Beginner needs help with fret fingers please

Hey all,

I am as beginner as they come (have held my new guitar in my hands for about 5 days now). I am having major trouble and consequently frustration with my fret fingers constantly touching other strings (if even ever so slightly) causing them to mute. I have big hands and very long fingers and can't seem to get them not to do this. This is of course making it very difficult to play the basic chords and I'm already feeling like it just might not be physically possible for me to play this instrument.

Are there any tips out there or things I can try to help with this? I watch the video lessons and I can't for the life of me figure out how they make it look so effortless to hit the fret strings without touching them all. I have read things out there about lowering the action on my guitar so the strings are as close to the fret board as possible. Would that help get them away from my fingers? I don't know how to do this so I would have to take it someplace and have them adjust it. Don't want to spend the money if it won't help.

Oh and I have a Fender T-Bucket 300CE. It played so smooth in the store and I wanted to invest a little more to start out rather than get a real cheap beginner guitar. I like it a lot but the strings do seem to be pretty far from the fret board especially from about fret 4 or 5 on.

Thanks everyone!

Long fingers will actually work to your advantage later when you need to do long reaches.

What chords are you having trouble with and what frets/strings get muted with what fingers when you play them?

Other than that, the generic tips apply: Pay on the tips of your fingers. Make sure your thumb is positioned correctly behind the neck. Play as close to the fret as possible. When playing a chord, add one finger at a time until you find the finger that throws it all off and is the problem.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801When playing a chord, add one finger at a time until you find the finger that throws it all off and is the problem.

That really is it in a nutshell... just give it some time. Starting out is always the hardest... and later you may find you're able to play things easily that seemed "impossible" before.

Had a look at your guitar on-line... from what I understand those are fixed bridges. Lowering the action would require taking the guitar to a shop to have it done professionally, but I don't think that's your problem anyways.

Stick with it, it will come with time.

I had the same problem and a lot longer than 5 days too! And it is frustrating. Practice and moving the fingers ever so slightly is what it takes. Here is the link to a very helpful lesson on this.

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=18584&s_id=1437

You say it seems impossible that you'll ever play correctly...trust me, EVERYBODY goes through this stage. Proper chording is a real pain at first, it just takes some time get used to it. One day you'll be switching chords effortlessly and look back and laugh that it ever caused you trouble. One helpful thing I used to do is, when I would form a chord, I'd sit there and pick every single string to make sure they all rang out clearly. If a string buzzed or was muted, I'd apply more pressure, or move any adjacent finger that was causing the muting, or whatever the case was. Analyzing what I was doing wrong like that, string by string, helped me to NOT do it the next time I would play that same chord.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I appreciate it very much. I know it takes quite a bit of time and practice to be able to play so I'll certainly keep at it.

I went back to the place I bought it today and they said that Fender does actually tend to make guitar's with narrower string spacing (if even only slightly) and since no two guitar's are built the same the one I have may in fact be a little tight. He showed me some other makes for the same price (and even one that was less) and as strange as it sounds they did seem to be a bit easier to play. I hear a lot that every make and model guitar feels different to different people so it could be a combination of both me being a beginner (which I know it's mostly) and the guitar I chose. I have 30 days to return it so I'll give it a little more time and if I don't start to feel more comfortable with it I can always exchange it.

Oh yeah, there are many different types of guitar necks out there. Some people like the feel of a beefy neck like Stevie Ray Vaughan's signature Strat, others like the feel of a super-thin Ibanez neck, and still others like the thick roundness of a '50's-style Les Paul. Just make sure you wind up with the one that's the most comfortable to you. My very first guitar was a no-name student-sized acoustic with a really narrow neck and ridiculously high action, but I was determined to learn no matter how much it hurt. When I went from that to a Les Paul knock-off with a nice slim-taper style neck about a year later, it was like a breath of fresh air.
As far as getting your chords down pat, here's one kind of inspiring way to look at it. I read once in a book about Zen that "It's humbling to know that even the masters were once students". So whoever your hero is, whether it's Scotty Moore, Charlie Christian, Kirk Hammett, Slash, Steve Vai, Brad Paisley, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen, or whoever...guess what? They were all in the same boat as you at one point! I know it seems funny to think, but there was a point in time when even those guys were sitting in their bedroom struggling with playing chords and probably thinking "I'm never gonna learn to play this $^%*&% thing!" :)

Awesome post gypsyblues thanks!! It really is amazing how different they all feel. I ended up bringing back my Fender and getting a decent beginner Yamaha 700S that was $100 less. It has gotten GREAT reviews and each store I have seen it at the people there have spoken very highly of it. Every time I picked it up and strummed some chords I could play them clearly on it. I would go back to the Fender and do the same exact thing and touch the other strings. I liked an Epiphone Hummingbird a lot that was the same price as the Fender but I felt I could play the Yamaha just fine for now to get started. Down the road when I get better I'm sure I'll want to get something a bit nicer but for now this will do just fine...I have a ways to go yet :)

And yes most certainly everyone had to start somewhere. My starting point is age 39 and I figured approaching 40 was a good time to start :). I'm not looking to perform or anything. Learning to play the guitar is just something I have always wanted to do so I'm very determined to keep at it. I can already see progress in only a week of practicing and I know a week from now I'll only be better. Thanks for the encouragement!!