Guitar KickStarter Program

Transcription

1 Guitar KickStarter Program Lesson #7 Workbook Copyright Paul Bright

2 Introduction Hi Paul Bright, Founder of BeginnerGuitaristAcademy.com here, Welcome to lesson #7 in the Guitar KickStarter Online Coaching Program. in this lesson will be taking a look at playing what I call The Dreaded F Chord. Specifically we ll be covering How to play the F major chord My top tips for playing this chord more easily How to shortcut the dreaded F chord In our next lesson, I ll be teaching you how to play House of The Rising Sun which uses the F Major Chord. Enjoy this lesson!

3 The F Chord Step 1: Press your 3rd finger on the 4 th string in the 3 rd fret. Step 2: Press your 2 nd finger on the 3 rd string in the 2 nd fret. If you ve ever tried learning this chord then you ll know from experience that this chord is a pain in the butt. Most people getting started find the F Chord the most difficult to learn because you need to get used to putting your fingers in weird positions. A common complaint with this chord is people saying their fingers aren t long enough to play this chord. Based on what I ve seen, I would be 99% certain in saying that your fingers would be long enough to play this chord. It just takes a lot of practice to get this chord down pat. The easiest way to learn this chord learn the steps I am about to give you so you have an idea of what the chord looks like, then go back to step 1, practice it until it sounds fine, then move onto step 2. Practice step 2, then move onto step 3 etc. Step 3: Press your 1 st finger down flat on the 1 st and 2 nd strings in the 1 st fret. Step 4: To strum the F chord, simply strum staring at the 5 th string. The 5 th string is played open, with the 6 th (low-e) string not played. You will probably find steps 1 & 2 to be easy (especially if you ve learnt the C chord). However step 3 tends to get most people stuck. Again practice makes perfect. Another tip I have is to just practice step 3. So press your finger flat on just the 1 st & 2 nd strings, and strum just those two strings. Have that sound nice and go backwards to step 2 by adding your 2 nd finger on the 3 rd string. Whatever you do, do NOT give up. Spend a few minutes each day mucking around with this chord. I found that it didn t take too long before it just kind of snapped, and came all together for me. The worst thing you can do is try to master this chord in 1 day. It probably won t happen. Spend a few minutes everyday day or so, and it won t take long before you can play this chord.

4 My Top Tips for Playing the Dreaded F Chord Tip 1: As you typically use your fingertips when playing chords, you'll probably naturally do so with your index finger. However, it is actually far easier to use the side or edge of it instead. Why is this true? This allows you to roll your wrist down to a better angle, giving you more leverage overall. With better leverage, you'll be able to push down on all the strings with greater force, meaning less dead notes and a better sound! Tip 2: Place your index finger as close to the fret wire as possible, without actually resting on top of it. This will also give you a bit more leverage on the strings, and give your other fingers more room to operate as well. Tip 3: Pinch the guitar neck close to the bottom using your thumb. With most chords your thumb will be either resting on top, or high up on the back of the neck. However, if you move it down when playing the F chord, you'll find that it is easier to play for the same reasons already mentioned above (more leverage and better wrist position). Tip 4: When you move your thumb down, try to drop your wrist and even your elbow a bit, so you can roll your fingers up a little more. If they are too flat across the strings, you'll have problems with overlapping - which can cause dead notes. A good tip is to imagine yourself holding a tiny ball in your palm, as this will naturally cause you to curve your fingers in the proper way. Tip 5: Practice this chord every day, for just a couple of minutes. This is probably more effective than spending hours on it in a single session, as you'll get tired and frustrated! Instead, just take a bit of time whenever you play, to hone your technique and make a little forward progress. What I recommend you do is pick a tip from the list above and begin implementing it right away.

5 Lesson #7: Assignment Spend at least 15 minutes per day going through the different tasks as listed below Assignment #1 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Continue practice Continue practice Continue practice Go through playing each of the playing each of the playing each of the Lesson #8 chords covered in chords covered in chords covered in lesson #1, 3, 5 & 7 in lesson #1, 3, 5 & 7 in lesson #1, 3, 5 & 7 in any random order you any random order you any random order you Assignment #2 Assignment #3 Practice playing all Practice playing all Practice playing all