Barre Chords
Submitted by Alex on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 23:25
These chords are called "Barre Chords" because you use your first finger (index finger) to barre across most of the strings - fretting all the notes in a straight line. The diagram shows this with the blue line.
These chords are different from open chords in that they can be played on any fret of the guitar - giving you chords of different keys, but maintaining the same hand shape. This gives you a great vocabulary to play most songs using only a handful of chord shapes.
All chords are classified into 3 categories: Major, Minor and dominant.
The Barre Chords are organized by "string set".
A string set is defined by - which string the root note (bottom note) is on. There are 3 string sets:
Chords with root on 6th string (Low E).
Chords with root on 5th string (A).
Chords with root on 4th string (D)
Major chords on the diagram are expressed as just the letter of the chord (Example: A denotes A major).
Minor chords on the diagram are expressed as the letter of the chord followed by the symbol "m" (Example: Am denotes A minor).
Dominant chords on the diagram are expressed with the letter of the chord followed by any of the following: 7, 11, 13. (Example: A7 denotes A dominant).
Here are some of the possible extensions you can add to basic "vanilla" barre chords. They are just added tones, which will make the sound character of the barre chords a bit more interesting.
Barre Chords and Barre Chord Extensions
A string set is defined by - which string the root note (bottom note) is on. There are 3 string sets:
Chords with root on 6th string (Low E).
Chords with root on 5th string (A).
Chords with root on 4th string (D)
