Barre chord

Playing a chord with the barre technique slightly affects tone quality.

Such chords are hard to play for beginners due to the pressing of multiple strings with a single finger.

The term barre comes from the method of using the index finger to form a rigid "bar" across the strings.

Learning the five movable C-, A-, G-, E-, and D-shapes of, say, a dominant 7th chord in effect allows the player to learn 60 chords, since each of the five shapes can be positioned so that any of the 12 chromatic notes is the root note.

[4] This system also provides a way to remember scale shapes, though some debate the usefulness of this teaching method due to potential technical problems.

[5] The use of the leading-tone imperfect authentic cadence (VII-I) in popular music is often attributed to the ease of sliding a barre chord up two frets.

[6] In the context of classical music, Fernando Sor recommended using barring and shifting sparingly.

His principal reason for avoiding barre chords is that they require more effort—but he acknowledges that they are frequently the best or only solution for playing some passages.

Roman numerals are more prevalent than Arabic numbers to avoid confusion with other fingering indications and common chord symbols (but not figured harmony).

A vertical strike-through of the letter "C" commonly indicates a partial barre—the number of strings to barre depends on context and performer choice.

Other editorial styles use superscript fractions (e.g., 4/6, 1/2) indicates the number of strings to barre in addition to the letters B or C. In some notation styles (particularly classical staff notation), the letters "B" or "C" are omitted altogether, with the number of courses to barre (from the highest-tuned downwards) written as an index (superscript).

[13] It is customary to place the barre sign above the staff, with a spanning line to mark duration.

A barre chord ("A♯ minor"), with the index finger used to bar the strings.
A, E major barre chord, then open E major chord. Play open E-major chord arpeggio,
then barre, then open ⓘ
The index finger locates the root note in the chord shape.
D ♭ /C ♯ barre chord (left), difficult to reach in open position (right).
VII-I cadence in C major. Play ⓘ
Diagonal barre chord: major seventh chord on G. [ 12 ] Play ⓘ The first finger frets both the second fret on the first string and the third fret on the sixth string.
Barre chord notation in classical music uses Roman numerals with indices (see left).