I grew up calling them bar chords. But now I notice everyone uses barre. Were they invented by the French? And should I actually be playing them with a plectre on my guitare ?
Just curious why we suddenly go all Continental on this one term.
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āBarreā is an Austrian word for pain.
I think we can end the explanation there.
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I grew up calling them Barre Chordsā¦ 
many musical terms are from languages other than English (or Australian)!
Andante
Mezzo Forte
P.I.M.A. (Pulgar, Indio, Mediano, Anular)
Staccato
These are but a few, the list goes on and on!
Justin tells us to go with what makes us comfortableā¦ everyoneās anatomy is differentā¦ I guess that goes for language too!!! Just play your guitare mon ami!!!
Bon jour, Ciao, Aloha, Hallo, Merhabaā¦
Whatever works for you!!!
Tod
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Bar is an Australian word for ānice place to spend some timeā. 
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And I found out, as a guest in an Australian NCO Club in Viet Nam, that trying to keep up drinking with Aussie soldiers was a bad idea, and that Australian beer is stronger than American beer. Terrific drinking companions, though!
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Yep. I spent some time in the US and we had a few Budweisers with our lunch, before getting back to work. Had zero effect on me.
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I think itās a myth. Bud (4.5%) has almost the same alcohol as Carlton Draft (4.6%). Youāre lucky you werenāt drinking margaritas with lunch. They really pour the tequila into them in the US.
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I must have been younger and more insensitive. 
It was a long time ago.
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We donāt. The French term is barrĆ©.
Barre or bar are the English versions 
We here call it a āplectrumā, but because I only see English videos, I have been calling it āpickā for a long time, but that sounds exactly like āpikā in Dutch and that means the same as the English ādickā. (the genitals and not the name of a person), and a number of people find that very funny when we talk about guitarā¦ and I find that very annoying, especially when I put the pick in my mouth in their presenceā¦ .really very annoying because it repeats and repeats quite oftenā¦
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@oztelemann Does that really matter? As long as you can play them, it doesnāt matter how you name them, music is international 
, and if you struggle playing Bar/Barre/BarrĆ© Chords, it doesnāt matter how you call them either 
ā¦
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Yes. It just tastes weak because itās brewed partly with adjunct grains like rice, so it has a lighter taste.
But the alcohol content is similar to proper beers
Cheers,
Keith
The current trend in many US cities is a surprising number of local craft/microbreweries who brew some really amazing beers !!! My favorite is a chocolate milk stout that puts anything from Guiness (my former favorite) to shameā¦ itās got about 6.2 alcohol content but they also make a beer thatās aged in maple whiskey barrels that measures in at 14.3%ā¦ doesnāt take very many before they cut you off at the barre!!!
Definitely rather have a stout in my mouth than a pickā¦ 
Tod
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I think itās a trend in a lot of locations, and itās one Iām here for!
Until a couple of years ago, my favourite stout was Binghams Vanilla Stout which won a number of awards, including the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in 2016, and it happened to be a couple of miles from my home in the UK. Unfortunately, the company that made it went under due to being sold and subsequent mismanagement.
Here in Singapore thereās some rather nice craft beer bars around, including several in Katong where Iām currently living, who sell a variety of interesting and tasty brews from local small breweries as well as Australia, New Zealand, and other South East Asian countries.
Cheers,
Keith
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Same with Britsā¦ and Thaiāsā¦ the amount of alcohol they can consumeā¦ and still walkā¦ amazes!
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Bar cords could be the same as cowboy cords for us city folk.
I am all in favor of the. Craft beer craze. Like the difference between a cheap factory guitar and a bespoke hand made luthier guitar, but more obtainable.
I remember being in college in Massachusetts in the 80ās and the beer options topped out at Heineken, the āfancyā import. Most beer, if you could call it that was Budweiser, Michelob and worse from there. Coots was that new fancy beer they were making our west, but werenāt selling on the east coast yet.
Now we have the Great American Beer festival here in Denver with hundreds of craft brewers, craft beer in the local supermarket and so many choices. Labels are quite creative and tell you hardly anything about the beer. There seems to be a fruit and sour beer trend right now.
I was drinking Samuel Adams in Australia in the 80s. Made in Boston I believe? Or do you Bostonians avoid the local stuff like we Aussies avoid Fosters?
Yup, made in Boston. I lived in Colorado before moving back to New Hampshire 4 years ago. Like there were in Colorado, there are lots of good craft brews here in the Northeast, USA. Speaking only for myself Sam Adams makes some good seasonal beers.
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We couldnāt afford it. First made in 1984, my sophomore year.
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