Welcome to the forum Liz
Are you rolling your finger over slightly like Justin suggests or are you laying it flat?
If you need to put that much pressure on the guitar the strings are probably sitting in the creases of your finger around your knuckles. It could also be your guitar needs a set up.
Try playing the F chord at the 5th fret(this is and A chord).
Pay attention to where the strings lay under your index finger.
Hi Liz @Rogcharb,
Rick @stitch gave you good advice. Iāve been working on this for quite a while now, and still Ericās recent observation above helped me think about fretting that barre differently. In this case, I think the visual is what helped. Keep at it, keep trying different things, and stay patient!
One thing Iām always fighting against is pressing TOO hard on the strings. It strains my hands, my wrist, and my shoulder. I try to go back and practice my open chords as lightly as possible. Then, try the same with your barre chord, maybe on the 5th fret. Get as close to the fret as you can, that will help the buzzing.
Itās never good practice to put too much pressure on the strings. Not only will it create tension and pain, but it will also raise the pitch of the notes which causes unwanted dissonance.
Applying too little pressure mutes the string or makes it buzz. You donāt want that either, but itās less problematic than raised pitches caused by excessive pressure. Most of the notes in a barre chord are doubled, so no big drama if a note doesnāt ring out properly yet. We can fix that.
Stitch gave you the best advice. Start a few frets higher and adjust the position of the barre. With enough practice that will solve your problem. Once you can play the F chord with a light touch you can move it to the lower frets.
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Just started this module today and tried the F chord. String 1 and 2 donāt ring. Its normal for a beginner who has just started learning the F chord but I have one question.
Will I develop calluses on sides of index finger which will help to make string 1 and 2 to ring clearly or I have to adjust my finger positions until I find the best position?
My F chord journey log (Iāll update every week until I can play F chord most of the time):
Week 1 - Felt outright impossible. Lots of muted strings especially string 1 and 2. Pain in index finger.
Week 2 - Occasionally get an F chord, but majority of the time I get muted or buzzy strings. I developed callous on the side of index finger which is in contact with strings 1 and 2.
Week 3 - Better but still get buzzy strings especially when strings 1 and 2 get stuck in the ridges of skin which formed when I play for long duration.
Week 4 - I can get the F chord most of the time but it takes me eternity to grab it so I canāt even think of 1-minute changes including F chord. Also holding the F chord for long duration is hard, for example: if I grab F chord and do all down strums on beat then after few seconds my F chord will get progressively buzzy until it almost gets muted as my fretting hand gets tired.
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Have been obsessed with learning the opening to Led Zepās āBabe Iām gonna leave you,ā which features a few familiar chords and, of course, a dreaded F barre. I tried it with the mini F, which is played just before E major, and, picked quickly, it sounds lovely! I didnāt want to feel completely stuck with this incredibly difficult shape and wanted to keep learning songs with alternates while I work on this for weeks, maybe months.
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Thatās definitely the way to go.
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Fantastic bro! I am almost certain thats why we learned them when we did. I did that a bunch of times during my 2G consolidation.
As you continue to learn techniques like the things Justin shows you toward the end of his song lesson videos like the cool fills, walk ups, sus chord additions. You can go back and try to add the full F chord if you want Then. But I bet you will be ready before that.
What I did was during my 2G consolidation. I used the processor function in the practice module I made my own āperfect one min chord changeā sections for the most common used open chord to full f chord changes that I have been seeing in songs like C, G, A min, D. I still have them in my practice routine because I dont have them all up to 60 changes in 60 seconds yet. They sound great and are good chords on their own as well.
Good luck.
I cannot edit my original post, looks like there is a limit on how many times one can edit the post.
Week 5 - I skipped practicing F barre chord for few days and I donāt think Iāve improved. So I request everyone to please be consistent with F chord practice. Keep the practice sessions real short but frequent, multiple times a day for steady improvement. F chord is no joke, its been a month for me and I still canāt play it without buzzing the thinnest two strings.
Well, Iāve been actively practicing the F Barre chord for 6 months and I still have a string buzz or get muted about 30% of the time. Itās a long journey, so enjoy it!
Yeah, it definitely be a test of my love towards music and guitar and why I started learning it in the first place plus discipline and time management to keep consistent practice despite of slow progress in playing F barre chord.
I wanna know why his guitar sound more bulky but mine like a little girl(is it a different tuning)
Maybe because his guitar has better pickups.
Different guitar, different amp, different player. If you are tuned to standard tuning (EADGBE), then same tuning.
Justin has a lesson about Guitar Tone and how to get different kinds of sounds.
(I incorrectly posted this earlier as a topic and have now recreated here as a reply. Apologies if you have already read it.)
I think I have finally cracked the F barre chord.
Iāve been trying to master it for over a year now by practising it for a few minutes every time I picked up the guitar, which admittedly was irregularly with long breaks away from the instrument.
A few months after taking on the beast, I managed to get all strings to ring clearly. However it still took a lot of adjusting of individual fingers after laying the grip down on the neck. There was no way I could change quickly from another chord to it. It was too much for my brain to keep track of all four fingers at the same time.
I was getting fed up with it and I recall reading a post here about using the F power chord as an alternative so I gave that a go. Lo and behold, when I placed my first and third fingers on the sixth and fifth strings my other two fingers automatically went to the third and fourth strings without any conscious direction from me. Focusing on only two fingers seems to have reduced the cognitive load and stopped me from tripping myself up. All that practice must have developed my muscle memory for the chord.
I can change much more quickly to F from a C or G without fumbling and can get all strings to ring out about 60% of the time. Itās still not quick but I am lot faster than I was before. Hopefully, with practice Iāll get them to ring out 100% of the time.
So my hint to others who can get the chord to ring out but are having trouble making chord changes to F is to focus only positioning your first and third fingers, let the other two find their own way.
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To add to all the great advice people have already given, I want to say something about electrics. Justin says F is easier on an electric, but that understates how MUCH easier it is. Iād been struggling for days to get that B string to ring out on my acoustic even once, and was approaching the my-tiny-hands-just-canāt-do-this Pit of Despair. Then I tried it on my husbandās electric (unplugged) and got all six strings ringing out, first try.
If youāre struggling, wondering whether maybe F is just impossible for your hands/wrists, but you arenāt lucky enough to have an electric guitar in your home, go to a music store and try one there. It might restore your faith and give you a reason to keep working. I figure if I can make an F on an electric, itās just a matter of time and practice transferring that to the acoustic.
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