The F chord sucks
 

Any good videos on explaining how to do this POS chord?

On what?

Guitar.

Bar chords really just take a lot practise. What do you want to know?

I guess there's no other way than work, it takes a time but it will work out sooner than you notice. But you should not use too much strength, it is not the answer.

I think I'm just learning it on a ****ty acoustic guitar with high action.

#notideal

Try this video and see if it helps out.

All you can do is keep trying. It's all about building the muscle.

Did see that video, the thing about them is that its fairly unclear. I'm getting the hang of it, I just think this guitar might not be the best to learn on.

F chord sucks on a guitar with high action. That's why I encourage people to do what they can to get a decent guitar. Nothing derails a new learner like playing a frustrating guitar. F is like butter on a good guitar.

I have three ways of doing a normal F chord.

Method 1 - Use your index finger to bar the two highest strings and your middle and ring fingers worry about fretting the G and D strings respectively.
E A D G B e
_ _ _ _ _ _
x x 3 2 1 1

Method 2 - Probably one of the hardest barre chords to nail when you are learning how to play. I don't lay my finger down flat when I barre the strings, I use the side of my index finger as it's a lot more comfortable. It took a long, long time to get it to ring through, and even longer for it to not cramp up my hand (I still get cramps if I play all barre chords on an acoustic for more than a few minutes)

E A D G B e
_ _ _ _ _ _
1 3 3 2 1 1

Method 3 - This is not so much an F chord, but I used to use it to play along to songs with an F chord when I first started. Switching from C to F was not fun, so I sort of cheated to play one of my favorite songs at the time. I use my pinky for the D, my ring finger for the A, my middle finger for the G, and my Index for the B.

E A D G B e
_ _ _ _ _ _
x 3 3 2 1 x

"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."
- Jimi Hendrix

If you're serious about playing guitar, invest in a better one and then you will no longer have problems playing an F chord. Seriously, crappy high-action acoustic guitars are hell to play even for experienced players. A nice guitar will feel and sound so much better.

Just practice and it will eventually come, once you get it you'll wonder why you were stressing about it.

A decent guitar would make it easier but it's not the be all and end all. I learned on relatively cheap guitars and I'm glad I did, they received a fair bit of punishment.

Step 1 - Capo 1st fret
Step 2 - Play a relative E chord

If you don't want to cheat, practice bar chords higher on the fret board. Your hands need strengthening.

Big3, you ever tried to play "King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1"? Just keep trying buddy.

I haven't. I guess I'll give it a shot.

After some 34 years of playing guitar, I still have issues with this chord as well. In particular, I've got an issue with short arms, and my left arm and wrist appear to be connected at odd angles, which makes it difficult for me to bend my wrist in the right angle. It's a bit easier higher up the frets, but my bar chords still tend to be a little sloppy.

I love digging into a bar chord F. Play it hard. The, Look What You've Done is a good example

I personally like using x33210 when playing within the key of C/Am and messing about with those chords. And yeah the F chord does suck when you are beginning!

If you're looking to buy a good or even great guitar, I would encourage you to check out pawn- and second hand shops. I recently scored a 12 string Washburn, which after some investigation turned out to be somewhat rare. So, I had a well respected guitar repair fellow fix it up and now it plays and feels f-ing great. And, if my numbers are accurate, it only cost me about a tenth of the actual value of the guitar.

I love F major and Ab major on guitar, they have a really tight tone.

Keep practicing, Big3. You'll get there. I have abnormally tiny hands and I can do it.

...pics?

lol

I realise my previous post was not that helpful... put your pinky and ring finger on the third fret first, then your middle finger on the second fret, then use your index finger to "bar" every string on the first fret. And push. I do remember when I first started learning guitar many moons ago that it was one of the chords that felt very unnatural, but with time and practise your hand with strengthen and it will begin to feel more natural and easy, as with any chord :) But this bar chord formation that you initially use for F major is very handy because you can use it to create basically any major chord. Plus lowering the action of your guitar will make it easier for you too and get rid of that unpleasant buzz that you are probably experiencing.

I want to play too.

The only acceptable duckface.

I like this.

Where'd you find that picture of me?!