Switching between the barre(bar) chords?

Question

Hey,i stated playing the guitar about 3 months back.i am learning myself.I can play all the open chords and switch between the pretty good.Now i am at bar chords.I can play them good but i switch between them slowly.I know practice makes perfect...but just wanted to ask you how long did it take you.

also,i have learnt open and bar chords,major and minor inversions,major and blues scale,a few songs of course...
what should i learn next.

Answer 1

You are well on your way in improving your playing. Aside from the other great responses given thus far, I'd recommend playing with other guitarists whenever possible. The opportunity to learn different styles, riffs, turnarounds, and other classic guitar bits come easier when observing others.

Ohhdear expressed it well. If you can read music you'll be ahead so much more than those who cannot read music. Place some concentration on learning basic music theory while keeping pace with your guitar playing.

Understanding that many guitarists prefer using the forefinger to bar the chords, others do not. I've always used my thumb to catch the sixth and fifth strings in barring chords and it is second-nature to me. It worked for Chet Atkins, so I figure it would work for me.

Placing my forefinger completely across the fret and using a straight pick is foreign to me, but I've done well in the 50 years of playing--both professionally and for self-entertainment.

Answer 2

Wow... you're really progressing well! When I taught myself guitar back in high school, discovering barre chords truly simplified things and opened up a lot of flexibility with my instrument.
Switching barre chords slowly is normal at first, because you have to learn how much pressure to use with your left index finger across the neck of the guitar. At first I had to use both my index and middle finger until the muscles in my wrist and hand got strong enough. Once you get your hand strengthened, the speed will come too.
I also found that if I used a metronome to play a song with barre chords it would help me switch chords faster, even if I didn't nail the barre chord perfectly.

What should you learn next? Do you read music? That might sound like a stupid question, but many people can't. You can work on learning the notes of the guitar strings and how they appear in the chords. Something else to learn is music theory; key and time signatures, rhythm, syncopation, dynamics.
Sounds like you're doing a great job!

Answer 3

A good way to cheat at this is to play 5ths. Just the first two notes of the chord. The root and the fifth. If you have an electric this even sounds better through a distorted amp. And don't worry about how long it took anyone else. And as far as what you should do next...what do you WANT to do? It's an art and it's an individual thing.

Answer 4

Of course the open chords are easier to play...it won't take you too long. It sounds like you are going at it pretty hard so you'll be moving faster pretty soon.

What's next? Just keep doing what you are doing. Whatever is next is what you want to do but cannot do very well yet. It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Great job on learning the scales! That's one of the biggest secrets to learning to play and putting it together really fast...so just keep practicing them so you don't have to think about where your fingers go when you play. It will just happen.

I always like to play along with my favorite songs. Since you know the scales just figure out what key they are in and make up your own licks to the song. And just experiment and start putting your own songs together. Just have fun and it will all come. Play, play, play!

additional comment:

I don't know who's doggin my answer, but I've been playin for over 20 years and my answer is what worked for me. Sure it would be great to learn to read music and play with my thumb in the middle of the neck, blah, blah, blah... Jimi Hendrix didn't put his thumb in the middle of the neck...and all four of the Beatles could NOT read music...enough said! Learning to do those things is great...but NOT a necessity. Rock n' Roll is about BREAKIN THE RULES!!!! HAVE @#$%*'N fun and do whatever works for you!

Answer 5

THREE MONTHS, I'd have to see and hear this to believe it, it usually takes three months just to get the callouses you need in order to play without pain. Are you just playing around with chords or do you actually play songs, do you know scales, do you read music also ? Are you playing correctly, do you put your left hand thumb in the middle of the neck of the guitar when playing, if not later you will see where this will slow you down when you want to play fast, and when your making complicated chords and have to change fast. You must be a genius to have accomplished all this in three months, I would love to see you play on youtube, why not make a video so that we can hear you play. If takes most of my students at least a year (after they have been playing for a while to make barre chords smoothly and with ease, is takes a lot of training to gain the strength that your index finger needs to hold the pressure on the strings that you need to make a clean sound. Stephen King, the writer plays in his own band, he always said that he wished that he could make an F chord on the guitar, I'm assuming he meant barred, and make it sound good, and he's been playing for a long time. You sure have learned a lot in three months, most of my students are just getting warned up in that short time, I'm sorry I'm just finding this hard to believe, if you have accomplished all this in three months I say bravo to you because not too many can accomplish all this in that short of time, please play something on youtube to make a believer out of me !!!!!!

Answer 6

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