by Paul Kleff
The primary problem that most students have when changing barre chords is failing to reduce the chord grip tension in their fingers. By not releasing the tension in the left hand prior to attempting to move to the next chord, it is very difficult to maintain the desired hand shape and move quickly and smoothly. Failing to release the tension in the left hand also results in extreme tension and fatigue in the left hand—fatigue and tension are technique killers!
The solution lies in a simple four-step process. Let’s look at a 6th string root major chord—the G major barre chord located at the 3rd fret:
Let’s say that we want to move to the next chord we are going to play—the C major bar chord at the 8th fret:
Let’s say that we want to move to the next chord we are going to play—the C major bar chord at the 8th fret:
