kholli61

Is there a way to take a barre chord (I play finger-picking style) and transpose it to another chord that pretty much sounds the same but is easier? I have short, stumpy fingers (I call them my Irish bog-hopper fingers!) and cannot seem to make even the easiest barre chords...my fingers simply can't reach anywhere. Is there some chart that can transpose barre chords? Thanks for any help!

Zaphod_Beeblebr

You can't make the chord shapes because you suck, your fingers are nothing but an excuse. Suck it up and practice.

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AmalgamOfMeat

This, but less horrible and lacking in empathy.

supersac

this but slightly more horrible and adding emphathy

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shreddymcshred

barre chords are what separate beginning level guitarists from the rest of us. Either put in the time and practice or be damned to try to find shortcuts all the time.

wench38

No sympathies here..
I'm a woman with tiny hands, to give you an idea- I wear a size 3 on my pinky . I'm willing to bet your hands are bigger than mine.
I play a Telecaster which is 25.5 scale ....I can do barre chords.
No excuses,you just need to practice.

rickyvanh

Not trying to be mean,but these people are all right.Every guitar player passes through this phase,no matter what your fingers are like.You have to be patient,and practice the things that need work to get better.Many players avoid chords and techniques that they can't do well,and play the things they can do to death.Even more people just quit,thinking that better players are born with physical attributes that make guitar playing easier for them.Building strength and flexibility takes lots of practice and time.Things you can't do now will be easy for you down the road if you work at it.Patience,practice,and persistence(the 3 P's) will get you there guaranteed.

AeolianWolf

practice. i've never heard of anyone with fingers short enough or hands small enough that a barre chord was not possible through practice.

another thing - your attitude will determine your results, so stop making excuses. if you want to tell yourself that it's impossible because your hands are things like "stumpy" and "irish", how could you ever expect to get results?

as far as moving the voicings to a different location -- that's all about learning the notes and being able to find them anywhere. it's a good skill to have -- learn your fretboard if you haven't yet.

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Junior#1

What he said.

I would have been a bit more terse myself......

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Captaincranky

What's empathy..?

My advice is to buy or borrow a 12 string, and practice doing barre chords on that. In which case, you'll be a real powerhouse when you migrate back to the six.

Geldin

Shawn Lane had the smallest hands I've seen on a guitarist and the dude did some stretches that make my carpal tunnel act up. Short fingers aren't a barrier; lack of strength and dexterity is. The way you improve strength and dexterity is through stretching and practice. You do that enough and you'll be playing stupidly complex chords.

Essentially, instead of asking "Is there an easier chord I can play?", ask "Is there a way to make this easier?". You can't change the voicings of the chords, but you can get stronger and more dextrous.

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adamgur96

That.

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astholkohtz

what an horrible attitude for a (wannabe) guitar player. you'll probably quit in a couple of months, classic

JonDeco

When I get lazy I usually play the top 4 notes like Hendrix or John Frusciante might do.

Like, instead of doing this: (A minor barre chord)
5
5
5
7
7
5

I'll just do this:
5 (barre the rest with index)
5
5
7 (ring finger)
x
x
However, I have the ability to play barre chords. I change it because sometimes I like to play the alternative way that I put above because I prefer the sound, and I can get a cool funky rhythm when I add notes with my pinky.

But if I wanted a fuller sound, I would play the full chord. Like others have said, you shouldn't pass up this skill. Keep practicing until you build strength.

jonathan.keeler

how would i hold this chord with my left hand?

-0-
-6-
-7-
-7-
-0-
-6-

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adamgur96

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steven seagull

Varying degrees of empathy but everyone's pretty much right - you just need to suck it up and practice.

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