Did the "F" chord hold you back when you first started out?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on January 2, 2012 at 1:06pm

"B7" was a nightmare for me until I became determined to play "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles, in which "B7" is an integral part ... bottom line, through repetition, I know hit "B7" cleanly 98% of the time.  I can still remember when it was the chord from hell, though.

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on January 2, 2012 at 1:20pm

"Oh Holy Night" needs a B7 - and "What Child is This?" - however, I have a version of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" that has no B7 therein...woo hoo!

I'll bet yours sounds better, though... ;-)

Mine is played fingerstyle - if you can imagine...

Permalink Reply by Phil Manuel on January 4, 2012 at 11:29am

Yeah, that B7 chord is the one that got a young George Harrison in John Lennon's band.

Permalink Reply by Jason Derrick on January 2, 2012 at 2:41pm

I agree, the F gave me the greatest trouble until the B7 came onto the scene. I've been repeating the B7 for some time now and still don't hit it as cleanly as I'd like. It'll come in time...

Anyway, I've gotten to the point where I play F both ways (little and barre). However, recently, I've begun practicing little F but with a thumb wraparound to get the 6th string. In this way, the pinky is free for chord embellishments and the only muted string is the A string. Apparently, this is how Jimi Hendrix played an F and as such slid it up and down using his pinky to embellish the heck out of all his chords. I think Tommy Emmanuel uses this same or similar technique. My thumb doesn't quite play the 6th string cleanly every time, but it's getting there.

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on January 2, 2012 at 2:44pm

Everything is practice, practice, practice!

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on January 2, 2012 at 5:16pm

Fortunately, I am just able to catch the top string with my thumb to sound a nice clean full 6-string "F" ... it's the one thing I can do without much trouble that is better than a lot of far superior guitarists!  I guess we take our "wins" where we can get them, huh?

 

BTW, my Sarah Jarosz tix came in the mail yesterday.  Took about a week.  YOu get yours yet?

Permalink Reply by Alan Williams on January 2, 2012 at 8:26pm

Stephan Stills said that Jimi Hendrix used to tell him to just throw his thumb over the top, funny thing is Stills' thumb isn't long enough to go over the top.

Permalink Reply by Phil Manuel on January 3, 2012 at 9:47am

Now you need to go read that AG article with the tab to Run Away. Check that alternate tuning she uses on it. It was frustrating the heck out of me trying learn it before I saw that article, so I do it slightly different in G, approching the chorus with a sort of Blackbird open fingering to it. Maybe I'll find some time to record it and share it.

Permalink Reply by Jason Derrick on January 3, 2012 at 10:31am

@Jud: Mine are at will call. Can't wait!!

Permalink Reply by Phil Manuel on January 2, 2012 at 7:11pm

I didn't have too much trouble with it myself. My first guitar was a short scale Harmony electric, so it was easier to learn on it than a chunky necked acoustic back then. Also, a lot of the British Invasion tunes I was listening to used barre chords in them, so we had to learn that shape. Now, I do struggle making that F using my thumb on the 6th string 1st fret. I don't stress over it though, as I can make that barre shape pretty fast, or just use this one, with a C in the bass, just the top 4 strings

String 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
Fret... X - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1.
Finger X - 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 - 1

In any case I don't see any harm in avoiding the F chord in the beginning, but you do have to learn that shape eventually. Of couse if you play with a capo, you can avoid it entirely for those 1-4-5 folk tunes ---- G-C-D or D-G-A Now, seems like I had a harder time with the Bb on the 1st fret using the A shape when I started.

Permalink Reply by Alan Williams on January 2, 2012 at 8:32pm

The fret board really opened up for me when I learned how to barre.  Interesting things happen when you start working your way up the neck.  If you ever watch Stephan Stills play For What It's Worth he plays the E chord in the verses by barring the forth fret and playing an open C chord. The chord is 4-5-4-6-7-x.  It really has a growl to it, but its still kicks my butt to play it.

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on January 3, 2012 at 6:05am

Barre chords have their place, of course - you can't really play "Pinball Wizard" without them - but, as primarily a fingerstylist, I try to avoid them. When strumming, they are very convenient. And, they are not as much fun on a 12 - but practice will help that, too ;-)

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