Learn Acoustic Guitar - Movable Chord Shapes Explained

Movable chords are something that anyone that wants to learn acoustic guitar should become familiar with.

These chords use the same basic shape to make the same chord for any note simply by moving up and down the neck. These chords are sometimes called closed chords (in order to be so easily movable, these chords have no open strings) or barre chords.

E Series Barre Chords
The E series of bar chords all have their root note on the low E string and are based off the E or Em chord formation. Sometimes these are referred to as F bar chords, because the first natural chord with a barre used is the F chords.

Here some examples of E series chords:

E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
F: 1-3-3-2-1-1
G: 3-5-5-4-3-3
Em: 0-2-2-0-0-0
Fm: 1-3-3-1-1-1
Gm: 3-5-5-3-3-3
The pattern of the shape holds true for any position on the fret board, if this shape is used it will form the major or minor version chord of whatever note is on the low E string.

The chord is formed by "barring" all six strings with the index finger. At first, this can be difficult, but with time and practice it will become easier. The remaining notes of the chord are fretted using the remaining fingers. Since the one difference between the major and minor versions is the middle finger being lowered or raised, it makes changing between chords as simple as moving up and down the fretboard and raising and lowering the middle finger. Take some open chord progressions and try playing them with E bar chords.

A Series Barre Chords
The A series of barre chords (sometimes referred to as B series chords) is similar to the E series, except the bar chords are based off of the A or Am chords.

The root note of the chord is the note being played on the fifth string and the low E string is usually not played. This is not a hard and fast rule because extending the bar adds a fifth note, which can be added to the major or minor chord, but it is not actually required.

Below are some examples of A series chords.

A: X-0-2-2-2-0 or X-0-2-2-2-X

B: X-2-4-4-4-2 or X-2-4-4-4-X

C: X-3-5-5-5-3 or X-3-5-5-5-X

Am: X-0-2-2-1-0
Bm: X-2-4-4-3-2
Cm: X-3-5-5-4-3

One thing that is apparent is there are two versions of the major chord commonly used. Many guitarists will simply use the ring finger to bar the higher strings and not play the high e string rather than trying to hold the chord in other ways. This is because that way of holding the chord is easier to move in and out of and higher up the neck, it can be extremely difficult to hold the chord in other manners, as the frets get closer together.

The minor version of the chord, on the other hand, is quite easy to move up and down the neck in the basic form.

The movable chords are an important part of the repertoire of someone that wishes to learn acoustic guitar. Some guitarists will use them almost exclusively because they prefer the sound or ease of usage of them.

Beyond that, some chords have no open chord variants and can only be played with movable chords. If a progression has an unusual chord like Ebm, this is the only way to even be able to play the chord in standard tuning.

By : Dave Long and Matt Abdallah