Barre chords

Barre chords

Barre chords (also known as Barre chords and bar chords, but more commonly spelled as "Barre") are a type of guitar chord, where one or more fingers are used to press down multiple strings across the guitar fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strings). Barring the strings enables the guitarist to play a chord not restricted by the tones of the guitar's open strings. Barre chords are often referred to as "moveable" chords, as they can be moved up and down the neck as needed. They are commonly used in most popular and classical music and are frequently used in combination with "open" or standard guitar chords. They are typically used for more complex chord voicing’s and playing in keys not suitable for the more basic open chords of the first position of a standard-tuned guitar.
Fretting a Barre chord is the same as retuning the guitar a number of half-steps higher, playing the original open chord, and then tuning the guitar back down. Its primary purpose is to shift any of the open string chords an arbitrary number of half steps up the neck of the guitar, similar to the use of a capo. For example, playing the E major chord with a bar across the fifth fret is equivalent to playing an A major chord, five half steps higher than E.
Tone is affected by a Barre chord. Because the strings are no longer open, they do not resonate as brightly or long as an open chord. The sound is muted by the pressure placed on the bar; heavy pressure in the center of the frets produces less muting. Therefore, when playing Barre chords, it is important to practice maintaining adequate pressure, as the technique is tiring for beginners and the strings dig into the flesh of the uncalloused finger.