Barre chords
Required in v1 — not on day one. A barre is the index finger standing in for a capo: one finger, many strings. Beginners preview F and Bm. Intermediate and advanced players move both shapes around the neck and change them on the click.
E-shape — F major
Take open E, slide it up one fret, and barre fret 1. That is F. The same shape at fret 3 is G; at fret 5, A.
A-shape — B minor
Take open Am, slide it up two frets, barre fret 2 from the A string. That is Bm — the missing chord in many G-major songs.
Movable map
Berklee names these the E-type and A-type movable grips. The index is the capo. Slide the whole shape; the letter follows the root on the low E (E-shape) or the A string (A-shape).
| Barre at fret | E-shape major | E-shape minor | A-shape major | A-shape minor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | Fm | B♭ | B♭m |
| 2 | F♯ / G♭ | F♯m | B | Bm |
| 3 | G | Gm | C | Cm |
| 5 | A | Am | D | Dm |
| 7 | B | Bm | E | Em |
Beginners only need to own F and Bm. Intermediate players add the matching minor and major of each shape. Advanced players use the map as I–IV–V in any key — not as a CAGED course.
How to practise it
- Index first. Barre fret 1 with no other fingers. Strum. Fix buzz before you add the E-shape.
- Then the other three. Add middle, ring, pinky on F. Compare to open E on this page — same grip, one fret higher.
- Short bursts. Four clean strums, shake the hand out. Hal Leonard treats F as a week, not an afternoon.
- Common misses. Thumb creeping over the top; index flat on the pad instead of the bony edge; barre sitting on top of the fretwire instead of just behind it.
E-shape family — four chords, one barre
The barre stays on fret 3; only the fingers above it change. Root on the low E string, so this is the G family. Slide the barre and every chord follows the letter on low E.
Low E → high e: G 3 5 5 4 3 3 · Gm 3 5 5 3 3 3 · G7 3 5 3 4 3 3 · Gm7 3 5 3 3 3 3.
e|-3-|-3-|-3-|-3-- B|-3-|-3-|-3-|-3-- G|-4-|-3-|-4-|-3-- D|-5-|-5-|-3-|-3-- A|-5-|-5-|-5-|-5-- E|-3-|-3-|-3-|-3--
Major to minor lifts the middle finger off the G string (the 3rd drops to the barre). Major to 7 lifts the pinky off the D string (the ♭7 is the barre on D). Lift both for m7.
A-shape family — root on the A string
Same idea one string over. Barre fret 3 from the A string; the root is the A-string note, so this is the C family. Mute the low E with the tip of the index.
Low E → high e: C x 3 5 5 5 3 · Cm x 3 5 5 4 3 · C7 x 3 5 3 5 3 · Cm7 x 3 5 3 4 3.
e|-3-|-3-|-3-|-3-- B|-5-|-4-|-5-|-4-- G|-5-|-5-|-3-|-3-- D|-5-|-5-|-5-|-5-- A|-3-|-3-|-3-|-3-- E|---|---|---|----
In the major shape many players flatten the ring finger across D, G and B instead of using three fingers; let it mute high e if it must, or arch it to keep the barre ringing.
Partial barres — the step before the full one
Hal Leonard teaches the small F before the full one: the index barres only B and high e. The same trick gives a four-string Bm and a B♭ with the ring finger barring three strings. Play these until they ring, then add the bass strings.
F (small) x x 3 2 1 1 · Bm (top four) x x 4 4 3 2 · B♭ (A-shape, ring barre) x 1 3 3 3 x.
e|-1-|-2-|---- B|-1-|-3-|-3-- G|-2-|-4-|-3-- D|-3-|-4-|-3-- A|---|---|-1-- E|---|---|----
String-by-string check
A strum hides the dead string. Hold the A barre at fret 5 and pick one string at a time, low to high. Any string that thuds tells you which part of the hand to fix: index too flat (B or G dead), index too far behind the fret (high e buzzes), ring or pinky leaning (the string beside it dead).
e|----------------5-- B|-------------5----- G|----------6-------- D|-------7----------- A|----7-------------- E|-5-----------------
Fix one string, then strum. Repeat at fret 3 and fret 1 — the barre gets harder the nearer it is to the nut, so practise downhill: 5, then 3, then 1.
I–IV–V with barres
Barres earn their keep when the key has no open chords. With one E-shape and two A-shapes, a I–IV–V never leaves two frets of the neck. In G: G at 3 (E-shape), C at 3 (A-shape), D at 5 (A-shape). Keep the index touching the strings while you move; lift the pressure, not the finger.
e|-3--3-|-3--3-|-5--5-|-3--3-- B|-3--3-|-5--5-|-7--7-|-3--3-- G|-4--4-|-5--5-|-7--7-|-4--4-- D|-5--5-|-5--5-|-7--7-|-5--5-- A|-5--5-|-3--3-|-5--5-|-5--5-- E|-3--3-|------|------|-3--3--
The minor version is the same move with minor shapes: Am at 5, Dm at 5, Em at 7.
e|-5--5-|-5--5-|-7--7-|-5--5-- B|-5--5-|-6--6-|-8--8-|-5--5-- G|-5--5-|-7--7-|-9--9-|-5--5-- D|-7--7-|-7--7-|-9--9-|-7--7-- A|-7--7-|-5--5-|-7--7-|-7--7-- E|-5--5-|------|------|-5--5--
Change on beat 1, two strums per chord. When it is clean at 70 bpm, take the major version to every barre fret in the movable map.
Ready when
Move on when all of these are true on a normal day, not your best one:
- Small F, then full F, rings with every string clean on a string-by-string check.
- You can change between all four E-shape chords at one fret, and all four A-shape chords, on the click at 70 bpm.
- G–C–D–G and Am–Dm–Em–Am with barres, two strums per chord, no gap at the change.
- Asked for any major or minor chord, you can name the fret for both the E-shape and the A-shape.