One of the great attributes of the guitar is that a guitarist can “carry” chord patterns up and down the fretboard to create new chords. Many of these moveable chords are performed by creating what is called a Barre with one finger. To play a barre chords, you must be able to hold all six strings down with one finger. This can be very difficult at first and may seem impossible to some
novice students, but the muscles in your hand just need a little training.
Barre Strength Building Exercise
Place your 1st finger across all six strings at any fret. Position your thumb directly behind your 1st finger on the back of the neck. Be sure to push hard! You want all six string to come in contact with the fret. Don’t curve your finger at the knuckles, keep it as flat as possible. Don’t use your other fingers to help hold down your 1st finger, by pilling them up on top. They should be free:
While holding this barre strum all six strings a few times, then move the barre up one fret and strum a few more times. Continue to work your way up the fretboard and back down again strumming a few times at each fret.
Your hands are going to be cramping quite a bit, but that’s exactly what we want. Like they always say in the gym: no pain, no gain. Perform this exercise daily until you get to the point where there are no muted strings or buzzing and your hand doesn’t hurt as much.