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  #16  
Old 07-28-2009, 09:55 AM
Snoopy31 Snoopy31 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi Snoopy...
Billy may have this right...I teach guitar, and many instruments do not have the nut cut properly and it will inhibit your ability to play the F either as a barre chord or in the ''regular'' form you describe.

If you have a capo, put it on the 2nd or 3rd fret, and then if you can play the ''F'' chord, your action needs adjusting. If not, then time and diligence can build up the technique till you can easily accomplish it.
I can play it if I capo up at the 5th or 6th fret. My guitar is a really cheap one so I don't doubt it may not be in the best shape, but the place I bought it from supposedly "sets up" ALL their guitars.

Thx for all the replies so far. I'll keep at it and hopefully I can get it eventually.
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  #17  
Old 07-28-2009, 11:50 AM
TwoMartinMan TwoMartinMan is offline
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The F chord can be a challenging chord to play for most beginners. You should learn to play it both ways..as a full barre chord and just barring the 1st and 2nd strings with the first fingertip and using the second and third fingers to complete the chord on the 3rd and 4th strings. You will find the need to use both fingering shapes in the future depending on the music you are playing. Keep working on it...you WILL get it eventually.
BUT...it can be impossible to do if the guitar is not set up correctly at the nut. Inexpensive guitars so often have this problem. In fact, when I evaluate any guitar, one of the first things I do is check to see if a full barre F chord can be played easily without buzzing.
Have an experienced player play a full barred F chord on your guitar and ask him if he is able to play that chord as easily as he does on other guitars. That will help you determine if the nut needs adjustment. (It sounds to me from reading your posts here that most of your problem may indeed lie there.)
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  #18  
Old 07-29-2009, 09:08 PM
LisaS LisaS is offline
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Even after you have the string height adjusted, the barre F chord will still require finger strength, which you will build over time. The easiest thing that helped me with the barre F, is to make the E chord shape @ the 2nd fret, THEN barre @ the 1st with your index finger. (technique works w/ other barre chords too) Barre F is much easier for me now than the open F that many chord books show you. Good luck!
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  #19  
Old 08-02-2009, 07:51 AM
TaoMaas TaoMaas is offline
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LOL LOL LOL I almost quit guitar when I was 12 yrs. old because I just KNEW that I would never be able to hold down two strings with one finger. Thankfully, my folks told me to "keep trying...you'll get it."
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  #20  
Old 08-02-2009, 09:11 AM
Jhengsman Jhengsman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TaoMaas View Post
LOL LOL LOL I almost quit guitar when I was 12 yrs. old because I just KNEW that I would never be able to hold down two strings with one finger. Thankfully, my folks told me to "keep trying...you'll get it."
I came across a easy song book where the song I wanted to play had a F7 instead of a F chord. It was a remarkable discovery that I did not have to play every string all the time.
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  #21  
Old 08-03-2009, 07:14 AM
Marshall Marshall is offline
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Put a capo on the third fret and play a "D".

That's and F.

Or capo 1 and play an E
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