Savarez Argentines and bar? Other strings?

JTK

Just starting to work with chords...have hacked at guitar for 50+ years without bar chords (think cowboy chords, dreadnoughts)..

Nuages etc cry out for for bar chords...boring with single string picking...

I think the action of my Dupont and Gitane are plenty low with Savarez... Do I need bar callouses, the famous Django surgery? Or is muscle/practice the answer?

How about other strings (would probably try them first on the Gitane). :?

Buco

I'm really impressed that you managed to play a guitar for that long without touching bar chords. Django himself didn't use much barring. At least not in a sense of full bar chords, F-G-A and so on. One famous example where he did bar is the intro to I'll see you in my dreams. His rhythm section did play a lot of bar chords. It's been a long time since I was learning those and I'm not remembering a lot about it except not being able to clearly sound each note in the chord. Today there are no calluses on any of my digits.

I don't think it's about the muscle as much as I think that it's in learning to use the muscles you have properly. To be able to apply just enough pressure exactly where needed. I'd think G and A are easier. F is harder because it's right at the nut and above A the action gets higher making it again not so easy. Grab the chord and slowly pick each string making sure it sounds clear. Once you have a clean note, release until it becomes muted and then press just enough to where it's clear again. Use as little pressure as you need, anything more will fatigue your hand quickly. You might need to move the hand up or down so very little to find a better placement for your index finger.

wim

The good news is that you don't need barre chords in this music often! The bad news is that many of the chords you do need are even worse than barres. ? And like Buco said, full barres are rare but you do often need partial barres over 2, 3, or 4 strings.

And you'll want to learn to wrap the thumb around other way for fretting the 6th string (you've probably seen Hendrix do similar) and you often need to press two adjacent strings with same finger. For example

[355455] is a popular voicing for major keys

[355355] is a popular voicing for minor keys

Here you would put the bass note (G 3rd fret), with the thumb. The fifth and root again (D and G on 5th fret) would usually be played both together with the middle finger. The third would be played with index finger. The sixth and ninth would be played together with ring finger. It probably feels crazy and awkward at first, but your hands will get used to it and eventually you grow to like it.

billyshakes

I'll second what @Wim Glenn says above. Those are great voicings commonly used. They add the 6 and 9 color tones that are really a part of this style.

If you have difficulty doing the double stops with your middle finger as described above, you can also do the traditional barre chord shape but just execute the bass note with your thumb and keep the rest of the fingers mostly the same. This makes just a short barre on the top strings that is typically easier to execute.

G Major

T34211 -Fingerings

[355433] - Frets

G Minor

T34111 - Fingerings

[355333] - Frets

These were taught to me by Lollo Meier so they are not "inauthentic." Just different color. You should try to learn and use both where appropriate as it suits your ears. I found these shapes were transitional as I went from rock barre chords I knew how to play to using the thumb more.

I'm no pro on this history of jazz but I think these simple forms were typical of what Django's rhythm section would have been doing in the 30s as @Buco says. Adding 6 and 9 tones came later.

JTK

These several posts were very helpful in practice today.. MORE please. thanks!

Buco

More practice ?

Bones

I don't use barre chords. You don't need to play 3 roots, 2 fifths and a third (or whatever) at the same time. Too 'thick'. Less is more (and easier). I avoid the top 2 strings to stay out of the way of the soloist. Still hit them for percussive effect but damp them with your left hand fingers.

Just my 2 cents.

Gmaj6

3x24xx or 3x245x

Gmin6

3x23xx or 3x233x

G7

3234xx or 3x343x

Gdim

3x23xx or 3x232x

Of course there are lots of other voicings but this is basically the idea.