Barre Chords

As explained in the Introduction to Chords Lesson each chord is defined by the intervals which lie between its notes. The major chord is defined by the fact that it contains the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale. The C Major chord comprises C, E and G, for example. E is two tones (four semitones) above C and G is three semitones above E. Let's have a quick revision of the standard open chord C shape:

What happens now if each finger is placed one fret higher, but the open strings are still played open? The root note of the chord is now C# (the C on the fifth string is moved up one fret to become a C#). Try moving the shape up a fret and see how it sounds. It is clearly not the bright, harmonious C# major chord. Why is this?

Why Moving the C Major Shape Up the Neck Does Not Work

Let's take a look at what we are actually playing. The notes of the C Major shape moved up one fret (with open strings from the original shape still played open) are:

C#, E, F, G

Taking C# as the root note of the chord: E is the flattened 3rd note of the C# major scale (bad as the major chord contains no b3rd), F is the 3rd note of the C# major scale (good) and G is the b5th note (bad). We therefore have the formula:

1, b3, 3, b5

Which is clearly not the formula of the major chord. The problem with moving this shape up the neck is that we are still playing the open strings from the original position of the C Major shape. Therefore some of the notes in our attempt to play C# Major are actually from C Major - specifically, the G and E notes produced from playing the third and first strings open. If these notes had been translated up a semitone to G# and F we would have a C# Major chord as the b3 and b5 notes would drop out of the formula above and the 5th (G#) would be added.

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