A-shape barre chords and switching shapes cleanly
Last time we built the E-shape barre and moved it up and down the neck, so you've got F, F#, G, and beyond, all coming off that same shape. Good. Now we're adding a second shape, and then — this is the part people skip — we're going to practice moving between the two, because that's where the real playing happens.
The A-shape barre
Think back to your open A chord. Index, middle, and ring finger all bunched up on the second fret, strings D, G, and B. That's the shape we're going to barre.
Here's how it lays out:
- Index finger flat across all six strings, wherever you're fretting (say, second fret for a B chord).
- Ring finger, middle finger, and pinky come down together on the string below, one fret up, mirroring the open A shape.
- Depending on your hand, you'll either use three fingers stacked (ring, middle, pinky) or some people mash ring and pinky together into a mini-barre of their own. Try both. See what your hand likes. I use three fingers stacked most days, but my ring finger's a little bent from an old woodworking injury and it just sits better that way for me. That's a preference, not a rule.
- Your low E string usually gets muted or just doesn't get played on this shape. Don't force your thumb to reach it. Focus on the five strings you're actually fretting.
Same rules as the E-shape barre apply here. Index finger rolls slightly onto its side, presses along the bony edge, not the flat pad. Thumb sits behind the neck, roughly behind your middle finger, pushing forward like it's trying to meet your index finger through the neck. If your thumb's hooking over the top, that's the bad habit sneaking back in. Go check it.
Play it slow. One string at a time, working up from the fifth string down to the first. Anything buzzing or going dead, that's your signal — more pressure, a small angle adjustment, or the shape's collapsed somewhere. Don't strum a barre chord you haven't checked string by string first. I feel like people rush straight to strumming and then wonder why it sounds like static.
Where this shape lives
Root note's on the A string (fifth string) this time, not the low E. So if you barre at the second fret, your root is B. Fifth fret, that's a D. Seventh fret, E. Same as before — this shape is a moveable machine, and now you've got two machines.
Now the actual lesson: switching between them
This is the part that trips people up more than either shape by itself. You can play a clean F (E-shape) and a clean B (A-shape) separately and still sound like a beginner, because the switch between them is where your hand falls apart.
Here's how to practice it without falling apart:
- Set up an E-shape barre. Check it rings clean.
- Lift the whole hand off — don't slide it, don't half-collapse it, just release the pressure and lift.
- Land the A-shape barre somewhere nearby. Check it rings clean.
- Go back. E-shape. Check it.
Do this slow, with real pauses between each shape, for a good five minutes before you ever add rhythm. I know that sounds tedious. It is a little tedious. Ten clean minutes here beats an hour of grinding through a song and wondering why your chord changes sound muddy. That's basically my whole opinion on barre chords in one sentence, and I'll say it every chance I get.
The mistake I see most is people trying to keep some tension in the hand between shapes, like they're bracing for the next chord. Don't. Let go completely, reset, land again. Your hand needs that half-second of nothing. Songs feel like they move fast, but chord changes usually give you more time than you think, especially once you're not fighting your own hand on top of it.
A word on the buzz you'll get at first
You're going to get more buzzing and dead notes this lesson than last lesson, simply because you're asking your hand to do two different shapes and remember two different fingerings. That's normal. That's not your guitar, that's not your setup, that's just a new skill being new. Give it a few sessions before you get discouraged.
My father played the piano badly but often his whole life, and he never once apologized for a wrong note or slowed down to be embarrassed about it. He'd hit something wrong and just keep going and land somewhere close by, and eventually somewhere close by turned into the right note most of the time. I think about that a lot with barre chords specifically, because the buzz here can feel like failure and it's really just the practice working. Keep going. Land somewhere close by. It gets closer.
Before next time
Pick two chords, one from each shape, and practice switching between just those two for a few minutes a day. Don't add a third chord yet. Two clean switches beats five messy ones every time. 🌷