Stop 3 of 5
A-shape barre chords
Major, minor and seventh with the root on the fifth string.
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Stop 3 of 5
Major, minor and seventh with the root on the fifth string.
The E shape gave you twelve major chords with the root on the sixth string. Now you'll build its inseparable partner: the A-shape barre chord, with the root on the fifth string. Together these two shapes cover the neck so that any major, minor or seventh chord is always only a few frets from your hand.
Open A has its root on the open fifth string and three fingers squeezed into fret 2. Re-finger it with fingers 2, 3 and 4 to free your index. Then move everything up a fret and lay the index across fret 1, from the fifth string to the first:
The sixth string is not played: it didn't sound in open A either. Just as before, the strings that rang open (5th and 1st) are now fretted by the index, which has become a portable nut.
The barre chord lays its notes out like this:
String 5, Fret 3: C3 · 1 · Scale tone
Notice: the root appears twice (strings 5 and 3), the fifth twice (strings 4 and 1) and the third once, on the second string. In the E shape the third was on the third string; here it's on the second. Remember that, because it's exactly the note you'll change to make the chord minor.
If you played the sixth string at the barre fret, you'd hear a note five semitones below the root: the chord's fifth in the bass. It's not a terrible mistake, but it makes the chord sound less stable, because the ear takes the lowest note as its reference. That's why the A shape is played on five strings: the lowest note is the root, and the chord sounds solid.
Four fingers squeezed into one fret is awkward, especially low on the neck. So many guitarists play the A-shape major with a ring-finger : finger 3 lies flat and presses strings 4, 3 and 2 at once.
The challenge of the mini-barre is the first string: the flattened ring finger tends to mute it. You have two options, both valid:
Listen to both versions: there's hardly any difference overall.
Since the root is on the fifth string, under the index, the chord is named after the note on the fifth string at that fret:
String 5, Open: A2 · 1 · Scale tone
| Index fret | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major chord | B | C | D | E | F | G |
And the frets in between: fret 1 = B♭, fret 4 = C♯ (or D♭), fret 6 = E♭, fret 9 = F♯, fret 11 = A♭.
Compare open A and Am. In the minor, the second string drops from fret 2 to fret 1: from C♯ (major third) to C (minor third). In the barre you do exactly the same: the second string drops one fret, and the fingering reorganises itself.
Notice that the A-shape minor looks a lot like the E-shape major, just shifted over one string. That's no accident: both share the same 1-3-4-2 finger "architecture". If you've got the E shape under your fingers, your hand will recognise this one at once.
Open A7 leaves the third string open: it sounds G, the minor seventh. In the barre, the index frets the third string; fingers 3 and 4 sit on strings 4 and 2.
Am7 combines both changes: minor third on the second string and seventh on the third.
| Quality | 4th string | 3rd string | 2nd string |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | +2 (fifth) | +2 (root) | +2 (major third) |
| Minor | +2 | +2 | +1 (minor third) |
| 7 | +2 | 0 (minor seventh) | +2 |
| m7 | +2 | 0 | +1 |
The numbers show how many frets above the barre each string is fretted.
You now have two places for every chord. C, for instance, lives at fret 8 as an E shape and at fret 3 as an A shape. They sound like the same chord but with a different weight: the E shape has a lower, deeper bass; the A shape a slightly higher, more compact one.
E shape
A shape
At the next stop you'll learn to choose between them depending on the next chord, so your hand moves as little as possible.
Keep the index at fret 3 and change only the other fingers. Play each chord for one bar.
Check especially that the first string rings in C minor and C minor 7: there it's held by the index alone.
Goal: Move through C, C minor, C7 and C minor 7 with every string clean and the sixth muted.
This original turnaround mixes the two shapes: C (A shape, fret 3), A minor (E shape, fret 5), D minor (A shape, fret 5) and G (E shape, fret 3). Notice that your hand almost never leaves frets 3 to 5.
Goal: Play the turnaround four times in a row at 70 BPM without stopping.
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