but little practice and it works out great.

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Welcome to the forum Ofer Great tune but it has a C#m(minor) not C#M(Major)

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Thank you for this recommendation. This is a beautiful relatively easy song to play now that we know the lifted barre trick. Thank you, Andy and Justin! I would also love to see Justin do a lesson on this song.

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I learned these grips playing Two Ghosts by Harry Styles. Great song!