About Module 9: The F Chord Journey & Pinky Workout

Time to learn the F Chord - but I made it easy for you! We’ll also learn the C Major Scale, the riff for Californication, chords in keys, and a great pinky exercise! All lessons here!

:rotating_light: Don’t post specific questions here but in the topics below. They correspond with each lesson in this module!

Hey! I’ve been here for over a month and a half and I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Kristijan from Croatia. I’ve played the guitar shortly on and off for 12 years, but I wouldn’t call myself a guitar player. Let’s just say that it allowed me to go through all the modules much quicker. Also I gamed quite a lot so my hand coordination is really good. I love Justin Guitar so far and when things click in my head related to the guitar or music, I feel so happy. For an example yesterday while going through open notes I realised on my own that chords are named after their first note and it made me so happy haha.

I am curious about the down picking. Here you mentioned downpicking in the c major scale. We did the same with E minor pentatonic. Why are we doing downpicks only?

Hi. Have been playing since October 2022 and am currently on Beginner grade 2, mod 9. THE F CHORD. Do I have to master this chord before moving onto further lessons? Only reason I ask because I feel no motivation since trying to learn that chord. Hopefully it’s a normal thought for a beginner.

1 Like

It’s really up to you. Justin does teach easier alternatives. You need to keep doing whatever it is that motivates you, and if the full F chord demotivates you, find songs that don’t need it. Personally I decided to persevere with the full barre F chord from the very beginning and yes it was hard, took me a few months before it stopped sounding dodgy. Now, many years later, I’m so glad I stuck with it. It’s a great gateway to many areas of goodness.

I have a number of guitar playing friends who just don’t do the full F chord and they have a good time and sound just fine. It’s not a deal breaker at all.

1 Like

I would definitely move forward, just keep some time in just about every practice to work in the F barre. I think it would take too long to really master and you would feel stuck. I think, after a year I feel comfortable with it in some songs, just not fast songs.

1 Like

Orange Guts, I’m in the exactly the same situation, and ,yes it feels like you haven’t moved on . I have been trying to practice , instead of barring the 2 top strings barring the 3&4 3 rd fret.

I don’t think ya need to master the F chord to move on but definitely keep working on it. I’ts one of those things that takes alot of time and practice.

Ya gotta remember it’s not just the F chord your working on, i’ts barr chords… the same shape moved up 2 frets is a G… moved up 2 more frets an A… and so on. so it’s the shape that’s important.

Dave

1 Like

You really don’t have to master F before moving on, no. It’s mentioned in the lesson that it could take months, and nobody likes focusing on just one thing exclusively for that long. As you’ve already found, that just saps all the fun and motivation out of guitar.

Like most other things, F is just something to add to your regular practice routine, along with whatever else you’re working on.

1 Like

It took me months to get this with lots of practice. It didn’t stop me from moving on to other lessons and became part of my practice routine whatever I was/am doing. As @Dave999 says it opens all sorts of things.

1 Like

Hello,
I’m at module 9 at the moment as well. And as far as I understood it, the goal here is to practice the shape of the F Barre chord and to be able to make it ring out fine at least sometimes :wink:.
It’s not meant to master quick chord changes. That’s for later.
I searched for a song, that I really would love to be able to play with the F chord in it. So, practicing it makes absolutely sense to me and is very enjoyable - even if it always takes me some seconds to change to F :sweat_smile:.

I am still a bit slow getting to the F barre. Maybe because I am slow I’m general.

Getting the F barre is nuanced. I keep finding parts of it (and other barre cords) I can do better.

I feel like I have worked hard on it and after a bit more than a year I can change ok for a moderate paced cord change /strumming romp of a song and cord change practice with lots of strumming.

But get to faster tempos, quick changes like 16 beat strumming or, heaven forbid, any tight finger picking changes, not so much yet.

Finger picking has a way of highlighting your failings…

Recently I ran into a barre cord wall again (not my first!) and backed up for some remedial work on getting those dang fingers to land at least almost at the same time. It is easy, with a complex cord like a barre cord, to land fingers in sequence rather than as a group. It really needs to be as a group.

But do be careful. Too much intense barre cord practice can be hard on the wrist. Don’t ask how I know this…

1 Like

A quick question on the F cord. My guitar has never been “set up”. It seems to me the E and B strings are too high at the first fret. If I move any cord shape to the third or greater fret all the stings sound great, but no matter what I do with my hand/index finger the B string buzzes when making the full F cord. Should I have a professional look at the guitar? Or, am I just a terrible F cord wanna-be who should never play the guitar ever again? (or at least until after lunch :wink: )