A Shape Mini Barre Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:33) Musical Introduction Welcome back to another JamPlay.com basic guitar lesson! It's time to get your guitar out and get ready to play. Chapter 2: (07:22) Review and Mini-Barre Chords Warm-Up Time
Before moving on with the lesson, be sure to review and warm-up using the following:

- Stretch the wrists.
- Play the major and minor open chords.
- Warm up your strumming muscles by relaxing the wrists and letting the pick flow over the strings.
- Play the E major chord in the "new" way and play the type 1 barre chords.
- Play the A major chord in the "new" way and play the type 2 barre chords.
- Practice the "slanting A" technique.
- Practice the type 1 minor barre chords.
- Practice the type 2 minor barre chords.
- Play all of the type 1 mini-barre chords.

Now that you are warmed up, let's move on to the good stuff.

So we've been talking about mini-barres and you all have the type 1 version of these chords down, right? If the answer is no, that's okay. Keep working on them when you do your warm-ups. So if there is a mini-barre chord for the type 1 barre chords, then there must be a mini version of the type 2 barre chord, right?

If you need to review the type 2 barre chords so that they're fresh in your mind, now would be a good time to do so. Think about B major. Here is what the B major, type 2 barre chord looks like:

B Major
E_2_
B_4_
G_4_
D_4_
A_2_
E_X_

Remember that the slanting A technique can be helpful when you're playing this type of chord. If you want to play B major as a mini-barre, then the slanting technique is necessary.

B major mini-barre
E_2_
B_4_
G_4_
D_X_
A_X_
E_X_

This chord should be played by putting your first finger on the high E-string on the second fret, your second finger on the G-string fourth fret, and your third finger on the B-string fourth fret. It's just that simple. This configuration is applicable for all of the type 2 barre chords all the way up the fretboard. Here's C major as it should be played in its standard form:

C Major
E_3_
B_5_
G_5_
D_5_
A_3_
E_X_

And here's the mini-barre :

C Major
E_3_
B_5_
G_5_
D_X_
A_X_
E_X__

See how simple that is! Remember that you should be playing less strings when you use the mini versions. This chord should only be strummed over the three highest strings, G B and E. However, if you want to add a little dissonance to your sound then you certainly can play other strings if you desire to do so. Chapter 3: (02:00) Dissonance Dissonance can be defined as a mingling of discordant sounds (Websters Collegiate, tenth edition, 1993.) or a clashing of notes within a chord. This concept can be applied in music as either desirable or undesirable depending upon the performer’s whims and desires. Some people prefer for music to have a smooth and psychologically pleasing sound while others like it to disturb, annoy, and grate upon the nerves. Dissonance therefore is neither good nor bad but rather a matter of choice for the guitar player to determine. As you continue to play you'll figure out for yourself how much, where, and why dissonance belongs in your music. Chapter 4: (06:06) Exercise Time Exercise 1
Play the mini-barre for B major using this strum: or the ever-present "down down-up down" strum. Pay attention to how you position your hand in order to control how many strings you're strumming. Watch me in the video for more tips on how to do this effectively.

Exercise 2
Play mini-barres for B C D E F and G all the way up the neck using this strum: or "down-up down-up" while playing the chords four times each. Don't forget about the finger glue technique, which should help you slide your hand up the neck without having to re-position your fingers every time you change chords. Also, I'm hoping that you haven't forgotten where the half and whole steps occur. If you have, the half steps are located between B-C and E-F, and the whole steps are between A-B, C-D, D-E, F-G, and G-A.

Exercise 3
Play the exercise above. Now however, after playing each of the mini-barre chords, play its open chord equivalent in order to check that you are in the right spot (except B). Use this strum: and play each chord four times. Chapter 5: (04:29) More Exercises Exercise 4
First start by playing the type 2 mini-barre for C major.

C Major
E_3_
B_5_
G_5_
D_X_
A_X_
E_X_

Then play the type 1 mini-barre for G major.

G Major
E_3_
B_3_
G_4_
D_X_
A_X_
E_X_

Play this using the or "down down up down strum." Notice how similar the chord configuration is for each chord (hint hint hint!). Try to find a way to play from one chord to the next without removing your hand completely from the fretboard.

Exercise 5
Play the type 2 mini-barre D (fifth fret) and type 1 mini-barre A (fifth fret). Again, look at feel the similarities between the two chords. Pick a strum that you like and play all of the mini-barre chords - both type 1 and type 2 and pay attention to the similarities in finger placement and how you might be able to switch from one type to the other more easily.

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