When switching from an open C to an F barre chord, I see it not as to whether you put down the barre or your fingers first but rather looking at it from the perspective of where are your fingers when you play the C chord vs. where do your fingers need to be in order to play the F chord. Once you look at it this way, you will see that you simply need to do the following 3 things to change from the C to the F chord, the first two of which can be done simultaneously with step #3 following immediately:
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Lay down your 4th finger on the 3rd fret of the D string.
Move your 2nd finger from the 2nd fret of the D string to the 2nd fret of the G string.
Reposition your 1st finger from the 1st fret of the B string to a barre across the entire 1st fret.
Hi Angie,
Use the orange button with Reply on it at the very bottom of the topic after the last post and under that small reply button
Hope this helps,
Greetings
Iām really struggling with the big F chord. My fingers donāt appear to be able to stretch that far and Iām seriously concerned that I wonāt achieve this chord at all. If I fail to achieve this chord, is it ok to use the other versions of the F chord ie the 3 finger version? Or should I quite now? Quite worried about this. I am practicing the big F every day but itās looking doubtful.
If you can play the mini bar F chord the that will work. Neil Young and all the singer/songwriters of the 60ās and 70ās used the mini bar F and it never hurt their playing. Youāll find after you have played for a lot longer the full bar F will just start working.
@ArizonaAngie Thatās the one. You can use it anywhere a Bar F chord is played. It will also help stretch out your hand and finger if and when you decide to tackle the full bar F.
Thank you Eddie, Iāll give this a try too. Iām finding it hard to get the first finger to play two strings. I have managed the barre A chord, so thereās hope for me yet. More practice required. Glad you guys who know what they are doing are around. Thank you again.
Fretting 2 strings with your index finger was the biggest hurdle for me as well. Keep experimenting with different finger angles & postions until you find what works for you. You will use this skill a lot as you progress.
Iāve been learning for almost 3 years now, practice every day, but the F has only been āeasyā for me for about 6 months now.
This is really good to know Eddie. As a beginner you have no concept of how long things can take so this gives me hope. Thank you. Hope your guitar journey is going well for you too.
For anyone who is having trouble playing the F chord: donāt give up. Practice it every day, even for a short time, find a song you love where there are F.
Shortly after starting my guitar journey, I got to this chord and didnāt play for 2 months, and even thought about quitting. Donāt be like me, donāt be intimidated! Once you learn it then youāll think again and laugh about it.
Thank you Justin for such valuable and patient lessons <3.
Hi Davide,
thanks for your encouraging words. Although there is definitely no thought of quitting playing guitar, Iām struggeling with F barre a lot. Iāve been praticing it on a more or less daily basis for 4 months now, and on some days I feel like Iāve just started. On other days itās better. But chord changes to F take terribly long. I actually have a favourite song with many Fs in it. And Iām playing it every day, but stillā¦ .
I know, someday it will be there. And Iām so much looking forward to it.
So many songs, Iāll be able to play then .
Iām really motivated, but sometimes it is frustrating seeing no progress at all .
As Justin says, in the end itās more about developing the muscles of the hand that presses the guitar fretboard, and finding the right physiognomy with our body. And of course, constant repetitions.
It helped me a lot to force (not too much) with my thumb on the neck of the guitar, itās more a teamwork between thumb and forefinger. Also remember to go towards the end of the fret, and not the top or middle, otherwise it will be more difficult.
Have a good time!
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