reluctant fingers

I have been playing a little over a year and lately have been focusing on the barre chords from hell. I have been sticking to the root 6 and root 5 chords (A and E) .
What do i have to do to master these chords, but more than that what can i do to get my pinky on my left hand flexible enough to be able to cover three strings, when i bend the first knuckle the second one straightens out, and vise a versa, it's like my knucles on that finger are spring loaded,
What can i do???????????

As everyone's hands are different, everyone has their own technique for playing barre chords.

You just have to tweak your hand until you get it right and practice until it sounds good and feels natural.

Hey Christoph,
Thanks for the reply, man it is frustrating as hell, i might get 3-4 minutes of halfway decent sounds with the chords. But more often than not, they sound pretty bad.
I have to say, it feels at this point like a physical impossibility. But i keep plugging away, to make matters worse i sprained my wrist and had to lay off practice for a week, so now on top of everything else, i feel more rusty than ever.
Bob..

When I first started I felt the same way. Playing barre chords was as much of a 'physical impossiblity' as is flying with a cape and a pair of tights.

I think the biggest problem with learning barre chords is the initial discomfort of laying your index finger across all the strings. Your finger isn't used to it, and you won't have any callouses where you're trying to press down.

But just keep at it, and all the practicing will pay off.

Hey Bob. On the root 5, "A" chord form (e.g. C chord = x-3-5-5-5-3) barre chords, try using your ring finger to do the 3 string barre (on the 5th fret in the example). This is what most players do. It makes changes to and from different types of barres easier in the long run. Also, try placing your middle finger on top of your forefinger so that in effect you are using two fingers to make the first barre. Place your first and third fingers on the strings first, then allow the middle to follow and rest on the first finger. I know it will be awkward at first but as you practice I believe you'll find that this makes the A barre chord form more comfortable to do. Then you can work on "curling" the ring finger so that the G note on the high E string rings. I've found over the years (27+ playing) that learning the "correct" way to finger chords pays off in the long run. Alternate fingerings have their place and utility but learn the correct way first and then grow from there. "Bad" habits become difficult to break.

"Make it an effort to practice every day. Even if it's just for 10 minutes. It's much more effective than 4 hour sessions that end with sore fingers." - Tom Morello

Oh, and Kirk Hammett rules!

I agree with Kirk hammett is god.

KIRK RULEZ!!