Yeah I know what you mean. I think it’s even worse in the Californication riff, where you’re stretching the first and third fingers across 2 frets, and now the second finger is forced into an almost hook like shape just to fit. I had to trim my fingernail on my second finger especially short (to the point that there is nearly no white) to avoid that nail problem you mentioned.
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Hello,
I’ve been able to get a clean F-chord for months now but I’m still struggling a lot with the changes.
It seems that, between C and F, my wrist needs to rotate a bunch more than in the video.
The angle while playing the F chord is not that bad though, it’s just that I do a bit more of a thumb wrap on all of my open chords.
Is it is normal to have a lot of rotation of the wrist between the open and barre chords?
Or do I need to change my open chords to be closer to the barre chords in terms wrist/thumb position.
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Yes, changing between them requires a significant change in hand orientation. However, as you continue practicing these changes, you become much more efficient at it and the amount of movement reduces alot. Everything you are describing is the same thing I went thru. Yes, it gets better with practice. Yes, it takes longer than you would like. And YES, you will do the happy dance when it all comes together and it just feels natural.
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Do I need callouses on the extension of my index to be able to play barre chords? It feels like my finger’s flesh is too soft to make enough pressure on the strings, and the joints are too protuberant leaving a big dead area on the middle of it. But I’m not sure if that’s the matter or I’m doing something wrong.
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Hi Kerlon, Welcome to the community! And welcome to the F chord. 
This one will require patience. You don’t need callouses like you do on the tips of your fingers. That said, the skin on your index finger will toughen a bit over time. And yup, those knuckles and the space between them are frustrating. I’m still a beginner, and others may offer more specific guidance, but my advice is 1) watch and listen to this lesson multiple times, guitar in hand; 2) read, re-read , and practice the tips Justin writes on the website under the video pane; 3) watch the Nitsuj video for this. Also (I don’t recall if Justin mentions this) a good exercise is to start playing the shape at fret 5 rather than fret 1 - it’s a bit easier to press the strings down there. (Bonus - you’re actually playing an A chord!) Once you get the strings ringing clearly there, back up to fret 4, and practice there. This worked really well for me!
btw - love your profile picture! If you’re up for it, head over here and tell us a bit about your guitar journey - and how ol’ Fyodor influences your practice. 
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This was the “aha!” moment I needed, thank you!! I spent a few weeks on the module in hopes of having the barre F chord down before moving on. I couldn’t get the B string to ring out except for once maybe every 20 attempts. I strongly felt that it was close to “clicking” but I wasn’t finding the adjustment needed to make it happen, so I moved on to the next module, but it’d been keeping me up at night!
After reading through and following your suggestion of tilting the guitar away from my body (so that it’s properly perpendicular and I can’t see my fingers on the frets), the chord rang out effortlessly and consistently! I was putting SO much strength and tension into trying to make it work when I simply had the physics wrong and didn’t even realize. Tilting the guitar to its proper position made it so that tremendously LESS effort was needed to play the chord.
It’s also helped elevate my playing in general, as I knew that I’m to the point where I don’t need to look at my fingers while I play; I simply got into the habit of holding the guitar that way without realizing, and your comment helped to make me aware of that. Again, thank you!
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I am so glad my old comment was able to help!
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Hi Kerlon, welcome to the community forum. Justin mentions in the F chord lesson that you should not have the padded or fleshy part of the index finger flat on the fretboard when playing the F chord. Place your fingers on the fretboard for the F chord, then rotate your wrist slightly counter-clockwise and pull hand slightly towards the nut to roll the index finger onto the less padded part of the side of the index finger. It takes a lot of practice with slowly forming the chord. I’m still working on it. Also you will be learning more about playing the F chord in module 10.
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Same here! So frustrating!
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Hello… and on Classical guitar?
My method books tart at I fret or V fret for barré practicings. But I feel unconfortable respect my electric guitar and I suppose is much difficult then acustic guitar. What do you think about this?
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I’ve been struggling to get an ‘efficient’ barre. I have found that i have to press so hard to get a clean note out of each string. After only a short time, my thumb is aching from having to grip so hard. Also when doing a minor chord, as such lifting my middle finger off the G string, i have to push even harder to get a clean sound from the G string. After over a year, this is now stopping me from progressing. So frustrating!
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I had the same. I have started learning barre chords on my old acoustic guitar and it was a nightmare and it sounded very bad - no clean notes. After a while I bought my first electric guitar and it was a game changer. String action was lower and the feeling was very different. Of course at the beginning it was also hard but I was able to strum at least one F chord correct. Then… 6 months later I was able to play F chord, not so perfect every time but it sounds like F chord at least.
What I have found useful is to try barre chords up the neck ( e.g. 5th fret like other guys here suggests).
Moreover, try to learn it on electric or on a guitar with low string action, for me it was way better. (I even went to a luthier with my old acoustic cause string action was too high for me - even after practicing on electric) so this is also something that you might consider. Just try it on the guitar with a low string action and check how does it feel for you.
I didn’t like such comments when I was starting woth barre chords but it also takes time for muscles to learn it… So take your time and keep strumming! You will do that!
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Hi Jon,
I think a setup by a luthier could help with that problem by lowering the action and adjusting the neck relief.
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Yep, found it easier on an electric, but still seem to be struggling. Had the guitar set up with action lowered etc. Am going back to basics and really honing in on the precise mechanics of barring. Hopefully can change any potential bad habits and crack it.
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Yep, have had the guitar set up, action lowered, ,lighter gauge strings etc. I think it is the mechanics of my hand placement. Back to the drawing board!
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dont know if it will help you but my teacher told me to try to apply strength with my biceps rather than forcing on the fingers and wrist
as if you want to break the neck by pulling on it ( but dont actually break it 
)
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Hi guys,
Sharing my F… chord experience until now.
I took the F chord in a bit over a week on my acoustic. Besides having big hands, one of the key things was finding the place on 1st finger that was hard enough to press the B string. I ended up finding it and developing a callus near my 2nd join of the 1st finger.
Now the fast changes are something different and harder, specially from the G → F.
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I’ve seen other players who are able to kind of bend the index finger so they only barre the strings needed rather than laying the finger flat and rolling it over slightly to barre all six
Is that aspirational or should I try that way now, I usually do the lay finger flat and roll it slightly method
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Hi Paul, disclaimer: I’m a fellow beginner, hanging out in Grade 3. I’ve tried both methods, and both work for me in different situations (heh, and neither work in some!). The one downside with only barring the necessary strings (at least on the E-shaped chords) is when you play the 7th. For example: you form the F7 by playing the F barre chord and lifting your pinky. Getting that resulting Eb to ring out requires, I think, the rolled-flat-finger approach. It’s a real challenge for me!
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Been struggling a bit with how to place my index finger, specifically holding down the 5th string so that it rings out properly. I assume it’s a per-person thing but it feels like I’m relying on the 2nd knuckle of my index to push down the 5th string. This cause my index finger to poke out of the neck by quite a bit, not sure if that’s recommended to do.
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