Guitar chord
F major chord F
A major chord: bright, stable, open. It is the building block of almost every song.
Its notes: F, A, and C.
How to play it
- index: barre on fret 1, strings 6 to 1
- middle: fret 2, string 3
- ring: fret 3, string 5
- little finger: fret 3, string 4
On the dots: 1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = little finger. Strings go from 6 (low E) to 1 (high E).
Easier
Small shape, no full barre
Only the high strings are played: the index covers two or three strings at most. It sounds lighter, but it is the same chord.
F Swap it for F major 7 (Fmaj7)
A nearly identical open chord: it keeps all the notes and adds one, the seventh. Avoid it only if the melody clashes with it.
Fmaj7 Capo on fret 1, E major shape
Put the capo on fret 1 and play the E major shape (E): it sounds as F major. The capo costs nothing to the sound.
E Capo 1Capo on fret 3, D major shape
Put the capo on fret 3 and play the D major shape (D): it sounds as F major. The capo costs nothing to the sound.
D Capo 3Capo on fret 5, C major shape
Put the capo on fret 5 and play the C major shape (C): it sounds as F major. The capo costs nothing to the sound.
C Capo 5
Chords that go with it
In the key of F major, it goes with:
Its relative: D minor (Dm)
The same notes, or almost, in another color: you move from one to the other without a bump.
Same note, other chords
The chart, to keep at hand
The same chart as an image: save it to have it in front of you while you play, or send it to whoever is looking for this chord.
What about the chords of your song?
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