The A Bar Chord - Part 1

So now that I know what I call the E-shape bar chord, and how to identify major chords up and down the neck based upon the notes of the low E string, the next thing I learned was what I called the A-shape bar code. First let's look at the open A major chord. It looks like this:

Open A chord/ A bar chord shape:
e:--0
B:--3
G:--3
D:--3
A:--0
E:--X

The "X" on the low E string indicates that the low E is not played as part of the A chord shape. I will usually place the tip of my index finger lightly on the low E string to prevent it from ringing out. Just like with the E- shape, we can move the A- shape up and down the neck of the guitar, using the index finger to "bar" all six strings behind the A shape, like in the A# bar code shown here.

A# bar chord:

e:--1
B:--4
G:--4
D:--4
A:--1
E:--X