What are barre chords? How to play them in a song?

Summary

Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson in which students will learn to play barre chords and combine them with easier chords in a popular song. Integrate Solfeg.io in teaching the basics of ukulele playing.

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Ukuleles
• Mobile devices with the Solfeg.io mobile app installed (optional)

🎲 Activities included:

• Learning the barre chord (Bb)
• Playing the Bb chord in a song
• Combine barre chord with other chords (D, Am & G)

Introduction to the song

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Get familiar with the chosen song
• Recognize instruments in a song
• Describe the characteristics of a song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

🎲 Activity:

• Project the song onto a screen. Click on 'Ukulele' under 'Tools' - 'Visuals' so that the ukulele chord diagrams are visible.
• Listen the verse of the song
• Shortly discuss the song with the class.

What instruments do you hear?

Is there a ukulele played in this song?

Which chords are featured in this song?

What is the tempo, mood and genre of the song?

Introduction to barre chords

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand what barre chords are and how to play them on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Distribute ukuleles to students. If there's one for each student - perfect! If you have less ukuleles than students, give one instrument to a small group of students - they will have to take turns when playing.
• Explain what a barre chord is and demonstrate it on your ukulele.

A chord which is played by pressing multiple strings across one fret with one finger, most commonly - index finger.

• The easiest barre chord on ukulele is Cm - you only have to press three strings on the 3rd fret. Invite students to try playing this chord.
• In other barre chords, you might have to press one or more fingers along with the “bar”
• Invite students to try playing Bb chord
• To play the Bb chord, students have to press the 1st and 2nd string on the 1st fret with the 1st finger, then add the 2nd finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret, lastly - add 3rd finger on the 4th string, 3rd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Tips and tricks for playing barre chords:

For the best sound, experiment with the placement of the index finger, moving it slightly upwards or downwards to find the place where all strings ring out. You might opt for a full barre (pressing all four strings instead of only two or three).

The left thumb should be pressed firmly into the ukulele more or less at the same place as the index finger on the other side of the neck - as if you're pinching the neck of the ukulele with your left thumb and index finger 🤌

Place your index finger as close as possible to the fret.

Play a barre chord in a song

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play a barre chord in a song

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on the beginning of the verse on the timeline of the song player.
• Press “Play” and invite the class to strum only the barre chord they learned in the previous activity when it appears at the red line.
• You can loop a selected part of the song by pressing the “Loop” button on the right side of the “Play” button.

Play the D chord

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the D chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'D' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the F chord is visible.
• To play that chord, students should place their 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 2nd fret. Add 2nd finger on the next string, same fret. Lastly - add 1st finger on the next string, same fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Combine D & Bb chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the D & Bb chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Tell students that they will have to play the D and Bb chords in this song.
• Look at the song and play D and Bb chords when they pass the red line
• Slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to choose the preferred speed.
• Play the chorus 1 and verse sections of the sons and let them practice the chords and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the section would repeat multiple times:
• Leave out the G and Am chords for now.
• When students are comfortable with the speed, repeat the exercise at a faster speed until the original speed of the song is reached.

Add one more chord - Am

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the Am chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'Am' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the Am chord is visible.
• To play the Am chord, students should place the 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Combine D , Am & Bb chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the D, Am & Bb chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Tell students that they will have to play the D, Am and Bb chords in this song.
• Look at the song and play D, Am and Bb chords when they pass the red line
• Slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to choose the preferred speed.
• Play the chorus 1 and verse sections of the sons and let them practice the chords and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the section would repeat multiple times:
• Leave out the G chord for now.
• When students are comfortable with the speed, repeat the exercise at a faster speed until the original speed of the song is reached.

The last chord - G

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the G chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'G' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the Am chord is visible.
• To play the G chord, students should place the 3rd finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret. Add 2nd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret, lastly - add 1st finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Into the spotlight!

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play all chords in a song excerpt

🎶 Recommended Songs:

🎲 Activity:

• Slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to find the most suitable speed.
• Press “Play” and invite students to play all the chords in the song when indicated on the screen:
• Invite students to perform the verse. The task is to play the whole part without stopping and strum all the chords there!
• When students are comfortable with the chord change, click on “+” on the left side of the “Play” button to speed the song up. Repeat the exercise!
• You can divide the class into smaller groups and invite each group to perform in front of the class.

Reflection

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Reflect on the learning process

🎲 Activity:

• Ask these questions to the class and have a short discussion

Was it challenging to play the barre chord?

What strumming pattern would be the most suitable for this song?

What was the most fun/challenging part of the lesson?

What other songs would you like to learn to play on the ukulele?

Homework assignment

🕐 Time: 3 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice combining easy chords on the ukulele
• Consolidate the concepts learned in the lesson

🎲 Activity:

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…

• Taking the mobile ukulele class “Playing Barre Chords”

• In this class, students can practice the song they just learnt or choose another one, and play it from the beginning till the end.