It's a Heartache - Bonnie Tyler

My first Barre Chord. The dreaded F. 8 months of practice and this is what I get. It is what it is. I feel I’m making progress little by little. The trick is not to leave it on the wayside.

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Your video is set to private.

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Yeah , just noticed. Thanks

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Sounding good Sandy. I feel for you with that barre, took me well over 6 months to get the damn thing to ring out and a good few more to be consistent. Vocals as ever on point.
The only thing I noticed on the barre is your index finger lagging. Just keep working at it and you’ll get there. I was trying to think back to when I was struggling with it and if I tried to lay the barre first then the other fingers. So long back I can’t be sure one way or the other. But just keep at it, it will catch up eventually !

:sunglasses:

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Thanks Toby. I can’t for the life of me set the barre first. It just won’t happen. I am practicing now to form the chord in the air first. We’ll see what happens.

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I positively detest that chord.

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I was so disheartened I went back to the beginning of the old Beginners Course, as I just lost confidence all round. I was fine on electric, as I’d played the damn thing when I fist started out in 96. Just could not get it on the acoustic, then I think some one like Stitch asked if I’d ever had my old Encore set up ? Nope !! Off the the nearest guitar shop at the time. Set up done played like butter, still does. So a combination of set, time and patience. Sounds like the normal “learning the guitar” journey. Good choice of song for the chord :rofl: guess that was deliberate. I was stumbling with some new chord shape the other day and slung over to another Bad Co track Simple Man. Started singing “Struggling with this beep beep chord, stuffin up my hands, Oh oh it aint easy !!” Go listen to the OT if you don’t know it and slot my lyrics in. :rofl:
:sunglasses:

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Lovely work Sandy. You’re looking and sounding so much more relaxed. I’d love to hear you singing in French.

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Thanks Maggie. I published a french song on my channel, but just singing no guitar.

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Ooh have to listen in the morning, just turning in.:sunglasses:

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Justin doesn’t teach that song, but I chose it cos it’s the first song I sang for Facebook friends back in the summer 2020. I had never sang publicly before. Haha. I know I will eventually get it, and good. Just like the C chord. But it’s so frustrating. It makes the song sound wonky… as soon as I hit that chord, you hear it, I cringe.

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Goodnight

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Sandy I hear you sister. This used to be how I felt and the more I detested and dreaded playing it, the worse it was. I was preparing myself for failure and disappointment and it worked every time :crying_cat_face:

I had to rethink my approach. I was able to play the barre at G no problems at all, so I stopped thinking about F barre as F, instead calling it an E shaped barre in the first fret. I also spent time visualizing playing a beautiful F, feeling the joy of how good it sounded and felt. Air changes were added to that. I still prepare myself in this way mentally before I play. I also make sure that the last time I play the chord it sounds good. I never quit on a sour chord. The other thing I do is to warm up my memory of a good barre and reinforce the experience of success, by playing at G for a while.

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That was good, Sandy. And the F chord is a heartache for sure. I think it was Justin who said something about trying to make sure the 6th string is fretted first as that’s the one that you strike first when you strum down. As Toby said, your finger that makes the barre is following the rest of the hand.
Edit: got to own up that I still struggle with barre chords. Getting a clean true ringing from all strings.

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Thanks for the advice, Maggie. I will try some of these. My attitude and approach to it needs to change, I admit. It’s like I completely lose my balance. But it has improved a lot, trust me.

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My warm up after all open chords and power chords is E and A shape barres 8th fret to 1st, maj min 7th. Same old routine for the same old hands.

Right must put the phone down.

:sunglasses:

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I know. I tried landing the barre first, but no go. I will try and put in five min a day just doing that to see. It’s not the only barre chords I need. Some higher up the neck. Heck.

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What a nice voice, great singing, good playing too, that f barre can be hard to get too in a hurry

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Thank you… I would sing better if I didn’t have to concentrate on that nightmarish chord. But it’ll be worth it in the end.

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I cant sing at all, somewhat jealous of those that can, its strange we use our voices all the time and whilst doing multiple other things. The moment I think about words my playing falls apart completely so I’m impressed anyone can do this let alone this well

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