Question on f chord

[Santiago]

John Tauxe's excellent Mandolin chord chart (http://www.losalamos.com/tauxe/mando/) Lists the F chord as AFAF, while others (http://home.inreach.com/jsherida/katie/mandolin1.html) list it as CFAF, which includes the C on the G strings for the major third sound. These two versions of the same chord give very different sounds. Is there a time when the AFAF chord would be more appropriate? Just wondering.

[Peter Hackman]

No.

[Walter Newton]

C in the key of F is the fifth, not the third. There are many ways to play any particular chord - any combination of F, A, and C notes you can come up with is technically an F major chord - go with what sounds good to you.

[mandroid]

5335/cfca, to 5365 is nice; adding 7th,Eb , a pinky away http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif
2002 D form, with barre, the I/root is on the D string.

[Santiago]

Yes, I meant fifth. Good catch Walter. Mandroid, I often think of the F chord CFAF as the C chord on the Guitar, it makes the shape easier for me to remember. Anyway, it's interesting that adding the pinky works on Mandolin too, as it does on Guitar C chord.

[Peter Hackman]

Most people seem to play too many notes in a chord.
Especially guitarists.

[SGraham]

Try 2-3-3-1 (AFCF) for a change sometimes.

Steve

[AlanN]

and try 5-7-8-5

[Santiago]

Will try both. Thanks.

[mythicfish]

" go with what sounds good to you."

While this is a lovely sentiment, it only works if you understand the harmonic movement of the tune,
and it meshes with what the other musicians (if any) are playing.

Curt

[MartinD_GibsonA]

Lists the F chord as AFAF
To be absolutely technical about it, AFAF isn't an F chord at all since it's lacking the C. #It suggests an F, and it sometimes works if you're only gonna play a couple of strums/chops on it, but it's not a full chord.

Don Smith

[AlanN]

I think back to a Buck White interview, where he was asked about his chording:

"My chords are all ruptured, man. They're not true chords, they're scab chords!"

I love Buck's mandolin style, scabs and all http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[SGraham]

Santiago:
Sorry if this is too pedantic, but every chord has a root, third and fifth as the its basic frame. You can arrange those parts however you like. The root in an F major chord is F, the third is A, and the fifth is C. If an instrument (like a guitar or piano) is playing the basic accompaniment, it's probably going to voice the chord in "root" position, ie: with the root at the bottom--in this case F-A-C. When the music is about to change from a I (one) chord to a IV (four) chord (in the key of F, from an F to a Bb) it's nice to put the I chord in an inversion that has the 3rd of the chord at the bottom, ie: A-F-C, or A-C-F. This because the A note is only a half step below the root of the IV chord (Bb) and there is a strong tendency for that note to want to resolve upward. The inversion that has the 5th of the chord at the bottom (C-F-A, or C-A-F) would go well just before the I chord moves to a V (C major) chord, since the note at the bottom of this inversion of the I chord is the same note as the root of the V chord--(I chord = C-A-F, V chord = C-E-G). Accompanists have a feel for these things. In my observation, mandolin doesn't act as the true accompanying instrument very often, so we mandolinists play whatever inversions we like since the "accompaniment line" is being held down by another instrument, and we're adding flavor or rhythm/chop. This explanation is full of glittering generalities and may be picked apart with specific examples, but I think it holds. While on a guitar or piano it may be very important how you voice a chord, it's just not that crucial how you do it on a mando due to the role the mando usually plays in a band. Solo is another matter...

Steve

[Fretbear]

5-3-8-X (CFF)
10-7-8-X (FAF)
Here's a I-IV-V in C you don't hear everyday:
C: 5-5-3-X
F: 5-3-8-X
G: 7-5-10-X
Two frets lower for a variation on the Bb chop positions.

[Peter Hackman]

5-3-8-X (CFF)
10-7-8-X (FAF)
Here's a I-IV-V in C you don't hear everyday:
C: 5-5-3-X
F: 5-3-8-X
G: 7-5-10-X
for a reason ...

[Ella Meno]

Actually, one of my favorite voicings for this chord is CFCA...Then you can easily switch to the Bb staying right there on that fret with BbFDBb and sliding your hand up for the C chord...nice!

[Blueglass]

whoa Ella that is deep. I hadn't even thought of that one!

[Greg H.]

If you want a great example of using different chord voicing to follow the melody listing to some old Bob Wills stuff with Eldon Shamblin on guitar. He's often adding in a 6th, 7th, or 9th to change the feel but he's one of the true masters of walking rhythm.