What are your favourite Bar Chords/Moveable shapes?

If that all sounds too complicated to work through, maybe this is easier?

Here's a few moveable shapes that I've seen quoted as ‘common'

E: 022100

Em: 022000

A: x02220

Am: x02210

E7: 020100

A7: x02020

D: xx0232 (or even just xxx232)

Turn those into barre chords and work them down the neck and you've got more than got enough to play a huge swag of rock songs and blues.

Do you agree that that's a good enough set for most (non jazz) purposes? And if so – which shapes at which positions do you reckon crop up often enough to be worth working on as progressions of changes? The usual sort of general 1,IV,V stuff in popular keys? Or are there any particular favourites, or whatever? Anybody have any opinions?

Cheers,

Chris

Wow.

Well....
The G, A, B, & D Barres in Movable E/Em are pretty popular.
And of course if you look at those as the Tonic - all the IV & V chords that go with those in the moveable A Barre.

It usually works out as say A on the 5th fret in open E movable.
IV chord (D)on 5th fret in open A position Barre.
Slide that to the 7th fret for the V chord (E) in open A position Barre

I would have to say that learning the E/Em/A/Am and 7th shapes up and down the board are the most popular/basic ones.

I've never seen that open D in a moveable shape.
I guess it's possible as long as you mute the E/A strings (or even E/A/D strings)
Which kinda makes it a weird one.

The other basic movable open chord is a C, though that's rarely seen.

Other good Barres to know for Bluesy things are 9th chords.

Good luck, and don't despair.
It all comes with practice.
Once you get those Barre shapes down, you can slide 'em anywhere.
And you'll know what they are right away when you get used to the Key positions.

Hope this made some sense to ya and was somewhat helpful.

Ken

Okay - you had my interest piqued with that movable D chord.

It is apparently quite common.
Just sliding the open chord without barring and being careful not to play the other 3 strings that are open.

Shows how much of a blues scholar I am. LOL

Well, at least I learned something.

So I was thinking that a nice 16 bar blues in D7 in the moveable E7 Barre would be good for you to try.
All in the E7 movable Barre shape.
Just slide from the 10th fret to the 3rd fret and the 5th fret.

Try D7 for 4 bars/G7 for 4 bars/D7 for 2 bars/A7 for 2 bars/D7 for 1 bar/G7 for 1 bar/D7 for 1 bar/A7 for 1 bar....
Then start all over at the D7 (10th fret).

I know that it's not all proper, making them ALL 7ths....
I'm trying to make it easy for ya.
It works well. :wink:

To get fancy, you could throw in a 1/2 step slide on each position.
That is; when in D7 on the 10th fret - just before the strum beat, slide to it from the 9th fret (C#7th)
And do that on the others as well for the first 12 bars.
Don't do it in the turnaraound (last 4 bars)

This was one of the first blues things I came up with when I was 18, and I still mess with it to this day.
Uncle Bobby seemed to think it was reminiscent of Elmore James.
I dunno 'bout that :D

I do like it though - so I guess it's one of my favorites.

Ken

Thanks yet again Ken. :D

Lots of good news there, and some good practical example ideas to work on as well. 8)

I can play all those A, Am A7, E, Em, E7 barre shapes pretty cleanly now, but only slowly under 'ideal conditions' (i.e not realistic song speeds and patterns). It's when I start jumping them around doing changes that go across as well as up and down that I start to get ragged and buzzy. Just a matter of putting the hours in I guess, but it's great to get a bit of direction from someone whose been along the track before. :) So I'll pick up some of your examples and work on them. Once I've got the basics of changing across working then I'm sure that I'll be able to add to the list reasonably rapidly, but the first few usually take a fair old while for me to nail accurately.

That moveable D was one of the first things that I ever 'discovered' for myself (and I seem to remember reading Wes Inman saying that it was one of his early finds too). Just sliding it down to get an A and then a G, on the 3 thinnest strings. Doesn't matter much if you hit the open 4th string on the D & G, as they have a D in them anyway. First easy DAG tunes... :)

Thanks a lot for taking the time, again. Much appreciated. Off to practice ypur suggestions now...

Chris

I discovered the moveable D shape two weeks ago. Using also your pinky, this shape opens the 9th chords window (for example, x4545x for an A9). With a small modification to a D7 shape plus the pinky, you achieve the IV-9 and V-9 chords (for example, x5455x or even a x54555 with a mini barre for the D9). With the I, IV and V chords you have a very nice progression with a jazzy flavour. :D

BTW, when I practice the changes, I use several rhythms and changes between chords (I-IV-V-I-V-IV-I, etc.). Sometimes these chords and progressions sound to me very similar to 'habaneras'. As I never read a partiture for habaneras I don't know if this kind of music uses 9th chords.

a lot of early Beatles songs have a c#minor in them or an F#minor.

there's a lot of songs that change from G to B minor. You could learn some of these songs as a way of starting to learn barre chords. After The Gold Rush is an otherwise easy song with one barre chord. It goes from A to Bminor.

Any songs that have an F or a G in it could be played as a barre chord.

My favourites have to be -

G maj at third fret.

B minor at second fret.

A major at 5th fret.

I rarely play 7th chords as they don't come in punk music. But I know that's not an excuse to 'not to learn'...

Rahul

Thanks very much Nuno, Pearlthekat and Rahul.

More great suggestions. :D

I decided to have a bash at guitar in my late 50s (about 3 years ago) after years of enjoying music but doing nothing much about trying to play it. I started only with the goal of one day being able to strum a few simple 3 chord traditional songs. I had no idea that I'd become as absorbed by it as I have, or that I'd progress as far as I have.

I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it has been, not only to be able to actually reach and overtake my original goals but to be able to read helpful answers like those above - from like minded people all around the world - and actually understand what they were saying. 8)

You are special people here and I thank you all so much for your company, your friendship and your generosity of spirit.

Cheers,

Chris

I don't use barre chords as often as many other players, I've found that the 6 string version of the F chord is a very useful thing (I guess its considered an E shape chord) as you move up and down the fretboard. If you move each finger down one string to the next higer string (sounds like an oxymoron) you'll have a Bb minor on 5 strings and that will also move up and down. IMHO those would be the first barre chords to work with. I don't know if this is generally accepted (due to the lack of full sound) but I often move 3 string versions of D, Dmin or D7 up and down the fretboard also.

The movable D chord is used in "Brain Damage" by Pink Floyd - although Gilmour plays the open D string and the chord's labelled D/E.

(D)The lunatic is on the (G7)grass,
(D)The lunatic is on the (G7)grass,
(D)Remembering games and (E/D)daisy chains and laughs,
(A7)Got to keep the loonies on the (D)path....Dsus2

EADGBE
xx0 454

As for barre chords - I've managed to get by till now with the E and shaped barres, although I can convert them to 7ths, minors, min7ths, sus4ths, min9ths etc.

It's not too hard to mess around with D and G shapes on the top three strings higher up the neck.....
E 7 7 7 7 10 10 10 8 8 8p7 5 7 7 7 7
B 8 8 8h10 8 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 8
G 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7h9

that little run should be fairly recognisable......

:D :D :D

Vic

A few further thoughts....the movable C chord, like Ken mentioned, is rarely used - I think most people get away with substituting a movable Am7 shape.

These days, I tend to play fewer barre chords than formerly - I use more closed chord shapes, with my thumb covering the bottom two strings. I suppose if you could cover the E A and D strings with it, the movable D chord wouldn't be too hard. (I just tried that and it's a bit of a stretch even for my hands, but doable I suppose with practise.)

There's one little trick every aspiring rock'n'roller should have in his arsenal - and that's playing the powerchords to the I - IV - V progression in any key, and throwing in the 6ths and 7ths. Example:
Bb5 Bb6 Bb7 Bb6 Eb5 Eb6 Eb7 Eb6 F5 F6 F7 F6

D 8 8 8 8 8 10 11 10 10 12 13 12
A 8 10 11 10 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8
E 6 6 6 6 x x x x x x x x

That particular three-chord trick will get you a LONG way - for a start, it'll do you for a lot of Chuck Berry songs, and Status Quo have got a 40+ year career out of it! It takes practise - especially the five fret stretch - but there's even a way around that, for example the Bb7...,instead of playing 6 11 8 x x x, you could play 6 8 6 x x x. It's just a variation on the classic blues shuffle; I think David covers it in one of his lessons. It really is used a lot though; everyone from the Beatles (Come Together) to the Stones (too many to mention, but particularly the two Chuck Berry songs - Little Queenie and Carol - from the "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" live album to Status Quo (just about anything!) to Steely Dan (Reelin' In The Years) to Aerosmith (Walk This Way) to Oasis (Cigarettes and Alcohol.) Oh and the x's on the bottom string aren't that important, as long as you play the same fret as you're playing on the A string. (Like playing the open E string in an open A chord.)

Definitely a must-have, and possibly the most used weapon in the rock arsenal!

:D :D :D

Vic

Thanks very much Nuno, Pearlthekat and Rahul.

More great suggestions. :D

I decided to have a bash at guitar in my late 50s (about 3 years ago) after years of enjoying music but doing nothing much about trying to play it. I started only with the goal of one day being able to strum a few simple 3 chord traditional songs. I had no idea that I'd become as absorbed by it as I have, or that I'd progress as far as I have.

I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it has been, not only to be able to actually reach and overtake my original goals but to be able to read helpful answers like those above - from like minded people all around the world - and actually understand what they were saying. 8)

You are special people here and I thank you all so much for your company, your friendship and your generosity of spirit.

Cheers,

Chris

i started in my 40s with the goal of being able to play...anything. five years later i'm almost there!

oh, and as soon as i get one or two more pieces of equipment i'll be recording it for you all to hear! stay tuned....

i started in my 40s with the goal of being able to play...anything. five years later i'm almost there!

oh, and as soon as i get one or two more pieces of equipment i'll be recording it for you all to hear! stay tuned....

Go Pearl! :D Looking forward to hearing the recordings. I'm hoping to get to that stage sometime this year too. Got the gear, just working on the nerve and the talent still... :roll:
There's one little trick every aspiring rock'n'roller should have in his arsenal - and that's playing the powerchords to the I - IV - V progression in any key, and throwing in the 6ths and 7ths.

Thanks for all those tips above Vic. I can see it's going to be a very busy week, copying all this out and working through it. It's been very useful to hear the experiences of others and to get a few 'real world' examples. :) I can't wait to try it all out, but it will have to be tomorrow. It's now bedtime here in Australia and it's been the weekend of my wife's birthday celebrations. So the remaining braincells are going to need a good rest before tackling music... :wink:
IMHO those would be the first barre chords to work with. I don't know if this is generally accepted (due to the lack of full sound) but I often move 3 string versions of D, Dmin or D7 up and down the fretboard also.

I've been using the moveable D and D7 with some success, and can also do the F and Bs that you mentioned pretty well on demand now, so I'm getting there..

Cheers,

Chris

A few further thoughts....the movable C chord, like Ken mentioned, is rarely used - I think most people get away with substituting a movable Am7 shape.

These days, I tend to play fewer barre chords than formerly - I use more closed chord shapes, with my thumb covering the bottom two strings. I suppose if you could cover the E A and D strings with it, the movable D chord wouldn't be too hard. (I just tried that and it's a bit of a stretch even for my hands, but doable I suppose with practise.)

There's one little trick every aspiring rock'n'roller should have in his arsenal - and that's playing the powerchords to the I - IV - V progression in any key, and throwing in the 6ths and 7ths. Example:
Bb5 Bb6 Bb7 Bb6 Eb5 Eb6 Eb7 Eb6 F5 F6 F7 F6

D 8 8 8 8 8 10 11 10 10 12 13 12
A 8 10 11 10 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8
E 6 6 6 6 x x x x x x x x

That particular three-chord trick will get you a LONG way - for a start, it'll do you for a lot of Chuck Berry songs, and Status Quo have got a 40+ year career out of it! It takes practise - especially the five fret stretch - but there's even a way around that, for example the Bb7...,instead of playing 6 11 8 x x x, you could play 6 8 6 x x x. It's just a variation on the classic blues shuffle; I think David covers it in one of his lessons. It really is used a lot though; everyone from the Beatles (Come Together) to the Stones (too many to mention, but particularly the two Chuck Berry songs - Little Queenie and Carol - from the "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" live album to Status Quo (just about anything!) to Steely Dan (Reelin' In The Years) to Aerosmith (Walk This Way) to Oasis (Cigarettes and Alcohol.) Oh and the x's on the bottom string aren't that important, as long as you play the same fret as you're playing on the A string. (Like playing the open E string in an open A chord.)

Definitely a must-have, and possibly the most used weapon in the rock arsenal!

:D :D :D

Vic

Plenty of folks use only the four strings when they use a moveable D chord, I use only three.