Video Question: A Shaped Barre Chords

November 6th, 2007 - Mav67 asks: "I am facing a major obstacle whilst trying to get down these God forsaken A shaped barre chords. My ring finger will not bend at the top knuckle making it impossible to utilise conventional fingering that most other players use. The only way I can get it is to fret an A chord using fingers 2 3 and 4, then using the index finger for the barre. This is uncomfortable and difficult to move in and out of during chord movements. Can any of you please look into your vast vessels of knowledge and shed some guiding light to help me out? Thank you." Return to Video Q&A Listing


Length: 4.28 | Instructor: Brad Lindsey Another benefit of being a member of JamPlay is the video response section. Our expert staff fields questions from our members and provides video responses each week.

Other Video Responses:

C Chord Finger Positioning - April 20th, 2007 (5 minutes, 00 seconds)

I am doing good with the G chord, and the D7 watching Steve. For some reason, my meaty sausages are having a hard time with the C chord. My 3rd finger keeps mashing the D, and I cannot get a crip grip on the B..... View Response

Strumming - February 5th, 2008 (2 minutes, 57 seconds)

Erk1024 says, "Hi, After trying out several other teaching web site, this is by far my favorite! When you are strumming up and down, do you turn your hand a little bit on the up-strums? It seems like my down strums are OK, but when I up-strum the pick seems like it wants to catch a little bit. It seems to work better with a thinner pick. Do you roll your hand a bit so the pick is at an angle to the strings, or do you always keep it perpendicular? Thanks! Eric" View Response

help - May 23rd, 2008 (1 minutes, 19 seconds)

Puma_jaguar asks, "Hi My name is Saul ,im taking lessons with Steve Eulberg and im a begginer i really enjoy the lessons, i have an acoustic guitar Esteban legacy AL-100 41" and i think that the neck of my guitar is very small im not sure,the top of the neck is 1 5/8" and low is 2 1/8", i have problem when i'm playing the easy c cord ,my first finger hit the second string first fret, but when im playing part of my tip of my finger touches the first string too and it makes a buzz all the time i dont know if it is because the neck is very small and the strings are really close could you tell me, if there is a position that will help me not to make my tip touch both strings ( how will i change to easy c chord to d7th chord?) if the neck is small or how should i bend my fingers in this case? . how should i hold the guitar guitar easier? is the position of my thumb incorret ? thanks" View Response

Barre Chords - April 24th, 2007 (2 minutes, 00 seconds)

kkringle asks "I was wondering are barre chords harder to play on an acoustic guitar because I just cannot get them down. My finger feels like its not long enough or am i just not strong enough. My sister can do them on her electric good with the same sized hands but im just wondering are my hands just not good for guitar or is it the guitar." View Response

D Major Chord - February 21st, 2008 (1 minutes, 26 seconds)

Brianm579 asks, "It is easier for me to play the D Major chord with my 1 finger on the first string (second fret), my 2 finger on the third string (second fret), and my 3 finger on the second string (third fret). The instruction and chord charts show it slightly different, with the 1 and 2 fingers switched from how I do it. Is there any problem with playing it the way I do? I have found it makes it easier with some chord changes. I am concerned that down the road it could cause problems as I learn more." View Response