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Location: Flahdaw | B (224442) is, without a doubt, my least favorite "normal" chord. In fact, I hate it. And not just because it's a barre...I play barres all over the place. Done quickly, in the middle of a song, I almost never get B cleanly....always a flubbed note in there somewhere (unless I'm playing an electric). In fact, I'll transpose a song if there's a lot of B's in it.
What chord do YOU hate? |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Do you play the B with just first finger barring and the 4th fret all with 3rd finger? That's how I learned and never have a problem grabbing a clean B. I'm sure this is a dumb question. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I play it that way on electric, not acoustic. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I hear the "clean" part, but using the index on the high-e, and the other 3 fingers for the 4-4-4 works OK for me. |
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Location: SoCal | I don 't try to catch every note in the chord. Usually just the inside 5 strings..... |
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Location: south east Michigan | Agreed Mr. G.
The B chord is a buzz kill.
You're busting along with all those booming open chords... then .... like a fart in church... along comes that darn ol' B chord.
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Not a big fan of B-flat either. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | Back in my beginner days (ancient history) I wasn't particularly fond of the F chord (003211) 'cause the E and B strings always tore up the side of my index finger. It was a happy day when I eventually discovered the barre F!!! Rarely play the old F anymore. Although I do okay hitting it these days, B was another PITA chord for me too. Practice, practice, practice... and then... some more practice.  |
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Location: Seacoast NH | I agree with Moody and just shoot for the B root and the next 3 strings, although it does sound pretty good if you throw in the low F# once in a while too. Don't think I could play the 4th fret notes with three fingers even if I tried, seems awkward. Index and ring finger both across multiple strings works for me... |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | never a problem with a B barr....but maybe my fingers just co-operate with that one. |
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Location: Miami | Brad Durasa - 2012-08-09 1:14 PM
You're busting along with all those booming open chords... then .... like a fart in church... along comes that darn ol' B chord.
Absolutely hilarious! I totally relate! When I saw the title of this thread, I thought, I wonder if he's talking about the B chord. Sure enough!
I actually play the three strings with my pinky instead of my third finger. My third finger hurt like hell when I tried using it across the three strings, so I lazily got used to using my pinky.
The other one I hated was the F, but now I powerchord it with my thumb, courtesy of the O's nice small necks :-) |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Agreed. 52 years of playing and I still hate an open B chord. Maybe I should've had a lesson. I fully barre it on the 7th fret or use XX4447 pretty much as a matter of course. Over the past few years, I've memorized and developed an appreciation for suspended 2 chords, or just 2 chords as most music writers use them. As an alternative, I'll often substitute a B2 (224422) for a B whenever I can, particularly if the chord doesn't need a strong 3rd. One other chord that is difficult for me on a 25-1/2" scale guitar is an E/G# because the spread to the low G# is right at the limit of my little finger. On a 24" scale guitar, like a Fender Jaguar, or even a 24-3/4" scale like a Les Paul or the Hamer improv, the slightly tighter scale seems to make a difference for short-fingered folks like me. Maybe it wouldn't be a concern if I had better technique. |
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Location: Sydney, Australia | immoody - 2012-08-10 6:00 AM
I don 't try to catch every note in the chord. Usually just the inside 5 strings.....
Impressive, do you have a 7 string guitar or is this on a 12 string (which would be an even more impressive effort)? 
I also hate B chords (and B flats almost as much). I'll generally try to play it on the 7th fret or capo & transpose. If the song was written by a guitarist, you'll usually find they had a capo on - seriously, who'd actually write a song with a B chord in it. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | I suggest learning "Louise". I count 14 B chords in my version. |
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Location: SoCal | Brad, for the E/G#, why don't play the E at the 4th fret (D shaped chord) and then catch the G# with your thumb? Lazy man's way to play the chord.... |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Yup, the Barre B is to be avoided. Prefer the open Key of E:
022100 E
024400 B
046500 C#m
077600 A
Of course you know the worship Musician's favorite chord is Gsus! |
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Location: NH | Boy, that moderator is a busy B! |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | MWoody - 2012-08-09 9:19 PM Yup, the Barre B is to be avoided. Prefer the open Key of E: 022100 E 024400 B 046500 C#m 077600 A Of course you know the worship Musician's favorite chord is Gsus! Another excellent work around, for sure. By bad. I meant to quote Moody's suggestion.
Edited by ProfessorBB 2012-08-10 8:09 AM
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Location: Northwest Arkansas | Does a worship player use anything but sus chords? The B is tough. I like X-6-4-4-4-X. Bb is simple use a X-X-D-Bb-D-F. It's a legitimate Bb. Pat Simmons uses it sometimes with the Doobie Bros. I play out of the hymn book and a couple of p and w songs. |
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Location: NJ | anything that has a B5 b9 or b5 #7 or stuff like that it makes me crazy.
once I learn the shape I am ok but the names blow me away |
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Location: closely held secret | MWoody - 2012-08-09 7:19 PM
046500 C#m
Don't you mean 046600? |
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Location: Midland, MI | I don't play favorites among the three chords I know. I dislike them all immensely and equally. They collude against me and trip me up on the I-IV change from E-form barre to A-form barre every time. |
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Location: Michigan | The B is a weird one for sure. I like going from A to B with 2,3,4 on the A chord and just sliding it up and adding the barr. From other chords it is hit or miss depending on the song I will bar both at 1&4 muting the high E. or a just hit the three strings at the 4th fret. I try to avoid B at all times 
Edited by twistedlim 2012-08-17 8:58 AM
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Location: sitting at my computer | Another one that trips me up occasionally is open E7 (022130). Just can't consistently get my little finger to cooperate when trying to grab the whole chord simultaneously. I find I have to grab the E first and then put down the 7. Mind over matter (er, pinky). |
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| B always bothers me as well. I usually end up doing the three note "power chord" version when i have to make quick chord changes. All those great 12 bar blues songs always have the B!
Edited by sonicpictures 2013-03-21 3:27 PM
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Location: SE Michigan | The B flat is even worse than the B because it's closer to the nut and requires that much more effort to barr cleanly. I have always disliked and avoided the cowboy-chord form of D-minor. It always sounds weak and anemic to me. It's easy to play but just sounds thin to me. I will usually go up to the fifth fret and do a barr form D-minor. |
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The worst basic chord in the guitar world
