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Patrick -> RE: Barre Chords - any advice? (Apr. 12 2006 19:53:02)
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quote:
Sean,
I've heard this before, but I find it difficult to visualize this position. Am I correct in assuming that in this position the barred strings would be slightly pulled down if the guitar face is perpendicular to the floor? Thanks!
We need to go one step further with this technique and breakdown the mechanics. First you need to think in terms of a "heavy hand (arm)" and the "light hand (arm)". OK, here is what you do (and this is very important). Hold your arm in front of you. Now release all muscle tension and let it fall via gravity. It's a lot harder than you may think. If at any time in its fall, you feel muscle tension breaking the fall of the arm at all, you are not doing it correctly. The arm must literally fall totally unimpeded. This is known as the "heavy arm". Do this several times until you internalize the feeling.
The opposite is the "light arm". This is the felling we have when we hold our arm in front of us. The interesting thing is our mind perceives the weight of the arm as zero, but in fact is being supported by muscle tension.
Again hold your arm in front of you with the elbow bent at about a ninety-degree angle. Now release the muscle tension from your shoulder allowing the arm to drop (holding the bend at the elbow). Notice as the arm drops, the hand doesn't fall straight down, rather articulates back toward our body. Using these mechanics, you can see by using this method (heavy arm) with a barr, you see that the tension is directed into the fret board rather than down.
Trust me it really does work. After you work with it for a while, you will constantly be shifting from a “heavy arm” to a “light arm” position without putting any thought into it. Doing barr’s doesn’t have to be torturous. Just apply a bit of physics.
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