Learn “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms, “Island in the Sun” by Weezer, and “Heaven” by Kane Brown to help you learn how to play 3 string barre chords.
A three string barre chord is a chord where you only need to barre 3 strings with your first finger. The songs below use mostly easy open chords along with 3 string barre chords. By working through these songs you should soon find:
- Improved technique when barring these 3 string chords
- increased finger strength
- increased confidence with you see an easy barre chord in music
The first chords I teach where the first finger only barres 3 strings is Dmaj7. Dmaj7 is super easy (as barre chords go) because you only use one finger. YES – you can use three separate fingers to play this chord, but it really is faster to get to this chord if you only use your first finger. Below is a picture of Dmaj7:
The other two chords I teach that where you only barre three strings are Am and F#m. These two chords are basically the same chord, the only difference is that you play Am starting on the 5th fret and you play F#m starting on the 2nd fret. In the photo below of Am, pay attention to the fret numbers 5, 6, and 7 near the frets.
HOLD UP A SEC! Before you learn the songs below, make sure that you can play barre chords that only barre 2 strings. The easiest example of this would be the 4 string F chord. If you’re not familiar with this chord, or can’t play it yet, be sure to check out my lesson Easy Songs To Help You Learn The F Chord first.
Warm-Up Exercise
Before jumping into the songs. It is helpful to first play through a warm up exercise. This is the exercise I like to give my students to work on the week before we start learning these songs.
Helpful Barre Chord Tips
- Use the edge of your first finger instead of the flat face. This works better because the edge of your finger is bonier and can get a cleaner sound.
- ELBOW: Playing on the edge of your finger also shifts your elbow in towards your body.
- Be sure to also place your entire first finger as close to the fret as possible, even touching the fret.
First Song – Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms
Hey Jealousy uses simple open chords along with one F#m chord. There are several ways you could play this song, but I think the strum pattern below works great and keeps the song simple. With the chord usually changing only once every measure, this song is simple and fun to learn.
Second Song – Island In The Sun by Weezer
At first glance, the strum pattern to this song looks difficult. It’s really not too bad. Give the song a good listen (you can listen to it here on amazon free if you have a prime account) and you should be able to get a hang of the strum pattern soon enough.
I like to teach this song second because it still only uses one barre chord in the song. If my student (or you) starts to get tired, you can always switch to the open version of Am for awhile instead. It doesn’t sound quite as good but it can be a helpful option when you’re just starting out with these chords. Also, be sure to notice that this song uses a different version of Em.
Third Song – Heaven by Kane Brown
This Country Hit uses two barre chords: Dmaj7 and F#m. The chord changes stay the same throughout the song making it easy to learn. The chorus sounds best if you move into a 16th note strum pattern, but it’s not necessary it that seems too complicated.
That’s it folks! 3 simple songs & 1 exercise to help get you on your way to playing barre chords without a sweat. By working through these songs you should soon find:
- Improved technique when barring these 3 string chords
- increased finger strength
- increased confidence with you see an easy barre chord in music
My next barre chord lesson is coming soon and will help you start adding in 5 string barre chords along with open chords next. Stay tuned!
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As always great article Jami!