Problems with the F chord

Try shifting your fingers around a little (up and down the neck) as you just play those two strings..after some experimentation, you will come up with a better position. (And more practice will make it better too..)

One trick is not to use the squishy pad of your index finger but to roll the finger ever so slightly so that the strings are being pressed by the edge of your index finger (thumb side).

Personally, I find the full barre F chord easier.

There's an identical thread like this: http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=15036&highlight=chord

Next time try the search function.

And welcome to guitarnoise! :)

Wow, the first few responses are identical! lol

Every picture I have ever seen of a F chord formed showed the first finger barring the first 2 strings. I was never satisfied with the results this gave me. Recently I changed to laying my first finger across the first 3 or 4 strings e B G D, I find this amazingly more comfortable.

You don't have to worry about the extra notes your fretting on the 3rd and 4th string (G#, D#) since they will be covered by your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret 3rd string (A) and your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret 4th string (F).

To see it in action for yourself gives you a better idea of what I'm talking about that reading it.

This is like a half or mini barre chord and if you aren't playing barre chords yet it might make a good stepping stone.

I continue to practice using my first finger on the first 2 strings also because doing it that way makes it easier to change to and from a C or Am chord which you find yourself doing often.

Anyway ... give it a try, I'd be interested in what you think.

Michael

Remember as well that the partial F is also a "movable" shape. Move it to the third fret, you'll play a "G", move it to the fifth, you'll play an "A", up to the 7th a "B", etc. It's a handy chord voicing for several songs -- e.g. "With a Little Help from My Friends" by the Beatles, or an electric live version of "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones. Okay, I digress. I mention this, because one way to become comfortable with the partial F barre shape is to practice it at the third and fifth frets, for example. It's a bit easier to play there and you'll get more comfortable with finger and hand position there. Eventually you'll find the partial shape at the first fret to be just as easy as it is at those other positions. So work on it up the neck some for practice.
Hope that helps.

Play that funky F chord 8)

I use the partial F and then put my thumb over the low E to make a full barre, Takes some practice but soon it becomes so easy you can do it in your sleep, also you can move it down the neck like another person replied, 3rd fret G, 5th A, 7th B, 8th C, 10th D, 12th, E again 1 octave higher, 13th F, 15th G and goes on..., also makes easy to change to open C chord and some others. :D

With all due respect, one should not rely on the thumb to reach the hard stretches. One should learn to strech the hand. An "F" chord can be played full-barre as here:

-1-
-1-
-2-
-3-
-3-
-1-

First, make an "E" chord keeping your index finger free (using ring middle and pinky fingers). Move that form up one fret and lay your index finger across all strings on the 1st fret and press.

Sure, relying on your thumb might help change to an open C or Am chod.

However, getting off of using the thumb will help change to any other barre chord such as Cm, Cm7, higher neck open chords, 6th chords (nice Hendrix stuff) etc. There are many many hundreds (thousands?) of chords that being able to bar will help you to reach.

Don't build a "crutch" and instead, learn to play it properly to help further your studies and abilities.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. The full barre works best for me....

Jim

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. The full barre works best for me....

Jim

But work on the partial barre as well. There are times when you'll want to play only those treble strings in chords up and down the neck. The partial should eventually become part of your tool kit as well. But that can come over time -- revisit it from time and to time and it will get easier as your finger strength improves and your technique progresses.

But work on the partial barre as well. There are times when you'll want to play only those treble strings in chords up and down the neck. The partial should eventually become part of your tool kit as well. But that can come over time -- revisit it from time and to time and it will get easier as your finger strength improves and your technique progresses.

One can still form the full barre and only pluck the treble strings :) That's what I do, anyway. I form the full bar as it keeps my brain from memorizing extra stuff. I just pluck the strings I want.

Agreed. I find the partial shape good when I'm also changing to D-shaped partial barres on the treble strings. Then the partial shape is for me a more efficient way to play smooth changes. But that may well be idiosyncratic for me.