F Chord (Update)

LukinFan · February 2012

Rollings wrote:

Should I do a little video of this circus act?

PLEASE!

LukinFan · February 2012

BinFrog wrote:

LukinFan wrote:

So you don't play the A string at all? Interesting. If it works and you get the same sound out of it, maybe this is something I can try. thank you!

I also often have the advantage of playing with someone who usually plays the bassier formations of chords. But this ay of playing F is technically correct. It won't be as full as playing all 6 strings, but it sounds like a simple open chord and it's easier to get to and move from.

Cool- I'm going to try this out when I get home. If I can get this one down, it will at the very least be a good stepping stone

rollings · February 2012

LukinFan wrote:

Rollings wrote:

Should I do a little video of this circus act?

PLEASE!

Alright very soon I will, Friday night is coming up fast
break out the cotton candy

LukinFan · February 2012

Well, I'm home and tried out a few things and it sounds even worse than before. If I'm either barring the whole first fret or just the B and E string - the strings that I'm barring sound like shit. I give up

Edit: I know it will take practice - it's just very frustrating because there are a lot of songs that I would love to learn how to play that use an F. Thanks again everyone for the advice

rollings · February 2012

LukinFan wrote:

Well, I'm home and tried out a few things and it sounds even worse than before. If I'm either barring the whole first fret or just the B and E string - the strings that I'm barring sound like shit. I give up

Edit: I know it will take practice - it's just very frustrating because there are a lot of songs that I would love to learn how to play that use an F. Thanks again everyone for the advice

Don't fret.

AHAHAHAHAH

sorry

mccreadyisgod · February 2012

Rollings wrote:

Well now that you mention it, just because you cheat on F, who says you can't cheat on all the chords going up and down the neck, so long as you avoid playing the low E string (and on the lower-pitch versions the two high strings) ??? :shock:

If I had done that 15 years ago, I would have made a few million dollars as a member of the Presidents of the United States of America. And the joke back in the day was that Kurt Cobain only really used 3 strings on his guitar.

I think that almost every guitar player has cheated with the so-called power chord (or 5th chord; A5, C5, etc). In reality, the 5th chord is just the root note plus the 5th in that scale, which is usually the lowest 2 or 3 notes in a barre chord. If we eliminated this chord structure, we'd have to eliminate whole bands, if not genres.

I know where the OP is coming from, definitely. I had moments when learning guitar that something just would not click. Once you get past that moment, where you have that breakthrough, it will feel like you've made a 3-month leap in your learning process. But if you only focus on the things you're already good at, you'll never get better. Keep working on the F chord as part of your practice routine (definitely not all of it) and use every cheat possible until one works.

The full-on 1st-fret F chord is the hardest, because it requires all of the strings be fretted at the lowest point on the neck, when the break angle from the nut is the greatest. That's why chords around the 12th fret are the easiest; they're furthest from both the nut and the bridge. That's also why people have suggested getting the action looked at. If your nut is too high, that would make the F chord that much harder. It's one of the reasons that really cheap instruments (not suggesting that yours is, just making a general statement here) will make any person quit learning. Guitar takes a good deal of finger strength, and nobody comes into guitar playing with that strength already. You've gotta learn finger control, build up callouses, learn the notes and structures, figure out music theory, just like every other instrument. But if the action is bad on the guitar you're using, then you are much more likely to quit. Whenever I'm at a music shop, and I see a proud parent buying a $100 guitar for their kid as a present, I want to scream. I've actually approached people and talked them into a $150 used guitar that plays like butter; most of the time, they look at me like an idiot or a zealot. But I know that in 3 months, that brand-new $100 guitar will be sitting in a closet, worthless, and the parents will wonder why. [/rant]

pearljam7 · February 2012

Heres a curveball F

e
B. 10
G. 10
D 10
A. 12
E. x

LukinFan · February 2012

BinFrog wrote:

More often than not I don't even play the note on the A string, and keep F to the top 4 strings. It also makes switching to G or C (or Amin) really simple.

Well, this weekend I had a breakthrough of some sorts. It's a cheat F, but I have a variation down that is getting easier to switch to - and the best part is, it sounds like an F!

It's a form of what BinFrog suggested. I'm barring the whole first fret with my index finger (but mainly concentrating on the top two strings - B and E) and then my middle finger is on the G string, 2nd fret, and then finally my ring finger is on the D string, 3rd fret (where my pinky should be). I only strum the top four strings, leaving my pinky to just hangout. I know it's not the proper F chord, but it seems to work and make me feel a lot less frustrated. I guess I'm just not fast enough on switching to the F chord yet, using all 4 fingers - and it sounding good. I figured this could hold me over while I keep practicing the full barred F chord. For some reason I can't do a mini-bar with my index finger, so that's why I tried using the full bar.

Does this make sense?

And thank you again for the suggestions and kind words.

chorduroy · February 2012

Top 2 strings are actually E and A....assuming this is what you meant then that's not an F chord as your missing a C note to complete the chord. F chord is the notes FAC.
You could play an Fmaj7 which is like this:
3210.....3 is F....2 is A...1 is C...0 is E.....if you fret the 0 you get an F which gives you the F major chord. If you play that enough your index finger will eventually want to fret the high E string at the first fret!

DewieCox · February 2012

chorduroy wrote:

Top 2 strings are actually E and A....assuming this is what you meant then that's not an F chord as your missing a C note to complete the chord. F chord is the notes FAC.
You could play an Fmaj7 which is like this:
3210.....3 is F....2 is A...1 is C...0 is E.....if you fret the 0 you get an F which gives you the F major chord. If you play that enough your index finger will eventually want to fret the high E string at the first fret!

Top musically

BinFrog · February 2012

LukinFan wrote:

It's a form of what BinFrog suggested. I'm barring the whole first fret with my index finger (but mainly concentrating on the top two strings - B and E) and then my middle finger is on the G string, 2nd fret, and then finally my ring finger is on the D string, 3rd fret (where my pinky should be). I only strum the top four strings, leaving my pinky to just hangout. I know it's not the proper F chord, but it seems to work and make me feel a lot less frustrated.

It's not a form of what I suggested...it IS what I suggested

The easiest way to play F is xx3211. You get all 3 notes of F major in, without having to clamp down on the E and A strings.

F major scale is: F G A Bb C D E

To play a major chord in its simplest form (i.e. no 7ths or anything), you need the 1, 3 and 5 notes of the major scale (Ionian, Phrygian and Mixolydian modes). For F that's: F A C

If you were to play all 6 strings and the "proper" form of F:

1 3 3 2 1 1

Or:

F C F A C F

If you play the "simple" way I outlined, you are taking out the F and C notes on the E and A strings, leaving you with:

x x F A C F

All 3 notes you need to complete the chord are still there. Plus like I said, it's easy to switch to other chords from there, and back again. Switching to/from C or G is much easier with this chord variation.

LukinFan · February 2012

BinFrog wrote:

LukinFan wrote:

It's a form of what BinFrog suggested. I'm barring the whole first fret with my index finger (but mainly concentrating on the top two strings - B and E) and then my middle finger is on the G string, 2nd fret, and then finally my ring finger is on the D string, 3rd fret (where my pinky should be). I only strum the top four strings, leaving my pinky to just hangout. I know it's not the proper F chord, but it seems to work and make me feel a lot less frustrated.

It's not a form of what I suggested...it IS what I suggested

The easiest way to play F is xx3211. You get all 3 notes of F major in, without having to clamp down on the E and A strings.

F major scale is: F G A Bb C D E

To play a major chord in its simplest form (i.e. no 7ths or anything), you need the 1, 3 and 5 notes of the major scale (Ionian, Phrygian and Mixolydian modes). For F that's: F A C

If you were to play all 6 strings and the "proper" form of F:

1 3 3 2 1 1

Or:

F C F A C F

If you play the "simple" way I outlined, you are taking out the F and C notes on the E and A strings, leaving you with:

x x F A C F

All 3 notes you need to complete the chord are still there. Plus like I said, it's easy to switch to other chords from there, and back again. Switching to/from C or G is much easier with this chord variation.

Thank you again - you really did make this easier on me

rollings · February 2012

Never knew you were supposed to ever use all 4 Fingers

LukinFan · February 2012

Rollings wrote:

Never knew you were supposed to ever use all 4 Fingers

any tips on how to bar just those two top strings (B and E)?

phungi · February 2012

LukinFan wrote:

any tips on how to bar just those two top strings (B and E)?

I had to pick up a guitar and "see" since I just do this instinctually:

bar the B and E with the top pad/3rd of your index finger

LukinFan · February 2012

phungi wrote:

LukinFan wrote:

any tips on how to bar just those two top strings (B and E)?

I had to pick up a guitar and "see" since I just do this instinctually:

bar the B and E with the top pad/3rd of your index finger

Yeah, I've tried that. I've tried putting my index finger down on the B string and then rolling it down onto the E string and it just sounds like shit. I just don't get it

chorduroy · February 2012

If you want to play the open position F chord (as opposed to the full barre), then barring the E and B with your index finger is really the only way to do it. I've never seen it played any other way.....See the below generic image (from google). Also, are you using light gauge strings? If not, id suggest switching

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__9UUr3I9TA/T ... -chord.jpg

This chord shape is easier to play further away from the nut...so try playing the same shape at the 7th fret (B chord) and then at the 5th fret (A chord) and then at the 3rd (F chord). This will at least give you the feel of barring the E and B together. But it really all goes back to the age old advice that no one wants to hear...Keep practicing! You just need to train the muscles in your fingers and eventually it'll be as easy as an Eminor chord,

LukinFan · February 2012

chorduroy wrote:

If you want to play the open position F chord (as opposed to the full barre), then barring the E and B with your index finger is really the only way to do it. I've never seen it played any other way.....See the below generic image (from google). Also, are you using light gauge strings? If not, id suggest switching

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__9UUr3I9TA/T ... -chord.jpg

This chord shape is easier to play further away from the nut...so try playing the same shape at the 7th fret (B chord) and then at the 5th fret (A chord) and then at the 3rd (F chord). This will at least give you the feel of barring the E and B together. But it really all goes back to the age old advice that no one wants to hear...Keep practicing! You just need to train the muscles in your fingers and eventually it'll be as easy as an Eminor chord,

Cool - thank you. Yeah, I guess it's just practice that I need more than anything

uninnocent- · February 2012

BinFrog wrote:

LukinFan wrote:

It's a form of what BinFrog suggested. I'm barring the whole first fret with my index finger (but mainly concentrating on the top two strings - B and E) and then my middle finger is on the G string, 2nd fret, and then finally my ring finger is on the D string, 3rd fret (where my pinky should be). I only strum the top four strings, leaving my pinky to just hangout. I know it's not the proper F chord, but it seems to work and make me feel a lot less frustrated.

It's not a form of what I suggested...it IS what I suggested

The easiest way to play F is xx3211. You get all 3 notes of F major in, without having to clamp down on the E and A strings.

F major scale is: F G A Bb C D E

To play a major chord in its simplest form (i.e. no 7ths or anything), you need the 1, 3 and 5 notes of the major scale (Ionian, Phrygian and Mixolydian modes). For F that's: F A C

If you were to play all 6 strings and the "proper" form of F:

1 3 3 2 1 1

Or:

F C F A C F

If you play the "simple" way I outlined, you are taking out the F and C notes on the E and A strings, leaving you with:

x x F A C F

All 3 notes you need to complete the chord are still there. Plus like I said, it's easy to switch to other chords from there, and back again. Switching to/from C or G is much easier with this chord variation.

Use the thumb to fret the low F and you're good. The third ('C') is highly overrated...

rollings · February 2012

LukinFan wrote:

Rollings wrote:

Never knew you were supposed to ever use all 4 Fingers

any tips on how to bar just those two top strings (B and E)?

Yes.

You smoosh your index finger into it. Bend your whole hand if you gotta.

Bend your hand so that the side of the index finger (the side that's friends with your thumb) smooshes into the two strings.

Practice just that finger before you add the other two.

F Chord (Update)

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