I’ve been working on the F barre and mini F for a couple solid weeks now. With the barre my main issue is getting my index finger more parallel with the first fret. My right forearm (playing as a lefty) doesn’t want to supinate (turn the palm up) which affects getting my index finger more parallel with the first fret.
When I put down the e-shape with my other fingers, the index finger wants to slant away from the first fret (base of the index finger moving toward nut). This compromises barring the B and E strings as I can’t keep the base of the finger close to the first fret.
I broke my right wrist several years ago and possibly lost enough range of motion to get the wrist/forearm supinated to make a good barre. I can get all the F barre notes to ring on occasion but with ridiculous pressure and contorting myself. This is the case on both electric and acoustic.
Anyone else have this sort of issue with the F barre?
Actually yes. One of the bigger difficulties I have had with the F barre has been supination. Granted, I have not broken my left arm ever, but I still found this a stress that made proper positioning difficult. Perhaps my left (dominant) arm is tighter.
I stretched a lot and played a lot and over time it has significantly improved. Time like 6-8 months.
However, possibly more important, I adjusted my guitar position such that the Neck is higher up, closer to but not quite classical positioning. Much easier.
What I would suggest is to put your left hand into the “perfect” F barre cord position, regardless of where the rest of the guitar is. Then, while holding the cord, move the guitar into a playable position and see where it is. Try to find a reasonable compromise in how you hold the guitar and your ability to finger cords.
I had my left wrist broken and dislocated in a car accident about 20 years ago. when the cast came off, if it wasn’t for the therapist I would have never gotten the range of motion back. I just coudn’t inflict that kind of pain on myself.
when I do a F chord I have to lift the neck up quite abit and raise my index finger on the fret board and it has a little curve to it.
Iv’e been trying to do stretches for my wrist and I think that helps.
maybe try that some and maybe move your finger up or down, roll it back or foward and find a good spot. everyones hands are different so i’d probably experiment till ya find what works best.
So 3 and a half months after my journey began I’m tackling the dreaded F chord! Must say the first time I was like WTF this is literally impossible! But now after a few days I can actually play it most of the time, just takes me a while to get my fingers in position that thumb/hand muscle gets pretty shredded though, guess that will take some time to strengthen. I find placing the barre by itself is not difficult but as soon as I place fingers as well strings tend to get muted, the stretch is not easy. So far I can only play it by placing fingers first and then barring, not the other way round.
I’m wondering why Justin didn’t introduce the alternative F chords in grade 1? The F Maj7 is not too tricky, similar shape to C. The one with the mini barre is hard though.
Been there with the sore hand getting an F barre chord to work (especially on my acoustic guitar). Have you tried Justin’s finger stretch exercises? I don’t remember where the lesson appears but you can search for it I believe. I do the finger stretch before practice every time. It helps.
Well done you to get this far in such a short space of time. You have certainly raced through those lessons I must be doing something wrong as it took me 18 months to get to the F barre chord.
Oh good advice! I did it for a couple of modules but didn’t keep it beyond that, hard to find the space in the routine sometimes I might try swapping it with a 3 min finger stretch I do at the beginning of my routine, see if I get better results.
Well I’m far from perfecting the material before moving on! Trying to ride the wave between learning new things, practicing them, and maintaining momentum
For Grade 1 I was spending about a week on each lesson/module and then spent 3 weeks at the end for consolidation, plus some ear training. Now in Grade 2 I’ve been spending two weeks so far per module. Will probably have a longer consolidation period at the end of Grade 2 as well.
The F chord is still a challenge for me half the time and I often play the mini F. Some artists play the min F because the movement is quicker from a C Chord. Keep practicing the 2 minute changes and don’t rush through it. The luxury we have is all the videos are there to play anytime you need them. I just finished grade 2 and often go back to prior lessons to review and tie in what is new to what I learned in the past. If it still is really painful, maybe the tension on the nut is too stiff, which makes it harder to fret the note. It may be worth checking or trying an electric guitar to learn with. Another trick I learned is use your right arm (at the bend of your elbow) to push the top portion of the guitar towards you. The headstock should be moving away from your body while the rest of the guitar pivots towards you. It makes the strings come towards your fretting fingers of your left hand. Some complex barre chords are nearly impossible without this trick. I tried it and it works really well. Could be a game changer
Hi Chris.
Cool that you can play that F that fast after picking up the guitar.
Another thing you can do to make it a little bit easier on you is to put on a capo on first or second fret.
The barre chords tends to be a little bit easier to play. Youre action becomes a bit lower.
It is a good trick to excersise barre chords, you can do more of them without getting tired that quickly.
@Stuartw Hey Stewart… that person is me small world. However they had incorrectly mentioned a couple weeks lol. I was 9 weeks in at the time. Think they corrected it later on :).
As I mentioned on the other thread, Dec 29 was the first time I picked up a guitar and started with the beginner course. Progress is a lot more slower now with me spending at least a couple weeks on the modules or more.
Cheers!
I have my first guitar for less than two weeks. So I’m not sure how qualified I am to give you any advice
But just after the first 4 or 5 days, my thumb position looked quite like your on your first photo. First I didn’t even notice. But then I posted some photos here (and also sent them to a colleague at work who is a good guitar player). And people suggested to move the wrist forward and have the thumb “straight up” like on your second photo. I tried that and initially it didn’t work at all. I couldn’t even play a clean D chord anymore. Never. One evening I sat there for 2 1/2 hours and tried it. Didn’t work. Next day I tried it again – and suddenly it worked much better. So now I focus more on a “good” hand/finger position. And after another 4 or 5 days, it already works much better.
I also thought about that massive angle in the wrist. And first, my wrist really hurt after 30 minutes of practicing. But it gets better. And I also assume that when you look at your wrist from above, it looks more angled than it actually is.
Yeah, I know what you mean
Perhaps you can try to bring the thumb down a bit. This automatically moves your wrist forward and your fingers further above the fretboard.
So my general advice would be (more from a piano experience, where there are also “good” and “bad” hand/finger positions): Try to focus on a “good” technique and your playing will improve. It just needs practice.
Holy moly @liaty That looks so wrong Dave. It is impossible to tell but could it be that your guitar body and neck are in poor positions and at the wrong angles / in the wrong planes? Which in turn is causing your elbow to be pushing in to your mid-riff and your forearm to be reaching to the neck from a tight not a wide angle. Your elbow needs to be out a little from your body, not digging in. though not too far out like it is floating in space.
Edit …
You also want to lower the thumb for barre chords. The tip of the thumb really wants to be no more than about 2/3 of the way up the neck. Not at the top or over the top. Drop your thumb and wrist a little.
Must say the first time I was like WTF this is literally impossible! But now after a few days I can actually play it most of the time, just takes me a while to get my fingers in position 
that thumb/hand muscle gets pretty shredded though, guess that will take some time to strengthen. I find placing the barre by itself is not difficult but as soon as I place fingers as well strings tend to get muted, the stretch is not easy. So far I can only play it by placing fingers first and then barring, not the other way round.
I must be doing something wrong as it took me 18 months to get to the F barre chord.
I might try swapping it with a 3 min finger stretch I do at the beginning of my routine, see if I get better results.
small world. However they had incorrectly mentioned a couple weeks lol. I was 9 weeks in at the time. Think they corrected it later on :).
