Lesson 25: Barre chord 2: F#m

Week 25 of 27

Goal: You play F#m as a barre across all six strings and accompany a song in A without a capo.

Review

Last week: Bm. Play Bm and pluck each string – how many ring already?

Step by step

  1. F#m is the Em shape moved up two frets: your index finger lies across all six strings at the 2nd fret, replacing the nut.
  2. Ring finger A string 4th fret, little finger D string 4th fret. All six strings ring.
  3. Remember lesson 16? With capo 2 you played Em and heard F#m. Now your index finger is the capo!
  4. Then Am Lagerfeuer in A – this time without a capo: A, F#m, D and E7. Just ignore the app’s capo suggestion today. More in Barre chords.
F#m134

Time to make music: your piece

Am Lagerfeuer in A without capo: A, F#m, D, E7. It sounds just like lesson 16 – but now with real chords. If F#m sticks, switch to the capo version for a bit.

Am Lagerfeuer in A

Homework for next time

Five days, about ten minutes each:

  • Tune first every day.
  • Days 1–2: index across all six strings – pluck each one.
  • Day 3: switch F#m and A slowly.
  • Days 4–5: Am Lagerfeuer in A without capo.
  • Fun: slide the F#m shape to fret 3 and 5 – how does it sound?

Done when …

  • at least five strings ring clearly on F#m
  • you get through Am Lagerfeuer in A without capo

If you get stuck

  • The high e or B string doesn’t ring? Push your index finger a bit further across the neck so the tip sticks out slightly.
  • It hurts or won’t work? Take a break after five minutes. You learn barre chords over weeks, not days – every day counts.
For teachers: lesson plan
  1. ≈ 10 min Warm-up: play Em, then with capo 2 – then the shape with an index barre at fret 2. Same sound!
  2. ≈ 15 min Practice: the moving barre – play the F#m shape at frets 2, 3 and 5 (F#m, Gm, Am) one after another.
  3. ≈ 20 min Together: Am Lagerfeuer in A – the barre group without capo and the capo group play at the same time. It fits together!

Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.

For the board: openstring.de/gitarre/en/lesson/25/

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