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August 2007
Posts: 71
Location: Southern California | For the life of me I cannot get the F chord down. I cannot get the first 2 strings to ring clear, they are muffled no matter how I try to fret them.
Any suggestions? Has anyone struggled with this one & finally mastered it? No matter how much I try I see no improvement............. |
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May 2006
Posts: 97
Location: Chicago | Keep playing!! For barre chords, proficiency comes almost entirely from forearm strength. Try to play songs which have lots of F chords.
No onto the B chord... |
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August 2007
Posts: 71
Location: Southern California | well I am, but after weeks I see no progress at all, so I'm starting to think perhaps I'm just doing something wrong..........I was hoping perhaps someone else had had the same struggle & could share what they found they were doing wrong........ |
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December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | Try playing the F barre chord shape higher up the neck, say at the 7th fret (B chord). It may be a little easier up there. Then try moving it down to the fist fret as it gets comfortable. And just keep playing it - it gets easier. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | If you are playing it in sequence with an open C, then you can try playing it like this: (let's see if this will format right)
x - - - 1 1
- - - 2
- 4 3
You'll use your forefinger to catch the top two strings ... this is an easier way to play it than a Barre chord. From the C chord, you just have to roll your wrist a little bit and migrate your middle and ring fingers up one string, and let your pinkie drop to where it naturally wants to fall.
Aside from that, practice, practice, practice.
Good luck. |
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December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | Another suggestion, practice laying your index finger across all six strings without any other fingers. Move this "open" barre chord around to different frets and play each string individually, trying to get a good clean sound on each string. Once you get that down, practice adding the E, E7 Em, Em7, A, A7, Am and Am7 shapes to the barre. Play them one string at a time until you get them all nice and clean sounding. And keep practicing - it gets easier! |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Hey FishChick-- It'll come to you! Have Patience, Perseverance, and Practice... (Yeah, yeah, Right!)
I have a thing with the Bm chord... Yes, I know how to do it, but sometimes...
And sometimes it just comes to me (or my fingers) without me thinking about it.
I think that when I think about it I think too Hard about it, I think.
[Actually, I just am not happy with that chord cuz it ain't hard-wired into my head, like the Open Chords that I learned 37 years ago. I still have trouble with the F Barre, so I use an Fmaj7 when I can get away with it. But it don't work in Hotel California] |
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March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | buy a Gripmaster and practice as much as you can.
i've always had problems with B chord, and after using gripmaster for 2 weeks i've been able to nail B really clean.
and try to practice hard progressions for - i don't know - hour a day...
i'd say
B - E - F# - E |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | The F chord is the first real hurdle for the beginner.
After you master it, you won't be a beginner any more. |
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April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Another thing about barre chords: RELAX your shoulders and use the weight of your arm to apply pressure as well as finger pressure.
It does take quite some time to get barres clean -- heck, i don't always hit them clean either.
_____
gh1 |
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January 2007
Posts: 146
Location: Japan | +1 to everyones posts but one thing you might check, or have checked, is to see if your nut height is too high.
The height on my 1881 is pretty high and I have to exert more pressure to get the F to ring clear. |
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April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Fishchick--
I have really small hands, and barre's were hard for me, too.
My suggestion would be to have someone check the neck adjustment, and see if you can't bring the strings down towards the neck a bit; the closer they are without buzzing, the easier it will be. Second is the string size--I play using 11's, because lighter strings are easier to hold down. I have played using 12's, and even 13's, and I like the sound of them, but why make life harder?
I can barre them, but I sometimes cheat by using absolutely terrible technique--I hold the lowest string down by wrapping my thumb over the edge of the neck, a "thumb capo," so to speak. (I can just see our classically-trained compatriots wincing and leaping up to protect you from such a bad influence....) I do that for the major chords; for the minor ones, I put my middle finger over my pointer and use the pressure from both to keep the string down.
You will get it; don't despair, because it will come eventually.
--Karen |
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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | "I can barre them, but I sometimes cheat by using absolutely terrible technique--I hold the lowest string down by wrapping my thumb over the edge of the neck, a "thumb capo," so to speak. " ...
Hey! I've been doing that for years also! I prefer to do my G chord that way, with the thumb 1/2 way down on the A string. It's a habit I formed about 35 years ago when I taught myself how to play. I DID go back and try to correct the habit by practicing the correct way, but sometimes the thumb really helps you do things to enhance your playing also. My advice is to take up classical for a couple years, and have one of the drill instructor-types beat correct technique into you. Then you can move on and develop your own techniques and short cuts. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | just got to learn to do it, no other way around it. |
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August 2007
Posts: 61
Location: Illinois, U.S.A. | Kudos for not naming this thread, "Struggling with the F-@#$%* chord" |
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October 2005
Posts: 5330
Location: Cicero, NY | Yep. What they said. And, yes, we've all been there and know exactly what you're talking about.
(By the way - good question because there are plenty of things you can cheat on. This just ain't one of them. And, to head off next week's question, Eb's not either.) |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub |  |
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March 2002
Posts: 15665
Location: SoCal | I just never learned the F chord. My wife doesn't allow language like that in our house, so it's not one of the three I know.... |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I get around the e-flat thing by just playing a d-sharp instead. Problem solved.... You're welcome. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5330
Location: Cicero, NY | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Another alternative is to capo up 1 and play the E (: ... It may screw up the rest of the song though. |
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August 2007
Posts: 71
Location: Southern California | thanks everyone for your advice & I'm glad to know I am not the only one that struggles with this chord! |
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May 2005
Posts: 486
Location: North Carolina | Originally posted by Slipkid:
I get around the e-flat thing by just playing a d-sharp instead. Problem solved.... You're welcome. After over 40 years of playing, I was surprised to learn recently that D# and Eb are actually not the same. The internet theory nazis were escalating this to near bar fight status, so I did a little research and found there's actually something to it.
But at this point I pretty much figure, "So what?" |
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Posts: 15665
Location: SoCal | So what is the difference? |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | It's depends on the relative key you're playing in. If you are playing in G#m, you'd go with D# but, if you're playing in Fbm, you'd go Eb.
:rolleyes: |
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Struggling with the F chord
