How is it possible to play an F chord on guitar?

Question

I've got quite short fingers and i find it really hard to stretch my fingers across from 1st to third fret. i do like.... first and second fingers on 1st fret, then ring finger on 2nd n little finger on 3rd but its totally impossible and it hurts!! I no i cud do it with a capo on first but then i cant play the rest of the song without changing them all and it wudnt go and i dont really no how so yea... help please? thanks!

um ok this is the tab that i no for it...

E A D G B E
X X
X
X

^so if that ones the low string.. how can u use ur thumb to play it cus i dint think it needed um... pressing? lol!

ey thats bout barring it but will i need to keep trying until my fingers strong enuf bcos it doesnt hold them down enuf wen i try that at the moment jus makes the strings sound go dull

Answer 1

Go look at an F again....there's no "pinkie" involved


3 fingers,,
Index finger barres 1st & 2nd string at 1st fret
Middle finger frets 3rd strings at 2nd fret
Ring Finger frets 4th string at 3rd fret
5th string is played Open

6th string is not played


It's probably the most natural,,instinctive shape.

Look at your hand,,turned Palm Up,,with your fingers curled over into your palm,,,"Closed hand".....

Thats an F Chord shape

.....1.............................. 1=Index Finger
.....1.............................. 1=Index Finger
..........2........................ 2= Middle Finger
................3................... 3= Ring Finger
.............Open................
.........not played............

Takes a bit of practice to barre strings 1&2,,,you'll get hang of it soone enough

Try that and see if it helps

.......................................
Edit:

Your Index Finger has got Little "Pinch Pressure".
Try to Pinch Yourself like this>>
* Put your RightHand Index Fingernail,,,
directly on the Fingertip Pad of your Left Index Finger
*Try to close your Left Finger to "pinch yourself"

PUNY,,Huh??

Maybe not as weak as it seems.

Now try This>>>
With your Left Index Finger Closed,,,try to Pull it Open with other hand.

Suddenly,,not so Puny is it?

That finger-tip,,2 string barre is NOT done with Finger Pressure.

It's Leverage created from Finger being Locked in the position,,,and HAND Position on the Guitar Neck sort Levering that finger.

It's WEIRD,,and Not instinctive.
But it'll come quickly.

Try JUST barring the 1st 2 strings with your index finger.

Cradling the neck in your palm doesnt work so well,,,
Cuz of the way your hand uses THUMB pressure to fret the strings.

Try putting your thumb in middle of the back of the guitar neck.
Like Youre trying to Pinch those 1st 2 strings between Thumb and forefinger

The 2 barred strings will always ring clear,,being fully frettted by the one finger tip.

As You Reach with 2nd and 3rd Fingers,,,that compells Hand Position to change on the neck---and usually trys to "release/relax" the 1st Finger's barre.

The more "Thumb" and the Less "palm" on back of the neck,,the better.

When you rest neck in your palm to make that Chord Shape,,,you are actually Levering your "locked finger" with your Hand.

Ever see an old fashioned Bottle Opener,,,aka "Church Key"?
No Moving parts or mechanism whatsoever,,,
but produces a BUNCH of force via Leverage,,,heck it Bends metal.

Doing that One Finger Barre is Hand/wrist motion,,,NOT finger Pressure.

You already "tested" Finger Strength for Squeeze Pressure---almost NONE.
But it Will "lock solid" in the closed position---like when You're trying to barre those 2 strings.

Close your hand and make like a "HitchHiker" or Thumb's Up thingie.
Put Your hand on your desk with it in that position,,,thumb point Straight Up.
..Ok,,You CANNOT squeeze any harder to close Index Finger,,Right??No matter How Hard You strain.

But just Tilt your Hand a little to the left,,,like You are trying to pint sideways.
Notice how far that las joint of Your INDEX FINGER moves as You Tilt your fist over toward the left.

that's your entire Hand &Wrist &Arm--which is drawing that Index Finger AWAY from vertical.
And it's The Index Finger that CANT be Pried Open.

So Odd as it seems,,it's your whole hand & wrist PULLING your finger down onto the Frets,,
And Not your finger squeezing the neck.

Trying to SQUEEZE a F Barre shape will only wear you out.

HAND position is what does it,,not finger pressure.

Try JUST the one finger on the 2 strings,,,,with Thumb Only on Neck.

Also try Neck resting in palm,,,but use your Wrist to "twist" or Rock your Finger down onto Neck.
Your pivoting the hand on ball of palm,wrist twist's to sorta try to pry hand off neck.

I cant explain it very well----LOOK and fool with it a minute,,,You'll See right away what I mean.

Forget trying to squeeze that F,,,get your hand in position and LEVER your Curved Index finger down onto the strings....
Or PINCH between Thumb and Forefinger---by putting Thumb Only on back of neck.


You'll see how much clearer the 1st& 2nd strings ring,,,from being well fretted by the "downforce"

Stick with it and it will soon become instinctive

good Luck

Answer 2

Try using a barre chord. Slap your first finger all the way across the board, all six strings, on the first fret. Then make your other fingers like an E chord...middle finger on second fret of the third string, third finger on third fret of the fifth string , pinky on the third fret of the fourth string. It would be like using your first finger as the capo, except after you're done you can take your first finger off and play in normal position again.

Or see if substituting an Fmaj7 will work - just leave the top string open. I do that a lot b/c I like hearing the open string ring out.

Answer 3

An easy way to play an F chord is to play an F5 which, without diving into the theory of things, is an omit3 chord, which will sound different but is usable. The F5 chord is also referred to as a power chord, and is often just two strings pressed down as in XX35XX but can be three strings as in XX356X. The forth suggestion below has the 1,5,3 present so it's a true F major chord. Many people find it easier to bar (officially 'Barre') similar to the fourth example below rather than all 6 strings. E------x-----x------x-------x---------... B------x-----6------x------10---------... G------5-----5-----10-----10----------... D------3-----3-----10-----10----------... A------x-----x------8-------8---------... E------x-----x------x-------x---------...

Answer 4

Use thumb on top bass string than in the F positions use these fingers from top to bottom- pinky, ring finger, middle finger, pointer on bottom 2 strings.

Answer 5

Try reaching over the top of the neck to the low E string with your thumb, that's how I do it.