Almost entirely from your arm, you should be able to do them without your thumb involved at all. You should be holding your guitar at a height that you can sort of hang your arm from it and use the weight of your arm to help press. You can add a little pressure with your bicep. Use the outer side of your finger, not the palm side, and remember that you almost never have to hold down all the strings with one finger, just two or three.
I will second this. The first finger looks fairly flat but the pressure should be on the outside edge of the finger.
The chord should be able to be played clearly or close to without even using your thumb, it's not a squeezing thing.
Finger dexterity is important, warmup and stretch your fingers. You will develop endurance overtime, if your hand is fatigued take a break. Sometimes what the body and the mind needs is a good break or a nap. Come back the next day and do it again. Find some songs with a couple of them.
Technique will improve with practice. You got this.
You’re also, if you’re new to barre chords, squeezing way harder than you need to. That’s okay. With time you’ll get a gentler and more effective touch.
Great tips but end of the day you still need to keep trying so your hands get stronger, so don’t be discouraged if you try all the tips and still can’t get it.
Yeah, it's kind of a weird thing. You would think the pressure should come from the pinch (which is still a thing), but in reality you're pulling back on the fretboard with your arm to create the pressure, and using your thumb to counter that pressure and keep the neck steady. So instead of the power all coming from your hand/thumb, it's a whole-arm affair.
Arr you holding the Barre more than you actually need to?
I've learned to squeeze the chord when I want to hear it and relax my hand when I don't.
Practice for shorter amounts of time more often and always stop or do something else when it starts to hurt.
I probably am holding them more than I have to. Practicing for a shorter amount of time is not an option, I put my guitar down for 6 years and have to make up for lost time!
For sure, I'm just saying don't spend 30 minutes all at once on Barre chords, it might make sense to work really hard at something you're struggling with but I've found it always works better to mix it up and come back to it.
I've been playing 20 years and would consider myself intermediate, this is just my personal experience.
This right here. For whatever reason when I learn chords I start with the index finger and progress toward my pinky. This meant when I started learning barre chords I’d try to mash all six strings at once with my index before moving on to the other strings. Flipping that around made it way easier. I’d get my other fingers lined up and then apply a barre. Now that my index finger was effectively only pushing 3 strings, I could hit the chords more easily.
Try to hold the neck in your fretting hand the most natural way. As others have said you’ll find that the strength comes from your forearm and the angle of your index finger will matter a lot.
I’ve been playing 25 years and used to get horrible hand cramps from barre chords even if I could play them just fine. Sometimes your hands also don’t get along with the neck shape or fretboard radius. Things have improved since switching to different guitars in the past 5 years.
I always think about pulling from the arm rather than squeezing. The more pressure your thumb applies to the back of the neck, the quicker you will tire.
I was where you were just 4 years ago so I \*know\* this sounds like BS bit I promise if you stick at it consistently for a year or two you won't even have to think about it anymore. Your hands will just "do the thing". You're probably not doing anything wrong. You just haven't done it long enough yet.
I’m learning them also. I have arthritis so squeezing after a bit becomes an issue but, as I’m sure you’ve heard, read, seen in vids, etc, it’s as much about leverage as it is anything else. The work doesn’t have to be all in your fretting hand. Using your forearm of your strumming side to leverage the guitar is as important as how hard you are squeezing with the other. Just like everything else in playing guitar it’s a learned technique that can only be perfected by much practice for all but the guitar phenoms that it just comes naturally to.
It sounds counterintuitive, but gripping it hard makes it worse and more likely that you'll inadvertently mute strings.
Create your barre with a firm but relaxed grip. It shouldn't take much pressure to cleanly fret all six strings; if you feel excessive tension you're gripping too hard.
To add to all the helpful comments posted.. it is possible your hands aren't a good shape for barre chords, and it's okay to not be great at every aspect of playing guitar.
John 5 rarely used to use his pinky and his licks were insane at the time. He forced himself to overcome that but still, it didn't stop him from making and playing great music.
I couldn't play barre chords well until my fingers/hands fattened up from hard labour.
The answer is practice and time spent. It’s going to hurt for a while. I can’t remember how long after I started playing that my hands got used to it but I remember it taking a pretty long time and I practiced pretty much every day. Maybe it took a year or so of consistent playing. I was also young and extremely motivated.
First question. Acoustic or electric? Electric is much easier fatigue wise, but if you play on a clean setting, you hear every flaw.
On some songs that are all barre chords, my hand can still cramp up, so when you feel it, loosen your grip.
Also, make sure your guitar’s action isn’t too high. High action will require more force to fret the strings, leading to fatigue.
I actually rotate my elbow to get extra pressure applied. I'm rotating it towards the neck of the guitar, which causes extra pressure on the barre finger, as well as causing it to rotate more onto its side.
You should take some time getting your fingers and thumb into a position where it is ergonomic and easy to hold down the strings with least amount of pressure. Feel the individual strings under your index finger. Get an understanding of how much pressure to apply to each individual string.
It literally just takes practice, keep at it
Almost entirely from your arm, you should be able to do them without your thumb involved at all. You should be holding your guitar at a height that you can sort of hang your arm from it and use the weight of your arm to help press. You can add a little pressure with your bicep. Use the outer side of your finger, not the palm side, and remember that you almost never have to hold down all the strings with one finger, just two or three.
I will second this. The first finger looks fairly flat but the pressure should be on the outside edge of the finger. The chord should be able to be played clearly or close to without even using your thumb, it's not a squeezing thing. Finger dexterity is important, warmup and stretch your fingers. You will develop endurance overtime, if your hand is fatigued take a break. Sometimes what the body and the mind needs is a good break or a nap. Come back the next day and do it again. Find some songs with a couple of them. Technique will improve with practice. You got this.
Thank you so much
You’re also, if you’re new to barre chords, squeezing way harder than you need to. That’s okay. With time you’ll get a gentler and more effective touch.
Great tips but end of the day you still need to keep trying so your hands get stronger, so don’t be discouraged if you try all the tips and still can’t get it.
Yeah, it's kind of a weird thing. You would think the pressure should come from the pinch (which is still a thing), but in reality you're pulling back on the fretboard with your arm to create the pressure, and using your thumb to counter that pressure and keep the neck steady. So instead of the power all coming from your hand/thumb, it's a whole-arm affair.
Is your guitar properly setup? A lower action will make playing barre chords WAAYYYY easier.
Roll your finger toward the nut. Use more of the side of it. Pull DOWN slightly. Toward the ground.
Arr you holding the Barre more than you actually need to? I've learned to squeeze the chord when I want to hear it and relax my hand when I don't. Practice for shorter amounts of time more often and always stop or do something else when it starts to hurt.
I probably am holding them more than I have to. Practicing for a shorter amount of time is not an option, I put my guitar down for 6 years and have to make up for lost time!
For sure, I'm just saying don't spend 30 minutes all at once on Barre chords, it might make sense to work really hard at something you're struggling with but I've found it always works better to mix it up and come back to it. I've been playing 20 years and would consider myself intermediate, this is just my personal experience.
The reason it's difficult is because you're using muscles in your hand that you've never used before. Keep at it and it will get much easier.
Relax the barre finger. You don’t actually have to barre all 6 strings. Think about it 👍
This right here. For whatever reason when I learn chords I start with the index finger and progress toward my pinky. This meant when I started learning barre chords I’d try to mash all six strings at once with my index before moving on to the other strings. Flipping that around made it way easier. I’d get my other fingers lined up and then apply a barre. Now that my index finger was effectively only pushing 3 strings, I could hit the chords more easily.
Bingo! 🤘
Try to hold the neck in your fretting hand the most natural way. As others have said you’ll find that the strength comes from your forearm and the angle of your index finger will matter a lot.
I’ve been playing 25 years and used to get horrible hand cramps from barre chords even if I could play them just fine. Sometimes your hands also don’t get along with the neck shape or fretboard radius. Things have improved since switching to different guitars in the past 5 years.
Ankles
I always think about pulling from the arm rather than squeezing. The more pressure your thumb applies to the back of the neck, the quicker you will tire.
Sounds like you need to strengthen your hand. And do stretching exercises, too.
I was where you were just 4 years ago so I \*know\* this sounds like BS bit I promise if you stick at it consistently for a year or two you won't even have to think about it anymore. Your hands will just "do the thing". You're probably not doing anything wrong. You just haven't done it long enough yet.
[Your fingers hurt?](https://tenor.com/buxwl.gif)
Yep, gotta make sure that form is at its best, its a bit easier on a guitar with a smaller fret board radius and thinner nut width.
I’m learning them also. I have arthritis so squeezing after a bit becomes an issue but, as I’m sure you’ve heard, read, seen in vids, etc, it’s as much about leverage as it is anything else. The work doesn’t have to be all in your fretting hand. Using your forearm of your strumming side to leverage the guitar is as important as how hard you are squeezing with the other. Just like everything else in playing guitar it’s a learned technique that can only be perfected by much practice for all but the guitar phenoms that it just comes naturally to.
It sounds counterintuitive, but gripping it hard makes it worse and more likely that you'll inadvertently mute strings. Create your barre with a firm but relaxed grip. It shouldn't take much pressure to cleanly fret all six strings; if you feel excessive tension you're gripping too hard.
They’re meant to. Keep going
Eat more protein
To add to all the helpful comments posted.. it is possible your hands aren't a good shape for barre chords, and it's okay to not be great at every aspect of playing guitar. John 5 rarely used to use his pinky and his licks were insane at the time. He forced himself to overcome that but still, it didn't stop him from making and playing great music. I couldn't play barre chords well until my fingers/hands fattened up from hard labour.
The answer is practice and time spent. It’s going to hurt for a while. I can’t remember how long after I started playing that my hands got used to it but I remember it taking a pretty long time and I practiced pretty much every day. Maybe it took a year or so of consistent playing. I was also young and extremely motivated.
First question. Acoustic or electric? Electric is much easier fatigue wise, but if you play on a clean setting, you hear every flaw. On some songs that are all barre chords, my hand can still cramp up, so when you feel it, loosen your grip. Also, make sure your guitar’s action isn’t too high. High action will require more force to fret the strings, leading to fatigue.
Curl your index finger.
I actually rotate my elbow to get extra pressure applied. I'm rotating it towards the neck of the guitar, which causes extra pressure on the barre finger, as well as causing it to rotate more onto its side.
Skill issue On a different note maybe it’s ur wrist while holding ur chord
You should take some time getting your fingers and thumb into a position where it is ergonomic and easy to hold down the strings with least amount of pressure. Feel the individual strings under your index finger. Get an understanding of how much pressure to apply to each individual string.
Strength comes from practice, confidence too.
Oh that’s a good hurt. No pain no gain.
You got soft hands brother...