I am a self taught guitar player, I have been playing for 2 years now. from my personal experience, to master any barre chord you literally just have to watch your thumb position behind the fretboard. Slide the thumb down the until you find your sweet spot where you can hold the barre. Dont put much pressure, just find your perfect thumb position. make sure you bring your elbow closer to your body, it happens automatically as you apply pressure with your index finger, but just in case. You lower palm may cause you pain for 2-3 days max but you will get a hold if, trust the process. Enjoy the journey

Don’t ever try Barre chords, you might get blisters in your little finger and Blisters on your thumb

I've been playing guitar for over 2 decades, yet I found myself watching this whole thing. Entertaining stuff

thats actually pretty solid advice. i used to wonder why tuning down half a step made barre chords easier - until it hit me... well done!

The idea of tuning down and using a capo is a new one I’ve never heard. Thank you for telling people your secret.

Personal addition to your advice: rather than using your index to press down all 6 strings, try curving your finger very slightly so that you're only hitting the strings that aren't covered by your other fingers, i.e. the top and bottom strings Having that curved shape makes it a lot easier to play without straining the muscles too much

ive avoided barre chords for years because i cant do an F, i did the capo trick and tuned down and i can even do them on acoustic. this is epic, i will continue to level up

One thing, don’t try to lay your index finger flat across the strings, instead turn it on the side a little, so that it isn’t the fleshy part that you’re pressing down with. You want the bones to be the contact point! And it doesn’t have to be perfectly straight either. Remember the tip about using your other fingers - that means you don’t have to apply the same pressure with your index finger on those same strings. Make sure you don’t overwork yourself in the wrong area Also my personal bit, I would build a little strength with power chords alone first, as basically it’s the same shape as a barre but you only want your bass strings to sound. That way your ring-pinky get more used to this shape. Or if you want to focus just on the clamp, try a drop tuning. Power chords with just the index finger (and thumb on the back)

I've mastered barre chords but any bar on the 1st fret is actually evil

Bro your channel and no-fluff teaching method is really top notch!!

I watched this video about a month ago and the tip about elbow pressure has helped me IMMENSELY to the point that I was learning how to play Stairway "the right way" last month and I'm now halfway through Playing God. Really appreciate the sharing.

I've been playing guitar for like 15-ish years now and nobody has * ever * explained barre chords in a way that makes sense like this does; thank you so much & I'm definitely gonna try these next practice

I love you too. And am quite proud of you helping people share our shared love of music.

Holy crap this video is a godsend for me, I’ve been avoiding so many songs with bar chords, thank you

Tysm

Good info. A good way to address a tough skill. Thanks!

You're my friggin' hero! I'm missing roughly 1/3 of my left pinky finger (fretting hand). So I can't really use it for anything. Barre chords have been the bane of my guitar existence. However, the G minor barre chord shape is one I can do. I also tried making a barre chord shape in an A major shape which works for me. I won't be doing any cover songs with these, but they can spice up my rhythms, which are lacking as I mostly focus on leads. It's better to create your own music anyhow.

Wow brilliant. Your videos are the perfect balance of informative and funny!

dude these videos are gold. love it

.. i love watching your videos.. it always makes me smile.. happy easter!

Quality over quantity. im so happy to see you succeed. started following when you were @ 20ish k subs. Keep it going !

To add another advice a friend of mine taught me is to start by playing power chords, he said its shaped like a barre chord but without the barre and it gives your finger less tension

Thank you man , I've really being struggling with barre chords, imma try this 👍

Notes: Play for a week and then come back Bench 300 lbs cause it's literally the same thing, or no... cause Art! Don't lower you action - you'll break your guitar! Don't buy an electric just to play barre chords... cause! Don't just play alternate chords, unless you also do pushups on your knees, or just, don't... F is hard as F - Start with Bm instead or Gm, but no, start with Bm. Make sure it feels natural Pull with your strumming arm to push the neck into the barre, until your fingers are stronger than your elbows! *Magic capo tuning magic* Talk to Chris Angel or maybe just cut off your leg - yeah! Another great lesson, love you too! 😁

About to try this! Thank you!

Love the vids lmao! The best!

You are a hero and an angel, thank you!

You're doing God's work out here. Bringing the real building blocks of performance and songwriting to people. I'll have to try the strumming arm against the guitar trick to add pressure! Based, redpilled, and zero pretentiousness.

I found that index finger position matters, the closer you are to the fret (moving down the neck) the easier it is to barre.

I am excited to try this! 🤩

You giving that bench press example, just earned a subscriber my friend.

OML I NEEDED THIS T-T

Yay thanks, I am a beginner and I knew this, but illegal barre is too hard for me even though I knew it before I knew the guitar. Thanks for teaching😃😃

THIS IS MORE HELPFUL, THANK GOODNESS 😢 WHERE WAS THIS VIDEO WHEN I NEEDED IT. 😅

This vid has helped me ALOT ITS BERN TWO YEARS AND NOW I LEARN HOW TO DO THE BAR CHORDS TSYM

I loved the lesson, and I'll be sure to try that capo trick!

That IS good advice, thank you

I've got hands big enough to be able to play all 6th string barre chords Hendrix style by wrapping my thumb around, so this is my standard way of playing those chords and has been for years. HOWEVER, I learned and played barre chords the regular way before I figured that was a thing, so I didn't skip learning how to do them. I just found a better way down the road.

Man, you are awesome!!

Something I found when I was starting out I place my figures down individually when learning a shape. I found that some figures need to go down first. My pinky can have trouble getting into shape if its last. When you memorize the shape it's less of a problem.

thank you so much for the lower strings for the neck advice fucking needed it so ty

I recommend learning Barre chords (even over normal chords) they are very useful further on.

The capo trick woooow! Love it

These lyrics are so inventive! Awesome.

I enjoyed the tips snd learned.

Already been knowing how to barre chord but i gotta watch your videos

thank you brother, made my day.

Also (this applies with regular fretting too) you can "hang" your fingers on a fretboard. This way you're not just using your raw strength to push strings into fretboard, you use gravity and part of your strength to pull strings to the floor too and somehow that's WAY easier. Probably different muscles + gravity + strings behave better when pulled to the side Thanks to this tip my left hand stopped hurting from fretting. I'm surprised how rare this advice is -- without it I could have fucked up my hand from overworking

3:33 mindblown animation technology right there.

I have never seen this before, nice job.

When playing an F chord definitely don’t be like Hendrix and hold down the E string with your thumb. It will work great but everyone will say it’s wrong (while secretly thinking it’s cool)😂

I've been playing for 40+ years and I have to say this is a great way to learn Barre chords. F the F chord at first.

alternate way also as easy as his but no risk of breaking strings: play a power chord add your middle finger on the highest string in the middle then just barre with your index i self taught myself to play barre that way really easy and useful both ways are amazing + love your videos im advanced at guitar but i love watching your to see your methods to teach beginners at guitar keep posting!

Cool! Thank You! 👍🏻

I’m surprised no one has said use your thumb for the bass note of the barre chords, but good tips!

Using capo to reduce guitar action..........that's one really good thing I learned today ....thanks man

thank you so much!

Bruh, the right elbow thing just solved this for me... Thank you.

I see that the tension might be less on the 3 rd fret but I learnt how to do a bar chord on F minor only using my first finger to bar and my ring finger on the A string 3 rd fret , to play Woodstock I just slid this shape up to 5 th fret and back as required

"Your elbow is a lot stronger than your fingers *for now* "

The best advise that I ever had about barre chords is playing F chord closer to the middle of your fret board and then gradually moving up. Seriously, I'm just one week in and I can play F almost perfectly.

Proud of you. Love you. Pchuchhhh 😂😂

love the capo trick, my cheap ass guitar have small neck and high action combo with my fat finger make it so hard to learn thank you!

Ur a real one for this

Well it seems I started benchin at 300. I cheat so much when playing because it’s easier for me to go barre than to hop to open chords sometimes. Unfortunately starting to bench at 300 meant I have a very heavy grip because I wasn’t properly taught (I watched a friend and copied) so in an attempt to make all strings ring out I just squeezed harder so now I’m a fret ruiner. Having said this, I’m teaching my wife and these cheats will help with smaller weaker hands. Thanks!

Best teacher ever, or maybe😀😀, ofcourse he is🔥🤗 love from India

Damn that would've been useful exactly 1 year ago. Thanks either way, good vid!

The elbow trick is the best thing I’ve heard

Two videos in a week? It’s a christmas miracle!

I wouldn't call any chord illegal...it's whatever works for you. There are those in the audience are muttering to the people next to them "Oh, he shouldn't play the chord like that, or up the fretboard!" My attitude playing guitar is I play it anyway. They can over intellectualize all they like...because you can get away with saying..."It's my arrangement, so I'm sticking to it".

My first song i tried to learn on a guitar contain a lot of barre chords That is how i mastered barre chords after 3 weeks of playing guitar

I like it, thanks

Love you, too man! 😘

I always keep my acoustic tuned down a full step with a capo on 2nd fret. I prefer the timbre of the shortened scale length and enjoy the quick access to lower tunings.

I restrung my parlor guitar, and Barre chords were harder to do. So, I turned down, and placed my Capo on my first fret, and now I can play again. Hopefully, my hand builds up enough to get used to the new strings soon

I accidentally shared this information and now I'm on the guitar wanted list

This is a hell of a lot easier than just trying to do a bar chord for as long as I can, every day, until I can do one successfully...

Thanks to your: (push the guitar towards you) life hack, i have learned to play barre chords! (Including F in only one month of playing😅)

i use more of the side of the index finger and kinda jam it up against the fret, seems to work for me but i'm open to trying anything when it comes to guitar, i'm a lefty hack but i have fun.

I'd say this. Place your finger so inwards that the part where your finger is bending is basically laying on the low e string. It sounds crazy. It works.

I just luv the animation..

love the animation effects n voiceover more than the content 😂😂

there is a big difference between sitting and playing standing. the fingers can get blisters and it hurts. but it is easy to get calluses on the fingertips. I think it's more fun to play bass guitar. greetings from Sweden.🇸🇪🎸

perfect song

thanks

I can play any barre chord on the electric, but I have real trouble on my acoustic. Action is kinda high, and I’m too poor to go get that lowered. So that’s why I’m here.

when I started to learn barre chords, no one told me the F chord is the hard one, so I just started to practice and did it with my freaking short fingers!

I’m surprised that not many people know of the Bm hack. I also learnt barre chords starting from Bm chord.

Getting a lighter string gaugue does help a lot though. Lighter strings means less tension -> easier to press down. Shorter scale length also helps in the same way.

I already know barre chords but I caught myself practicing along😂

Guitar teacher here, this is very useful to pick apart and use in my own lessons, especially with leaning the guitar from the opposite end to apply finger pressure. I've always thought it to be a finnicky to begin retuning the guitar in different places but it's always better than one of those stupid guitar tools that do it for you. Does placing the capo further up essentially allow for easier/softer barre chords (on the index finger)? Thanks for the content bro

Hello as someone who has been learning for 2 years now, from my experience I never knew what barre chords were HAHA! I saw like a straight like on the chord pages for I thought that you needed a capo for and so I did buy myself a capo but then I later realized that it wasn't it (so stupid of me) so I started putting my fingers around it, of course it hurts. But just know everyone that starting in the beginning would not make you a pro instantly it takes time to get adjusted, unless you've been playing some chordophones like ukulele, bass it would not make it that difficult for shifting keys cause I've started off with a ukulele and It took me 2 months to get used to barre chords on a guitar since they had me one for my 17th birthday, I also started with difficult songs so that whenever I go to easier ones it would not be that difficult to play (also a technique) Also that some people don't have the ability to fully bend their fingers (which can be a technique for some) because of Hypermobility which is why some people use 3 fingers for the A chord unlike for people with Hypermobility they can just bend the middle finger and cover 3 strings (which is what I do) It's all about practice whenever I would be bored I would get my guitar and play the same song all over again till I could do it without looking didn't take me an hour probably like 3 tries. I just don't get it that some people can't play barre chords, I had asked a bunch of people of could not use barre chords and those were the people who didn't knew how to play much, where the people I asked that knew how to use the barre chord had similar year experience as me. So I think it's just a matter of practice till you get used to it. Let your calluses grow It would no longer hurt if you let them it'll take about 1 or 2 weeks for your fingers to get adjusted to the strings :D! Thank you for reading! I just wanted to share what's on my mind about this :DDDD

Interesting....plus nice tip

Awesome, I've been playing for 2 days, time to see if this works. I know 8 chords thus far

You're right: this video changed my life.

I've been playing for 45 years, and although I would probably avoid playing an F Maj using all six strings on a steel string acoustic with heavy gauge strings and high action, I have no problem with barre chords, other than the odd spelling of "barre." Nonetheless, I watched this whole video and loved it. Great job, kid ...

I can do them and they open up a whole new world to guitar playing and now I love them, but boy they were absolute hell trying to learn, so when you are trying to learn. Yes they are bad, yes they are hell and yes you will hate them so much. But once you're able to do them you'll be so glad that you persevered through the suffering! And you will realise just how great they are. Just take your time, practice them daily and you will get them! :)

Damn that 3D animation was smooth

i must learn the Eb (C shape) chord on my nylon stringed classical guitar.. so any other chords are so much easier to play :D

Ive been playing guitar for over 5 months Probably im doing good for now But about barre chords , one day playing a Beatles song This Boy I suddenly was able to play a barre chord and it is Bm . In my experience , play Bm and soon you'll be able to play F F#m And whatever barre chords you'll come across