Barre chords....?

Question

I am having trouble with playing barre guitar chords, but I heard that it's difficult at the first time, but it becomes easier with practice.... is it true? Or is it just that I've got no talent?

Answer 1

playing any instrument takes time and practice , ...its hard at first , dont give up!

Answer 2

NOTHING to do with talent! Give it a minute. Once you develop more hand/finger strength they'll get easier.

However, another point to be made is that barre chords are easier on some guitars than on others. The closer the strings are to the fingerboard, the less strength is required to depress, fully, all the strings. I bought a Taylor guitar just for this reason. Competing against both Martin and Gibson equivalents, the Taylor won hands down. On the lower end, my Fender Telecoustic, Danelectros and Epiphone acoustic (vintage) are all great with barre chords as well, although I have shimmed the fingerboard to lower even further the action that allows this. Any guitar builder or repair person can do this for you. Ideally, you want the strings as close to the fingerboard with NO FRET BUZZ as you can get.

I'd have my guitar checked out by a pro if I were you, just to find out where the problem lies. You can actually do this yourself just by visiting a guitar store and trying several makes/models to see if there are any that produce better barre chords than your guitar. If not, then the problem is clearly in your hand/finger strength. That, in time, will come.

BTW, the hardest barre chord to play is an F on the first fret.

You might also try slipping a capo on your guitar at the second fret and try playing some barre chords.
If this works, you can always tune your guitar down one whole step (to D), and then by using the capo at fret 2, bring it back up to E

I hope this helps. I went through helll with this when I was a kid. Now I play jazz and must use barre chords often. Piece o' cake!

Kabum