Submitted by: Matt Coffman

Are you currently having difficulty producing the F major chord on your guitar? Guess what, you aren’t the only one. Just about every new guitar player I ve known has grunted and huffed their way through figuring out how to play this demanding chord shape.

The F major chord in 1st position is the first partial bar chord that most new guitarists encounter. But not only does it contain a partial bar, it also requires you to spread your fingers out across three frets on three different strings.

The combination of partial bar and three-fret span gives many guitarists fits. Rarely does the chord sound fluid and full at first.

But imagine if there is a painless solution to take the challenge out of the F major chord? I am here to inform you, that there most certainly is.

The secret appears odd at first: as an alternative to elbowing your way through the F chord, we are going to master a pair of similar chords to begin with. These types of chords will help you to your fingers come to be accustomed to performing both of the challenges that cause F major to be so hard initially.

Once you have had the opportunity to perform these two chords for some time, you will find that the F major chord easily enters your hand.

Therefore, without further ado, please allow me to tell you about: the F major 7 chord and also the D minor 7 chord.

Hang on, hang on I realize those chords at the outset may appear scary. Particularly if you’re not so familiar with music theory. But trust me, they are each a heck of simpler to play as opposed to F chord that has been making you insane.

So, why don’t we get busy making F major miracles happen.

The F major 7 will be our first chord target for two primary reasons: 1) it s simpler to play than D minor 7 and also 2) we can actually utilize F major 7 in lots of musical situations in which the feared typical F major chord is called for. Therefore, it is a substitution which sounds extremely lovely and also helps you begin enjoying just about any tune that demands an F before you can really get the complete F major to be able to ring.

To make an F major 7, you in essence produce a diagonal line using your index, middle and ring fingers. Your index finger presses down the 1st fret of the 2nd string. The middle finger occupies the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. And the ring finger occupies the 3rd fret of the 4th string.

To play the total F major 7 chord, just play those three fretted guitar strings plus the open 1st string. So, four strings in all mix to produce F major 7. Go ahead and strum it right now.

Seems great, doesn t it? It provides a really lovely, almost mysterious tone. This particular chord will regularly do the job rather than the full F major chord. Give it a shot whenever you come across an F chord inside a song and find out whether or not this F major 7 matches your needs.

Now that we ve mastered F major 7, it s time to study D minor 7.

D minor 7 is a bit more challenging, as it consists of that two-string bar on the 1st fret that causes the regular F chord to be so tricky up to the point that you have built up your finger strength and calluses somewhat.

However, the D minor 7 will not entail using the ring finger to fret the 3rd fret 4th string F tone. Which means that it is a simpler chord compared to the normal F major and doesn t require the same amount of finger reaching and extending to play the full D minor 7.

It’s time to discover how to make D minor 7: use your first finger as a bar at the 1st fret of the 1st and 2nd guitar strings. That s the difficult part. It’s possible that you may have to focus on it some so that you can get both notes to sound nice while you play the first two guitar strings. Just take your time and keep at it–what may initially challenge your index finger will become easier and easier as you persist. But be sure to listen for good tone on both of the notes your index finger bars. Don’t permit string buzzing or muting to keep occurring.

To finish up the D minor 7 chord, use your middle finger to fret the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. And then simply play strings 1 through 4 using the open 4th string to give you the D bass note.

And so that s D minor 7 a elegant minor chord that, should you take a close look, resembles a piece of the normal F chord.

In the event you simply cannot perform both of these chords on an individual basis, you are going to never ever be able to play the typical 4-string F completely. Consequently, work at it until both of these chords the F major 7 as well as the D minor 7 come into your fingers and stop supplying you with troubles.

Since the typical F chord is just the mixture of both D minor 7, including its tricky first-fret two-string bar, with the F major 7 s diagonal extension of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers over the 1st, 2nd and 3rd frets of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings on the guitar, you ll discover your hand easily making the regular F without having fear or mania.

And once you can play both D minor 7 and F major 7 individually, it’s time to begin putting them together and going back and forth from one to the other. This will prepare you to play the full F major chord.

Eventually, when you can switch from D minor 7 to F major 7 no problem, you’ll want to add an F major as a bridge chord to take you from D minor 7 to F major and then to F major 7. From there, you head right back through F major to your D minor 7.

Work these chords slowly, patiently, and watch how quickly F major becomes one of your best chord friends.

About the Author: Matt Coffman leads the Love Guitar revolution from his online home at

stringloveguitar.com

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isnare.com

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