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#1
11-18-2002, 09:44 PM
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Basic Question... F Chord
OK... I've been playing for nearly a year.... can jump around on "open" chords like nobody's business. Really doing a good job with transitions, and various strumming.... even do pretty good with singing while playing.... even when the lyrics don't fit the strum (i.e. most Dave Matthews stuff.)
Still like an idiot, after all this time, I am still KILLED by Bar (Barre?) chords. Is there some freaking trick I'm missing. I'm working on various songs with Fs and Bs mixed in... but feel like I just can't get over the freaking hump. No matter how many times I form the chords, my fingers just feel lost when I try to make them. Sorry for such a rookie question.... especially after all this time, but please help! 
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#2
11-18-2002, 10:03 PM
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The best advice I can give is to keep on trying to make them. One day you will hit the chord and say, "Wow....I just did it!", and things will progress from there. Just keep practicing! I know that sounds simple, but there isn't any book or special suggestion that is going to make you better faster than plain, old practice.
__________________
To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
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#3
11-18-2002, 10:06 PM
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Try practicing some of your open chords without using your index (barre) finger. For example, get used to playing E major with your 3rd, 4th & 5th fingers. If you can get this down to an automatic motion then it's easy to add the index finger for the bar to make an F, G, A and so-on.
I don't mean you should always play your open E this way. I use my 2nd, 3rd & 4th fingers (I call my thumb my 1st finger) to play an open E, but you need to practice playing it with 3,4 & 5 also or you'll never be comfortable playing the barre chords.
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#5
11-19-2002, 08:19 AM
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Re: Basic Question... F Chord
Thanks for the advice guys...
One thing I added to my practice routine in working on this is doing it "blind." By doing it with my eyes closed I have to really visualize where things are going and concentrate on what the chord "feels" like. I really appreciate the tips here.... It is pretty embarrasing to admit that this is STILL giving me fits.... but it is something I've got to work through.
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#6
11-19-2002, 08:46 AM
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Buy Jamey's book. It's all there. There is a blurb on barre chords, but more importantly, there are tools to help you understand and solve problems. Repeated incorrect practice mean that you'll keep making the mistakes over and over.
Also, I think trying to play "blind" is the exact opposite of what you should be doing, IMHO. You should be watching your fingers with laser-like focus, watching each finger as you slowly move from one chord to another. Here's the link: http://www.guitarprinciples.com I agree with Noflatpick. Try to get used to playing most of your chords with fingers 2-4. No need to apologize for asking this question. Barre chords are inherently difficult, especially F.
__________________
2002 714 Engelmann Florentine 2002 Big Baby If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted business. John D. Rockefeller Uncork New York!
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#7
11-19-2002, 09:14 AM
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Quote:
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#8
11-19-2002, 02:38 PM
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Moving your elbow downward (towards the floor) and forward (in the direction your toes are pointed) swings your hand up higher, allowing you to get the meat of your thumb on the middle of the back of the neck and gives you a little different angle of attack on the fretboard. I think this, in combination with some of the previous advice may help.
__________________
Taylor 812 (1988) Taylor NS 32 (2002) Yamaha 'Silent Guitar' (2002)
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#9
11-20-2002, 05:40 PM
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...also, the F and Bb positions are among the hardest of the barred positions....the longest finger reach due to the greater fret spacing, and because more force is required to fret a string as you approach the nut (the string actually stretches the most there).
__________________
-Roy '00 310kce '01 355ce '01 Fender Strat Deluxe '90 Alvarez 5040 '76 Yamaha FG300 How hard can music be? There's only 12 notes.
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#10
11-20-2002, 07:18 PM
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those were my toughest chords too..years ago. Now that i think about it, now, a whole lot of my songs are done in F, F#, and G bar chord (same thing) with all kinds of little bass riffs thrown in just to enjoy all the work of getting past that hump. it's worth it. Keep at it.
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#12
11-21-2002, 08:24 AM
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A couple years ago, I got the F down cold, but I still have problems with other barres. I didn't learn the F with the index finger all the way across the first fret, just the bottom two strings. In turn, I wasted an opportunity to make other barres a lot easier moving forward
I like the advice about learning open chords without the index finger. I wish somebody would have told me that two years ago.
__________________
2004 Martin D-15 LE Spruce/Rosewood 2002 Simon & Patrick 12 Spruce 2002 Taylor 414c (for sale, right offer) 2002 Taylor BabyM Old wood tambourine & wire brushes
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#13
11-22-2002, 02:50 PM
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I had this same problem a while back. At the time I was playing an Alvarez guitar with medium strings. After getting a Taylor 310 with light strings, I was finally able to master this. I still had to work at it, but the Taylor neck and the lighter strings made a huge difference.
The other thing that seemed to help, which happened the same time as getting my Taylor guitar was that I worked on learning a song using all Barre chords. The Beatles song Hard Days Night was the song that put me over the hump. It took a couple of weeks practice, but after learning the song using all Barre chords, something just clicked and I have not had any further problems. Maybe that song allowed me to just focus on changing between a couple of different Barre chords throughout the whole song, without trying to go between open chords and Barre chords. When I got comfortable playing an entire song with the Barre chords, for some reason it made it easier the next time that I tried to combine using both open chords and Barre chords in a song. Might not work for anyone else, but it worked for me. Don't give up...keep trying...it will eventually come together for you.
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#14
11-22-2002, 03:56 PM
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I can do so so on songs that are all barre all the time.... but the changes from barre to open really muddle me.
Right now I'm working on "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry. Not a big fan of the band, but it is a fun little song. Progression is: Am -> F -> C -> G That Am to F move is just nasty sloppy.... there is either a 1/2 measure delay, or if I keep time, it sounds like I'm vomiting in the sound hole of my guitar! It is getting better every day, but still sucks pretty bad. 
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#15
11-22-2002, 04:08 PM
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try what someone said earlier...play the Am without your index finger...it should make the transition to F much easier...
its just going to take a lot of practice...ill tell you what i tell the kids i teach guitar...dont get discouraged, just keep working at it and you'll get it matt www.joeyjustsaidit.com
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