G’day Tom, If the F chord is an issue I’d suggest a setup by experienced luthier to make sure nut is cut correctly and the action not too high. Made a huge difference on my cheap acoustic.
I also found barre chords easier to play on my electric guitar when starting.
Try playing barre chord shapes higher up the neck to get the fingering and shapes down pat. Also, lots of ways to play F without a barre. Focus effort on the bits you enjoy, you can come back to barres any time.
As others have said enjoy the journey.
Dave
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Welcome! I’ve owned a guitar for over 50 years. While I never really quit and started over, I didn’t dedicate myself to getting any good at playing guitar either. I retired a little over 4 years ago and started Justin’s course. I started with lesson one as if I knew nothing. Even if I felt I was beyond a level, I still worked through and practiced it as if it were my first time. I’m 71 now and would say I’m a competent intermediate player.
If your mind and hands are healthy, you should be able to become an accomplished player. But expecting it to happen overnight will lead to disappointment. It takes time, practice and dedication.
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I too have tried multiple times to learn guitar. I’m now in my fifties and have decided to give it another go. This time, though, I have changed my approach. In the past, I’d learn some basics and then jump right into trying to play lead melodies. Progress was very slow and quite disheartening. Now my goal is to first get into rhythm playing. That way I can exercise the basics I learned, and progress is quicker which gives me motivation to try harder stuff.
Regarding the F chord, I recently had a bit of epiphany. I was able to play it clean for a while, then all of a sudden, I couldn’t. I kept getting dead strings. I eventually figured out that when I played it clean, I was placing my index finger for the barre after I had placed the other fingers. When I couldn’t play it, I was placing the barre first. It all came down to a simple rotation of the hand. I can now play it every time I try, I can’t get to it quickly, but I can at least play it. I guess the moral here is that if something isn’t working, even little changes in technique can make a big difference.
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Remember, in a band, the lead guitarist spends the vast majority of the time playing rhythm.
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I think this is a great observation and applies to all chords, not just the F barre.
To play a chord well in a song, by and large you need to be able to land all fingers in the right places at the same time. There may be a little least in fingerstyle, but the best habit is to have the fingers move together and land as close to simultaneously as possible.
I had problems with pretty much every chord. It seems natural (to me) to have a “lead” finger and plant them sequentially, which is just not helpful.
I found by very slowly and consciously landing the chords while changing the lead finger and changing the sequence, I was able to get where I wanted to be. If you can “lead” into the fingering with any of your fingers, then they can all lead at once and get there together.
It also helps to practice this coming from different chords. How your fingers needs to move is different if moving to F from G or D for example.
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Hello Tom.
You are not alone. 
We have many people who started, stopped, started, stopped etc etc. We have many old dogs learning new tricks too.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and this fantastic community. Please take your time to look around and get to know the wider space. View by Categories.
We are a supportive and encouraging group of students and guitarists from across the world. Essentially, we are all here for music and to improve as players. We truly are a ‘community’. Members help and support one another and a friendly, positive attitude underpins this. We hope that all - young or old, experienced or new players - adopt and foster the pay-it-forward ethos that Justin personifies and embedded all those years ago when he started the website and forum.
Also, please make sure to read the Community Etiquette announcement for some important information and guidance.
If you want to record yourself to show your progress and / or seek feedback there is our ever popular Community Recordings section.
Behind the scenes there is a small and dedicated team who work to make the JustinGuitar experience as good as it can be. Check out the Onboarding sessions provided by Fanny. Justin also has a small group of Approved Teachers he recommends for people wanting 1-to-1 lessons to supplement his courses.
That is plenty to be going on with. It is a vast community space so if you need help as you find your way around just ask.
Cheers. Richard
| Approved Teacher, Official Guide & Community Moderator |
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