Too Little, Too Late

[MattTX_24]

That chord is tough!!! For me, I mostly ignore the high E string (leave it open, don’t strum it, or have the left or right hand lightly touching it to keep it muted when strummed). I mostly focus on the next 3 strings (from the bottom)…. Pointer on the first fret of the B string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, and ring finger on the 3rd fret of the D string.

That’s how I like to play the F chord if I’m not doing a full barre chord.

Remember.. guitar is hard. It is supposed to be challenging. Focus on the small wins. Showing up and trying is a win. Each day you will improve a tiny bit and you will be surprised how quickly the small wins start adding up.

Hope that helps! Don’t give up! Lots of modifications are available for almost anything you want to play. Have fun!

• This reply was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by  MattTX_24.

[DZRShodan]

Matt,

Thanks for the support and encouragement! I’ve been doing something similar to what you suggest to “adjust” and “compensate” to make the F cord work but it isn’t the best solution. I’ll need to keep working on it. I really don’t want to “give up” but I need to rekindle the fire I had when I signed up for TAC.

[gmhendersonme-com]

Seems you and I are in the same boat …played a little way back when and then decided I wanted to improve upon what I could do and learn a few more things along the way. The F chord has always been my nemesis, but in a weird way. I find the barre chord easier than the “easy F”, and through many tries, I find I have to rotate my first finger to even get close to a good barre on the first fret. For some reason, I have trouble getting the B string to ring out…all other strings sound great ! When that happens, I try to just slightly alter my finger to get there. Hopefully one day it’ll happen right after a transition, but I’m not there yet. Best tip I’ve heard recently that I hadn’t heard before… use your right forearm ( strumming hand ) to put pressure on the guitar body into your body, thereby causing the neck to pivot away from you. The result is that you don’t have to press as hard on the barre chord with your fingers ( and thumb on the back of the neck ), since the neck is now providing some of the pressure. Oh…and play around with your thumb position on the back of the neck too !

[Bayvu2]

Gary, your story is similar to mine. wanted to play guitar all my life and about 35 years ago bought a guitar, took lessons, then, life got in the way. in and out of the case a couple times a year. Fast forward to 2024. I fully retired, at 62 years old and decided i was going to fulfill my life long dream, playing guitar.

I play everyday, even if it is just a quick 5-10 minutes. My goal is to improve, at my own pace. Where I am at is where I am at! I have had those thought on whether my ship has sailed, and in some ways, it has! I wont be joining a band any time soon, but I get enjoyment from what I can do and where I am.

Tony says the F stands for Favorite Chord! haha. Make that a goal. In 3 months, I will be playing the F Chord!

Good Luck!

[DZRShodan]

I appreciate the support and your commiserating with me! I’ll give the guitar body trick a try. Many thanks!

[petelanger]

@DZRShodan don’t worry! As @MattTX_24 said, guitar is hard. I don’t know how old you are but I strongly doubt that the ship has sailed. There are many in this group who are in their 60s and 70s who started recently. I started at 64.

The F-mini is REALLY HARD! It took me over a year before I could occasionally get it to ring nicely on occasion. It still isn’t clear all the time, I’m at about 30% when transitioning into it but improving. You can just leave out the High E string for now, if you don’t strum it you’re still playing an F major chord.

[DZRShodan]

Pete,

I turn 62 in June so we have known the same presidents. I will have to settle for leaving the high E string in he lurch for now as you suggest. Thanks for the support, it means a lot to me!!

[jorgemac]

yep, that is always a work in progress for most folks.

i suggest starting,5 minutes a day, with the 3 treble strings.

middle finger on E/1, index finger on B/1 and ringer finger on G/2.

Walk that finger position to the 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th frets, G, A, C, D chords. get comfortable with moving the 3 fingers in those positions.

Do this for a week then

We start with the Index finger covering 2 strings. that is all you need to do for this week. just move the index finger down the neck in the same fretted positions you practice last week. Just the index finger for a whole week until you feel comfortable holding down the 2 treble strings. make sure your thumb stays behind the fret your index finger is holding down.

the following week, if you feel comfortable holding down the the E and B treble strings with index finger add the middle finger to the g string 1st fret up from the index finger position. Walk these 2 fingers down the neck to 10th fret D chord. Remember the thumb position behind the E and B strings position. This helps develop strength when barring chords.

After this becomes comfortable for you add the ring finger to the D string 3rd fret and practice this every day for a few minutes before practice. You will feel much more comfortable playing the 4 finger barre chord and will not avoid the dreaded F chord . The f chord is a very welcome part of my picking. Also the G, A and C chord using the 4 string form. All of these positions can be jumping off points for minor chords and the major 7th chord, that would be the the B flat M7th which is the IV Chord in the key of F.

I suggest using the 3 treble strings as a basic method to form all of the Major and Minor chords. and do practice both of these chord forms a few times a week.

[DZRShodan]

Jorge,

I appreciate the support and the benefit of your experience. I’ll start working on this technique immediately. I have always been a hands-on learner but believe that I can follow your directions well enough to get them down. If it helps me nail the “F” cord, I will be eternally grateful!

[LeslyT]

Thanks for this. I too am having a struggle with the F. I figured it would be another chord that would come with months of practice – like theC chord. Glad to have a little ex to work on it specifically!

[DZRShodan]

Jorge,

Just wanted to thank you, again, for this tip. It is helping me familiarize my fingers with the form of the F-cord. I can easily move the E, B and G strings up the fretboard and it sounds good using the frets you suggested. Next, holding down the B and E strings with my index finger and moving up the neck. This just may be the way to get this F cord figured out!

[albert_d]

What @jorgemac says is a good plan. It will work even if it seems slow.

[jorgemac]

In a month or two you will be comfortable barring the 4 string F. It took me years to actually stop avoiding the F chord. Wish I had worked on it a few times a week way back when.

[Ben64]

Thre difficulty making the F chord can sometime be related to the way you hold your guitar. If the neck is too low there’s a good chance your middle or ring finger will damp other strings. If the case just try raising the neck bringing it toward your head

[jorgemac]

I’m going to start aa discussion regarding all of the easy chord transitions you can make out of the 4 string F chord shape.

[jorgemac]

The whole key is finding that “Sweet spot” on your index finger’s fret placement on fret 1. That finger placement, for me seems to depend on how many strings I need to cover with the index finger. If you are picking a full 6 string F chord my index finger is stretched almost a finger nail width above the 6th bass string fret board But playing the 4 and 5 finger F chord it usually tops out some where on the 3rd fret area. I was doing my exercises this morning and it was one of those days where the finger sweet spot kept moving and I needed more index finger crossing the fret board than normal.

Something that has helped with the 4 string finger barre position is that I have always barred the E and B string when I use the D minor chord fingering in my progressions and it is one of my favorite chords so I use it a lot.