New member w/ a question

Hey, i just bought an acousic fender, 1st guitar, and am learning through tabs remarkably fast. For some reason, my fingers and mind are taking to this really well.
The question I have, however, is that i want to use this speed of learning to figure out how to play chords good. I can pick well, but the whole strumming and clamping 3 strings down at once, then moving them all note to note is quite frustrating.... any suggestions at all, besides the basic practice and take it slow?.....lol any tips of the trade?

-joshua

Well wouldn't you know. You've found the only question no one can answer. Ok, all kidding aside. You basically answered your question, the best thing you can do is take it slow. In fact, the slower the better. There are some things you can do while going slow however. Pay close attention to each finger and see where it goes in comparison to where you want it to go. Try some finger independence exercises to help you control individual fingers better. Basically the goal is to have all fingers go where you want them to, but you can't do that if you lose control of your middle finger when you move your ring finger. Just take it slow and pay close attention to each finger. I know it sucks to have nothing else to go by, but if you bare through this part the payoff is phenomenal.

i've been doing this for some time with individual notes that go up and down the fretboard, string to string. I can get my fingers to move just fine, it's just that I don't think my hand wants to stay perpendicular to the neck, which throws me off from where i should be as i transition.

Just like everything else, it takes time. On a different note, curious if anyone can play 'moonlight sonata', as i think that is a beautiful song...

i have the same problem, i can play solos and stuff but when it comes to chords i have real trouble (although i dont practice chords as much as i should because i find the exersices boring and like playing solos a lot more which is probably my problem). as i practice playing the chords more what seemed impossible to get the fingers in the right position and make all the strings ring becomes easy, just takes practice which you figured out already.

Hey man, I teach guitar. I tell my students to start with two chords. You play one and then move to the next and back(over and over and over....). Make mental notes as to how and why your fingers moved to the next position. Also, make note of the fingers that I refer to as pivots. Ie. when playing an A Maj and then going to the C Maj chord, you will see that there is one note that is in both chords. You do not need to lift this finger. You can use it to pivot from one chord to the other. The less you move your hand and fingers, the better. It is more efficient. After you have done this with two chords, start adding chords. Ie. A to C, then A to D, C to D, D to C, D to A, etc.(basically every single combination of transitions between those three chords) Keep adding a new chord each time you feel like you have mastered all transitions in a set number of chords being used.

If this is confusing, start slow and practice, practice, practice. :D