Im teaching myself how to play the guitar and am having a lot of trouble going from any chord, into the F chord. Is it just going to take finger strength and practice to move into an F chord more easily, or is there some trick?

Thanks in advance!

souleyvegan said:

Im teaching myself how to play the guitar and am having a lot of trouble going from any chord, into the F chord. Is it just going to take finger strength and practice to move into an F chord more easily, or is there some trick?

Thanks in advance!

Acoustic or eletric guitar?

Wrong link, though it maybe helpful, the F chord can be a challenge to beginners anyways

F chord up the fretboard (alternatives) F Chord # 5 maybe easier for you, link below.

http://www.jamplay.com/gu...chord.html

Revised.

Acoustic or eletric guitar? No tricks I'm afraid, it takes time. Your hands will have to learn from practice and memory what shape they should "natural" go to when you change chords. Barre chord and they're a bitch, so it takes time . . time to build up finger strength. I would also suggest if you haven't all ready make sure you guitar is properly set-up. Rule of thumb, if you can place more than one quarter under the 12 fret your action is too high, one quarter should just be able to slide under the strings, with just a lil' room. A good set-up does wonders for playability.

I may help to switch to silk & steel strings easier on the fingers.

===============

[Edited 3/2/11 14:29pm]

[Edited 3/2/11 19:22pm]

acoustic. I just got a chord picture book...is it "cheating" though to avoid the F barre chord for an easier finger position?

TD3 said:

souleyvegan said:

Im teaching myself how to play the guitar and am having a lot of trouble going from any chord, into the F chord. Is it just going to take finger strength and practice to move into an F chord more easily, or is there some trick?

Thanks in advance!

Acoustic or eletric guitar?

F chord up the fretboard (alternatives) F Chord # 5 maybe easier for you, link below.

http://www.jamplay.com/gu...chord.html

Acoustic or eletric guitar? No tricks I'm afraid, it takes time. Your hands will have to learn from practice and memory what shape they should "natural" go to when you change chords. F chord # 1 as you know is a barre chord and they're a bitch, so it takes time . . time to build up finger strength. I would also suggest if you haven't all ready make sure you guitar is properly set-up. Rule of thumb, if you can place more than one quarter under the 12 fret your action is too high, one quarter should just be able to slide under the strings, with just a lil' room. A good set-up does wonders for playability.

I may help to switch to silk & steel strings easier on the fingers.

oh, and P.S...Thanks for the information!!!

===============

[Edited 3/2/11 14:29pm]

souleyvegan said:

acoustic. I just got a chord picture book...is it "cheating" though to avoid the F barre chord for an easier finger position?

Nope -just like it isn't cheating if you use a capo. don't know many people who don't have a couple of chords that aren't comfortable for them to play, if you find an alternative chord that's more comfortable, than that's just fine.

The advantage of learning barre chords, it will allow you to take the same chord position, and just move it up and down the fretboard. The great thing about barre chords is that, unlike with the open chords, they don't come in many shapes and sizes - what I mean by that is that there aren't many chord shapes you have to memorize. The Chet Atkins philosophy of playing, the economy of movement.

This is the alternatvie to F Barre Chord below

Believe me it will come don't give up if you can find alternatives cool. I've known people to give up playing because they couldn't play barre chords.

Oh, you are welcome . . .

===============

[Edited 3/2/11 19:24pm]

i just started playing a month and a half ago and i say keep it up. I can't even call myself good right now but my finger strength has certainly improved. I guess it will just take practice.

[Edited 3/2/11 23:15pm]

don't be scared off by the barre, it's not that hard. Just takes time and practice.

I'd recommend getting proficient at G and D chords. They're more fun and they'll build your finger strength for the other stuff

souleyvegan said:

Im teaching myself how to play the guitar and am having a lot of trouble going from any chord, into the F chord. Is it just going to take finger strength and practice to move into an F chord more easily, or is there some trick?

Thanks in advance!

I had EXACTLY the same problem years ago when I was learning to play. The F chord shape was the one chord I couldn't move to. I could hit the chord eventually but it was no good when strumming songs because the break needed to get my fingers in the right place was too long...but...

...with practice and repetition I totally go over the problem and now the F chord shape is as easy to hit as all the others. Just keep practicing and you'll get it in time...its not the best advice when you're eager to play now but it really is the only solution. And once you've mastered it you'll look back and wonder how you ever struggled in the first place!

When I was learning guitar, barre chords were really difficult at first as well and now they are no big deal.

The "trick" to learning them is to keep forcing yourself to play them every time you practice.

Repetition is the best teacher... Slowly your fingers will adapt... This may take months and yes you will get frustrated but everyone goes through it and once you get over the hump you will be glad you did it.

That's really the key to pretty much all the physical aspects of learning an instrument... Keep practiciing regularly and slowly (sometimes very slowly) your fingers adapt and learn how to do it.

[Edited 3/3/11 7:41am]

In some songs you can use the easier fingerings, but the full chord sounds better in some situations. You want to be able to do what the song dictates, not what you are limited to. Besides, that is a major barre shape that you are going to need to be able to move up and down the neck. It's actually better to think of it as an E major shape moving up the neck, and your first finger becomes the nut - look the fret board and E chord and you'll see what I mean.

When I was just starting, I picked up a good practice routine from JustinGuitar.com - no affiliation, just a good site to learn from - pick two chords, say F barre and C open. Set a timer for 60 seconds and move between these chords only - count every clean chord, and start slow at first. Write down you scores and slowly try to improve.

Also, realize that the barre finger only needs to hold down the strings that your other fingers are not playing notes on.

Other things that helped me:

- Hold the guitar correctly - flatter against you. As you tilt the guitar bottom away (to see what your fingers are doing) a barre chord gets more difficult.

- Try to hold your first finger flat and straight, just before the fret. Let you other fingers get good at adjusting to your first finger being correct.

- Don't be afraid to let your first finger get chewed up a bit - a callous will help!

- Play the notes of the chord individually to see what fingers need adjusting

- stick with it!!!!!!

Awesome, I'm so excited to be learning the guitar. I know "Let It Be" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" already...the very simple versions..and I love playing them. My son now requests my novice guitar playing at bed time

What is a good Prince song to learn on acoustic for a beginner?

souleyvegan said:

Awesome, I'm so excited to be learning the guitar. I know "Let It Be" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" already...the very simple versions..and I love playing them. My son now requests my novice guitar playing at bed time

What is a good Prince song to learn on acoustic for a beginner?

The Cross

When you were mine

Check out UltimateGuitar.com for TABS.

You can also search my screen name (vman4639) for some guitar tutorials on YouTube. Nothing great - I made them after 1 year of playing. Need to add more soon.

I LOVE When You Were Mine!! I'm gonna tackle that next

souleyvegan said:

I LOVE When You Were Mine!! I'm gonna tackle that next

Hmmm - I just looked at the TABS on Ultimate Guitar for When you were mine - not thrilled with them. If I get some time I'll try to TAB out how I play it.

F Barre chords on the first fret can be tough to play. Play bar chord scales up and down the neck every day. Just keep at it and it will get easier after a few months. In the meanwhile you could always just play an open F.

Hmmm - I just looked at the TABS on Ultimate Guitar for When you were mine - not thrilled with them

The accuracy of the tabs on that site are at best questionable.

I could play F barre on the first fret when I was a child so I guess it isn't that much about strength. It's more about learn to press with enough tension to get a clear tone out of each string and yet relax the fingers at the same time. Hard to explain but I always strive to use as little strength as possible.

vman4639 said:

souleyvegan said:

I LOVE When You Were Mine!! I'm gonna tackle that next

Hmmm - I just looked at the TABS on Ultimate Guitar for When you were mine - not thrilled with them. If I get some time I'll try to TAB out how I play it.

OK - so I just tried to TAB an easy version from memory (I don't have my guitar with me) - but this should be good to get you started - verse and chorus sections - have fun!

The Cross is easy, and I already had the editor open, so I jotted it down as well ....

Word! Thanks so much..I really appreciate this. Now my son will have a new bedtime song..lol!

souleyvegan said:

Word! Thanks so much..I really appreciate this. Now my son will have a new bedtime song..lol!

You may have to change some of the words to When You Were Mine ;->