Oftentimes when I'm barring all six strings with the index finger, I get buzzing instead of a nice, clean chord. Maybe I haven't practiced it enough or my technique is wrong. Or maybe there's not enough flesh on my finger to sufficiently depress all the strings. Anyone had a similar problem?

To play a clean barre chord can be challenging especially:

1. When it is all the way up the neck where the action is usually higher
2. When there’s non-stop barre chords throughout the song that you just don’t have a chance to rest your index finger and to play it cleanly near the end.
3. When I need to play some strange an difficult fingering on the other fingers.

I too have a skinny index finger but my middle finger will help out the index finger whenever is possible (middle finger on top of the index finger). That is, I use two fingers to barre the chord instead of one. It gives you a nice clean barre chord and preserves the energy of your index fingers when your middle finger for the above mentioned moment.

Eric (& Ed)-

Not sure if the girth of your index finger make a difference. I think it's more the way you put pressure across the six strings. I always tell my students than when playing barre chords, the thumb should be providing the opposing force almost in line with where the barre is but not in a death grip manner. That's the worst you can do. It's more like a pinching action between the thumb and forefinger. Try it without the other fingers fretting the other notes. Find the right spot until you can pick/strum across all six strings with no buzzing. The other fingers can be added without changing the first action. In fact, when moving from barre chord to another barre chord, the pinch is what I worry about first before the other fingers. This way I know it's on the correct fret. You should not need to double up with the middle finger. Besides, don't you need that to fret a note in some cases? Anyway......

This is just my method. Other may have some other technique. I hope this makes sense and/or that it helps.

Ace
-----------------------------------------------

Hey Eric,

I use a combination of the methods mentioned by Ed and Ace. I use my middle finger to help out sometimes, but what really seemed to help me was learing to use the thumb as a fulcrum. If you find the right spot for your thumb, you can apply pressure by pulling your elbow back just the smallest amount and using your thumb as a pivot point to apply pressure to the bar. Sounds harder than it is, and if done right, it is actually easier than the pinch.

The other important thing is to pay attention to where the nuckle of your index finger is. For me, if the any string falls under the nuckle of my index finger, it buzzes every time. I have to hit the fat part of the finger as much as possible.

--David

Eric, all suggestions so far were great! Also check the action and relief of your neck as well! I recently lowered my two guitars to only 5/64 Low E and 3/64 High E with a very straight neck. I need to adjust my picking to play with such a low action without buzz, but fretting (include complicate barre chords) became a lot easier especially higher up the neck.