hi everyone first timer, could anyone give me any tips regarding the f chord,i can't for the life of me get the index finger to fret the open strings and the chord sounds rubbish. i have short stubby fingers and the knuckle joint seems to be the main problem , can't seem to get the middle part of the finger to press on the strings.
cheers
HI harry, welcome to the forum. I cannot offer an easier solution than to keep trying. That worked for me. The buzzing or muting just stoped and I started playing the cord better. Take it from someone learing alt barre cord forms, it is just partice. I feel your pain/frustration as I am going through something simular now learning D & C barre shapes. Pratice will finally get your fingers the muscle memory and strenght to hold the cord. Just remember to take a break and stop if you get pain in the wrist from making the cord.
John M
Just like your fingertips, your barre finger will toughen up in time.
Try barring the strings slightly to the outside of your finger - as if you were rolling your finger slightly toward your thumb.
-- John
"Hip woman walking on a moving floor, tripping on the escalator.
There's a man in the line and she's blowin' his mind, thinking that he's already made her."
'Coming into Los Angeles' - Arlo Guthrie
In the meantime you can use Fmaj7 which is the same fingers except your index only frets the B string first fret. It sounds close enough too the F
cheers everyone and thankyou for your prompt replys, iwill keep on trying no pain no gain
What always helped me was to position my non barring fingers first. Then lay the barring finger over the fret board. As long as the non barring fingers are down accurately you can get away with a sloppy barring finger for a little bit.
Shibby
In the meantime you can use Fmaj7 which is the same fingers except your index only frets the B string first fret. It sounds close enough too the FI, too, have been having problems with the F major chord, but following your advice for the Fmaj7, I was able to get 4 clean-sounding strings and then to properly lay down the barre on the 1st fret. Thanks a ton for the tip!
Here is another form I am playing with.
F7
Using the E7 chord shape with the barre.
131211
This allows me to lay my middle finger over my index to help with the barre and still sounds pretty close.
