Welcome to…
…The most practical, detailed and fun course on playing barre chords you will find anywhere. This course is designed to take you from not being able to play barre chords, or struggling to play them…
…to being able to play the all-important barre chord shapes with precise, relaxed technique in a fun manner – setting you up to be the best guitarist you can be.
Join the course for detailed HD video tuition, a series of audio and tab examples, and so much more.
This course is the only resource you will ever need to be able to master barre chords and truly be comfortable playing them in songs, when jamming or whenever you are required to use them.
I already know I want to buy this course
If you have ever thought:
•I can`t play barre chords!
•Barre chords hurt my wrist/finger/arm, etc!
•My barre chords sound buzzy and weak!
•I can`t change between barre chords!
•I don`t know which barre chords to use!
•I don`t understand why I need them!
•Barre chords are just too darn tough!
Then, you have come to the right place.
This course is the solution…
Barre chords are extremely tough when learned in the typical way
Most guitarists try barre chords at some point in their playing and find them very difficult. This often leads to a guitarist giving up on barre chords. They throw their arms up in the air in dismay and say…
“Barre chords are simply not for me, they are too hard“
This point hits many guitarists, and it did for me a long time ago.
It’s a real shame, as barre chords are essential to your playing.
Without them, you can be a good guitarist but you will never fulfil your potential.
Many songs you will want to play will be out of your reach and even the ones you can play often won’t quite sound right without the correct barre chord being used.
A lot of classic songs from the 60`s and 70`s use barre chords. More so than modern songs. (New music tends to be simpler and far less interesting.)
Without barre chords, you simply can NOT play these classic songs (and many more):
•David Bowie – Space Oddity
•Eric Clapton/Derek and The Dominoes – Layla
•Eagles – Hotel California
•Sinead O` Connor/Prince – Nothing Compares 2 U
•The Who – Pinball Wizard
•Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven
•Echo and the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
•Classics IV/Dusty Springfield – Spooky
•The Beatles – Something, Daytripper, Twist and Shout (the cool version with the bass riff)
•The Cure – Boys Don`t Cry
•The Commodores – Easy
•Pearl Jam – Black
•Milos – Spanish Romance
•Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game
•And 1000`s more…
Barre chords taught the conventional way are downright dangerous!
I’m not being dramatic when I say barre chords can be dangerous.
Barre chords are often taught and learned the wrong way.
That is, the guitarist uses bad technique and far too much force to try to play them. This causes pain in the fingers, wrist, and forearm and will tire the muscles out quickly at best and cause pain and possibly injury at worst.
If you keep doing something with bad technique and lots of pressure it will eventually take its toll.
This can be a strain in the muscles or tendons which can put you out of action with your guitar playing for weeks or even months.
It can cause you to spend a fortune on medical bills or rehabilitation and can affect your work and ultimately your income – if you rely on your hands in any way.
If you do practice barre chords or plan on it, be very, very careful about how you learn them as doing so the wrong way can cause injury and possibly long-term arthritis.
Don’t blame yourself if you have failed before. It’s not your fault but it’s the method of instruction that is broken
Most guitar teachers in the real world and on the internet have no idea how to teach barre chords even though they can often play them reasonably well.
Often these teachers and players look and sound like they are playing them well but in many cases, they are not.
They are often doing enough to “get by” and long-term arthritis or an injury is often just one bad barre chord away.
Even those who can play them well, don’t know how to teach them. As the guitar is a ridiculously subtle instrument they don’t see the difference between what they are doing and what the student is doing.
Often, moving your index finger just a millimetre can make the difference between a clear sounding barre and a horrible buzz!
You have probably found this when fretting a note, just getting a tiny bit closer to the fret can make all the difference between a clear note and a horrid buzz!
“The truth is barre chords only require a little strength, they are mostly technique and in this course, you will learn this exact technique”
The problem with barre chords is that they are often taught and learned in a poor way.
If their barre chords sound buzzy, messy or weak, guitarists are usually told, “push harder, it will come” OR “keep on going, you’ll get there” but this advice is poor.
This all implies that you should be using power and strength to play barre chords but that is not the case!
Don’t play them like this `teacher`
Look at the picture of this guy below attempting to teach barre chords.
On the surface, it looks good but it is NOT!
It is not the worst I have seen but it is pretty bad.
This guy may well have had tuition but unfortunately, he is either ignoring the advice (if good advice)…
…Or…
…was given really bad advice on how to play barre chords – now he is attempting to teach them to others when he is not qualified to do so.
•Can you see the bend in his wrist? (You can just about see this in the picture due to the angle of his forearm). This puts massive pressure on the wrist and can cause long-term damage to the joints.
•Can you see how far from the frets his middle finger is? (Non-playing fingers should always be close to the frets).
•Can you see how his middle finger is pushing down to add power to the barre?
•Can you see how he is teaching them on fret 1? You should always practice them higher up the fretboard (e.g. fret 7) where the frets are closer – this promotes good technique and good habits.
Playing them like this can cause so many issues!
To be honest, if I was to see a video of this guy playing them (and most other teachers around the world) I would spot plenty more errors. The above are just a few obvious errors (to me) in a snapshot.
These errors are NOT obvious to other teachers, so how can students be expected to know them and correct them?
They can`t.
That`s why this course is so important.
Barre chords can be brutal, but they don’t have to be as you will see…
If you have tried and failed with barre chords your belief as a guitarist will often be damaged.
The more effort you put in the worse this gets. You may even have ended up feeling like the infamous “World`s Angriest Guitarist”.
Don’t give up on barre chords if you have struggled before, instead try them like this…
Giving up on barre chords can destroy your confidence and belief in your guitar playing and doing so will stop you from learning the songs you want to and your long-term development as a guitarist will suffer.
Just imagine this…
There’s a song you want to be able to play. It’s by one of those amazing artists such as David Bowie, Eric Clapton, James Taylor (or insert your guitar hero here).
You start learning the song and it seems easy enough with multiple open chords but you get further into the song only to realise it features multiple barre chords throughout.
In the past, you would have shuddered at this, maybe attempted the barre chords, realised you couldn’t do it and gave up…
But now…
You can smile as you know you will still be able to play the song – and play it well.
It feels so good to be able to do this. You know there is no brick wall in your way to learning ANY song and your progress is not limited by anything.
This is how it feels to be able to play barre chords well and this is what you will learn in this course.
“Many guitarists give up on barre chords too quickly and ultimately give up on their own playing”
Barre chords are the glass ceiling of your playing. In other words, imagine you are in a skyscraper that goes up 150 floors.
On the top floor all the greats are up there jamming, Clapton, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon, James Taylor and the rest. All beginners start on the bottom floor.
When you start out with your guitar playing you are at the bottom. After a while, you get to floor 20 or 30, but at floor 50 you need to be able to play barre chords, so you have a choice.
Either you master the barre or you stay exactly where you are dreaming of what it’s like on those higher floors jamming with the best or you actually put the effort in and get there.
Be free from the limitations of the capo once and for all
Yes, it’s true, capos are wonderful and a great tool for the modern guitarist, but, a capo won’t work for many songs due to the following reasons…
•Some songs will sound too thin or weak when using a capo. (the further up the neck the thinner the guitar sounds, and sometimes you will need the capo on fret 8 or higher!)
•Some songs will sound unrecognisable unless the all-important bass notes are played – a capo may stop this from happening as the lower notes can’t be accessed.
•Some songs you will want to learn can`t be played with a capo no matter what you do unless you can play a barre chord or two.
6 important reasons why you should learn barre chords…
•Each barre chord you learn will allow you to play 12 new chords for every shape you know
•Learning barre chords properly will mean that you will have to have great technique which transfers to all of your guitar playing.
•Pop, fingerstyle, folk, rock, classical, jazz, soul, country and blues will all require you to be able to play barre chords at some point
•Once learned, barre chords will give you so much more confidence with your playing allowing you to have no limitations!
•Barre chords give beginners a relatively easy way to understand chord progressions and theory better
•Barre chords give your playing a different tone to open chords
Many guitarists learning later on in life lack the confidence to really learn barre chords
I teach and specialise in teaching the over 40`s how to play the guitar in the most enjoyable way possible. The truth is, older guitarists tend to learn a bit differently to younger students. They don`t necessarily learn slower, but they often lack a little more confidence.
Therefore, I make sure my methods of teaching are suitable for those learning later on in life.
I explain things clearly, in a step by step method, assuming nothing.
I also make sure the examples, songs and techniques are suitable to the songs and styles these students want to learn.
You will find the materials in this course are suitable for you and what you want to learn. There`s no Justin Beiber, heavy metal or complex jazz in this course.
This course features fingerpicked and strummed audio and tab examples suitable for fingerstyle players, blues players and acoustic strummers looking to learn the classic songs from the 60`s and 70`s.
Stop trying to play them in the old school way of using brute force and power.
Instead, try this…
I have covered absolutely every detail needed for you to be able to learn barre chords the proper way.
This method is a step by step method designed to allow you to learn and master barre chords in a far shorter space of time than the conventional way of learning them.
This course holds the key.
A lot of what barre chords are about is learning how to use proper technique.
Classical guitarists often have wonderful technique, but modern pop and rock players somehow shun technique like it’s not important.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Good technique is 100% paramount to your barre chord success and this is what this course will give you. I guarantee it.
I have learned a lot over the years about classical technique and how to apply it to contemporary music, but without the stuffiness that comes with it.
This course takes the key classical technical ideas, combines them with a fun contemporary style, and together will be like dynamite for your barre chord playing.
Did you know you can simplify any barre chord?
In this course, I`ll show you two simple ways on how you can simplify all the shapes we will learn.
This means if you are new to playing barre chords, and find the main shapes a struggle, then you can transition to them by learning the simplified versions which is what a lot of pro`s actually do.
It`s important to learn the complete shape after but when starting out why make things tougher than need be?
Instead, I`ll show you how to play the simplified version and then transition to the complete shape.
Both are highly important.
No more wrist, finger or hand pain – ever!!!
The truth is, barre chords should:
•NOT be painful
•NOT be hard work
•NOT be tiring on your hand and arm
•NOT cause wrist pain
•NOT be as frustrating as they have been for you so far
Barre chords aren’t easy but learning anything new is never easy.
That being said, they are achievable for EVERY single guitarist out there.
In this course, I’ll show you in a methodical, step by step method how to play barre chords the proper way.
It’s time to have fun and learn barre chords the proper way!
I have developed a simple system for teaching barre chords. This system takes you from the ground up, right from proper posture and technique all the way to being able to use and play barre chords in a real-world setting.
Nothing is omitted.
5 Reasons Why Learning Barre Chords are Not As Complicated As You Might Think
•There are two main shapes to learn and everything is built off these two shapes.
•You can use the ‘Crooked finger’ to take 90% of the pressure off your barre finger.
•There’s a secret trick called the ‘Weighted arm’ which adds the necessary power to the barre – without using force and without hurting yourself
•If you can control the distral joints (the first joint nearest the tip) in this specific way, your barre chords will sound instantly clearer
•If you use the “classical with a strap” position then you will feel instantly far more comfortable playing barre chords – this one change alone will help massively.
You will learn every step needed on the way to achieving barre chord mastery.
The course is broken up into sections and organised in a clear and efficient manner making your journey to learning barre chords simpler and more efficient.
In this course, you will learn the following:
•Specific instructions on how to sit with the guitar to more easily learn and master barre chords
•Exactly how to relax your body properly which will make your barre chord playing better and more enjoyable
•How to achieve proper finger independence
•How to ‘bounce’ the strings so when practising you can play for far longer and with far less fatigue
•The ‘Golden rule’ of learning and using barre chords
•The power of ‘pre-practice’
•The very common barre chord mistakes I see time and again and ones that most teachers accidentally encourage!
•Why a footstool and strap will massively help you learn barre chords
•How to reduce tension in your playing fingers, arms and hands
•The “Crooked finger” – why it is the secret to shaving potentially months off your basic barre chord playing
•The essential barre finger rules that you must follow!
•How to learn to control the non-playing fingers for maximum fluency
•Why you need to learn to use the `Weighted arm` and how it will make a huge difference to your playing
•The 9 essential barre chord technical exercises
•How to use the ‘light barre’ to save you from potential injury
•A powerful exercise to give your fingers freedom – called the `zig-zag`
•The key four barre chord shapes
•How to “simplify” the key four barre chords
•The barre chord formula and how it will help you understand exactly what chord you are playing at any time
•Why these four shapes give you 48 actual chords – it is a case of simply moving them up and down the fretboard
•How to learn the key notes on the low E and A string quickly and efficiently
•A series of audio examples to practice throughout the course to help you solidify what you have learned
•Specific steps on how to change to and from each barre chord shape
•How to change in and out of open to barre chords and vice versa
•The most common barre chord extensions and how to use them in real music
•How to use cool and stylish sounding chord extensions
•How to understand the theory behind barre chords
•The most common barre chord progressions and how to play them in any key
•And more…
Be Warned – This course is not for everyone!
This course is NOT for the following type of guitarist…
Absolute beginners – if you have played for a very short period and cannot play open chords yet, you will not be ready for this course. You may purchase it and come back and use it in a few months but for now, focus on the absolute basics.
Guitarists who are unwilling to try new ideas – occasionally I come across a guitarist who is stuck in their ways and refuses to adapt even a little. Most guitarists are taught to play with bad technique right from the off. To play barre chords the right way requires most guitarists to adapt at least a little.
Masters of barre chords – if you can already play the main four shapes perfectly, have precise finger independence, can change in and out of barre chords super fluently, know the barre chord extensions, can embellish barre chords at will, and understand the theory behind barre chords, then this course is NOT for you.
For everyone else, you will massively benefit your playing if you use even a small amount of the information in the course.
This course will improve your guitar playing in many other ways than just barre chords
As you can see there is so much more to this course than just learning plain old barre chords.
This course will take your playing to the next level – the level of being a true guitarist who is free, has great technique and can enjoy every moment of his or her playing.
Below is the table of contents so you can see how the course is laid out for yourself…
Section 1 – Goals, Equipment and Essential Barre Chord Techniques
•Getting Set Up To Master Barre Chords
Section 2 – The Essential Techincal Exercises
•Part A – The Anti Tension Exercises
•Part B – “The Weighted Arm” And Adding Pressure Exercises
•Part C – The Full Barre Exercises
Section 3 – The Barre Chord Shapes And Barre Chord Formula
•Part A – The “A” Shape Barre Chord
•Part B – The “E” Shape Barre Chord
•Part C – Summary Of The Shapes
•Part D – The Barre Chord Formula
Section 4 – How To Master Your Barre Chord Changes
•Part A – Muscle Memory Techniques, Specific Steps, and Barre Chord Changing Mistakes
•Part B – Changing Between All Four Barre Chord Shapes
•Part C – More Barre Chord Changing Practice
Section 5 – Extensions, Embellishments, and Barre Chord Theory
•Part A – The Most Common And Useful Barre Chord Extensions
•Part B – How To Embellish Your Barre Chords For A Super Cool Sound!
•Part C – Barre Chord Theory
Section 6 – More Tips, Tricks And Advice
•More Tips, Tricks And Advice
•Conclusion
Extras
•Extra #1 – Learn The Barre Chord Song – “Barred For Life”
•Extra #2 – The Barre Chord Cheat Sheet
The new found confidence you will gain from learning the materials in this course will help you to shatter any limiting beliefs you have within your own playing and will help you to achieve things you never thought you were capable of.
Barre chords represent this like nothing else on the guitar.
Learn barre chords the proper way and your playing will flourish and the doors that will be opened to you will be infinite.
If that’s not enough…
…when you purchase you will get the following extras…
1) How to play the Barre chord song – “Barred For Life!”
As an added extra you will also get a really cool original piece of music that I have called ‘Barred For Life`; – (see what I did there?).
This is an inspiring piece of music lasting 2 minutes 50 seconds, that puts everything together from the course in one awesome piece of music.
This piece is like a big musical summary of the course.
Each time you try it, you will see progress as long as you follow the course materials.
It’s also a really fun and exciting piece of music which reflects real songs you will learn, and you can even use the ideas from it in your own arrangements, jams and songs.
2) The Barre Chord PDF Cheat Sheet
If you are like me then you will love this handy PDF guide that puts all of the course images into one PDF file which you can save to your PC or device, or print off.
You will then be able to view this whenever you like quickly and with ease.
This acts as a quick reminder of all the details from the course but in one super handy place – making learning the barre chords, the theory, the barre chord formula, the chord extensions and the rest of the course materials easier than ever.
Everything You Get!
•“The Ultimate Guide To Barre Chords” (the in-depth and complete video course)
•Features over 40 videos, multiple tab and audio examples and visual guides
•Every lesson needed to take you from the absolute basics to barre chord mastery
•The Barre Chord Extra #1 “The Barre Chord song”
•The Barre Chord Extra #2 “The Ultimate Guide To Barre Chords Cheat Sheet”
Get ‘The Ultimate Guide To Barre Chords’ Today….
and in a few minutes, you’ll be enjoying this in-depth course perfect for those who have always wanted to get good at guitar but haven’t quite found the time.
