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Avoiding practice!
Hi everyone,
I am still not into the daily challenges/regular TAC. Started Dec 24 when I bought my guitar with no music experience whatsoever. LOL That said, I was humming along pretty nicely working my way thru’ the 30 days and the programs after it, im working on the 6 additional chords right now which I believe is the last one then I start the TAC with the daily challenges. As you all know one of the chords we learn is the mini F and the full F chord, which I cannot seem to make my fingers do no matter how I try. Tony talks about strength needed so Im sure thats part of it, seems you have to barr the 1st fret hard to make it ring right and then add the other frets and it all goes down hill from there if I even do get the barr to sound right with just that. I decided to move on from the mini F even tho I couldnt seem to do it then saw the FULL F chord and about blew a gasket! Now I seem to be stuck, really avoiding practicing but I know I should and that with all the other things I couldnt do in the beginning and FINALLY got accomplished with practice, it will get better. Im not young, lets just say that, I know alot of you here are as well, so getting the fingers to do things they dont want to seems a tall order on this F chord. Wondering how everyone else is doing with it, the comments below the videos are full of complaints with people not happy with the difficulty of this chord, so Im not the lone ranger apparently.
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19 Replies
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@JILLC, I’ve been playing about 5 years now. I understand where you are, and I didn’t start until I was 59. It can get better, and you will eventually be able to make the mini F and full F. But, only if you are diligent in your practice. The biggest thing that has helped me, and it is reiterated in this course, is to try and play everyday. Even if you’re frustrated, give it at least 10 minutes. Even if you’re not doing, or don’t want to do a particular TAC lesson, pick up your guitar and just play whatever you can. Even if you only know a couple of chords, play and get to know those chords better, and introduce new ones when you feel up to it. Just try to play everyday if possible. This is the key to getting better and having fun. I know some other members will chime in with their advice as well. There are some very helpful folks here.
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Hi Skyman, I do try to get in the 10 min a day most days, but the F chord really did something in me that got me to start thinking maybe this isnt really possible for me, but I know that is just the frustration talking really. I plan on keeping up with the lessons, like Tony says in the lesson, it takes strength to do them and I can verify to that. My hands hurt trying to hold down the barr while mashing other strings. But its part of learning. I appreciate you input and encouragement so thank you!
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I’ve been playing for many years and I admit I have no intention of doing the mini F chord, although I will probably practice it here and there. I always substitute it for a fully barred F chord, or I’ll play it without playing the high E string. This is one of the only modifications I’ve allowed myself to do and not let myself feel bad about it…lol 🙂
I would encourage everyone to practice the “correct” way to play things, while at the same time, go ahead and modify to make it right for you! In other words, I’ll practice it, but when it comes to playing something, I’ll modify it.
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This reply was modified 3 weeks ago by MattTX_24.
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I will keep that in mind, since I know so little about actually playing songs and such, I dont know what is important and what is not (that can be modified like you do). Thank you for the encouragement Matt! Im going to keep going despite my lack of motivation from the F chord frustrations. Thank you.
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This reply was modified 3 weeks ago by
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@JILLC please don’t worry about the F-ing mini F! Just leave out the low E string entirely for now. It sounds very similar, especially if you manage to not strum that string or position your index finger just lightly over the E-string so it’s muted).
Every player struggles with that chord and with several of the barre chord shapes along with a few other open shapes as well. You must try to find some enjoyment in the journey! We don’t have a Scotty to beam us into the universe where we’re excellent players.
Don’t forget that you ARE LEARNING when you struggle! And conversely, if you’re not struggling, you’re probably not learning very much (quite possibly nothing at all)!
The most important thing is that you come to play your minimum 10 minutes every day. Do your best on the challenge, mark it complete! You should only “practice” beyond that if it’s enjoyable, so probably don’t go to the mini F all of time or at least not for an entire practice session. Do something enjoyable that you learned in a Challenge recently or whatever pleases you!
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Hi Pete, I havent done any of the challenges yet, Im still in the parts before it. Am I supposed to be doing them? Do I need to know the chords pretty well before starting them? I feel like Im so crappy I have to stick where I am before moving on even tho I know Tony says to move along even if you dont know something very good. Im settling down some about it and will get back to it with JOY! Thanks
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Don’t worry about being crappy, almost everyone is when they start the challenges, unless they’ve been playing for a while. Tony shows you the chords in every challenge so you can learn them there. Of course if you don’t know any chords you’re not going to get very far in 10 minutes, but that’s ok. Definitely move on, you don’t need to perfect the 30 Day or the 5 Day things! No perfection anywhere here in TAC!
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Another thing you could do is a variation of the F maj7 chord. Try 1st finger on 1st fret of the B string ( C ), 2nd finger on 2nd fret of the G string ( A ), and 3rd finger on 3rd fret of the D string ( F ). Play the high E open. The sound is similar, but no need to barre anything, OR use your pinky. I learned that trying to play Night Moves by Bob Seger with that quick F chord between the G and C chord.
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I love Night Moves! I’ll have to practice what you said so I can try it, in a year or 2!!! LOL I cant even imagine playing a song yet. I have to practice the chord transitions alot more so it will actually SOUND like a song instead of a bunch of separate notes. LOL Thanks!
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It’ll come quicker than that ! To work on chord transitions, what you need to do is fret the chord with your fingers, then remove your fingers just a 1/4″ above the strings and re-fret the chord. Continue bouncing on and off the chord until you come down on the strings in the proper position. Then practice taking your hand completely of the neck of the guitar, and reform the chord again. Close your eyes when you have the chord fretted…pay attention to how it feels. Pay attention to where your thumb is on the back of the neck. Visualize the chord shape. Once you have “mastered” a chord, move on to another. Allow yourself to hit some clunkers along the way…we all do that. At some point, it just gets smoother. Good luck !
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Thank you for more input! I will work on this instead of being frustrated with it all. Do you recommend just working on this instead of trying to move on to the daily challenges and whatever is in the regular TAC?? I have never done anything in TAC except the 30 days and the other things in the skill courses after it, which the last one is the last 6 chords Im complaining about, but i will get there and thankfully with ya’lls help.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by JILLC.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by
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Start the Daily challenges. If you can play a few chords, then you can “do” the daily challenges. There will be lots of new skills taught almost every day, but trying new things keeps things interesting AND the dexterity you learn helps you with getting control of your fingers. Just remember that you don’t have to perfect something before you move to the next day’s challenge. Do 10 minutes and mark it complete.
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I watched todays (wednesday) challenge. Its very overwhelming. He goes so fast on what to do, which fret, which string……. is it normal to have to watch the dang video many times to be able to do what he is asking? I think I’ll hang out on learning my chords and transitioning better and gain a bit of confidence before launching into the challenges. Wow
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This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by JILLC.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by
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Download the tab to see what he’s playing. I actually print it off. If I’m not sure how he’s playing something, I may go back to the video. But the “Play” video ( below the challenge video ) shows what he’s doing, and it’s on a loop. My advice would be to start on a Monday since the week kinda builds every day. Thursday is the chord challenge, so it’s always a fun one. Every day is actually a challenge, but that’s what it’s supposed to be.
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Hi all! It’s true… there’s a reason they call it the F-chord!
If you can play a C chord then you should… eventually… be able to play an F. You move the 2nd and 3rd finger over one string each and then flatten that 1st. Yes… easier said than done but very possible with time. Notice I didn’t say practice. The P word isn’t my favorite and so I play songs. When I’m wanting to learn a new chord I find a song with that chord (sometimes the songs find me to teach me a chord though). Then I just keep playing that song over and over until the new chord is just part of it and I don’t have to stop and look and put my fingers down slowly in the right spots. Once I can cleanly transition to the new chord it’s a true accomplishment and can be factored into other songs. This is just my method of keeping it fun and may not work for everyone. Just throwing out out there as the F chord is pretty common and a great one to know and get down.
Good luck and most of all have fun!
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I agree about the name of the F chord!! Its a bitch, to be nice about it. I have only been learning since Christmas so have not even thought about trying a song yet. Im struggling to say the least. That is a great plan to learn the chords tho’. I need to play more and learn the chords and transitions more and just get back to realizing it CAN be fun still.
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JILLC–
My two cents:
1. Forget the “full F” entirely for now– focus on the mini
2. DO YOUR STRETCHING EXERCISES– both before– and occasionally during– your practice session(s)
3. Work on “going TO” the mini (from another chord) instead of just going to it from nowhere- (try the C to mini-F).
4. The first fret is hard to fret (especially barre) at first because it is right next to the nut. Put a capo on 1 and try the mini-F, now one fret higher. Or, you can just always practice that same shape as the full-F, just higher up the neck– and slowly “work it down”…. (just to get the “full-F shape” into your brain).
It will all come with time– main thing is…… be cool/ no worries.
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This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by the-old-coach.
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I dont have a capo but can get one. I have no idea what they are for tho’. I will try what you recommend tho and see how it goes. Thanks!
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JC– Tons of info on capos out there (youtube or amazon vids, etc). Also lots of places to get one- or two!- (amazon, any guitar/music store). Most are ~$5-10- (some are higher, though).
Once you find out more about what they are and what they do– you’ll see they are a pretty useful tool…….
One “main purpose” I guess, is that you can change the Key of a song to fit your voice range. (that’s kind of a simplistic explanation there– but that’s pretty clear in general).
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This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by the-old-coach.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by
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