I have not yet mastered the F barre code, does anyone know a different easier f chord I could
use?
thanks
Sue
Sue, have you seen this video? 
Maybe one of the alternatives will work? They don’t really sound good in every song (I have one song on my list, where Fmaj7 doesn’t fit at all and the mini-F only fits in a somewhat okay manner), but maybe it’s worth experimenting with those alternatives for Hallelujah 
1 Like
Well I’ve heard there is one, but it’s a secret.
[Sorry, not remotely helpful, but I couldn’t stop myself - I think Nicole’s advice is a good place to start]
4 Likes
Nice reference to Leonard Cohen’s lyrics though 
1 Like
Thank yes have seen the F cheats course thought maybe someone would have specific F to recommend. 
The mini barre can be used any time there is an F chord. Neil Young made a career using it.
1 Like
Fmaj7 is a favourite for me, very easy to play and sounds good
Or Fmaj7C
I appreciate it’s not what you want to hear but my choice was to put a few minutes a day into learning the full F chord because I don’t want to rely on hacks and cheats.
Just remember that with the full barre if you struggle to press the thick E string and maybe find the little finger placement tricky then you’re playing one of the hack variations anyway. Have a go at the full barre and if you only get the thinnest 4 strings sounding good, that’s a valid F chord, if you get more than that then you’re on your way to the main stage at Glastonbury/Donington 
This is the way to go while you are working on the full barre. As Rick says, it can be substituted any time as it contains all the notes from the ‘full’ chord, and no others, plus it has the root in the bass.
The mini F worked for me. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was the first song I learned using an F chord while practicing E shaped barre chords and building muscle memory, hand strength etc. and I found the mini F easy to use and it sounds good in that song. I still put in an almost obsessive amount of time and effort working on barre chords, but it is nice to be able to actually play through songs, at speed, using variations until you can master the full barre chords.
I think the mini F might have actually been the “Secret Chord that David played.”
Thank you Ben!
1 Like