On Practice: Barre Chord Success
By Daniel Roest
Stay close to the fret.
Keep your left hand thumb under the barre and on the lower half of the neck.
Roll off the fret onto the side of the barre finger.
Press only the necessary strings.
Arch the barre if it helps.
Use a treadmill "hill mode" approach - bear down just long enough to get through the barre chord.
Test your barre technique one string at a time to polish it on each chord..
Release the barre as soon as possible.
Use staccato technique. It is more interesting for strummed barre chords anyway.
Know and use easier alternative chord forms.
Adjust the depth of the barre to improve knuckle placement over a string.
Squeeze guitar - pull it back across chest with the right arm countering the barre.
Use gravity - transfer the weight of your left arm and hand into the barre.
Avoid the darn thing - use an open chord instead. :-)
