barr chords

Discussion in 'Beginner's Q&A Forum' started by axlrose250, Oct 31, 2004.

  1. axlrose250

    axlrose250 New Member

    how do barr chords work and how do u know wen 2 use them. i mean i know wat they are. its wen u put ur 1st finger and put it across the whole fret but u can hve the same bar chord with 2 different names
    im so confused :confused:
     
  2. DesiPride143

    DesiPride143 BEHAVE!

    okay this is what i know about barr chords, they are sound same as the open chords but i think they just spice it up the music a little (like give more of a rock sound) (i think) but when i play the chords i use both i don't really care cause open and barr both sound the same(same notes). i don't know if that answers ur quesion. but that's all i got bro. and yes one bar chord can have two different names it's not a big deal. there is a name for that but i can't recall. anyways, hope that helps.
     
  3. axlrose250

    axlrose250 New Member

    thanks man, for ur help, but wat i wanna know is how do u make bar chords i mean. its hard 2 explain
     
  4. ananth222

    ananth222 Beginner

    There are some good articles on chord construction in this forum, check them out. In short, it works kinda like this:

    Take the C major scale - CDEFGABC. The C Major chord is formed using the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes in the scale. So your C Major is: x32010, which has the notes C,E,G,C and E. The C# major scale is C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#, C, C#. The major chord for this scale will have the 1st, 3rd, 5th notes of this scale, namely C#, F and G#. Now consider the chord position x43121. This has the notes C#, F, G#, C# and F - the C# major chord. This can be played by holding a "barre" on the first fret, and holding the "C major" shape with the rest of your fingers.

    So how does it work out this way? How did we get the C# major scale? We just advanced every note in the C scale by one semitone, and we get the C# scale. So, the 1st, 3rd, 5th notes of C# are the corresponding notes for C advanced 1 semitone. How do you advance a semitone on the guitar? By moving ahead one fret. Thus, if we advance each note of the C Major chord by one fret (and thus one semitone), we get the C# major chord. We can advance the 3 to 4 on the 5th string, 2 to 3 on the 4th string etc. But how do we advance the "open" notes? By placing the barre. So, the "barre" in effect is used to "advance" the nut of the guitar (where the "open" strings vibrate). This is how the C# major barre chord on the first fret is constructed.

    How many semitones must you advance to get to C# from A? you have A, A#, B, C and C# - thats an advancement fo 4 semitones from A to C#. Thus, if you advance the "nut" by placing a "barre" on the 4th fret, and hold the "A major" shape with the rest of your fingers, you get the C#major chord based on the A major shape. This works for any chord (major minor etc.) on any scale. Try to find the barre chord for B major from the A major shape/

    So are there TWO C# major chords? In fact, there are MANY more C# major chords that can be played on the guitar. Lets look at the notes of the C# major derived from A major shape: x46664 - this has the notes C#, G#, C#, F, G#. Recall that the notes of the C# major derived from C major were C#, F, G#, C#, F. While both contain the necessary notes C#, F and G#, they contain them in different orders, different octaves. These are called "inversions" of the chord.

    While all inversions of a certain chord are still the same chord, they may give a different effect depending on the inversion, especially for arpeggios etc. Choosing the inversion to play depends on two things - initially (for beginners) it depends on your comfort level - u may feel more comfortably playing an open C major instead of a barre C major; second, depends on the music, your other accompaniments etc.
     
    ijlal likes this.
  5. maverick8218

    maverick8218 New Member

    great post, ananth.
     
  6. axlrose250

    axlrose250 New Member

    yh man thanks for ur help
     

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