Minor Bar Chords

After learning major bar chords using the E and A chord shapes, the next step took me to minor bar chords. This progression had little to do with conscientious decision making, and more to do with the fact that it seemed like a lot of the songs I was trying to learn via tablature included minor chords. The transition from major to minor chords was simple once I understood the E and A bar chord shape concepts. Here are examples of some E minor shaped bar chords:

E minor bar chord:

e:--0
B:--0
G:--0
D:--2
A:--2
E:--0

G minor bar chord:

e:--3
B:--3
G:--3
D:--5
A:--5
E:--3

As you can see, playing an E minor shaped bar chord is nearly identical to the E major shape, the only difference being that you lower the G string by one fret. The E minor shaped bar chords can be identified the same as the E major, by simply identifying the note the index finger is playing on the low E string. The A minor shape is formed the same way, except with your root on the A string. Here are a couple of examples of minor bar chords in the A minor shape:
A minor:

e:--0
B:--1
G:--2
D:--2
A:--0
E:--X

C minor bar chord:

e:--3
B:--4
G:--5
D:--5
A:--3
E:--X

You can see that the A minor is the same as the A, with the exception that the B string is lowered one fret. Again, you can identify the minor bar chord by what note the index finger is playing on the A string.

Bar chords are a pretty simple concept. The trick for me is to think of them as shapes; the E shape, the A shape, the E minor shape and the A minor shape. Once you grasp the shapes, all that is left is to identify the notes of the low E and A strings, and you can quickly play any major or minor chord up and down the neck of the guitar.