it can help with an acoustic (or electric I suppose) if you capo the first fret try it and see, also on the more basic or un setup guitars the 'action' and 'intination' can be adjusted, the former will lower the strings so its not such hard work fretting, the latter make tuning easier and more precise.
I'll try what you said Oggy but strugling with the baring on a acoustic atm and waiting for june when I get my Les Paul. I am going to get lessons to help with the barring in september because up to know I am self taught and I know alot of chords but strugle with Baring and I usualy use a capo to
One of the ways I taught myself barring chords on an old acoustic, was to practice the changes between a 1st position
unbarred E major chord and F major barred 'E' shape on the first fret without sounding strings with my right hand.
There's no pressure on you for keeping rhythm and you can just focus on the chord shapes, until it gradually becomes more fluent.
I also find it better to apply pressure behind the finger board with my thumb, so the bar finger doesn't have to press so hard across the strings. Anyway, it works for me.
Once you've got the F major bar chord on the 1st fret reasonably confidently, you can just run up the fingerboard
with a barred 'E' shape - easy to find G on the 3rd fret, A on the 5th, B on the 7th.
Loads of blues and rock songs just use those chords.
Once you get that right, do the same again with a bar 'A' shape:
B on the 2nd fret, C on the 3rd, D on the 5th, E on the 7th, etc
If you're playing electric, then there are the simpler power chords, but that's another story!
Thanks Oggy, I'll probably be doing it on a electric when I get my les paul. Until then its the capo on the acoustic haha but I'll keep what you said in mind Thanks, does anyone know any good teachers locally?
When I'm playing, the screechy squeak I find is caused be me sliding my fingers along the frets, still keeping the fingers pressed to the strings.
My method to reduce it (hard to eliminate totally) is simply to lift the pressure of my fingers until they are only barely touching, and then press hard again when you hit the next fretted chord.
It might take a bit of practise (try practising first without strumming/picking) but it should help - but it's hard to eliminate screech altogether without forming a new chord shape every time.
Been playing for 52 years and I'm worse now than when I started. Took up ukulele a year ago and love it - made more progress in that time than in the whole of the 52 on the guitar. And it is such fun. Not as sexy as an axe, I agree - but at my age I've given up trying to pull the birds. And, remember, George Harrison wrote most of his songs on ukulele.
A Guitar is a fantastic thing to have, whether owned by a 'serious' or 'casual' player. I've whiled away many a happy hour with the old six strings.
Always been one wherever I have lived. My Mum had one, & me & my big brother(Pilchard, on here) & I used to play it badly & record David Bowie covers onto old cassette recorders when we were wee(Usually lots of versions of 'Space Oddity').
Drums was always my first love though, & I played in quite a few bands(including one with me brother)before my foot exploded & I had to stop. Always strummed & wrote stuff throughout my drum career though, & I have now taken it up full time & fookin love it now. I have my own band. www.myspace.com/victoryredtheband (Shameless self-promotion, sorry!;-) - Cafc-4-life, I shall check out your Myspace page when I have a set of working PC speakers(at my next work tenure)
I work in a musical instrument shop & we give guitar lessons(& drums). You get some real young 'uns coming in to play. Its very good to see young people being inspired to pick up an instrument, (or 2 or 3 in some exceptional cases) & parents giving them the opportunity to do so. Some of the kids are of a scarily profficient standard on their instruments of choice. Whilst on the age aspect, I once sold an 85 year old lady her first guitar. Never too early(size permitting), or late, to pick up an 'axe' or an instrument & learn it. :-)
Since this whole 'credit crunch'/recession malarkey, we've had a lot of people buying guitars & various other instruments as alternatives to nights out/future nights out. Makes good sense!
absolutely agree about taking up music again as an alternative to going out and spending. Playing and jamming, however crap you are, has a fantastic effort to enjoyment ratio.
I cant play but I do like making guitars. Nothing that great but my son can get a note out of them.
To me they are items of beauty, I wouild fill the walls of my home musical instruments but the wife couldnt be trusted to clean then properly.
[cite]Posted By: cafc-4-life[/cite]Cool sounds good mate Where abouts is you shop located? Not DogHouse is it?
Cheers!:-) They are just rough demos, we are currently recording our album(which sounds a million times better, even at its embryonic stage).
The shop is called Drumshack, its in Battersea. We have 2 premises located a few doors away from each othger. One shop is all drums & percussion(vintage/collectors/2nd hand/new), the other houses Guitars & electronics.
[cite]Posted By: cafc-4-life[/cite]just added the band by the way mate!
Cheers!;-) Had a vist to your Myspace. Nice cover! If you want to do any demos, & get them fleshed out with drums, bass, etc, give me a shout!
Have just seen Craig Ogden (stand in for John Williams who was ill) play Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the London Chamber Orchestra at the Albert Hall.
I think Craig Ogden is a better guitarist than John Williams anyway. I find his interpretation of some of the earlier Flamenco much more 'traditional' than Williams - I've always thought his playing to be a bit too 'poncy' for my tastes.
Oh, and Concierto de Aranjuez is the most beautiful piece of music ever written - fact. The crescendo in the Adagio makes me feel like weeping every time I hear it ) For what I think is the definitve rendition (I've never heard it performed better) check this out. Its Paco de Lucia - who is the best Spanish guitarist that ever lived. Sadly, because of the way YouTube breaks videos up, the second part of the Adagio is at a different URL: here. Enjoy!
I did try to learn about 15-20 years ago,i bought a guitar from a company called "AXE" that were doing cheap electric guitars around that time,they were quite popular..so much in fact the only colour they had left was grey!.
But alas after a few months i gave up as i was bloody hopeless...anyway i've just found it in the garage and if i can find the little amp that came with it i may give it another bash
Stick with it addick1965 it takes a while to get ok at it but if you practice you will definitely improve. And check out help on the Internet there is loads available and it's free ( mostly) :-) If you can get proficient with half a dozen chords you can play loads of songs.
My little brother Jim bought a second-hand Vox bass when he was about 13 and then selfishly strung it left-handed so I couldn’t have a go. Plus he was left-handed I guess. When he learnt to play the bassline to Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, I though it sounded so cool I had to get me one and learn. Now I love my basses more than cheese, chocolate or Charlton (the place not the team). Weirdly. Lee Pomeroy, Take That's bassist, plays a right-handed bass, right-handed, strung left-handed becasuse his big brother did exactly the opposite thing but Lee mastered it anyway. And he's brilliant. Could have saved myself £65 if I'd stuck with Jim's.
I have a Suzuki classical guitar by the side of my desk in EC2, for when it all gets a bit much for me, which is a bit David Brent but what can you do.
My favourite chord of the moment is either the straight major 7th, which I tend to play as a four string chord, plucking the bass note with my thumb and using three right hand fingers to play the D G and B strings individually. Play the G on the bottom E at the third fret with your forefinger, and put your other three fingers where they would be if you were fretting a B minor barred at the second. Don’t play the A string. If you can get the fleshy part of your forefinger to hold the top E at the second fret, and play it with your little finger of your right hand, you’ve got two major 7ths in the chord. Which is nice.
Or more complicatedly, the flattened 5th. Fret the bottom E string at the 4th with your middle finger, the D at the 4th fret with your ring finger, the G at the fifth fret with your little finger and the B at the third fret with your forefinger. Voila G#7thflat5. Then play a straight G7th barred at the third fret, alternate those two chords (bitch of a change), and you’ve got Lewis Taylor’s “Lucky”, best tune ever.
This is my band. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C3BZs7NYRXc http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI60oCg-PU Chris is boogie-woogier than his big brother Jools. Henry liked us last year, and he know his tunes. The guitarist is Southend’s Terry Wah-Wah Guitar Lewis, from Mama’s Gun, and he’s the best there is at this kind of thing. We'll also have Squeeze's second from last drummer on the kit.
Come see us at the Oak in the Old Dover Road on the 30th May, 11th July, 8th Aug or 5th Sept and remind me I threatened to buy you a beer if you came. Shameless self-promotion over.
Comments
One of the ways I taught myself barring chords on an old acoustic, was to practice the changes between a 1st position
unbarred E major chord and F major barred 'E' shape on the first fret without sounding strings with my right hand.
There's no pressure on you for keeping rhythm and you can just focus on the chord shapes, until it gradually becomes more fluent.
I also find it better to apply pressure behind the finger board with my thumb, so the bar finger doesn't have to press so hard across the strings. Anyway, it works for me.
Once you've got the F major bar chord on the 1st fret reasonably confidently, you can just run up the fingerboard
with a barred 'E' shape - easy to find G on the 3rd fret, A on the 5th, B on the 7th.
Loads of blues and rock songs just use those chords.
Once you get that right, do the same again with a bar 'A' shape:
B on the 2nd fret, C on the 3rd, D on the 5th, E on the 7th, etc
If you're playing electric, then there are the simpler power chords, but that's another story!
I was told by a mate the same as you are saying and it is much easier, for me at least. Does do the thumb in at first
I do struggle when played barre chords up at 9th and 10th frets and also get a terrible squeaky sound when moving from A to G or E to G.
Me too - but I put it down to my ancient joints creaking.
When I'm playing, the screechy squeak I find is caused be me sliding my fingers along the frets, still keeping the fingers pressed to the strings.
My method to reduce it (hard to eliminate totally) is simply to lift the pressure of my fingers until they are only barely touching, and then press hard again when you hit the next fretted chord.
It might take a bit of practise (try practising first without strumming/picking) but it should help - but it's hard to eliminate screech altogether without forming a new chord shape every time.
Makes ya sick !!!!!
Always been one wherever I have lived. My Mum had one, & me & my big brother(Pilchard, on here) & I used to play it badly & record David Bowie covers onto old cassette recorders when we were wee(Usually lots of versions of 'Space Oddity').
Drums was always my first love though, & I played in quite a few bands(including one with me brother)before my foot exploded & I had to stop. Always strummed & wrote stuff throughout my drum career though, & I have now taken it up full time & fookin love it now. I have my own band. www.myspace.com/victoryredtheband (Shameless self-promotion, sorry!;-) - Cafc-4-life, I shall check out your Myspace page when I have a set of working PC speakers(at my next work tenure)
I work in a musical instrument shop & we give guitar lessons(& drums). You get some real young 'uns coming in to play. Its very good to see young people being inspired to pick up an instrument, (or 2 or 3 in some exceptional cases) & parents giving them the opportunity to do so. Some of the kids are of a scarily profficient standard on their instruments of choice. Whilst on the age aspect, I once sold an 85 year old lady her first guitar. Never too early(size permitting), or late, to pick up an 'axe' or an instrument & learn it. :-)
Since this whole 'credit crunch'/recession malarkey, we've had a lot of people buying guitars & various other instruments as alternatives to nights out/future nights out. Makes good sense!
To me they are items of beauty, I wouild fill the walls of my home musical instruments but the wife couldnt be trusted to clean then properly.
Cheers!:-) They are just rough demos, we are currently recording our album(which sounds a million times better, even at its embryonic stage).
The shop is called Drumshack, its in Battersea. We have 2 premises located a few doors away from each othger. One shop is all drums & percussion(vintage/collectors/2nd hand/new), the other houses Guitars & electronics.
Cheers!;-) Had a vist to your Myspace. Nice cover! If you want to do any demos, & get them fleshed out with drums, bass, etc, give me a shout!
Absolutely stunning.
Oh, and Concierto de Aranjuez is the most beautiful piece of music ever written - fact. The crescendo in the Adagio makes me feel like weeping every time I hear it
i aint got a clue what the hell any of it meant but that was a real love in folks
now get back to the arguing
I agree. It ranks as my favourite piece of music.
P*** off back to your north London slum you *%$£
And lock the doors on your van for a change ; - )
But alas after a few months i gave up as i was bloody hopeless...anyway i've just found it in the garage and if i can find the little amp that came with it i may give it another bash
If you can get proficient with half a dozen chords you can play loads of songs.
Weirdly. Lee Pomeroy, Take That's bassist, plays a right-handed bass, right-handed, strung left-handed becasuse his big brother did exactly the opposite thing but Lee mastered it anyway. And he's brilliant. Could have saved myself £65 if I'd stuck with Jim's.
I have a Suzuki classical guitar by the side of my desk in EC2, for when it all gets a bit much for me, which is a bit David Brent but what can you do.
My favourite chord of the moment is either the straight major 7th, which I tend to play as a four string chord, plucking the bass note with my thumb and using three right hand fingers to play the D G and B strings individually. Play the G on the bottom E at the third fret with your forefinger, and put your other three fingers where they would be if you were fretting a B minor barred at the second. Don’t play the A string. If you can get the fleshy part of your forefinger to hold the top E at the second fret, and play it with your little finger of your right hand, you’ve got two major 7ths in the chord. Which is nice.
Or more complicatedly, the flattened 5th. Fret the bottom E string at the 4th with your middle finger, the D at the 4th fret with your ring finger, the G at the fifth fret with your little finger and the B at the third fret with your forefinger. Voila G#7thflat5. Then play a straight G7th barred at the third fret, alternate those two chords (bitch of a change), and you’ve got Lewis Taylor’s “Lucky”, best tune ever.
This is my band. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C3BZs7NYRXc
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI60oCg-PU Chris is boogie-woogier than his big brother Jools. Henry liked us last year, and he know his tunes. The guitarist is Southend’s Terry Wah-Wah Guitar Lewis, from Mama’s Gun, and he’s the best there is at this kind of thing. We'll also have Squeeze's second from last drummer on the kit.
Come see us at the Oak in the Old Dover Road on the 30th May, 11th July, 8th Aug or 5th Sept and remind me I threatened to buy you a beer if you came. Shameless self-promotion over.
Since I posted this 18 months ago I have persevered, putting in many hours of practise every week & am getting somehwere approaching competent.
There is however always a massive amount to learn.
Confident enough now to have ordered a Fender Custom 62 Telecaster & a nice 65 Twin Reverb Amp to go with it.
As most of my guitar playing has been acoustic fingerstlye, without a pick - am going to have to learn to strum & pick properly with a plectrum.
As I say, always something to learn.
Have been using jamplay.com to supplement my lessons - it is an excellent site for learning & the internet is a fabulous resource for guitarists.
Anyone got any other useful sites they use for guitar related stuff?