I played a Martin 00-18 (steel string) for about a year, then started taking classical guitar lessons. Got myself a Martin 00-28-G, and went to work on that. At first, the wider fingerboard was like playing on a plank, but after more decades than I care to count, trying to play a narrow-necked steel-string guitar is like trying to play on a toothpick. I currently have one Spanish-made Flamenco guitar, a Spanish-made classic, and a Japanese-made classic—along with a couple of travel guitars and a Yamaha "Guitalele." (Don't ever let anyone tell you that the Japanese don't make some damned nice guitars! My "Guitarra Artisana," imported from Japan by José Oribé of San Diego is superb!)

I've got bar chords down pretty well. I use them all the time when I play classical stuff and I don't shy away from them when I need them in song accompaniment.

Trying to do bar chords by strangling the guitar (wrapping the thumb around the neck to fret the bass) is really counterproductive in that it grossly alters the left hand position for deft fingering. As taught, I keep my left thumb behind the neck, pretty much opposite the second finger, then use the thumb and first finger as a clamp when a bar chord comes along.

The following is a YouTube tutorial on bar chords by a guy who uses a narrow-necked steel string guitar, and he seems to have it down pretty well. Bar chord tutorial.

There are a couple (three, actually) good DVD guitar tutorials for strengthening the left hand and developing finger dexterity in both hands:   "Pumping Nylon" by Scott Tennant and "Effortless Classical Guitar" and "Classical Guitar Mastery" by William Kanengiser. Both of these guys are members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and can play the hell out the guitar (Kanengiser opens his DVD by play a transcription of Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca," and does it so easily and deftly that I felt like stomping on my bratwurst-like fingers! C'mon, Kanengiser! Nobody likes a smartass!!—Clicky #2). "Pumping Nylon" has a lot of great exercises for strengthening the left hand, with a notation don't use more pressure on the strings than you really need, but all the aforementioned DVDs are excellent for playing any kind of finger-style guitar. Highly recommended, even if you don't play classical.

Cuts from some of these DVDs are on YouTube, but nothing beats the convenience of having your own copies.

Keep plugging away!

Don Firth