Fender Play provides this free introductory guitar lesson on F Sharp note guitar to introduce its customers to it. Fender Play’s experienced instructors deliver bite-sized lessons designed to keep students interested.
F-sharp can be found on the low E string, just above an open G note. One half step corresponds to one fret between notes, so as you ascend or move higher you would use sharps.
Scale
F sharp is the starting note of F major scale. Each major scale contains both sharps and flats, but this particular scale stands out by being completely natural; all other notes can either be sharps or naturals at any one time – this makes sense since each note in a scale must either be either sharp or natural at different times; otherwise it wouldn’t look very pleasing!
F and G are two notes in the scale that can both be natural, so they cannot both be sharp and flat at once. However, as these two are half steps apart they could either be sharp or flat and thus form an enharmonic pair – meaning that their pitches match but their names differ; you’ll often see this feature used to form chords and melodies where identical notes have different names.
E, C, D and D# are four additional notes which should be familiar; all but D are sharp while D is naturally flat. Understanding that all these notes are related enharmonically will assist when playing chords or melodies utilizing these keys with specific number of sharps/flats; understanding each note’s relationship is also crucial when learning new keys with distinct arrangements of sharps/flats can also prove invaluable when trying out new keys with more than two sharps/flats in it.
So to play this scale, start on the lowest string and work your way up the fretboard, noting both sharps and flats as you climb each string. Once you reach the end of the fretboard, repeat this pattern from its starting point backwards.
Once you’ve learned this scale, moving it up and down the fretboard to change keys will become simpler.
Fingerings
An effective way to remember how to finger an F sharp chord is to think about how you would play an E major chord – this gives a great starting point and will provide you with a solid understanding of its F sharp note.
To play this chord, start with your index finger on the first fret and move your other fingers up one fret at a time until they all rest at their respective second-fret positions – for instance placing middle finger on G#, ring finger on A# and pinky on B before returning back down through this process when done. When done just reverse it all before starting back at 1st fret again!
If you’re having trouble fingering a particular chord, consulting a guitar fretboard diagram may help. These illustrations display all the different notes for each string as they appear on the fretboard as well as potential chord shapes that may be played on every string – helping you identify an effortless approach for every given chord.
As another way of learning a chord quickly, barre chords may also help. A barre chord involves using your index finger for playing it – these chords may be harder than open position chords but will speed up your learning of other types.
One of the most frequently used barre chords is F# major. This chord can be found across many genres of music; though often associated with bluesy sounds. But F# major can also be found used to add harmonic contrast in other musical genres as well.
The F# major scale contains seven notes. The chart below displays fingerings for this scale on a guitar fretboard; root notes of this scale are indicated with darker coloring in this chart as are intervals between notes in its scope.
F# major chord is composed of the first, third and fifth notes from F# major scale. This chord is enharmonic to G major as both share similar pitch intervals.
Intervals
Intervals are essential components of music, describing the distance between two notes. Intervals play an essential part in understanding chords, scales and improvisation while also being indispensable tools for developing fretboard freedom. Interval names provide a formal way of describing pitch differences between notes that is widely recognized within the musical community – learning them will help you decipher YouTube videos, music theory courses or communicating with fellow musicians more easily.
Interval distance can be described in half or whole steps and this is known as interval quality. Played differently and depending on its order of the notes, interval quality may sound differently; for instance, when an F is played before an A, this would create harmonic interval while when played before another note (such as A is played first before F), melodic interval results.
An important characteristic of intervals is their relationship to octaves. An interval that extends over one octave is known as a compound interval and can easily be calculated by counting lines or spaces on either treble or bass clef staffs until reaching your desired interval; starting from the tonic note and counting those lines or spaces will give you its corresponding octave number.
Once you have an understanding of intervals and their relation to octaves, it is time to examine different interval qualities. This will enable you to hear how each interval sounds when played and its overall affect on a chord, scale or melody.
The table below offers an in-depth view of various interval qualities, providing a vivid illustration of their sound on the fretboard. Each interval’s name appears in its respective column while its location on the fretboard can be seen in another one. Finally, its final row features an audio example of said interval being played – all without leaving your seat!
Barre
As a beginner guitarist, this F sharp minor chord might seem intimidating. Barring multiple strings requires significant finger strength but can open up many other barre chords on the fretboard once mastered.
As the first step of learning this chord, the first step should be learning how to bar all six strings. To do this, place the tip of your index finger against strings directly behind the second fret and press down with it firmly until a shape like a cross or C is created – this barres all top three strings, leaving only thinnest two to be strung upon.
Next, place your ring finger just prior to the fifth fret on the fourth string and make an “L” shape with your third finger above it on the sixth string; and finally use your pinky on the fifth string just prior to the seventh fret so as to form an E major shape by barricading all strings except two thinnest ones; now strum only those two strings.
Now you should have a full F sharp minor barre chord on your fretboard’s left side. This chord has an engaging melodic sound and can easily move up and down strings for practice scales and chords.
Practice of this chord will also aid you in barring other chord shapes later in the lesson series – especially helpful once moving into E major and A major keys.
Learning this chord requires keeping in mind that sharps raise notes by half step; thus F# is one whole step above F, yet one half step below G; in equal temperament it would be considered enharmonic with G, but not with other tuning systems.
As you proceed through these lessons, endeavor to practice barre chords as often as possible; this will develop your finger strength and build your confidence to take on more difficult chords. For additional F# barre chord lessons check out our free lesson library where there are dozens of additional lessons covering F# keys, intervals and fingerings.