

Let's take a look at how to play a root 5 Bm7 chord.

Root 5 minor seventh chords are based on the shape of an open Am7 chord. Here's where to move the root 5 minor shape to get different chords:įor some help learning to play root 5 minor chords, check out this informative video! 9. Have your middle finger on the second string at the third fret, your ring finger on the fourth string at the fourth fret, and your pinky on the third string at the fourth fret. You would then form the same shape as an open A minor behind that bar. To play a B minor barre chord, you would move your root 5 barre to the second fret, where the root note is B. So you likely already know that because you use the open A major shape to play a root 5 major chord, you use the open A minor shape to play a root 5 minor chord. It's the first chord on this chart:Īs you've been learning to shape bar chords, you're probably getting the hang of what open chord shapes each barre chord type is based around. Many beginners learn an abbreviated F major.

You may have begun taking steps toward fully shaped bar chords without even knowing it. We'll go over some tips for learning how to do this later on. But since there are no open strings with bar chords, you'll need to make sure that each note can ring without any muting or buzzes. On open chords, your open strings ring out freely. Though it's certainly worthwhile, learning to shape bar chords does take some time and effort. To play it as a barre chord, you would just need to find a root note and know your minor chord shape for that root note. When you know your bar chord shapes, you can often figure out how to play a chord if you don't know the exact fingering for it.įor example, let's say you need to play a G minor. For one, you don't need to memorize seemingly endless chord shapes like you do when learning open chords. This index-finger bar works a lot like a capo pressing all strings across one fret (whether with a finger or a capo) lets you use simplified chord shapes behind that bar.īut why learn to play bar guitar chords, anyway? Being able to use the same shape to play different chords is a major advantage when it comes to guitar playing. A bar chord requires you to use a single finger (usually your index finger) to fret multiple strings at once. The concept behind bar chords is a simple one.
