Absolute beginner

Hi to everyone, at the age of 46 I've decided to learn to play an acoustic guitar, it is something I picked up cheap, did a bit of repair work on it and replaced the strings.

Any tips on fret excersize?, my fingers especially do not like chord F!

as far as getting better at fretting chords the best practice as far as I can see is just playing chords, and just keep practicing fretting them over and over... you'll be able to fret them with ease in time

for finger control it sure doesn't hurt to practice the hell out of your scales, pentatonic, blues, natural minor and major scales are probably the most common ones

i can't think of any chords my fingers liked at the beginning...especially barred ones like F, and depending on how much you play, your finger tips might end up hurting like a bitch, that's natural, you'll develop calouses pretty quick....

i hope some of this helps, good luck!

IF YOURE PLAYING THE 4 STRING F BARR.1 AND2 BARRED THAT WAS TUFF AT FIRST.PRACTICE

Just mess around with your guitar while you're watching TV and stuff. The biggest thing you're looking for is building the finger strength and muscle memory.

I'll bet just about anyone would tell you that when they started playing guitar that F was a Major pain in the ass. I know it was for me as well, anyway.

But yeah, just kind of mess with it and mess with it. Pound it out as much as you can shortly before you go to bed and you'll wake up finding it easier than you did 8 hours before. It's amazing how that works.

I hated chords at the start.... my fingers just didnt work... but after a little time of playing each night, it came slowly...

so my advice is keep with it, everyday... and when you turn corner and you can do what you practiced... enjoy the rewards...

Hi Runningbare (great handle, are you an indigenous North American tribesman or just someone who likes to get naked?). Welcome to the site.
a) You can help harden your finger tips by dabbling them in meths or surgical spirit for a few mins each day.
B)don't worry too much about the F chord at first. Concentrate on something easier like E, A, D and G. You only need your first 3 fingers for those chords and you can knock out loads of tunes that will help to maintain your interest over the first crucial couple of months.

Happy strumming!

Wow this post originated 2 years ago.
So...........let's have an update.
@RunningBare If you are still out there how are you doing? Tell us all how you have progressed. Would like to know. Hope you didn't give up.
Phip

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