In this month’s installation of RGS Live Tomas Michaud shares The 5 Secrets to Tackling a Difficult Chord!

1. Prepare to play difficult chords.

2. Start with the easier version.

3. Practice using exercises, not songs.

4. Practice for short periods.

5. Go easy on yourself!

We’ll be using the B chord as our main example because it often poses particular difficulty for guitar students.

Tomas breaks down what makes this chord form difficult for students and then shows 3 step by step exercises to help you master playing it up and down the fretboard.

This month also includes great questions from live viewers and RGS students on topics such as improvisation, playing scales over chords, basic fingerpicking exercises, singing while strumming, and more!

Questions Asked During the Session:

[19:38] Anna – I really need it as my attempts to make barre chords are failing miserably! Any tips?

[23:20] Ldy Della (youtuber) – Are there any chords you’d recommend to study for “improv” playing? I want to create my own melodies.

[28:58] Nicholas – So is B a Fifth string chord?

[30:17] Cornelius – Can you please explain what are the roman numbers stands for?

[32:50] Youtuber – Hi, I can play downstrokes with a guitar pick but can’t do upstrokes properly, any suggestions? In which position should my hand be/how should I angle my guitar pick?

[35:02] Nomi  – When learning Barre Chords… is there a maximum amount of time per day one should practice?

[37:43] R.V. – Can you suggest how to hold an A-shape barre chord properly? It’s easy to hold the E-shape barre chord but the A type is very difficult.

[39:27] Gregory – How to use scale in/over a chord progression.

[42:07] Laura – When I am fingerpicking my fingers seem to trip all over each other…help lol.

[44:23] R.V. – How do I strum and sing at the same time? When I sing my strumming goes out of beat. Like in Wonderwall while the intro is all good, as soon as I start to sing I can’t focus on my right hand.

[46:34] Michael – Hello, any tips on posture, and holding the neck to be able comfortably form chords.

[50:56] Mark – Hello, in a 4/4 song with two chords (eg C and G) if the chords split the bar, so 2 beats on C and 2 on G, I can play it with a simple down strum. How do I play a more complicated strum with more ups and downs and still only 4 beats in each bar?

[54:09] W. Savage – Do you have a simple warm up exercise you favor most for your fingers before playing ?

[55:24] YouTuber – In these days my guitar solos sound the same. I need to be more creative. How can I be more creative in these bad times?

[23:03] Barre Chord Bootcamp Link Real Guitar Success Membership

​[44:10] Fingerpicking Basics | How To Be Truly Awesome!

>> Forms Of The B Major Chord

>> B Chord Exercise #1 – Triple Finger Workout

>> The B Chord Exercise #2 – Moving Up To B

>> The B Chord Exercise #3 – Easy Does It