Strengthening finger playing F barre chord
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I have just started learning to play the guitar, and I have discovered that my fingers are lacking the strength to play with finger 1 (guitar fingerings).
I am finding that I can barre the first string quite well, because it is closer to the joint of my finger, but as I get to the 4th, 5th and 6th string, the string simply fights back.
Are there any ways that develop my strength in order to be able to barre the first fret totally?
2 Comments
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Confusing! Why, with this barre chord in particular, would you need to be pressing down the 4th and 5th strings with the barring finger? It's no help. Those strings are being pressed down on the fret above, so do not need to have any pressure from the barre finger at fret one.
If this shape is a problem, then forget using it for F. Instead, try playing it at the 5th to 7th frets instead. And when it's clean there, gradually work downwards to eventually arrive at F on the 1st fret.
Of course, the problem may be elsewhere, as in the action is too high, the strings too tight, and other issues covered in many other questions/answers here on this site.
I have a soft rubber ball that I can squeeze and release with my hand, left and right, until my hand becomes fatigued, focusing on my fingers doing the work. It's done to strengthen my hand muscles meaning less effort in making the barre. Also important is the height of the string slots in the nut. A properly set up guitar action can make that barre chord much easier to play.
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