Last spring, a group of students at The Passim School of Music who had just taken my Guitar 4 class said to me, “Whaddya mean there’s no Guitar 5?!?”

So I created the class and we’ve continued to meet each semester since then.

Many of them began studying with me as rank beginners and, with time and a moderate practice regimen, they’re now playing barre chords and perform as a class at a local open mike at the end of each semester.

I push all of my students in the direction of playing barre chords because once you know how to play them, you can pretty much play any chord you want to (!!).

One of the ways I help my students get there is by teaching them what I call, The Scale That Shall Not Be Named. I like to think of this exercise as “the barre chord machine at the guitar gym” because it strengthens all of the right muscles in your hands to more easily play them.

By the end of Guitar 3, where I help students begin to make friends with barre chords, we'd worked up to 4 reps of The Scale That Shall Not Be Named. 

This past Monday evening, the Guitar 5 class decided to break a previous record of 7 reps and played 8 of them! 

Above is the lot showing off their tired hands proudly afterward.

If you’d like to make friends with barre chords but think only special talented people can do it, click here to register for my free video lesson series, Making Friends With Barre Chords. I know you can do it but with these lessons, you won’t have to take my word for it.
Peace,Janet