To move barre chords up the neck, keep the shape and the bar together as one unit, slide them to the new fret, and find the root on the 6th string for E shapes or the 5th string for A shapes. An E-shape barre at the 1st fret is F major, and the same shape at the 3rd fret is G major.
How do you move barre chords up the neck?
To move barre chords up the neck, keep the shape and the bar together as one unit, slide them to the new fret, and find the root on the 6th string for E shapes or the 5th string for A shapes. An E-shape barre at the 1st fret is F major, and the same shape at the 3rd fret is G major, and at the 5th fret is A major, because the root moves up with the bar, and the shape stays the same. The barre chord is movable, which is its whole point: one shape makes many chords, and the fret tells you which chord it is. The movement is a slide, not a rebuild: the fingers stay in the shape, and the whole hand moves up or down the neck, to the new fret, and the shape is re-formed there. A player who rebuilds the shape at every fret will be slow, because the fingers must find their places again, but a player who slides the shape as one unit will be fast, because the fingers stay in the shape and only the position changes. The F major guitar chord and the G major guitar chord are the same E shape, two frets apart, and the chord finder shows the notes of any barre chord.
How moving barre chords works
The movement works because the root is on the 6th string for E shapes and on the 5th string for A shapes, and the fret of the bar tells you the root. To move an E-shape barre from F major to G major, slide the whole shape up two frets, from the 1st fret to the 3rd fret, and the root moves from F to G, because the 6th string at the 3rd fret sounds as G. To move an A-shape barre from C major to D major, slide the whole shape up two frets, from the 3rd fret to the 5th fret, and the root moves from C to D, because the 5th string at the 5th fret sounds as D. The shape does not change, only the position changes, and the chord changes with it. The slide must be smooth, with the fingers staying in the shape and the bar staying flat, so the chord is ready to play as soon as the hand arrives at the new fret. A common mistake is to lift the fingers off the strings and rebuild the shape, which is slow and causes buzzing, because the fingers are not in place when the strum comes. A better way is to keep the fingers lightly on the strings, slide the hand to the new fret, and press down, so the chord is clean and ready. The key of G major is the key that F major moves to when the E shape slides up two frets, and the key of D major is the key that C major moves to when the A shape slides up two frets.
Worked example — moving an E-shape barre from F to A. Start with an E-shape major barre at the 1st fret, F major, and slide the whole shape up two frets, to the 3rd fret, and the chord is G major, because the 6th string at the 3rd fret sounds as G. Slide the shape up two more frets, to the 5th fret, and the chord is A major, because the 6th string at the 5th fret sounds as A. The shape has not changed, only the position, and the chords are F, G and A major, which are the I, II and III chords of the key of F major, moved up the neck. The I–V–vi–IV progression in C major uses F major and G major, and the slide between them is the movement the example practises.
How to practise moving barre chords
Practise moving barre chords by sliding the shape up and down the neck, so the movement becomes smooth and the shape stays intact.
- Play an E-shape major barre at the 1st fret, F major, and slide it up to the 3rd fret, G major, and then to the 5th fret, A major, naming each chord as you play it.
- Play an A-shape major barre at the 3rd fret, C major, and slide it up to the 5th fret, D major, and then to the 7th fret, E major, naming each chord as you play it.
- Practise sliding the shape without lifting the fingers off the strings, keeping the fingers lightly on the strings, and pressing down when the hand arrives at the new fret.
- Play the I–V–vi–IV progression in C major with barre chords, sliding the E shape between F major and G major, and listen for the chords ringing cleanly.
- Use the fretboard note finder to find the root on the 6th string or the 5th string at any fret, and work out the chord the shape makes there.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the fingers off the strings to move — Lifting the fingers means rebuilding the shape at the new fret, which is slow and causes buzzing, because the fingers are not in place when the strum comes. Keep the fingers lightly on the strings, slide the hand, and press down at the new fret.
- Moving the shape without moving the bar — The bar and the shape move together, as one unit, up and down the neck. If you move the other fingers without moving the bar, the chord will be wrong, because the root will be in the wrong place.
- Forgetting to name the chord at the new fret — The fret tells you the chord, so naming the chord at each fret is how you learn the neck. If you slide the shape without naming the chord, you will not know what you are playing, and the movement will be useless.
Quick reference
This table shows an E-shape barre chord moving up the neck, fret by fret, so you can see the shape staying the same while the chord changes with the position. The root is on the 6th string, at the bar fret, and the chord is the note the 6th string sounds at that fret.
| E-shape bar fret | Chord | Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1st fret | F major | Start |
| 3rd fret | G major | Slide up 2 frets |
| 5th fret | A major | Slide up 2 frets |
| 7th fret | B major | Slide up 2 frets |
| 8th fret | C major | Slide up 1 fret |
| 10th fret | D major | Slide up 2 frets |
Use the table as a slide exercise: start at the 1st fret, and slide the shape up the neck, fret by fret, naming each chord as you play it, until you reach the 10th fret. When you can slide the shape up and down the neck without lifting the fingers, you can play barre chords anywhere, in any key.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move barre chords up the neck?
Keep the shape and the bar together as one unit, slide them to the new fret, and find the root on the 6th string for E shapes or the 5th string for A shapes. An E-shape barre at the 1st fret is F major, and the same shape at the 3rd fret is G major.
Do I need to rebuild the shape at each fret?
No. The shape stays the same, and only the position changes, so slide the whole hand to the new fret, keeping the fingers in the shape, and press down when you arrive. Rebuilding the shape at every fret is slow and causes buzzing.
How do I know what chord I am playing when I move the shape?
Find the root on the 6th string for E shapes, or on the 5th string for A shapes, at the bar fret, and that is the chord. An E-shape barre at the 5th fret is A major, because the 6th string at the 5th fret sounds as A.
Can I move barre chords down the neck too?
Yes. The movement works in both directions, and the shape slides down the neck just as it slides up, with the root moving down with the bar. An E-shape barre at the 5th fret is A major, and the same shape at the 3rd fret is G major.
Why do my barre chords buzz when I move them?
Because the fingers are lifted off the strings during the move, and they are not in place when the strum comes. Keep the fingers lightly on the strings, slide the hand, and press down at the new fret, so the chord is clean and ready.