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  #1  
Old 03-11-2017, 03:26 PM
KarlK KarlK is offline
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Default How do I finger this chord WITHOUT a thumb over...

Because my hands are too small..the Fmaj7 with low F and high E open.

See
http://jguitar.com/chordname?string5...g1=3&string0=1

1 3 3 2 1 0


---O---|-------|--------|-------|--------E
----X--|-------|--------|-------|--------B
-------|----X--|--------|-------|--------G
-------|-------|----X --|-------|--------D
-------|-------|----X- -|-------|--------A
----X--|-------|--------|-------|--------E
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  #2  
Old 03-11-2017, 03:58 PM
saxonblue saxonblue is offline
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Yeah well that's how I would generally play it with the thumbover although I may play it 1 or 2 other ways depending on the context of what precedes/follows it.

One of those would be using the index finger for the bass F on the low E string & use the remaining 3 to cover the B, G & D strings. Perhaps try that?

You can either mute the A string or let it ring out as it's part of the chord anyway.

---O - |-------|--------|-------|--------E
----2--|-------|--------|-------|--------B
-------|---3---|--------|-------|--------G
-------|-------|----4 --|-------|--------D
-------|-------|----O--|--------|--------A
----1--|-------|--------|-------|--------E
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  #3  
Old 03-11-2017, 04:00 PM
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If flexible enough you can train your pinky to play the two notes .
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  #4  
Old 03-11-2017, 05:21 PM
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I use that chord frequently, most often as part of a melody line on the high E string. I just do a full barre F chord but lift the index finger off of the high E to
get the Fmaj7.
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Old 03-11-2017, 05:26 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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If finger picked I'd play the low F note with my index and then drop it down to play the C note leaving open the high E note. The chord is just a map of notes to be played. It does not ask that you hold them all simultaneously. If strummed, a couple strokes bringing in low F note then switching as above for a couple more strokes bringing in the C and high E notes. Alternate as seems fitting.
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Old 03-11-2017, 05:55 PM
JonPR JonPR is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
I use that chord frequently, most often as part of a melody line on the high E string. I just do a full barre F chord but lift the index finger off of the high E to get the Fmaj7.
You can lift the finger off the 1st string and keep it on the 2nd?
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:20 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Or you could go to a "moveable" Maj7 fingering:

1 x 2 2 1 (0) (index / ring, pinkie, middle / )

using the index finger for the F bass note, the parenthetical note optional if needed for melody.

Another moveable voicing would have an A bass:

5 x 3 5 5 x (middle / index, ring, pinkie / )

Giving you the high E note on b5. I find a single C note in the chord sufficient.
But it all depends on whether the voicings make sense with the rest of what you're doing. These are " closed" voicings as they don't really utilize open strings...much. Hence the "movability".
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Last edited by Wyllys; 03-11-2017 at 06:26 PM.
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
You can lift the finger off the 1st string and keep it on the 2nd?
Yep. Comes in pretty handy.
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  #9  
Old 03-12-2017, 04:49 AM
JonPR JonPR is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
Yep. Comes in pretty handy.
You have weird fingers...
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  #10  
Old 03-12-2017, 05:27 AM
Gitfiddlemann Gitfiddlemann is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
I use that chord frequently, most often as part of a melody line on the high E string. I just do a full barre F chord but lift the index finger off of the high E to
get the Fmaj7....Comes in pretty handy.
I imagine it does!
Finger flexibility varies a lot anatomically speaking.
I have a pretty flexible index and do/can lift it when barring to allow certain notes, but mine is more so at the tip joint. The closer to the palm it needs to remain, as in this case with a fretted note on the B string, the harder it becomes.
I tend to avoid using the thumb to fret whenever I can, but I have to admit, I make an exception in the case of this chord. My only option to grab all notes cleanly is to use the thumb. Luckily I can still do it with a classical width fretboard.
So, to the OP: Go ahead and try to finger it cleanly without using the thumb (as Rick does), but keep as an option the use of the thumb to grab the low F note and don't barre.
Why not? It works too, and might be easier for you!
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  #11  
Old 03-12-2017, 07:17 AM
noreast noreast is offline
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deleted ....

Last edited by noreast; 03-12-2017 at 08:50 AM.
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  #12  
Old 03-12-2017, 07:20 AM
stanron stanron is offline
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My first solution was the one described in post #2. My second was described in post #4, with the proviso that lifting the bar to get the open high E tends to result in muting the second string, but you get the low octave of that note on the fifth string.

Context is pertinent. Do you actually need the low F? If not
Code:
x         0
╒═╤═╤═╤═╤═╕
│ │ │ │ 1 │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ 2 │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ 4 3 │ │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
or
Code:
x 0       0
╒═╤═╤═╤═╤═╕
│ │ │ │ 1 │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ 2 │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ 3 │ │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
or
Code:
x x       0
╒═╤═╤═╤═╤═╕
│ │ │ │ 1 │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ 2 │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ 3 │ │ │
├─┼─┼─┼─┼─┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
might do.
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  #13  
Old 03-12-2017, 07:41 AM
Gitfiddlemann Gitfiddlemann is offline
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This is how I would try to play this chord when context allows it, i.e. muting the 5th string and leaving out the low C.:

It usually is sufficient.
One other thing you might try is flexing the pinky tip joint to grab the C and F notes, but that's not easy to do cleanly either with normal flexibility.
On a few songs that I play, the low F is necessary because it's part of a bass line. The low C doesn't need to be there. Normally, if you finger F,A,C,E, and then include the low F, it's usually good enough and you don't need the full chord.
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  #14  
Old 03-12-2017, 01:03 PM
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I'd have to leave out something without thumb wrapping. I think Rick has 18 joints in his index finger,
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  #15  
Old 03-12-2017, 03:12 PM
KarlK KarlK is offline
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Thanks to everyone at the AGF for responding to my initial post.

As I often say, I love that I have hands, but I hate MY hands. Palm is too big, fingers, and particularly their joints, are too short.

Thumb over? Simply can't get the requisite curvature on my palm to compensate for my short thumb. I can sorta scrape the low E with my fleshy thumb part, but get enough tension to depress to the fretwire while still sounding out all the other strings? Fuggedbaboudit.

Pinky barre at the third fret? Not in this universe, given my lack of flexibility plus the shortness of that final joint. I have a hard time doing a three or four string barre with my index finger, such as is typical for an A. And further up the fret board with a single joint barre? Ugh.

Andre F's approach is somewhat doable for me, but so many songs that I like to play require a quick and smooth shift between the Fmaj7 with an open E and the 4 fingered C/G. Which means with Andre's approach, in order to go from the Fmaj7 to C/G all 4 fingers have to move. Ugh again.

I hate hate HATE that I can't play that low F base note on a Fmaj7 with a high open E. The inability has zero to do with skill -- my skill level is pretty good -- but it's rather purely an function of physiognomy.

It's not fair, but then again what in so much of life is?
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