F Major chord giving me trouble

Hello. I'm a guy in my 40's trying to learn to play guitar. I'm learning on a Seagull S6 and I love the guitar. I bought the full year package and I'm taking my time working through the lessons. I try my best to practice every day sometimes it is ten minutes and sometimes an hour. I occasionally have to miss a day or two when I'm traveling for work.

Anyway, since Christmas when I bought the package, I'm very slowly working my way through Guitar Fundamentals 1. Each day I practice I go back and work on the melodies and now I'm onto the chords section. The first three chords were no problem. However, when I got to the second batch and the F major, I just can't get the pad of my index finger to fret both the B and E strings at the same time. It seems it is really the E string giving me trouble. I just can't get it to ring true and it just plays flat because I'm not able to get both strings fretted at the same time. If I work my finger pad down harder to cover the E it is either pulling the top of the pad off the B or pulling my second and third fingers off the other strings.

I think Chris is a solid instructor, but I don't feel like the lessons address some of the common challenges, like this, that new players face and I'm getting frustrated. I need some tips/tricks or insights into getting my finger in the right place to do this while still being able to cover the other strings with my second and third fingers. I'd really appreciate any insight or direction to another part of the site that might provide more help, but I just can't find it. It seems the lessons assume that you can immediately get the fingering down, but I'm having a lot of trouble. Is it perhaps the fact that he's using an electric and I'm using an acoustic? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I've been through Christopher's lessons too, and watched the exact one that you're talking about. This problem comes up all the time, so know that you are not alone, everyone learning struggles with the F major chord. However, I have to point out that in the lessons, he does give you the answer... I can't remember which lesson it is, but he tells you to isolate the fingers trying to make the chord, and just focus on getting the notes to play cleanly.

I think this point gets missed by a lot of beginners... so, the tip/trick you're looking for is this:

1) Understand the chords (know in your head where your fingers are supposed to go).

2) Fret the entire chord.

3) Pluck each individual string slowly, listening for each to sound cleanly.

-all the strings sound good. Congrats! You're good to go on that chord
-you are getting some horrible twangs and buzzes. Failure... clearly, guitar is not your instrument as nearly everyone gets it on the first try, OPPS! I mean:

4) Isolate the offending note/string. Do this by removing all your fingers (from the fretboard, not your hand) and then place one finger at a time. Start with the first finger, fret with it, play the string/strings that finger is meant to be fretting. If it sounds good, add another finger and check again. If you encounter problems, take the last finger added away, check that all sounds good, then add the finger back and LOOK really carefully to see what you're doing wrong.

This seems laborious and you're thinking "man, I be Steve Vai didn't learn chords this way..." but he did. Everyone does. The problem is when you try to add all your fingers at once, and you have multiple issues to sort out. So break it down, be patient... it will come. Eventually you won't even have to think about it. Practice in little spurts, don't spend 15 minutes just trying to get the one chord. When you feel yourself getting frustrated, stop, put the guitar down for a bit, or practice something else.

-Last bit of advice: Avoid the "good enough" temptation... in other words, having buzzes and twangs, but what the hell, its good enough, right? Wrong. If you move forward playing the chord like that, it will become very difficult to correct later.

Stick with it!

Dude remember this! The F major chord is what we would call a ''bear''
For fun ofcourse. Because it is hard as a beginner... I know the frustrations that can come from things like this. In my 5-6 years of playing i have been VERY frustrated once in a while, and i think alot of the people on this site can vertify my frustrations, in my threads over the years.

YOU GOTTA STICK WITH IT!
Keep playing, keep practicing, keep trying. Remeber, pain and frustration is only feelings leaving the body :)

And remember, playing guitar is not what a human hand is designed for. The grips and chords should not feel normal to ANY hands. In the beginning they don't, but they WILL eventually!

One of the most asked question in the forums..

How you finger the F chord is not a LAW.. Your index finger can hit or rest on the D and G strings, as their sound is produced above your middle and ring finger. Some experimentation with your index finger such as rolling towards the side or moving verticle of the strings.
Your fingers do need to adjusts like your finger pads needed to form calluses.
Start with the index finger getting a clean sound then add the middle finger.. get the good sound then add the ring finger..
The clarity will come.. Maybe not everytime at first, but it will. mostly relax and and enjoy what is happening with your progress..
Just for fun, try the F with Middle Ring and Little Finger..
In the "CHORD FINDER" look at the A chord in the Second Variation and try that.
Hope this helps
Gordon

It's nice to know I'm not alone. It does feel like one of those things that is just not meant for my fingers, but I'll keep trying and hope to report back some good progress in the near future!

Make sure all our finger nails are trimed up.Try moving your hand around on the neck, your elbo should be moving if you are trying all the angles.
Lets say you are standing with the guitar hanging from you on a strap. Lets say the guitar neck is like a hand on a clock, with the guitar straight up being 12:00 and pointed at the gound 6:00. Try the neck at 1:00 moving your hand around. If that does not work, move to 2:00 and try, then 3:00 etc..

F and open Bm are often the last chords learned to play at will.

Baby steps, one finger at a time.

Sometimes learning to play a open E with you middle finger, ring and pinky first can help. You will still have to twist things around to get our first finger to cover the B and E strings.

Originally Posted by: haghj500Make sure all our finger nails are trimed up.

Really good advice, easy to forget. I trim my nails about once every three days on my left (fretting hand). After three days, they definitely start interfering with fretting cleanly.

Originally Posted by: Slipin LizardReally good advice, easy to forget. I trim my nails about once every three days on my left (fretting hand). After three days, they definitely start interfering with fretting cleanly.

+1. Fingernails do get in the way

Something else that may be considered is the nut action of the guitar you recently bought.

Most makers send the instruments out of their shop with a "generic" setup based on their allowable specs, and the reason is they have no way of knowing the preferences of the ultimate buyer. As a result, sometimes the height of the strings at the nut is a bit high. This feels stiff to most players on the first fret, and possibly the second.

Check this by fretting one string at a time at the second fret. Look at the clearance of the string at the -first- fret. There shouldn't be much at the low E, getting slightly less on each string as you progress towards the high E. If there is, have a good guitar tech take a look to see if it needs adjustment. The guitar will be easier to play with chords in the first and second frets.

This may not be a problem on your instrument, but it is definitely worth a look.

To help me with the Fmaj chord I left off the high E string. When I got better making the chord with my other fingers I started to roll my first finger back to hold down both the E and B strings.

Another tip is to sit there holding the difficult chords down then practice moving from the difficult chord and back again from other chords. Do not need to strum just practice switching.

hope this helps.

Originally Posted by: Paramedic102To help me with the Fmaj chord I left off the high E string. When I got better making the chord with my other fingers I started to roll my first finger back to hold down both the E and B strings.

Another tip is to sit there holding the difficult chords down then practice moving from the difficult chord and back again from other chords. Do not need to strum just practice switching.

hope this helps.

Did Christopher Schlegel tell you to try that approach? Because that's exactly how he suggested I should go about learning to properly fret the F Major chord, and it works like a charm.

concerning your problem with the f chord; you probably already have heard by now, but turn your finger slightly sideways and don't worry about reaching too high and hitting the g string, the other fingers are in front of this and will cover the notes without fail

Originally Posted by: curcuitriderconcerning your problem with the f chord; you probably already have heard by now, but turn your finger slightly sideways and don't worry about reaching too high and hitting the g string, the other fingers are in front of this and will cover the notes without fail

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