Another Question about F Major Chord

Hello,

I have to start out by saying that I'm just LOVING the tutorials on Guitar Tricks. Chris is AWESOME! I'm also loving this forum -- you are all so nice and helpful!!

Anyway, I'm brand new to the guitar (day four baby!) and I'm on the last section of the guitar fundamentals 1. I've got my D, A, and E chords down, and now I'm on the section that focuses on F, G, and C. I know (from reading this forum) that I'm not the only one who has had trouble with the F major chord.

Here is my question:
Because my fingers are slender, and my finger tips are quite small, I'm having an insanely hard time holding down the E and B strings at the same time. I can do it as long as my other fingers can float in the air. As soon as I try to place my middle finger, it all falls apart for the index finger.

Would it be the end of the world (or in some way ruin my future guitar-playing) if I used four fingers for the F chord? Index on E, Middle on B, Ring on G, and pinkie on D (I'm just using the open string names -- not changing the notes with the frets -- sorry if I'm being confusing)? When I held my hand this way, I was FINALLY able to get a clear ring from each string -- and a happy chord. But I don't want to practice it that way if I shouldn't.

I realize that I'm going to have to play other chords where I hold two strings with one finger, but I'm assuming I'll be coming across the F Major chord quite often, and I thought that this might be a good solution.

What do you think?

Thanks for your help,
Manda

Hi. In my opinion, that is just fine. Good to use while your fingers strengthen up and also is a perfectly valid chord in some cases. Keep working on the full chord, though, 'cause you'll need it. :)

On the upside, every chord you play helps strengthen your hand & fingers to be able to eventually make that full F chord ring clear and true!

Because my fingers are slender, and my finger tips are quite small, I'm having an insanely hard time holding down the E and B strings at the same time. I can do it as long as my other fingers can float in the air. As soon as I try to place my middle finger, it all falls apart for the index finger.

That's the tough part isn't it? We've all been there. While there are always other ways to play things, I say keep at it. It will come. Don't try to hold the strings down with your fingertip, but use the pad of your finger to hold them down. Keep at it. 4 days?! It took me weeks to get an F to become second nature.

Thanks for your help!! I've taken your advice and just continued to practice the chord the correct way. I think it may help once my fingers harden a bit also - the pad of my index finger is so soft that I can't hold the strings down -- they just cut into the pad! I have a-l-m-o-s-t got it -- I can make it work if I roll my index finger with the strum so that the pressure is on the B string and as I strum the E, I roll my finger to place more pressure on that string. I know it's a cheat...but I'll keep working at it until I can get it right :)

Woo Hoo! I got it! Out of nowhere, I'm able to play a clean F Major!! This must be the feeling they are trying to simulate when you earn enough points to unlock new songs in Guitar Hero. I feel like a whole new world of music has opened up to me -- songs with the F chord!!

HaHa! Now I'm stuck on B Major. I can get it, but it takes me forever to arrange my fingers. I can't imagine I'll ever be able to get to it quickly in a song. But, if I can master the F, I can do anything!

Thanks again for all of your help :)

Congrats! :)

There are a couple of ways to do B maj. Depending on the situation, you can use whichever is most comfortable.

One of the first things I was ever told was to make chords with as few fingers as possible so that more fingers were left for adding extra notes, etc. Thus I normally make a B maj with index on the 2nd fret bar(re) and use my ring finger to bar the d, g & b strings at the 4th fret. But it is hard to not muffle the E string that way because my finger just does not bend backwards enough, so I will use variations when I need to.

Hey MandaCatherine,
It may be easier for you if you try the full bar, in other words bar all the strings with the index finger. This will help you get used to barre chords also, no better time to start than now.

As you build strength in the index finger, it will get much easier to do. Try the same thing at the 5th fret, and after you feel comfortable with it then go back to the F chord in the 1st fret.

Congratulations once again on your accomplishment, and let us know if we can do anything else to help you.