Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Oh? I thought it was Spanish... but then again, little do i know...

Har, Paul! I think I like your definition best. But does that mean any finger arrangement whatsoever, played in a tavern whatsoever, is in fact, a barre (bar) chord?

Perhaps also from the Latin "barra", meaning ridge.

Dave, it depends upon how much you've been drinking...some of them are more like pretzels.

How many of you use two-fingered barre chords? I've been a barre chord cheater for a long time. I used to be slightly ashamed of the technique, until I started noticing that George Harrison and Dave Davies used them too.

Well, Randy, I suppose there are legit two-fingered barre chords. I mean the kind when you're playing a D major on the fifth fret. But I think you're referring to an A major on the fifth fret, right?

Cheat on that one? Unthinkable!

I've been using two-fingered second-position barre chords for about four decades (DM 5th fret being a good example), and don't see them as "cheating", as they help speed, at least for me, and on higher frets there's less room for all 4 fingers...

Dave: Yes, sometimes I do the unthinkable. It works great when you're playing fast and distorted on Kinks songs (i.e. 'You Really Got Me', 'I Need You', 'All Day And All Of The Night', 'Till The End Of The Day', etc).

I hear you. I was just kidding. The "correct" way to make the D major I was talking about, I could never make anyway. My second-position finger's joint just doesn't hyper extend enough to let the 1st E ring with an A. One must do what one must do.

Ever mess around with dropped D or other tunings? I find myself with one guitar always tuned to an open E or G. Mostly the acoustic, I will admit.

Dave: Nope. No special tunings for me, yet. I've been wrestling with standard tuning for thirty years. Just recently I started experimenting with a capo and it seems to have a lot of potential. My playing style is completely self-taught and leaves technical players shaking their heads in disgust...

Necessity is the mother of invention. Purists may call it "cheating" but I call it "a means to an end". I thought I was the only person who plays a "cheat" open G with the thumb and second finger until I saw a pro musician use it last December. I felt vindicated!!

I think you are correct on the origin of the word, Peter.

I never used that two-fingered bar chord technique... how do you do it, guys?

Sheena: It's very easy. Simply play barre chords with fingers #1 and #4. For instance, a G chord is finger #1 holding the top string at the 3rd fret and finger #4 holding the second string down at the 5th fret. Move up two frets and you've got an A chord. Drop down a string with each finger and you've got a D. Then slide down two frets and you've got a C. Crank-up the distortion, strum the top three strings really fast and you'll be playing 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' in no time!

Ahem... the Ramones' reference yet again?!?!?! Oh well, nevermind... just kiddin'. I still cannot get how it's done (well, it's late night here, anyway), but thanks for the chords, anyway!

Sheena: I started playing that way out of pure laziness a long time ago. It's just barre chords with the two middle fingers missing. Works well for loud fast music. Sounds horrible on an acoustic guitar.