F Chord Cheats

Thanks for the great tip, Stitch. That worked!

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I have to say, my F chord is coming along. I no longer don’t want to play songs with an F chord in it. I practice going from a G to an F barre, and also a C to a F, both slowly till it feels more comfortable, then do that quite a few times. The bpm on songs I play with the F isn’t at tempo, but it’s clean. I know it’ll get there now. I try the F major 7 sometimes, and haven’t liked the song of that added E note most of the time in songs.

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I’ve tried to follow the advice in this thread but my mini F is still bad. It’s actually the only reason I have not moved on to the next module. I’ve met all the guidelines for moving on. But, damn, mini F is just not happening. For 1 minute PFC, mini F to D, I can get about 4-6 changes, because it takes me so long to get the mini F to ring out. honestly, the full bar chord is easier. feel like have to press soooo hard. It’s been 3 weeks of faithfully executing the module 9 practice routine every day. and I usually put in a little extra time practicing mini F on its own. I have little improvement to show for it. Justin made it seem like the mini F was really necessary before moving on so it’s making me feel stuck.

Does anyone have a better video tutorial? is your index finger flat or do you still turn it to use the bonier part? If i posted a video would that help?

Edited to add: 2 hours after writing this, i sat back on the couch with my guitar and can get the mini F chord consistently. It’s body position. It’s easier to kinda tuck my elbow into my side. Kinda acts as a lever.

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Thanks for the update, George! Hope you’re enjoying Module 10. There’s so much good stuff there! :smiling_face:

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Thank you but I’m still on module 9. Mini F is still REALLY hard. I’m only up to 8 PFC per minute mini F to D. Doesn’t seem like I can move on until that gets better. Everything else is good and I’m getting a little bored but will try to work through it

Hi again George,
Here’s my $.02…if the only thing holding you up on the current lesson is the mini F, move on to the next lesson and keep that PFC/OMC in your practice routine. For me, getting inspired by something new makes me less grumpy about the older thing(s) I’m still working on.

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One month later: mini F is much better. Not perfect but much better. I moved on to module 10 but kept mini F in the practice routine. I do one minute each of D to mini F and G to mini F, and then practice All Along the Watchtower consistently (and some other songs that use it). To everyone struggling with it, it really does get better but requires consistent practice and time.

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That’s great George, thanks for the update! Part of the frustration for me with the mini-F is that it seems like it should be easy — or at least easier than other F shapes and chords. I find it difficult, just in different ways. :smiling_face:

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I’m in the same boat. I can play F (first day here) but mini F is impossible. If put my first fingers on the first two strings, my second finger is so flat that is going to mute the second string. With the big F, is just moving the finger up and rolling it a little, but the mini is impossible.

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I can pretty much do the mini F with my first finger at a 45 degree angle going away from the fret wire and rolled on its side a fair bit. Hope that helps.

Welcome to the community! Just so you know, just like in the f barre chord, you should turn your pointer finger slightly onto it’s side.

It’s only my first day of the lesson, but yes, Mini F feels impossible compared to F major.

If you can’t get the ā€œminiā€ F perfect, try to make this mini-barre not with the soft part of the finger, but a bit rolled towards the nut, like Justin explains for the full barre chord. Like many, I was having trouble with the ā€œminiā€ F for a couple of days, this method + practicing helped a lot

If you just practice the F chord many times, your bar will get better and better. In this lesson Justin shows kind of how to perfect barre chords.
Fail-Proof Guide To Easy Barre Chords on Guitar

If I can do Fmaj7 with or without the thumb over the low E string and an F5 power chord that should get me out of any song.

ā€œminiā€ F is totally doable, guys. I’ve had problems with it for2-3 days. Day 5 - I do 45 D&"mini"F PFC.
I know it can be frustrating. Stick with it like you did with anything else. Rolling 1st finger towards the guitar nut helps a lot for this mini barre.

It’s now a month later…I can easily fret the Mini F and switch between chords with it. All I did was practice the chord perfect for it every day. This was by far the hardest for me (harder to get than Barre F!), but I realized I was pressing way too hard with my index finger.

Lately I’ve been practicing the thumb over the top version of the full F chord. Not easy of course but beginning to think it’s doable, and I can certainly feel that the chord changes are easier than doing a barre.

Working on grade 9, took me several days to get blood on my index finger, then one week of slowly getting callouses. But now I can do the F properly, switching to it fast enough is my next goal.
But if I can do the F properly do I need to learn the cheats as wel? Or can I spend my time studying faster switches?
Any input welcome

I’d say, why not?
There are numerous ways to play an F chord and remember, those that don’t use open strings, can be moved up an down the neck.

At this point in time, it’s probably better to get the basics down and work on those chord changes. They’ll come in very handy over time.