Strengthen your fingers and play any barre chord

This exercise is purely to strengthen your fingers up. If you have trouble playing barre chords then this is the place to start. It might be painful initially but if you do this enough, every time you practice you will be playing any chord you want in no time. This is the type of exercise that can easily be done well you are sitting in front of the TV or talking on the phone.

It should be done very slowly, stopping to hold each position for a count of 4. Starting from the thinnest string you are going to barre each string, count to 4, then add another one and repeat. Here is an example:

• Step 1: Barre the thinnest string with the index finger, hold for a count of 4.
• Step 2: Barre the thinnest string plus the second thinnest string with the index finger and hold for 4.
• Step 3: Barre the 4 thinnest strings with the index finger and hold for a count of 4.
• Step 4: Get the idea now? Use the diagrams below for more direction.

Once you are done, work your way back done the fretboard like in the diagrams below (read them from left to right). And then when you are done with the index finger, you can move to the middle finger, then the ring finger and then the pinky! That one will be tough…

If your fingers are really weak, you might want to start on a fret further up the neck. Starting on the 5th Fret for example, can be much easier then starting on the 1st Fret. I would try different places and see where you are most comfortable, then over time move closer to the first fret. This is how I learned to play barre chords, so I can assure you it totally works - it just takes some gumption, and don’t worry about your fingers always hurting, that will go away eventually once you build up enough strength in them.

The important thing is to stick with it. If your fingers get sore or tired, then take a break and come back later. Eventually over time you will build the required strength to play almost any barre chord.

How Chords are Formed

In any give key certain chords are more common then others. For example in the key of C, the chords C, F and G are usually present, and quite often they are complemented with Am, Dm, and Em. The reason for this is each key has it’s own set of chords constructed from the notes of it’s scale. This is basic music theory and will work starting with any note. We will start with C, consider the scale of C major:

C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII

Chords are constructed by notes that are a 3rd apart in it’s scale. So the following positions would give us the root major chord of a key:

I - II - III

Using the C major scale written above, chords can be constructed by placing 2 third intervals above each note. So a C chord has C, E and G in it.

Here are the chords of the key of C and how they are constructed:

Chord Constructed	C	Dm	Em	F	G	Am	Bo
C Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B
III	E	F	G	A	B	C	D
V	G	A	B	C	D	E	F

The chords are always named according to their root note. They are chords in the key of C because they only contain notes from the C scale. This method of constructing chords can be applied to form the chords of any major scale. The result will always produce the chords of whatever root note you start with.

Scale Note	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
Chord Constructed	major	minor	minor	major	major	minor	diminished

Chord Substitutions

The chords studied so far involve the placement of 3 notes. The root note of the chord and the 2 third interval notes above it. This method of building chords can be extended by adding another note illustrated below. These chords could then be substituted for chords in the key of C, to color things up.

Chord Constructed	Cmaj7	Dm7	Em7	Fmaj7	G7	Am7	Bo7*
C Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B
III	E	F	G	A	B	C	D
VII	B	C	D	E	F	G	A
V	G	A	B	C	D	E	F

From this example chords for any key can be substituted by using the chart below:

Scale Note	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
Chord Constructed	major seventh	minor seventh	minor seventh	major seventh	seventh	minor seventh	half diminished seventh

10 Guitar Tuning Tips and Secrets

1. Tune your guitar every time you pick it up to play, guitars can go out of tune sooner then you think.
2. Avoid leaving your guitar in areas with extreme temperature changes, this will definitely mess up the tuning. Dropping or bumping the guitar will also make it go out of tune. Carry your guitar in a case as any damage to it could effect how well it tunes up.
3. In a noisy environment you will definitely want to use a guitar tuner. You should purchase a quality tuner. You don’t need to spend alot. An inexpensive tuner or tuning fork is definitely good enough to start out. Always bring it to gigs and jam sessions. But, remember try to develop your ear by using the traditional guitar tuning method when you can. In the long run you will be just that much better of a musician. Only use a guitar tuner to tune the Low E string and then tune the rest by ear. This will help develop your ear as a musician.
4. Learn to attach the strings to the machine heads properly.
5. ALWAYS TUNE UP! When you tune a guitar string, always start below the desired note and tune up to pitch not down to pitch. This will help prevent the string from going flat during play. Even if the note is too high you can stretch the string to give it some slack then tighten it.
6. Tuning heads have a certain amount of “play” in them so make a couple of deep bends and then fine tune the string.
7. Before tuning a suspect string, check it against both adjacent strings to determine which string is actually out of tune. The string you suspect may not even be the culprit.
8. Play a chord that you know well to test the tuning, if it sounds odd or out a bit it probably is, remember always trust you ear.
9. When tuning a guitar with a vibrato arm, tune the string, give the arm a good shake, stretch the string, give the arm another shake and fine tune.
10. When putting new strings on your guitar you must always make sure you stretch them as you tune them to pitch. Try holding them down on the neck around the 24th fret with your right hand while pulling them away from the guitar body with your left hand. You don’t have to use too much muscle, a few firm tugs should do the trick.

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