Stop 4 of 5
Moving shapes around the neck
Finding roots and transposing any chord.
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Stop 4 of 5
Finding roots and transposing any chord.
You now have two barre shapes and four qualities for each. Time to turn them into a map: knowing where any chord lives before you move your hand, changing a whole progression's key in seconds, and deciding when a barre chord, a power chord or a capo serves you best. This is the stop that turns shapes into freedom.
To name and find barre chords you only need two strings: the sixth and the fifth. Here's the map you're going to memorise:
You don't have to memorise it all at once. Start with the landmarks that fall on the fret markers:
| Marker | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th string | G | A | B | C | D | E |
| 5th string | C | D | E | F | G | A |
Every other note is one or two frets from a landmark. Remember that between B and C, and between E and F, there's only one fret: no sharp or flat between them.
If you're unsure of a note, find it on another string. From the sixth string, the same note an octave higher is two strings down and two frets up (on the fourth string). From the fifth, the same on the third string. Listen:
That octave shape is hidden inside your barre chords: in the E shape, the root on the fourth string (finger 4) is exactly the octave of the sixth.
Fret 6 on the sixth string can be called A♯ or B♭: the same note with two names. Which to use? It depends on the key. In keys with flats in the key signature (F, B♭, E♭…) you write B♭; in sharp keys (E, B…), the altered chords are written with sharps, such as F♯m or C♯m. Nothing changes on the neck, but reading the name correctly saves confusion when a bandmate hands you a chord chart.
To means to take music into another key without changing its relationships. With open chords, transposing forces you to learn new shapes. With barre chords it's almost a game: you move every shape the same number of frets.
Take this original four-bar progression in G:
Now move everything up two frets. The shapes don't change; only the fret does. The result is the same progression in A:
Hear it? It's "the same song", just higher. The Roman numerals (I–IV–V–IV) didn't change: that's what a transposition preserves.
What the ear recognises in a progression isn't the absolute notes but the relationships between the chords and the tonic: the distance from the first chord to the second, from the second to the third… Moving every shape n frets adds n semitones to every note, so all those relationships stay put. That's why a familiar tune is still recognisable whether a low or a high voice sings it: it's the same idea that makes barre chords movable, applied to a whole progression.
Every chord has two homes, one on the sixth string and one on the fifth. The golden rule: choose the one nearest the previous chord. Your hand travels less and changes are faster and smoother.
Look at the progression in G above: G as an E shape at fret 3, and C as an A shape at the same fret 3. The index doesn't even move; only the shape changes. And D is just two frets higher.
String 6, Fret 3: G2 · 1 · Scale tone
Compare three ways to play C – F – G:
| Way | C | F | G | Total movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All E shapes | fret 8 | fret 1 | fret 3 | jumps of 7 and 2 frets |
| Mixed shapes | A, fret 3 | E, fret 1 | E, fret 3 | jumps of 2 and 2 frets |
| Mixed shapes (higher) | E, fret 8 | A, fret 8 | A, fret 10 | jumps of 0 and 2 frets |
The third option is the most comfortable of all: your hand barely moves. Try it:
Remember the G5 from your rock riffs: root on the sixth string, fifth on the fifth string. Now look at it inside the G barre chord: it's the bottom of the E shape. And the power chord rooted on the fifth string is the bottom of the A shape.
That means everything you know about power chords works for barre chords: the same frets, the same names, the same root map. The difference is the sound: a power chord has no third, so it's neither major nor minor; the barre chord is.
A is literally a barre that never gets tired: a bar pressing every string at one fret, leaving all your fingers free for open shapes. With the capo at fret 2, your G, C and D shapes sound as A, D and E: the same transposition you did with barre chords.
Use the capo when…
Use barre chords when…
With the metronome at 60, play each note in the list on the sixth string on one beat and on the fifth string on the next: G, C, A, D, F, B, E, B♭. Then play the matching major barre chord in those same places.
Goal: Find each root on both strings in time, one beat per note at 60 BPM.
Play the progression in G (fret 3), then in A (up two frets) and finally in C (using the "higher" version from fret 8). Repeat each one twice with the backing:
Goal: Play the I–IV–V–IV progression in G, A and C without stopping to think about the shapes.
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