Are you also struggling with  F chord?

Do you want to know how much is really necessary?

Do you ask yourself if there is a way you can avoid it?

If so, I am with you completely, and in fact, remember my own struggle with this chord more than 27 years ago.

Throughout my years as a guitar teacher, I met quite a few students who, even before they started playing,
had already heard of the F chord.

what’s the big deal about it?

The goal of this article is that you will end up more optimistic and with practical tools for playing the F chord
so you will enjoy playing your guitar with maximum results and minimum effort.

The features of the F guitar chord

Unlike most other guitar chords, the full F chord requires your index finger to hold down
more than one string with only one finger.

The second thing is that you need to use all four fingers, unlike others chords with 2-3 fingers.

The third thing is that the is spread over the first three frets of the guitar which are wider than the
following frets of the guitar and requires each of your fingers enough flexibility to stretch and
reach in a comfortable and precise way to its place.

4 types of chords to identify the readiness level of your left-hand strength

Each of the chords in music is based on three selected notes from the music scale associated with each chord.

Since I want this article to be the most practical for you and not to go deeper into the theory of music,
I choose to tell you only that these notes in the F chord are: F, A, C.
In each chord, each of these three sounds can appear more than once and at different pitches.

These 4 types of F guitar chord make it easy to tap depending on your playing level:

The rare  F chord

This chord shape includes only the 3 core notes of the chord and you press them down with fingers 1, 2 and 3.

Who is it for?

• Children up to age 8.
• If you play the guitar less than a month.
• If you play a small guitar in relation to your size.
  For example, if you are an adult playing a half-sized guitar, your fingers will be too compressed to play a full F chord, so to gain position, this chord shape can be correct and convenient for you.
• If you need to play a melodic line on the first string (the lowest string ) in the first four frets using the little finger.

How to play this chord shape?

• Press down each note with the tip of your finger rather than on the sides of your fingertip.
• Flatten your finger a little so that it mutes the first open string underneath it.

The medium F guitar chord

You play it when your finger 1 barres the string 1 and 2 in the first fret.
If you have experienced the previous chord for about a month and also got used to flattening finger 1  a little
to block the string underneath it, this shape is a natural progression where you hold down a finger to a finite state.

Who is it for?

For those who are already comfortable with the previous chord and press it strong enough
that there is no buzzing sound and it controls the muting of the 1st string with a 1 finger.

How to play this chord shape?

• Loosen the wrist.
• Move your left-hand elbow towards your ribs/body, it will help your finger 3 rise up to string 4.
  This is a guiding principle for all of the following forms of F.
• Keep the knuckles well curved when pressing the strings so they won’t collapse inward and
  loosen the grip of the chord.
• Make sure you can project well each note while holding the chord.
• Press the barre by tilting to the left of your finger, where you feel the finger bone rather
  than the center of the finger where it is more fleshy.
• Notice that the thumb behind the neck is loose and attached to the neck of the guitar.

The medium well F guitar chord

It’s still a barre on the first two strings, but this time we’re adding the little finger to the fourth string.
The overall sound of the chord is already almost at its maximum.

Who is it for?

• If you’ve already experienced 2 previous chords.
• If you already play the G chord in its version with the pinkie.
• In the case of playing a song in which a standard C chord moves to F,
  you will find that with this chord shape you can play more naturally and smoother
  because the positions of the hand and the fingers are quite the same in both chords.
• At this point, you already feel quite comfortable switching chords and move between them at
  moderate speed and do it relatively comfortably.

How to play this chord shape?

• Very important, as I mentioned in the second chord, to relax your wrist and move your elbow toward your body.
• Make sure that the fourth finger reaches an end position with its pressing down.

The well done F guitar chord

This is a full barre chord.
We take full advantage of the guitar potential with a rich sound consists of 6 notes.

Who is it for?

• For those who are already completely comfortable with the previous shape of the F chord.
• If using the pinkie feels more natural to you.
• You already play all the other chords that are without the barre, smoothly and comfortably.
• If you are approaching the level of intermediate level and interested to explore the more complex chords
  in the high positions of the guitar.

How to play this chord shape?

• The fingertip of finger 1 presses the 6th string in the first fret.
  If you have difficulty, it will help you if you pull out your elbow a bit so that your hand will go up slightly.
  This will help the fingertip reach comfortably to its place.
• I would advise you to practice this in short intervals of 3 seconds of pressing and resting in two stages:
  In the first step, place each finger on its string without pressing it against the fingerboard.
  In the second step, press the chord and strum with the other hand all at once for 3 seconds and let go.
  Do it several times in every session and each day.
• You strive to reach a situation where there is no buzzing sound.
  This unwanted sound indicates that one of the fingers presses too weak so the string vibrates between
  it and the fret and generates this noise.If there is buzz, play each note individually while you press the chord and identify the buzzing note.
  Next time, concentrate on that spot.

Conclusion

F guitar chord can definitely take you some time to figure out the right-hand position and grip.
If you build the process of getting control of the full chord shape by switching between the different levels I’ve shown you, doing it in a consistent way, it will go smoothly.

You’ll find yourself playing the F chord and its variations smoothly and with minimal effort.