Instead of barring with your index finger, wrap your thumb over the neck to fret the bass note. That frees your other fingers to decorate the chord with hammer-ons, pull-offs and little melody notes, so rhythm and lead blur into one part.
Key: G major, moving to C. The G shape: thumb on the low E string at fret 3, ring finger on the 5th fret of the D string, middle on the 4th fret of the G string, index on the 3rd fret of the B string. The C shape is the same grip moved up to the 8th fret.
Strike the chord, then pick through it and add a quick fill from the major pentatonic: hammer the G string from A to B, or hammer the B string from D to E. The chord tones should keep ringing under the fill, so lift fingers only when you must.
It should sound like a full chord with a melody dancing on top, soft and singing rather than strummed hard. Use the neck pickup, clean or just breaking up.
The most common mistake is squeezing with the thumb so the hand tenses and fills go stiff. The thumb only needs to press the low string; it also lightly mutes the A string.
How to practice
- Hold the G grip and play the first exercise slowly.
- Add the shift to C, moving the whole hand as one shape.