Justinguitar's E shape barre chord lesson

I am going to be going over the Justin’s E Shape Barre Chord guide posted on his website Justinguitar.com and his YouTube Channel. The link can be found here: https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/e-shape-barre-chord-grips-im-111

E shape Barre Chords (also known as the F chord) are probably the most difficult thing a beginner will have to learn. It can take lots of muscle memory and time to get the finger strength to hold down all six strings without any buzzing. It’s something even experienced players still struggle with every now and then even after hours and hours of dedicated practice.

While I recommend watching his video tutorial from start to finish, I am going to emphasize a few things he mentioned.

The basics of the chord is that you move up the standard E chord up one fret and then have your index finger barre the first string emphasizing on hitting the Low E, B and high E strings as the E chord takes care of A,D and G strings. One of the most important points Justin makes is to roll your index finger about 30 degrees to its side when holding the barre. It’s important because the side of your finger is more bony which produces a more even sound, as well as being stronger and more comfortable (that tip saved me life when I was starting out). Also, make sure that you fingers are the closest to the fret as possible, as that produces the best sound and is easier to hold. Lastly, I want to add that you should be very patient with barre chords as they take lots of time and practice to get used to, and that everybody struggles with them when they’re starting out. I still to this day have moments where barre chords kill me, but with consistent practice they don’t feel as bad.


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