[douglas englund]

is it ok to substitute F&B Major with Fsus2 and Bsus2. i have thick short fingers and F&B are almost impossible for me and the sus chords are alot easyer?

[allthumbs]

Almost impossible turns into possible with practice.

[Justapicker]

If you think about it, you're asking if it's ok to substitute G for A or C# for D#. How do you think that would effect a song?

[blackcat]

I was told by a teacher that there are lots of guitar players who use B7 rather than B, I have since thought that this was ok,are you saying this is wrong.Forgive me if it is a daft question, i'm a beginner,but unless you ask you don't know.
As regards F, yes it does become easier with practice,but B i find near impossible.
thanks in advance.

[Fretsource]

Black Cat: You could get away with playing B7 instead of B, but only in certain situations, such as when playing in the key of E major or E minor, and even then only sometimes. In certain other keys, it could sound terrible.
Your guitar teacher told you that a lot of guitarists do it but I hope he stopped short of recommending that you do it, just because you can't play B yet. That would be bad advice. Not only do you risk bad note clashes but it holds you back from mastering the real B, as you're not getting the chance to practise it in songs.

If an accomplished guitarist does it, it's because they prefer the sound of B7 at that point. That's a valid reason for doing it.

[allthumbs]

Originally Posted by douglas englund

is it ok to substitute F&B Major with Fsus2 and Bsus2. i have thick short fingers and F&B are almost impossible for me and the sus chords are alot easyer?

I don't see how an Fsus2 would be any easier to play down at the nut. Is it the full barr chord that is giving you trouble. You could just leave out the 6th string which means the index finger is just barring the top 2 strings. The barre comes in handy when your finger picking and want to go to a 7th or b3 though.
A sus2 has a whole different feel than a major chord. It is neither major nor minor because it has no 3rd. Your tune will sound quite different. Play an F chord, then play it again with the 3 string open which is a sus2. That is quite a different sound.

[blackcat]

Thankyou fretsource, iguess i'll just have to keep practicing.It is a very difficult chord to get to grips with,but your explanation shows me it's something that i need to persevere with, and this i will do.

[douglas englund]

i guess i should clearify some things first of all i am 65 yeares old and my fingers don't have the flexabily they use to (also my spelling). but what started all this was i have been struggling with the A chord (for 2 years) and i read that Kirt said that his fingers are to thick to fit the A chord so he just bars the 3 strings and don't hit the high E, and you can get away with the A chord that way. That was good news for me at my age. So i thought maybe i could take a short cut on the F and B chords. the sus chords seem to be easier to shape at my age i should ad. i will never be making records or playing in a band, i just would like to be able to play for my wife and kids if they will listen. but i do appreciate the help, and maybe i am heading in the wrong direction? i was just wondering if the sus A&B were close to the same sound to get away with it but guess they are not. are there any other short cuts to the Major A&B chords?

[Fretsource]

You could try B similar to how Kirk does the A chord - barre the same three strings but at the 4th fret instead of the second - and leave out the first string. The reason that Kirk's A shape works is because he's just leaving out one of the notes (E) that he's playing on the 4th string anyway - so nothing is missing.
But playing B sus 2 means you've lost a note and replaced it with a foreign note, which won't sound like the songwriter intended.
You could also try a 4 string B chord without the barre as XX4442. It's not quite as good because it's not in root position (i.e.,The lowest note isn't B) but it's still a B major and better than Bsus2

[douglas englund]

thank you fretsourse i will do that and what i have been doing on the F is not barring the high E it may not some as perfect as it should but it seams to work for me. i will keep practicing the F&B but they are very difficult for me. thanks alot Doug

[cshude]

Doug, you'll get there with the practice. You'll find that you'll get a lot of flexibility back and as your fingers and hands continue to get stronger, you'll get those chords that are causing you trouble. I remember that it took nearly 2 years of pretty regular playing before I could play the F-barre cleanly on an acoustic every time. Hang in there.

[Hey]

I used to think something like that(my pointer has some really weird extra fat... Ya I know, weird) that to, I used to not even can make a F chord like you, but over time I could, and Im at now where I can bar 6 stings, but still am not at that fingering chord levle to do anything else when I bar thoes six stings but anyway... You'll get there.

Or you can try to do it like furry lewis, use yor elbow or your hand to do it.

[douglas englund]

i hope i can do all the bar chords eventually i will keep trying. and thanks for all encouragement.

[Hilch]

I don't play B any B at all ..( WAY TOO HARD FOR ME )

F I always subsitute with Fmaj7 (Open C shape down a string basically )

[douglas englund]

hilch what do you play when a soung calls for a B. this is interesting i am learning alot. and thanks for the responce