F Major Chord

The F major chord will involve a good amount of hand strength at first. As always, don’t get discouraged. Keep working at it and you will eventually be able to play it without thinking. Now, start by placing your first finger over the 1^st fret of both the high E string and the B string. This takes care of your root note F, and the fifth note C. Next, add your second finger to the 2^nd fret of the G string to play the third note A. Finally, place your third finger on the 3^rd fret of the D string, which is also an F. Play only the bottom four strings. You can mute the A string by using the tip of your third finger. The F major chord when played properly sounds like this:

F Minor Chord

In order to transfer to an F minor chord, you must flatten the third note, A. This can be done simply by placing your first finger over the 1^st fret of the bottom three strings. Keep your third finger on the 3^rd fret of the D string. Again, strum only the bottom four strings in the F minor chord. When played correctly, an F minor chord will sound like this:

Practice Assignment

The open chords are the most fundamental requirement for solid guitar playing, so they should be practiced with a lot of care and commitment. The open chords should be practiced together with the major scale, so that you can start to understand the relationship between them. Take each chord and slowly work through the fingerings. Start with the easiest chords like A and E, and work your way up to the more difficult chords until you can play an F chord well. Your practice session should now consist of at least 5-10 minutes of warm-up exercises along with at least 30-45 minutes of major scale and open chord practice. Once you get a good handle on these functions, its time to move onto Lesson 4: Barre Chords.