I'm probably insensitive, out-of-touch.... (now with Karma Update)

baimun

baimun

Funkasaurus Rex
... and have large enough hands that this particular issue isn't applicable to me? :shrug:

FChord.jpg
Ffault.jpg



Am I being completely insensitive about this?

WHY do people hate this chord so much? Do they hate a G barre chord as well?

Are too many people's guitars set up so poorly that the amount of pressure required to barre at the 1st fret is exponentially higher than the third?

Is it the scale length... that their hands can't properly cover 3 frets at the nut? (don't even look at that Andy Summers riff... just walk away)


:helper:
 
Motorik said:
It's not that it's more difficult than any other E-shape barre chord, rather it's typically the first barre-chord beginners learn, and thus is a big hurdle for a newbie player.
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That's how I remember it. OTOH, it's also the first chord shape that you figure out how to move up and down the neck, so in that regard, it should be a much appreciated chord. It's a bit like Dorothy crossing the field of poppies; difficult to get through, but there is a reward on the other side. :shrug:
 
I have a friend who started learning to play within the last four years and oddly, she has much less difficulty with the full 6-string F barre rather than the first four string F shape. She still struggles with that one but doesn't seem challenged by a regular barre chord.
 
shoeless said:
That's how I remember it. OTOH, it's also the first chord shape that you figure out how to move up and down the neck, so in that regard, it should be a much appreciated chord. It's a bit like Dorothy crossing the field of poppies; difficult to get through, but there is a reward on the other side. :shrug:
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Oh yeah, I suddenly was able to play so many rock songs in a way that actually sounded like the record, rather than trying to play The Ramones with cowboy chords and sounding all wrong. I remember that was a huge breakthrough.
 
When I learned to play from the book "12 Bob Dylan songs playable with 3 Magic Chords", I learned C, F, and G chords; I did struggle with the F chord, but the action on that $15 guitar I learned on was more like a Dobro. It was the first chord that required covering more than one string with a finger and my mind and body had to adapt to that. Carol still hates to play an F chord.
 
Too many people fail at barre chords because they try to do all the work with their fingers. When Doug Marks explained how to do it properly in a Metal Method video it blew my mind.
 
I think it's tougher for beginners for two reasons: It's a different shape and the load/effort ratio is more unforgiving the closer you get to the nut, because you don't have the same leverage as at the 12th fret.

On a side note I've spent more time unlearning using barre chords and replacing them with inversions, and use my thumb instead if I really need that note on the E string. To me that was really an eye-opener because it forces you to think about every note you play. I still find it massively challenging.
 
jp_nyc said:
Too many people fail at barre chords because they try to do all the work with their fingers. When Doug Marks explained how to do it properly in a Metal Method video it blew my mind.
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Very true. And it's only made worse for beginners who very often have poorly setup guitars - nut height being a common offender.
 
jp_nyc said:
Too many people fail at barre chords because they try to do all the work with their fingers. When Doug Marks explained how to do it properly in a Metal Method video it blew my mind.
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I use my fingers. How does Doug do it? I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years.
 
When watching kids struggle with this, I often feel like suggesting they play an open D major, learn how to add the F# on the D string and move the whole thing up to the 5th fret. You're welcome.
 
shoeless said:
I use my fingers. How does Doug do it? I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years.
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Angle your arm and wrist so you can use your thumb like a fulcrum and the force comes from the arm pushing the fingers down instead of trying to squeeze down with your fingers.
 
I have small hands and have no problem with an F. Bb on the other hand kills me. No idea why, I either play it on the 6th fret or I fret an F and drop my other fingers down. If I put my index finger on the A string, my wrist starts to hurt. I have no idea why that tiny change is so difficult.
 
Chad said:
I have small hands and have no problem with an F. Bb on the other hand kills me. No idea why, I either play it on the 6th fret or I fret an F and drop my other fingers down. If I put my index finger on the A string, my wrist starts to hurt. I have no idea why that tiny change is so difficult.
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If stretching your fingers across a wide board cause pain, it might be the angle of your wrist, not the stretch.

Try raising your strap a notch, or if you're playing sitting down, use the classical sitting position instead of horizontally across your thigh.
 
Denverdave said:
That is why God created capos.....

But seriously - it is the hardest chord for beginners.
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Lately I've been playing some chord progressions that I would normally have used a capo for...


5.............5......5......5
5.............5......5......5
5..(7-5)...6......6......7
7.............5......5......5
7.............7......7......7
5.............5......8......5
 
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