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Chapter 4: Getting a Grip on Left-Hand Chords
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Forming a barre chord
To form a barre chord, follow these steps:
1. Place your index finger on the appropriate fret.
2. Form the rest of the chord with your remaining fingers (second, third,
and fourth left-hand fingers).
Don’t apply too much pressure to any of the fingers until you have them
all roughly in place.
3. Press down with your fingers, keeping them curved with the knuckles
bent.
Figure 4-2 shows an F chord, which uses the first (index) finger as a bar, covering
five or six strings, while the remaining fingers make an E chord-form above it.
F
Figure 4-2:
Forming an
F barre
chord.
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Here are three tips for getting good sound out of your barre chord:
Thumb it. Keep your thumb placed directly in the center of the neck’s
back. This grip helps you get your chord-gripping power.
Relax your arm. Don’t let your elbow stick out at your side like you’re
doing the chicken dance, and check to see that your left shoulder stays
down and relaxed and doesn’t hunch up.
Become economical. Make small adjustments in your finger placement,
ensuring that you’re not touching adjacent strings, which causes muffles.
Keep your knuckles rounded and press straight down on the strings.
Try to produce a buzz-free sound out of each chord you finger. Test your lefthand
chord-fretting technique by dragging the pick (or your thumb) across the
strings slowly enough that you can hear the individual strings ringing out. If
you hear a buzz or muffled sound, try to rectify it with small finger movements
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