Like so many others have posted, I have experienced lots of problems with the F to Fm transition in Greensleeves and getting a good tone. I had problems with my classical guitar, acoustics and both electrics. I finally gave up and tuned my main acoustic down a whole tone from EADGBE to DGCFAD and put a capo on the second fret and checked the tuning. Then I was able to lift to finger to go from F to Fm and not experience tone problems. I don’t have problems with the F#m, but the Fm gives me problems. Perhaps someday I will master this too.
UPDATE: I thought more about this. I am not actually playing the Fm chord, just lifting the finger on the 4th string E note of the F barre chord to form the Fm barre chord shape while playing one note - the D# note. Another way to approach this would be to release the F barre chord and slide the barre fingertip from the 6th to the 4th string to play the D#. I have a classic guitar version of this that only uses a two note implied F chord and plays the D# as part of a single line harmonized melody. So there are different ways to approach this.
EDITED UPDATE: (Cleaning up my sloppy post, thanks to @jjw). I thought more about this. I am not actually playing the Fm chord, just lifting the finger on the 3rd string A note of the F barre chord to form the Fm barre chord shape while playing one note - the G# note. Another way to approach this would be to release the F barre chord and slide the barre fingertip from the 6th to the 3rd string to play the G#. But on second thought that is a little awkward movement. I have a classic guitar version of this that only uses a two note implied F chord and plays the G# as part of a single line harmonized melody. So there are different ways to approach this.
In bar 7, beat 1 is the F chord, then you play a G# note, followed by an A note. If you play an F barre chord, you lift your middle finger on the G string, to play the G#. This is the Fm that people are struggling with.
I would actually recommend trying to play with the thumb over grip, as Justin does in the video. Note, you needn’t get the whole F chord, you can omit the 1st and 5th strings. See if you can manage that F triad (strings 2, 3 and 4) and add the thumb on string 6. It takes a bit of work, but it’s doable. It’s also the best F to play for fingerstyle.
John, you are absolutely right. Wow, I really was sloppy and careless on that post. That is what I get for typing on the go without having the guitar in my hand or checking what I posted against my actual chords or the TAB
I was thinking all morning how I could have made such a careless error, since I have played the F chord 1000s of times. I think my brain was on autopilot and thought E shape - fingers 1 2 and 3; F chord E shape pattern with fingers 2 3 4, so move up one string, which of course is totally wrong. Also I am in PMT grade 4 and the E note for the F major should have been another obvious error.
I know better and if I had double checked I would have seen my error. Thanks for checking so that I didn’t confuse others. I will edit my post (I would have made my edit more concise, but I couldn’t find a strike-through function in the edit window).
Thanks for the thumb over tip. I will give that a try.
Wonderful lesson, thanks Justin! Had a lot of fun with this one. I like when the tabs are included on the screen while playing, it allows me to keep playing while listening to the explanation which helps hammer it in better.
