Years ago my classical teacher told me off for having my thumb visible over the
low E string and told me to put it right at the back of the neck, on the apex
of the neck curve, so I very rarely bring it round for bass notes now, but I
sometimes alarm students with the fingerings I come up with to avoid it. I've
learned the occasional piece where it was unavoidable and some people do it all
the time with no visible ill effects. I suppose it does cramp up the hand a
bit. If I hold down a big four finger chord and move my thumb over the back of
the neck, my other fingers sort of collapse a bit, so there's probably more
freedom and control of the fingers in the classical position.
-----Original Message-----
From: vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Andy C
Sent: 18 October 2020 23:10
To: vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vibe] Re: Difficult cord changes on guitar
Hi Dave
Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn’t really thought of that alternative way to
play C sharp seven, but it actually works okay, especially if partly picked
rather than just strumming. I must admit I also have problems getting the G
string to ring out when playing E minor shaped chords, especially when higher
up the neck. The lower half of my barring finger really starts to hurt after
I’ve been playing for awhile, it’s almost like a bit of cramp!
something else I can’t do is bring my thumb over the top of the neck to add
bass notes over chords.
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
On 18 Oct 2020, at 9:08 pm, DandGReay <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi, Andy,
I go with your second suggestion, using finger 4 on b string fret 6 and
finger 3 on D string fret 6 above the 4th fret bar, but my second finger does
nothing, just hangs around trying to look cool. Have you tried the
alternative fingering of C sharp 7, where you move a C7 chord up one fret and
only play the 4 inside strings? I think that may be what the acoustic
guitarist on Love is doing. I reckon if you've cracked the bar chord thing,
you've crossed the most difficult bridge. Oddly, for me, it's the 3rd string
in E minor shape bars I have to work on. After that it's only jazz chords and
big jumps on the fretboard you have to worry about!
Cheers,
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of Andy C
Sent: 17 October 2020 11:19
To: vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vibe] Difficult cord changes on guitar
Curious to know which chord changes people have found difficult when trying
to progress there guitar playing? My focus at the moment is particularly
changing from the F sharp minor barre chord to the C sharp seven barre chord.
I’m trying to learn the John Lennon song Love, on an acoustic. Two things are
happening when I move to the C sharp seven; the first is about fingering, I
don’t know if it’s best to play the C sharp in the usual barre across the
fourth fret and the A shape on the sixth with the fur finger lifted to open
the G string back to the barre, or whether it would be easier to change the
fingering of the cord so that the pinky stays on the B string six fret but
the third finger moves up to the the D string six fret, with the second
finger perhaps supporting the first on the bar?
my barring finger doesn’t seem to get any stronger with practice, it’s kind
of okay with major and minor chords, but it is true to say The strength in it
doesn’t last very long, and the string that suffers most when trying to get a
clean note in a barre chord is the top E string. It’s all a bit easier on an
electric, but I want to improve on both.
I think it will be both interesting and encouraging to hear other peoples
struggles when trying to improve their playing, if anyone on here can still
remember those times, because so many of you seem to be very accomplished
these days.
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
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