Barre chords are often one of the biggest hurdles that most players face as they are learning how to play guitar. Most of the time folks just can’t quite get enough pressure against the string and fret and they end up with notes that sound “buzzy” or muted. Mastering barre chords is a game of focusing the right amount of pressure to get a clear sound.

I have taught thousands of people how to play barre chords effectively and here are some ideas for you to think about.

Squeezing the guitar neck doesn’t work. You can squeeze your guitar neck until the varnish begs for mercy and you probably aren’t going to get that F chord to ring out clearly. The answer is not in your “squeezing” muscles of the hand.

The strength needed for barre chords comes from the index finger. Keep your index finger straight--straight as an arrow. The index finger is where the strength for the barre comes from. Don’t let that index finger bend back, keep the pressure on.

Lower the wrist. Resist the urge to raise your thumb and wrist up the back of the neck of the guitar. I know it seems like this is the only way to get enough pressure, but actually it is fooling you and won’t get the job done. When playing barre chords, lower your wrist, keep your first finger straight and apply pressure back on to the fret board.

It takes time to develop the muscles needed for barre chords.Many folks just give up on barre chords too soon.  Developing the muscles enough to play barre chords effectively takes time--weeks or months usually. Don’t get discouraged after three days of trying with little results. You might be doing nothing wrong and it just needs to take a bit more time to see the breakthrough.

I hope this helps. Thanks for letting me be a part of your learning process.

Keep Learning and Growing!
Steve Krenz
Author - Learn and Master Guitar