How do I improve my F bar-chord?

F is the most difficult chord for beginner guitar players. There just isn’t an easy alternative for it, we’re sorry to say! The common open-position F is awkward because the index finger needs to be flat across strings 1 & 2 whilst the other fingers need to be on the fingertip. This is genuinely difficult to learn; it’s not a natural position for your fingers to be in. The bar-chord version is actually easier, once you have gained some finger strength through learning other chord shapes. It’s best you don’t try this until you are confident with the other common chords and can already play a few simple songs in the keys of G major, A minor and E minor. F is a common chord in the key of C major. It’s easy on piano but hard on the guitar. Lots of Pop songs written on a piano/keyboard are in the keys of C and F majors. Avoid these keys until you are well established as they both feature chords that beginner guitarists find very difficult.

The first chord diagram here shows the standard F that is found with other open-position chords. It’s the chord most beginners feel they just can’t play. The second diagram is for a variation called F major 7 (the little triangle is a shorthand symbol for ‘major’). Try it and you’ll find it easier because your fingers are all up on their tip. In the key of C this chord can often be used in place of F. This doesn’t work everywhere you find an F but it will help prepare you for the bar-chord. The third diagram shows F as a bar chord. Start by playing the major 7 chord then extend your 1st finger fully across the strings in a clamping action. This means your index finger becomes a capo. In Spanish guitar the word ‘capo’ is used to indicate playing a bar-chord, and this is where the name for a capo comes from. To play bar-chords your index finger has to be the capo ; keep it straight and parallel to the fret.

Modern guitar chord styles to the rescue!

Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : This is a very helpful book for entry-level players and those who have already learned the common chords but are still having trouble putting a full song together. If this reflects where you are up to, just a few weeks of the technique building work in MGCS1 will have you putting songs together.

Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : Find more about these three F forms, plus helpful exercises, see MGCS1 pages 19, 21 - 22, 28 -29 and 34.