The 1583 Method is one of the most useful things I learned for understanding barre chords.
It’s a simple system to remember the first four intervals in the most common barre chord shapes — E shape, A shape, and D shape.
Important note: It doesn’t magically help you remember the actual finger positions. You still have to learn and memorise where to put your fingers. But once you understand the 1-5-8-3 system, it becomes much easier to know what notes you’re playing and how to modify barre chords (adding 7ths, 9ths, sus chords, etc.).
Why this helps with barre chords:
- You stop seeing them as random shapes
- You understand the intervals
- You can change them into different chord types more easily
Watch the full video here:
Below is a PDF with the chord shapes used in the video. I also included the D shape barre chords that I didn’t go through in the video lesson. It’s free to download and I hope it helps you memorise the 1583 method.
If you struggle with barre chords or want to understand them better, this method is worth learning.
Let me know in the comments if this helped you with your barre chord playing.