In the last lesson, we have covered the E major chord and all it’s different positions on the fretboard, in today’s lesson we will learn how to play F major chord in guitar and also learn it’s different positions all over the neck. This chord is not as easy as the basic open chords are. Here, almost all the positions of this chord are barred.
But you can’t skip it, so let’s look at it’s chord diagram and it’s different position. I recommend you to learn all the basic open chords before trying this chord.
F Bar Chord On 1st Fret
This position is the 1st position of F major chord, and is a bar chord and starting on the 1st fret. As you can see in the image, the 1st fret is totally barred and the finger positions are expanded to the 3rd fret. This position doesn’t require any finger stretching as it is only covering 3 frets. If you are a newbie, then at the beginning you may not hold it properly and it might hurt your finger, but as you practice it over and over, you will get used to it and you will not feel any pain.
Finger placement
- Place your first finger on the first fret and bar all the strings.
- Your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of 3rd string.
- 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of 5th string
- lastly, your 4th finger 3rd fret of 4th string.
F major Bar Chord On 8th Fret
This is the 2nd position of F chord that is starting on the 8th fret and is a barre chord. Here the 8th fret is fully barred and 10th fret is also partially barred. Personally, I feel this is the toughest chord position because it requires lot of finger strength and dexterity to actually hold and play it. You will notice that after playing this shape for a while, your fingers will feel light and this will eventually make it easier to play this chord shape.
Finger placement
- Place your 1st finger on the 8th fret of the neck and barre it completely.
- Place your 3rd finger on the 10th fret and bar the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string.
F Major Chord on the 5th Fret
This is the 3rd position of F chord that is starting on the 5th fret and is partially barred chord. As you can see in the image, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings are barred on the 5th fret and finger positions are expanded to the 8th fret. This position will require a lot of finger stretching to hold it properly.
Finger placement
- Place your 1st finger on the 5th fret and barre the 1st, 2nd and 3rd string.
- Place your 2nd finger on 5th fret of the 2nd string.
- Your 3rd finger on the 7th fret of 4th string
- Lastly, your 4th finger 8th fret of 5th string
If you are just starting out in guitar, I recommend you to first learn all the easy chord shapes and then trying the hard ones like this one. It is important to practice these hard shapes as it will improve your finger stretching ability.
F Chord On The 1st Fret
This is the 4th position of F major chord and it is starting on the 1st fret of the neck. It is the simplest chord position of F Major. As you can see in the image, the 1st and 2nd strings are barred and the notes are expanded to the 2nd and 3rd fret.
Finger Placement
- Place your 1st finger on 1st fret of 1st and 2nd string.
- 2nd finger on 2nd fret of 3rd string.
- 3rd finger on 3rd fret of 4th string.
F Major Chord on 10th Fret
This is the toughest chord position of F major which is starting from the 10th fret. As you can see in the image, 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings are barred on the 10th fret and the notes are expanded to the 13th fret. This position also requires a lot of finger stretching.
Finger Placement
- Place your 1st finger on the 10th fret of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string and bar it.
- Place your 2nd finger on the 12th fret of 5th string.
- 3rd finger on 13th fret of 6th string
- Lastly, 4th finger on the 13th fret of 1st string.
F Major Chord On The 3rd Fret
This is the last position of the F major chord that is starting from the 3rd fret of the neck. As you can see in the image, it looks similar to the open D chord shape.
Finger Placement
- Place your 1st finger on 3rd fret of 4th string
- 2nd finger on 5th fret of 3rd string
- 3rd finger on 5th fret of 1st string
- 4th finger on 6th fret of 2nd string
