The F guitar chord is notoriously difficult for beginner guitarists. In this free lesson you will learn:
How to play the F guitar chord correctly
The best F chord for beginner guitarists to use
A simple 3-string version of the F guitar chord
3 bonus tricks you can use to make your F chords sound better
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How to play the F guitar chord properly
Let’s look at the correct way to play an F guitar chord first, then we’ll look at the easier alternatives. Sound like a plan? Let’s do it.
Ok, this is how an accomplished guitarist plays an F chord. (By the way, did you know that the full name of an F chord is “F Major”? Most of the time people just call it “F”.)
F Major
(If you don't understand the above image please read our article "How To Read Guitar Chordboxes In 60 Seconds". It will make everything clear!)
In real-life the F chord looks like this:
As you can see this is a difficult chord – it’s simply not possible for a beginner guitarist to play an F guitar chord (in this way). Clearly we need to find easier alternatives, so let’s get to it!
Some easier ways to play an F guitar chord
This is the most widely-used easier version of an F chord on guitar:
F Major
As you can see, we no longer need to totally barre the first fret, so that’s a huge relief for a beginner guitarist. Even so, this chord still requires solid concentration and a good level of dexterity to play.
If you’ve been playing the guitar for only a few hours this will still be a very difficult chord for you to assemble quickly and consistently. We need an even easier alternative.
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Ok, now we’re getting to a lower barrier of entry. This chord is called “Fmaj7” (pronounced “F major seven”).
Fmaj7
As you can see, this is significantly easier than the first version of F that we looked at.
In a moment we’ll look at the easiest-of-all ways to play an F guitar chord, but firstly there’s an important point I need to flag to you.
F Guitar Chord – String Selection
Note that when playing both the above versions of an F guitar chord you should only play strings 1-4. Your strumming/picking shouldbegin on the 4th string.
(Remember that an ‘X’ on a chordbox diagram means “don’t play this string”.)
Let’s have a quick refresher on string numbers:
If you play the fifth string (the A string) when playing either of the aboveF guitar chords it won’t kill the chord (it’ll still sound ok, just) butif you accidentally play the 6th string (the E string) it will wreck the chord.
For tips on how to do this well read my free lesson:How To Skip Strings When Strumming
The Best Easy Versions Of This Chord
A super-simple, 3-string version of F
This version of an F guitar chord is fantastic for children and adults with learning difficulties or smaller hands:
This version of F doesn’t sound as good as the earlier versions, but it’s passable, and it will act as a stepping stone towards the better-sounding F chords. .
Remember: F is a tough chord, so don’t worry if you’re struggling with it. Learning guitar takes time!
The F guitar chord is one of the very toughest chords for a beginner guitarist to play, so don’t worry if you find it challenging. That’s perfectly normal.
With this in mind, I tell my new students to skip all songs that feature an F chord until they’ve been playing guitar for at least a month.
After 4-6 weeks most people have mastered simpler chords like Em, G, Am, D and C. By that stage they have developed enough control and precision in their third finger that they can perform the above easier F chords without it being too tough.
For the vast majority of adult learners, Fmaj7 should be the first goal. It sounds great and is much easier to play than a full F chord.
A Pro Tip For Using Fmaj7
Note how closely a Fmaj7 chord resembles the shape of a C chord? This is one of the things that makes Fmaj7 a handy chord to know, because F and C are common bedfellows, they crop up together often, along with G.
You can combine Fmaj7, C and G in the following way. It sounds great and allows you to maintain a similar handshape as you play. (This makes things easier for you and allows you to play with more fluidity.)
Check this pattern out. When you have F and/or C and/or G near to one another, try playing F like this:
…and C, as normal, like this…
…and use this version of G (called Gsus4)…
This is a great example of using broader chord knowledge to make things easier and sound better. (You’ll do this a LOT as you progress as a guitarist!)
Common versions of F
Now let’s look at some sevenths:
Here are some other cool-sounding F chords .
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Move your middle finger up one string to the 3rd string (still 2nd fret), and place your pinky on the 3rd fret of the 4th string. That's the easy F chord. Keep your first and third fingers in place during the chord change. These are what we call Common Chord Fingers.
Move your middle finger up one string to the 3rd string (still 2nd fret), and place your pinky on the 3rd fret of the 4th string. That's the easy F chord. Keep your first and third fingers in place during the chord change. These are what we call Common Chord Fingers.
It might take you weeks, if not months, to master this chord. It's a process - so be patient with yourself! The key is to get the finger placement right and to make the F chord ring out clearly.
If your guitar has fatter strings, playing the F barre chord will be harder. That's because heavier strings require more pressure than lighter ones. So switch to: 10 gauge strings if on acoustic.
Friendly reminder: A sharp raises the pitch of a note by a half step. Therefore, F# is one half-step higher than F. And in the same way that you can raise a note with a sharp, you can also use a flat (denoted with the ♭ symbol or a lowercase “b”) to lower a note by a half step.
The six-string F chord is one of the hardest standard chord shape to play on the guitar. When many people try to play the F chord on guitar (and often succeed), it's with far too much struggle and effort than is actually necessary. Even extremely influential guitarists can have a hard time with barre chords.
Adding an open string 1 to these shapes creates an Fmaj7 (commonly used by beginners to replace an F chord) or Fmaj7sus2. I can fret notes on string 1 to create a mini-barre F chord when pressing into fret 1 with finger 1. Grabbing the G note on fret 3 with the pinky finger creates an Fadd9.
Of all the basic major and minor chords that a beginning guitarist needs to learn, the hardest is probably F major. This is because, to play the full six-string version of the chord, you have to play a barre chord that spans all six strings.
A: The time required to memorize guitar chords varies from person to person. It depends on factors such as practice consistency, individual learning abilities, and the complexity of the chords. With regular practice and effective techniques, significant progress can be made within a few weeks to a few months.
Just play the top three Strings.Move it up one fret to D# or Eb, move it one more to E, then one more to F.Add four fourth finger to the A on the seventh fret ( D string) and that's a nice little F chord.
Of all the basic major and minor chords that a beginning guitarist needs to learn, the hardest is probably F major. This is because, to play the full six-string version of the chord, you have to play a barre chord that spans all six strings.
The six-string F chord is one of the hardest standard chord shape to play on the guitar. When many people try to play the F chord on guitar (and often succeed), it's with far too much struggle and effort than is actually necessary. Even extremely influential guitarists can have a hard time with barre chords.
Introduction: My name is Saturnina Altenwerth DVM, I am a witty, perfect, combative, beautiful, determined, fancy, determined person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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