How do you fret this chord?

[Bryan T]

x87888

Thanks!

[funkycam]

number are fingers for your chord x21333

[Bryan T]

No pinky, hmm.

[Gigbag]

I do it the way Funkycam does. Third finger barre for higest strings.

[Jim Soloway]

No pinky, hmm.

If you leave the pinky out of the chord you can use it for playing melody notes and extensions above the 8th fret.

[Bryan T]

You'd fret the minor version of this chord the same way? x86888

I have a hard time getting enough arch in my middle finger.

[Jim Soloway]

You'd fret the minor version of this chord the same way? x86888

I have a hard time getting enough arch in my middle finger.

I play the minor both with and with out my pinky depending on what's coming next. It is more difficult than the dominant/9 but you should be able to do it. If it's causing trouble I'd suggest trying more break in your wrist and/or bringing your elbow closer to your side.

[Gigbag]

If you leave the pinky out of the chord you can use it for playing melody notes and extensions above the 8th fret.

Exactly. Great for funky riffs.

[spencerbk]

You'd fret the minor version of this chord the same way? x86888

I have a hard time getting enough arch in my middle finger.

Worth the effort if you can sort it out. makes for a smooth


8x8888
x86888

Cm7 - F7 transition fingered

2x3333
x21333

or slide down a minor third for Oye Como Va or some Allman Brothers ...

[Bryan T]

It is funny that I can play some ridiculously hard to finger chords, but I still can't consistently nail this fingering. I think I'm too much of a 'fret with the fingertips' player and transitioning to three strings fretted with the ring finger is a challenge.

Another one I struggle with is the same chord with the fifth in the bass:

887888

That's a great chord to do harp harmonics with.

Bryan

[JonR]

It is funny that I can play some ridiculously hard to finger chords, but I still can't consistently nail this fingering. I think I'm too much of a 'fret with the fingertips' player and transitioning to three strings fretted with the ring finger is a challenge.

Another one I struggle with is the same chord with the fifth in the bass:

887888I'd fret 6th with my thumb on that one.
But it includes two 5ths, which is not really necessary.

Persevere with that partial ring barre. It needs to be double-jointed (bend the ring up from the barre, so the index can arch properly), but your fingertip will bend that way with practice.
There's no harm in using the pinky if it helps, but personally I find that more difficult.

I play the minor version the same way, tho it's not as useful a shape, IMO.

Remember you can often do without the 5th on top of the chord (as well as that superfluous one on the 6th string), which means you can play x8788x with 1 finger per string.
If the middle finger arch is the problem tho, you can also do without the root. Jazz players frequently dispense with both root and 5th.
xx788x is enough for a jazz F9 chord ;).

And if you want an alternative shape for the exact x87888 voicing, try this: 13-12-13-12-13-x. (But that needs the index to bend back up from its barre, so the other fingers can arch...)

[Bryan T]

Remember you can often do without the 5th on top of the chord (as well as that superfluous one on the 6th string), which means you can play x8788x with 1 finger per string.

The six string chord is in a Lenny Breau tune that I pull out occasionally to work through. He did harp harmonics with it, so having all six strings ring out is pretty cool. I'm not sure if he would have fretted the sixth string with his thumb. Anyone know?

The five string version of chord keeps coming up in these Cole Porter arrangements I'm working through. The five is the melody note, so I don't want to drop it.

Thanks for the tips!

[uncle psychosis]

I have almost the opposite problem...I'm trying to play:

x7677x but almost always end up playing x76777 by accident. And when I do mute the top e string I find that I end up muting the D string too and I don't want to do that...Grr!

[Bryan T]

I have almost the opposite problem...I'm trying to play:

x7677x but almost always end up playing x76777 by accident. And when I do mute the top e string I find that I end up muting the D string too and I don't want to do that...Grr!

My default fingering for that is a four finger chord. I'll fret the B string with my pinky and also use it to mute the high E.

[uncle psychosis]

My default fingering for that is a four finger chord. I'll fret the B string with my pinky and also use it to mute the high E.

I tried playing it like that but I'm trying to learn some James Brown-esque links and that involves adding the 13th on the e string at some points, so it really needs to be played as a barre.

I'm getting there, its just frustrating. Need to remind myself of how hard it was when I started out with the "conventional" barre shapes!!

[Jim Soloway]

It is funny that I can play some ridiculously hard to finger chords, but I still can't consistently nail this fingering. I think I'm too much of a 'fret with the fingertips' player and transitioning to three strings fretted with the ring finger is a challenge.

Another one I struggle with is the same chord with the fifth in the bass:

887888

That's a great chord to do harp harmonics with.

Bryan
middle middle index ring pinkie pinkie

The key is to turn your hand slightly so that your elbow comes out a bit and your thumb comes up close to the edge of the fingerboard. That puts your hand in a position where the edge of the nail on your middle finger runs almost parallel to the fret and allows the tip to cover both the E and A strings. (Sorry for the crappy photo but taking a picture with one hand while playing with the other is beyond my talent level).

http://jimsoloway.com/Photos/MiscGuitars/LennyChord4Bryan.jpg

[JonR]

middle middle index ring pinkie pinkieYes that works, although I find the middle on 5 and 6 risky - a real danger of muting the 4th. My fingers may be a little thinner than yours.
Also - as previously pointed out - it's useful to have the pinky free for additional notes on top (such as the 13th, or a #9 or #5).
It's worth practising the ring barre and getting that finger to go double-jointed. When it works, it's a lot easier than the fingering you showed.
(I'd take a pic myself, but it would take me too long to figure out how to post it....:rolleyes: )

[Jim Soloway]

Yes that works, although I find the middle on 5 and 6 risky - a real danger of muting the 4th. My fingers may be a little thinner than yours.
Also - as previously pointed out - it's useful to have the pinky free for additional notes on top (such as the 13th, or a #9 or #5).
It's worth practising the ring barre and getting that finger to go double-jointed. When it works, it's a lot easier than the fingering you showed.
(I'd take a pic myself, but it would take me too long to figure out how to post it....:rolleyes: )

The only problem with that is that I'm not at all convinced that everyone's hands have the capacity to be double jointed. Like thick fingers, that may just be a physical attribute that is not universal.

[JonR]

The only problem with that is that I'm not at all convinced that everyone's hands have the capacity to be double jointed. Like thick fingers, that may just be a physical attribute that is not universal.Probably, not everyone's I guess.
But I know my fingers didn't used to be and now (after years of practice) they are. At least, much more than they were. (Only the end joint needs to bend the other way, which I think is the most flexible one.)
IMO, it's similar to how the fingers can - with practice - stretch further apart than you think possible to begin with.

[gennation]

The art of curling some knuckles out while curling some knuckles in simultaneously is an art in itself.

[Jim Soloway]

Probably, not everyone's I guess.
But I know my fingers didn't used to be and now (after years of practice) they are. At least, much more than they were. (Only the end joint needs to bend the other way, which I think is the most flexible one.)
IMO, it's similar to how the fingers can - with practice - stretch further apart than you think possible to begin with.

It's all where you put your effort. My experience is that with the same kind of practice, one can also get used to fretting adjacent strings with one finger or fretting different strings on different frets with different parts of the same finger. Those are all things that felt incredibly awkward when I first tried them and feel reasonably natural now.

BTW, I found that after practicing Bryan's chord a bit I was able to get comfortable playing it middle-middle-index-ring-ring-ring, freeing up my pinky.

[fr8_trane]

Exactly. Great for funky riffs.

Even greater if you omit the root. I usually omit the root and play the 3rd with my first finger, bar the 3 top strings with my ring finger and hammer on the pinky for the 13th.

If I play a 9 chord with an A string root I almost never play the note on the high E. But if I do its like this
http://jimsoloway.com/Photos/MiscGuitars/LennyChord4Bryan.jpg