You may be surprised that this introduction to barre chords begins with Gary talking about the chromatic scale. This introductory lesson, however, explains the importance of principle shapes in barre chords and how they interact with the chromatic scale. This knowledge will serve you well as you move forward.

Learning barre chords really is about three separate things. The first is that you need to understand that all chords have a root note. The root note is the base or foundation of a chord. As stated, all chords have a root note regardless of whether they are open string or barred chords. Once we know where the root notes are found, then we can use this to our advantage.

The second thing that we need to know is the chord shapes and crucially, where the root notes as mentioned are found. This is an area that many people skip on. They learn the shapes, but they do not know anything about root notes. Worse still, they always assume that the root note is on the sixth string. The root note can be on any string.

The final piece of information that needs to be understood and memorized is the chromatic scale. If you don’t know what the chromatic scale watch our video which shows you how to play several chromatic scales.  The chromatic scale is the vital missing link that messes up so many guitarists when approaching barre chords. Once you have watched the video you’ll be equipped to move on to the next lesson which is about chord shapes and concepts.