5th string barre chord shape (B barre shape)

The fifth string barre chord involves only the bottom five strings of the guitar. It is called a “B” barre shape, since when it is played as a B chord it is the equivalent of a B open chord. This chord may feel a bit less strenuous to practice than the sixth string barre chord; however it involves the extra task of muting the sixth string with the tip of your first finger. You must make sure not to strum the top string (low E string) in order to play a fifth string barre chord correctly.

Let’s practice the fifth string barre chord at the 5^th fret of the guitar. In the 5^th string barre chord, the root note of the chord is at the 5^th string. Therefore, if you play the 5^th string barre chord at the 5^th fret of guitar, you are playing a D chord. Please refer once again to the resource All Notes On the Fretboard for help learning the notes on the 5^th string.

Major barre chord

Start by barring your first finger on the bottom five strings at the 5^th fret. Next, place your second finger at the 7^th fret of the fourth string. Put your third finger on the 7^th fret of the third string. Finally, place your pinky on the 7^th fret of the second string. Your first finger should be covering the 5^th fret of the first string (high E string). When played correctly, the D major barre chord will sound like this:

It will be somewhat difficult at first to get your fingers to lay precisely all on the 7^th fret. In order to play a better rhythm guitar, it might be wiser to let your third finger bar all three strings at the 7^th fret. If you choose to play the chord this way, make sure that you do not strum the 7^th fret of the first string too, as this is not correct.

Minor barre chord

In order to turn the fifth string major barre chord into a minor shape, we once again have to flatten the third note in the chord. In this case, the third note is being played by our pinky at the 7^th fret of the second string. To move the note down a half step, we have to change our fingering somewhat. The new finger begins by placing your third finger at the 7^th fret of the fourth string. Your pinky will cover the 7^th fret of the third string. Finally, place your second finger at the 6^th fret of the second string. The fifth string barre chord shape will sound like this when played correctly:

Practice Assignment

Learning to play a barre chord well is a process that will take some time. Therefore, the more persistent you are at practicing these chords, the quicker you will become proficient with them. Make sure that you have a pretty good handle on the open chords before you begin to attempt practicing barre chords.

Practice your barre chords after you have spent sufficient time doing some warm-up exercises; you’ll need your entire finger stretching abilities. As you work through the fingerings, strum each note by itself. Take care that each note rings out clearly. If the note sounds muted, you are probably not applying enough pressure with your first finger. Keep working at it and your hand will build the strength it needs.

Once you begin to feel comfortable fretting a barre chord on both the sixth and fifth string positions, try to practice sliding the chord up and down the neck. Playing a song will involve changing the chord a number of times. Therefore, you must be able to slide the barre chord successfully in order to sustain a good rhythm. As you practice sliding the barre chord, take note of the fret that your first finger is covering. This will tell you what the root note is, so that you can identify the chord properly.