Barre chord trick for lush, easy open chords!

🎸 Use this easy trick to transform barre chords like F into lush open chords you can play all over the fretboard! 👉 Over 600 Song Guitar Lessons With Chords, Tabs, & Lyrics: www.justinguitar.com/songs #justinguitar #guitarforbeginners #guitarlessons
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👉 Video Chapters
00:00 Demonstration
00:21 What are Lifted Barre Chords
01:31 Playing Lifted Barre Chords
09:17 Minor Chord Problems
12:45 The KEY Thing
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[@justinguitar]

*FREE Full Course HERE:* www.justinguitar.com/grade-3

[@msenecal]

Leave it to Justin to raise the barre.

[@khgriffi]

lol that was actually pretty good

[@sgtrabbi2764]

Well played 😉

[@jenniferaliceonline]

Smooth 🤣

[@ultrakool]

fret not

[@meself349]

Actually I don't think that's correct. He tries to simplify things for people who are trying to learn the guitar. That's not really "raising the bar". Why would he do that? He's trying to make the instrument accessible for everybody.

[@51skibum2]

This was a great lesson. Interesting how much easier it is to play raised barre rather than standard barre. Especially good for seniors like me with lost flexibility.

[@97HawksFly]

This man is one of the unsung heroes of music. I've heard so many famous musicians saying they learn how to play guitar from his videos. I started watching him 13 years ago and now I'm making a living as a professional producer and play a lot of guitar in my tracks. thank you Justin!

[@ronlight7013]

This is one of those rare lessons that hits me exactly where I live. Most lessons I find either too elementary or overly challenging, but this one is just right!

[@gotznachtmann3156]

I think Eddie Van Halen used these progressions in his intro to Little Guitars back then. Fine video, really liked it! Thank you. 💐

[@kevincrilly4292]

Great Lesson..I also discovered this chord shape after listening to Alex Lifeson who uses it to brilliant effect in many Rush songs & have often heard it referred to as the Alex Lifeson chord...he is an absolute master of this shape, sometimes strumming it as full chords & sometimes as arpeggiating chords which sounds fantastic...to name a few song examples. First track on Hemispheres Cygnus X-1Book Two Xanadu...Middle Section The Spirit of Radio..Arpeggiated Verse Sections Far Cry...after the initial riff you hear the F Sharp position strum Also as Passing note a similar technique is also used on the Acoustic Guitar intro to Pinball Wizard by The Who where the open top E string is always left open as the underlying chords change.....Also sounds Great..

[@leascaart]

That acoustic guitar you're playing sounds so good!!

[@andychapman3100]

This is a fantastic addition Justin to help with Barre Chords; so much fun and love the clarity of those progressions. Came straight here after getting to grips with your barre chord tutorial on 'Pretty Fly for a White Guy'. Thank you so much! Awesome lesson!

[@jpr4212]

I particularly like the way Justin manages to tailor his lessons in such a concise, methodical manner, and at a level that is easily understandable wherever you may be on your journey learning guitar. Great work, and really appreciated by all the finger-clumsy mere mortals like myself!

[@janrandles8683]

Love this Justin! Watching with my breakfast coffee and can't wait to get to the guitar to try these out. Thanks for all the great videos and lessons!

[@ronholland-mid-watchmusic2402]

Great video! Thanks Justin!

[@ArtStiefel]

🎸🎸Love this! 🎸🎸Thanks Justin for another brilliant playing insight!! 🎸🎸

[@paulwilson1110]

Awesome Justin, thank you. Beautiful chords and so simple

[@frankb518]

I love it! Been using them myself! Thanks for sharing! Especially on acoustic,. Barrs are tough. And the open / broken are beautiful....

[@jimgodofbiscuits]

Great as always...Love the tone of that guitar and amp.

[@thevinylreview]

Great lesson. I’m already experimenting with this. Thanks Justin!

[@eduardotrillo3519]

love it! thanks Justin!

[@louisdirect]

Love this sound! Thank you for the lesson

[@OldSilkRoad]

Wow! Just wow!

[@edwardoorjitham7714]

Thank you Justin!! Love yr vids mate!!

[@astrorad2000]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@anthonyifasi8026]

Great lesson Justin 👍 Thank you!

[@jacobmueller4845]

Great lesson Justin! More lessons on barre chord embellishments would be cool :)

[@chrismatheson2561]

I learn so much from your videos. Thank you.

[@mrphil1092]

Hey Justin, yea that sounds great just lifting the 1st 2nd strings off the bar gives a great sound, i'v tried it on 5th string bars and it sounds great on some of them as well! Great Tip. Thanks Justin, lot a love.

[@johnletitia]

Thanks, a great variation!

[@fireflies4677]

It's so nice of a trick mate... thanks ....

[@drewdietz2115]

great lesson Justin, thanks

[@GuitaristPranav]

Thank you so much.. Always come up with a very useful and interesting content....i have many channels in my subscription list but this is the best of all⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@Yu2beFool]

I've often experimented like this for my own compositions and recently I've been experimenting - quite a lot actually - with the capo and open string progressions. Definitely worth a try also. By the way: thanks for posting this, because finding new chords on guitar is always very inspiring.

[@glorioskiola]

Nice lesson, thanks much!

[@Ralphjons]

Good that. I'll be giving it a go.

[@KiwiMC99]

Thanks for tips!

[@maidijk9619]

Sounds great!

[@darrinnorris2690]

Thank you that was a very useful lesson for an intermediate player!

[@lightfoot413]

Thanks Justin great and interesting lesson and good sounding barr chords....

[@TheNeonRabbit]

Cool trick. Thanks

[@soundssimple1]

Have used the majors idea before but great tip on the minors, opens up ideas thanks.

[@OTR366]

This is crazy timing for you to put this out as a lesson. I've been practicing a song with C, G, Am, F chord progression and accidentally did the "lifted" barre chord on the F and immediately noticed a huge difference. Technically wrong but sounds great. I simply got a bit sloppy moving from Am to F and didn't fret strings 1 and 2. I'll have to try the C and G next practice session to see how that sounds in the song. Thanks Justin!!

[@ragmon331]

Thank you

[@seanbaines]

Coldplay's song Yellow kind of does this, with the high E string tuned down a half tone, and those two top strings ringing out throughout. The chord shapes do change as we move through the progression, but we're using those two open high strings to kind of sonically tie it all together. Great sound. I stumbled across this "lifted barre" phenomenon myself awhile back while @rsing around on my own, (a bit of time in practice to just experiment and try things is great, IMO!). In fact, I think I was playing with the Yellow idea a bit, and just moving the shapes. I had no idea what to call it, though, or what was going on or how to use it. This video is quite helpful in all 3 ways. Thanks Justin. Very good video.

[@garryames1824]

Thanks

[@leascaart]

Wow. I have not seen your videos in a while. Your production and set look so much better.

[@johncarlo7395]

Nice Justin

[@BitsOfEternity]

Makes me want to play that base note on the minor with my thumb. Cheers!

[@earthstick]

Gold

[@davebowman5392]

Who knows where the time goes by Fairport Convention uses many of these, in fact Justin was playing the song without even knowing it, a beautiful song to practice these chords. Also Northern Lights by Rennaisance.

[@AlanThwaites]

John Denver used these type of chords very effectively in his song The Eagle and the Hawk. Thanks Justin.

[@travishanson166]

Now that I have herd this explained, I can now hear it very commonly among heavy rock accoustic tracks. Sevendust angel's son and Mourning by Tantric.

[@marcosofsky2605]

been struggling to teach myself classical guitar and I can hardly wait to get my steel string back tomorrow and try that

[@BluesLearner_70]

Those lifted bar chords make almost any guitar sound great

[@georgestevens1502]

Recently I've been using the open E shape sliding it up and down in different positions from high up the fret board and ending by dropping down to the open E while strumming all the strings all the time. The open E at the end of the progression sounds so big and fat that way. Don't even need to put the index on the low E string.

[@fourocker]

What an awesome tip, it's pretty obvious now but I've never tried because I always thought I had to play it properly so to speak.

[@ElrohirGuitar]

I've been using chords like those for quite some time. I did it kind of as a mistake, liked the sound, and thought: why not.

[@johnmacmillan627]

Still the master!

[@joshwmusic6838]

Really cool lesson thanks as always Justin. Also me and my mates saw a new British rock/metal band twice this month they are awesome. Check out Kings Of The Sky by Millstone if you like 80s rock and metal

[@adeppisch]

Thanks Justin for these great-sounding an relatively easy chord shapes. I just experimented, and found that rather than use the index finger for the root note(s) on the E-string, the thumb could be used This would also make transitioning from the major chord to minor chord easier. The middle finger would play the "major third" of the chord, and then the index finger would play the next fret down from it to play the "minor third" note. Perhaps on a wider fretboard and/or with smaller-handed player, this might not be as comfortable and/or possible etc. Thanks for the great ideas, and as usual the great videos. I've been a fan for number of years - keep up the great work!

[@jpr4212]

Great idea. I'm going to try it right now!

[@chrisg7891]

John Denver - The Eagle and the Hawk - intro and outro, frets 7 to 5 to 3 to 1 to 0. Beautiful and powerful.

[@billjeffers2273]

Holy Soundgarden my man!! ❤️

[@don911donny9]

Sit Down (next to me) uses an E (open), E (open), A, B progression. Strum DUD with the first two strokes on the treble strings and the 3rd stroke on the base strings

[@heinbldski]

THIS is the most important tip for every guitar player !

[@Pbnj1379]

No Excuses- Alice In Chains is Ab to Bb with the open 1st and 2nd strings (guitar is tuned down to Eb standard). This is a beautiful technique!!

[@discjammer]

Rooster is also lovely. F# and A with open E string.

[@richardpatwell6729]

These lifted barre chords add an ethereal tonal value to praise songs!

[@ryanagovier]

Apparitions by Matthew Good Band great Canadian band from the 90s starts on a lifted B barre chord

[@terryhams1328]

Great lesson! And what an amazing sounding guitar! What is it?

[@williamrobinson7435]

These are great! I like the C shape ones, and anything triadic on lower strings with upper pedal notes ringing out can yield a groovy crop of 'let ring modal nicenesses', the key is to get stuck in and experiment! 🎶👍❤️

[@nickbouvy6524]

Bewdy Justin

[@keithangstadt4950]

A similar concept that is useful is using the 3 note power chord shape and allowing the other strings to ring. Works especially well on A string root power chords. “Outside” from Aaron Lewis uses this trick when played acoustically.

[@seanbaines]

Yes. The only difference is you don't have the 3rd in there. That's what that finger on the 3rd string gives you, a 3rd an octave up. A 10th, really. A further wrinkle is to play the moveable barre chord shape, mute the two thin strings, and also mute the octave on the 4th string. Either use you pinky finger to mute, or leave it off and lean the 3rd finger back a bit. That gives you a spread triad sound, with the 1-5 power chord style, and the 3rd played on the 3rd string as a 10th. Great sound, either strummed or individually picked.

[@ShiningHourPop]

Most of my songs use these shapes! 😀

[@rolandoserrano1492]

Thanks justin you always show seeds in our minds that help us get out of ruts. Question what strings do you use on the acoustic?

[@justinguitar]

www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/all-about-guitar-strings-gm-102 Cheers 😊 | Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Approved Teacher www.justinguitar.com

[@elderhiker7787]

Barre none, Justin is the best.

[@harveybc]

I've heard the F played without the full bar called a flamingo F. It does give it a bit of a Spanish sound. I do something similar with the Bmin when playing Samba Pa Ti. It is fun playing around and see what sounds good and I've found somethings that sound horrible in one context sound great in another. The Ab+6 and Ebmaj9 is another. (At least to my ears but it is subjective.)

[@ChintanCG]

didnt know what the chords were called but I stumbled across them accidentally and have used them a lot. I like to play the bass note with thumb on these

[@ricardoolde1972]

Tis is a great way for playing chords. I am from the Netherlands and we have an artist called Anouk, who has a song called "Sacrifice" . This is played using those chords. Maybe you can check it out once

[@tomkennedy6069]

This reminds me of the intro to Nice Dream by Radiohead - there's a descending run of open barre chords from 8th fret to 5th fret, so definitely shows that the 6th fret can work as a passing chord!

[@dunning125]

Thanks, straight away thought this reminded me of something wouldn't have made the connection without your comment

[@Strumwith_aryan]

Sir at 7:10 you accidentally played chords of a very famous indian song called Choo Lo by the Local Train . You have been a great inspiration and teacher for me . Thanks for all your free courses and guidance. I would love if you could check out some indian songs and give it your own taste. Thanks GuruJi❤

[@herrunsinn774]

I'd be giving you a thumbs-up regardless, Justin, but you cinched it by refreshingly calling it a "trick" instead of the over-used "hack". Thank you! 🙂🙂🙂

[@paulembleton1733]

I’m lazy and a barre-less Am inspired a song, then G, F, and CMaj7/G, whilst singing around the drone on the B and E strings. But I didn’t think to make any use of the “redundant” barre finger. Doh, but also Yay!

[@roycranman3851]

Melissa, by the Allman Brothers uses several of these open "barre" chords and a few more that you didn't show using the Am shape.

[@MyShaun09]

Melissa by the Allman Brothers uses this method

[@cameronwhite9959]

One song I played in a band had a passing C-D change, I slid the open C shape up two frets leaving the G and E open. Apparently that’s an Em9/D! ;-)

[@Tracer9GTRider8]

I'm trying to learn Barre chords and am struggling. A few of the tunes (Icy Blue Heart - John Hiatt; 8 Days a Week, Nowhere Man - Beatles) have a Bminor so my teacher showed me I can play it as an open chord buuuuuuut don't hit that high E string 😅

[@amusicment4829]

👍🏼

[@j.d.thompson3505]

I would love to have this whole set on 8 track.

[@PC-ko6dy]

Beautiful guitar, Maton? Martin??

[@Yu2beFool]

As an extension you could try the B7 chord. If you mute the sixth string, you can use it almost all over the place. Just the 3rd and 10th sound weird to me. Not to say that these are progressions that can be used in a lot of songs.

[@LocalMachine]

When I first learned Alice in Chains - No Excuses back in the 90s, I discovered open chords.

[@svartsjokolade]

Beat me to it, was going to comment about AIC! Such a great song.

[@LocalMachine]

@@svartsjokolade love it, yes. The whole Jar of Flies album

[@LocalMachine]

@@svartsjokolade I'm still blown away that it was 28 years ago lol

[@svartsjokolade]

@@LocalMachine My favourite AIC song is on that ep, Rotten Apple!

[@Mustaine1ify]

@@svartsjokolade I new someone would mention AIC, what a great band they were/are. I'am currently trying to learn "I Stay Away" quite a tricky one.

[@tuckermcelroy7055]

I believe 'Nice Dream' by Radiohead utilises a similar idea 👍

[@BrianSmith-ow9gy]

Does this technique pose pitching problems for vocalists?

[@bobpovey5689]

Hi Justin Would it work with David Greys The one I love he uses the open chords G,D,C and A.minor with a capo on the 5th fret.

[@moonymoon7666]

David Gray actually uses this kind of chords on Sail Away, the minor versin of it, on the intro and the 1st two chords of the verses. Capo 1st fret.

[@nicolewyatt9060]

Staind outside is played like this and i want to play barre because it sounds soo much better

[@phlobleg]

Something in the air.

[@bettyswunghole3310]

My 5th string barring technique is so poor that sometimes I get pretty funky sounds out of the high E string whether I want them or not!😆

[@hogs150]

very cool. But not all guitars are going to sound like a froggy bottom. amazing tone out of that axe

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

The opening to "Nice Dream" by Radiohead comes to mind

[@zenrobotninja]

Got a really nice nick drake vibe about it

[@ficheye00]

D# minor sounds like a great passing chord.

[@SuperJ333]

That guitar sounds awesome - anybody know what it is?

[@timorean320]

Ah, yes, the infamous Alex Liefson chord.