Tips for landing an F chord

Try barring the top 4 strings (D, G, B, E) with your index finger. Sometimes having a bit more of your finger on the neck helps with getting clean notes.

I also had problem with that chord and are still having trouble switching to it fast.
To hold down the E and B strings I angle my index finger and the whole hand about 45 degrees resulting in the knuckles pointing a bit towards the head instead of downwards (hard to explain). That way a larger surface of the index finger is touching the strings. Works for me.

I offer no technical advice as I am unqualified, but I do offer hope. I struggled with the F-chord for most of the past 2 years of playing. Then, one day I'm chilling out learning Sister Morphine by the Stones and being in a rather comfortable state due to a prescription drug being used for a legitimate purpose, I found myself doing the darned thing. It was like, "Holy Crap, I'm doing the F-Chord".

Come to think of it, in a similar situation last year, I learned Curtis Loew by Skynrd after struggling with it for weeks. Surgery can have it's benefits I guess. :lol: :lol: :lol:

From the sounds of it you are having trouble creating a barre with the index finger to cover the first fret notes, correct?

If that's the case then I would practice creating just a barre accross the strings until you start to get a feel for how to get a clean sound, like this;

e--3--
B--3--
G--3--
D--3--
A--3--
E-----

Practice fingering this using ONLY the index finger by laying it accross the frets. It is hard, and will take lots of practice!

Once you can barre all of the strings (or maybe just the top 5), then you can worry about getting the rest of your fingers in the right place.

I know the trouble I had with the F (and subsequent Bm), as using your index finger as a barre tends to throw your other fingers into awkward positions if you haven't fingered it correctly.

Hope this sheds some light!

Pete

When i first started playing i also had trouble with the F and Bm chords (as most beginners do)

I found it helpful to roll my index finger towards the nut so my finger curled and the barre was made with the SIDE of my index finger.

The first pic below shows a straight finger, the second shows a curved finger (albeit exaggerated a little for clarity)

This way, your index finger naturally applies pressure on the 1st(e), 2nd(B) and 6th(E) strings and no effort is wasted trying to fret the other 3 strings that have already been fretted by the other fingers.
(this shape, IMO, is much easier than trying fret an F chord the way you described.. especially if you don't strum the lowest 2 strings, E and A)

You will still need to work on strength and flexibility of your fretting hand (this will come with practice), but hopefully this may give you something to work on.

Peace
J

it takes strength to hold that wonderful chord. keep at it and your fingers will develop. it is a great sounding chord cause the strings are so long; they vibrate and sound out nice.
your thumb is key. it has great strength . make sure it points towards the headstock and place in the mifddle of the neck. you have good pressure there aiding the fingers.

another method besides barring would be the open position with the thumb over the top hitting the sixth string.

I tried angling my index finger and it worked like a charm! Even though it causes my other fingers to angle, the chord comes out sounding nice. Getting my fingers to land like that is going to take some practice... thanks for the tips!

Jmin7b5, that's nice putting up those pictures to help "explain."

I hd problem it hthe F as well. Until I realized the position I was at when playing guitar wsa not correct. So I deicded to opt the right deicsion and guess hat, after few days, I nailed the F :).

How you position yourself when playing a guitar is very important not just for F and the back and neck pain, but also for playing those chords correctly

I have been trying to land an F chord for a while now and I can't get it even after practicing it a lot. Even if I use my right hand to try and force my left hand fingers into position to play F, they wont bend in a way that would give a clean sound. If I use my pointer finger to hold the B and E strings down on the first fret, it seems like the padding on the tip of my finger is too small and just falls between the strings. I figured the way to get around that would be to have my pointer finger slanted to increase the contact area, but then it becomes too hard to press down enogh for a clean sound. Any tips would be appreciated

I have been practicing this cord a lot this week, switching between C and F. I have been doing it by barring B and E with my pointer as you describe. Angling the pointer finger was definitely the key for me. I can do it well now on an electric, but I still need more strength to make it ring consistantly on my old Alvarez acoustic (very low frets = ouch). I'm getting there. 8)

A gem of a tip was given to me by the poster "guitarteacher".
It really, and I have tried it with 7th and regular barres, helps.

The trick is to
1. Have the index (barring finger) very straight.
2. For me (this may vary depending upon your finger size) the thumb makes contact with the guitar at the first joint.
3. The thumb is placed between the middle and the ring/pinky.

4. The index and thumb are in such a way that you are not squeezing the strings down but rather torquing it.
As if you are "turning your thumb and first finger counter-clockwise around an imaginary axis between them."

http://www.tampaguitarlessons.com/betterbarchords.htm

Give this a shot and barres will become easier ...

Vic

I don't know if any of you guys have done it this way but I got used to playing Fm and Fmajor just fell into place afterwards. With Fm you only have to worry about your pink and ring finger and your way to Fmajor (the barre with Fm is on the 2nd fret rather than Fmajor's 1st fret)

Gd luck.