F and B major vs Barre F and B

My friend is telling me that the F and B major on fundamentals 1 isn't a true F and B major chord, the barred chords are the true major chords. Can someone explain the difference from F,B Major vs Barre?

Thank you

Originally Posted by: kulagunMy friend is telling me that the F and B major on fundamentals 1 isn't a true F and B major chord, the barred chords are the true major chords. Can someone explain the difference from F,B Major vs Barre?

Time for chord theory!

Any chord can be played by locating and playing the 1st, 3rd and 5th note of it's respective scale. Ergo, a B major chord can be played anywhere on the guitar you can find:

B (1st note of B major scale)
D# (3rd note of B major scale)
F# (5th note of B major scale)

There are many, many, many places to find the notes of any given chord on the guitar. Here a few of the many available options for playing a B major chord.

E |---|-F#|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|-D#|---|
G |---|---|---|-B-|---|
D |---|---|---|---|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

E |---|---|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|-D#|---|
G |---|---|---|-B-|---|
D |---|---|---|-F#|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

E |---|---|---|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|---|---|---|
G |---|---|---|-B-|---|---|
D |---|---|---|-F#|---|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|-D#|
E |---|---|---|---|---|---|

I use this version of the B major in the GF1 course for a specific reason.

E |---|---|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|-D#|---|
G |---|---|---|-B-|---|
D |---|---|---|-F#|---|
A |---|-B-|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

1. The root note of the chord (the note B) is on the bottom pitch wise.

This greatly helps solidify the sound of the chord and it's root note for beginners. Also it closely matches the other chords in GF1. Notice it is closely related to the A major chord shape.

2. The barred version is much harder for beginners and is introduced later in GF2 when we actually get to barre chords as a useful concept:

E |---|-F#|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|-D#|---|
G |---|---|---|-B-|---|
D |---|---|---|-F#|---|
A |---|-B-|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

Notice that in each of them there are duplicated notes. You only need the 1st (B), 3rd (D#) and 5th (F#) to make a "true" B chord. But we have all these different options in order to have a variety of available sounds depending upon the voicing we desire.

Likewise, an F major chord can be played anywhere on the guitar you can find:

F (1st note of F major scale)
A (3rd note of F major scale)
C (5th note of F major scale)

E |-F-|---|---|---|---|
B |-C-|---|---|---|---|
G |---|-A-|---|---|---|
D |---|---|---|---|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

E |---|---|---|---|---|
B |-C-|---|---|---|---|
G |---|-A-|---|---|---|
D |---|---|-F-|---|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

E |---|---|---|---|---|
B |---|---|---|---|---|
G |---|-A-|---|---|---|
D |---|---|-F-|---|---|
A |---|---|-C-|---|---|
E |---|---|---|---|---|

E |---|---|---|---|---|
B |-C-|---|---|---|---|
G |---|-A-|---|---|---|
D |---|---|---|---|---|
A |---|---|---|---|---|
E |-F-|---|---|---|---|

And so on. :) Make sense?

The basic building blocks of any chord, on any musical instrument, in any style of music is locating and playing the 1st, 3rd and 5th note of it's respective scale.

Here are tutorials on this concept.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=824
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=148
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=730
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=731
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=733
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=734

Hope this helps.

Interesting.

I got to the point where the B major is introduced in the beginner lessons and moved on to trying other things in the way of all the free lessons on youtube and etc. Mainly because my middle and index fingers just wont stretch enough to fret the B and F# in that pattern. I learned to play a few fun things away from this site but came back because I want to learn it right.

So this morning I'm trying again. It's frustrating as hell! The F chord is a beast as well. I'm a strong guy, I'm athletic and have way above average grip strength, but even if I do get my hands in the position to make these chords happen, I just can't mash the strings hard enough. I'm going to switch to an electric guitar sooner or later, hopefully that will help.

So am I best off trying to stretch my hands and exercise them until I can get them in the suggested patterns for the B and F chord, or should I just go forward with different patterns?