Bar Chords
Bar chords (or movable chords) allow a guitarist to take a single chord shape and move it along the neck to play chords in any root they want. This can be a necessity to play in unusual keys that don’t use the standard open chords in their progressions. Unlike the open chords, where E major, A major, G major, etc, are all different shapes that need to be learned individually, the same chord shape is used for all major chords in a bar chord. Some guitarists almost exclusively use these types of chords, so it isn’t an issue that open chords or bar chords are better or worse than each other, it is a matter of being able to decide just what fits your playing style (and the song) the best. These chords get used in everything from classical guitar to rock songs like “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper. When playing with higher levels of distortion, bar chords actually are often a better option than open chords. Feedback on open strings just isn’t a very desirable noise most of the time.
Now there is a good amount of difficulty that arises for most people using bar chords because they are rather hard to hold down. You actually have to hold down 5-6 strings with one finger, and the closer you are to the guitar nut, the harder it is to hold down those strings. This is one area where you shouldn’t expect to get away with having your thumb hanging over the side of the neck, if you normally play with that kind of hold. You really should have your thumb on the back of the neck to be able to press hard enough to hold the strings down. It can take a little time, but with a little practice every day, you should eventually have no difficulty holding them down. In addition, once you go higher than the 12th fret, most people will not be able to position their fingers in such a way that they can still hold these chord shapes.
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The E-series of bar chords (sometimes called the F-series or 6 string bar chords) are based around the same shape as the open E chords. The difference is that in those open chords, the guitar nut functions as the bar rather than the index finger. The root note, indicated in red, shows what the chord root is depending on where on the neck it is placed. If it is on the 5th fret, then this forms an A bar chord, if it is on the 8th fret, then it is a C bar chord. When practicing these, you need to make sure that all the notes in the chord are ringing clearly. None of them should be muted, so when practicing holding these chords, make sure to check each string individually and adjust your grip is any strings are muted.
The A-series of bar chords (also called the B-series or 5 string bar chords) functionally work like the E-series, except they are a different shape and locate the root on the 5th string. Holding the A-series major chord is a little different in that it uses two bars. There is another way to hold it, but that is much more difficult to move in and out of, which makes it less useful in faster progressions. Just keep in mind that you should not play the 1st string when using that chord. It takes a little control, but it is important not to play that note, since it doesn’t fall within the major chord.
Rather than having specific exercises for these chords, it is far more effective to just take songs and open chord exercises and substitute in these chords, after you can cleanly hold them. It is important to be able to get used to choosing which series of bar chords to use at a given time and how to transition from one type to the other and practicing exercises not designed specifically for bar chords is the better way to do that to link the idea that a 5th fret E-series bar chord is an A chord and a 7th fret A-series bar chord is an E chord.