[mapletrees]

by the way, on that F barre chord shape, many people play the F on the 6th stirng 1st fret by wrapping the the thumb of their fretting hand over the top of the neck - that makes the F chord feel much more like the general shape of a C chord....not a good choice if your hands are small though....

for barre chords (or any difficult chord) you also might want to try this...

play the chord as cleanly as you can...if it won't ring out fully that's fine...count to 3 seconds or so....release the pressure just enough so the strings stop ringing but TRY NOT TO LOSE THE SHAPE of the chord......your fretting hand should 'look' like it's still playing the chord...then gently apply pressure again and try to get it to ring out..

.repeat, repeat, repeat....

don't overdo it, it's just like exercising any other group of muscles...they get stronger over time...not in a day.

the point of the above...and what it might help with....you want relaxed muscles to plop your fingers where your brain tells them to go... but often the only thing that's holding a beginner's fretting fingers in the proper shape of a difficult chord is that the strings are digging 1/8 of an inch into their white-knuckled fingers' fingertips...they let go of the chord and.....BROINGGGGG...their fingers come popping off as if they had been under some sort of spring tension....that type of playing is unhealthy and produces lousy tone....you'll often find that someone who plays their chords in this manner - as if it is a physical struggle - will actually bend some of the notes of the chord sharp...that's really horrible sounding...sounds like you are constantly out of tune....people notice...it's like bad breath.....

...perhaps that 'specific gentle pressure and release without losing the shape....then repeat' idea will help exercise the PARTICULAR muscles that don't want to do their duty....

[ 03-02-2001: Message edited by: mapletrees ]

[ 04-15-2001: Message edited by: mapletrees ]