good day
(here is the story)
playing barre chords is good
but - i once had a left hand wrist damaged, and though i can play barre chords ok, it hurts me a lot. so, when i tried to play chords in a baseball bat position, for example for G 3345xx (from 1st to 6th string, with my index on 1 and 2, middle on 3 and ring on 4, with my thumb muting the 5 and 6 string), i found it comfortable.
and when i changed my playing of the E barre chord as described above, i started wondering about the A barre chord.
(here comes the question)
so i come up with this - for C - x5553x (from 1st to 6th string) ! important notice: i dont care about the 5th on the 1st and 6th string, AND I WANT TO KEEP MY WRIST IN AS CLOSE AS BASEBALL BAT POSITION POSSIBLE! (because that doesnt hurt me)
i use my index on the root note on the 5th string, and because its uncomfortable to barre with your ring finger (remember: baseball bat position), i recently figured out using my pinky to barre.
the pinky is the least strong of all fingers, and i want to know if it is ok to use it to barre? how about in long term use? and if i am on a tour for 2 months as a rhytm guitarist? and about chord slides?
i will be very happy if anyone who has ever used pinky to barre for A barre chord share his experience or offer any advice
thank you
If you want to barre the D, G, and B strings with your pinky, then do so. Even though this is not the traditional method, I've known many good players who do so. In fact, I often do this myself. I think it's good to know more than one fingering for just about all chords.
If it causes you pain to play this chord the traditional way, then use the method that works for you.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Try barring a different way. Sometimes when my hand gets sore from regular barre chords, I put my thumb so it's below the neck, instead of above. It puts pressure on (what seems to me) a stronger muscle, so you're not always pushing against your thumb, which from personal opinion puts too much strain on the wrist. With this way of barring you should be pushing your fingers towards your palm, instead of onto your thumb.
Hopefully this helped a little?
-Bennett
Hello,
a couple of thoughts;
Gtr playing comes down to muscles and all muscles can be developed.
Muscles do better when warmed up and stretched, I was doing arm swings and waist twists before gigs and now rotate my wrists and wiggle my fingers before playing. Computers are a dog for me as I use single fingers to type and this has affected my joints/playing in the past.
But if you are having persistent wrist pain it may be worth going to a good teacher to look at your posture and position as we all fall into our comfy gtr stance/seat...which may not necessarily be a good one ( I end up with my shoulders up near my ears !).
For the pinky barre I use my ring finger on top of my pinky , I also use this two finger approach when playing bass gtr.
adios,
Lovat
..play it..I just hit the damn thing...
