Originally Posted by: RiffNoob02

Im a beginner guitar player about 3 weeks in and im going through the chord section in guitar fundamentals at the moment. Ive already developed some calluses or slightly tougher more firm skin on my finger tips. I find that when im holding down the chords and practicing the chord changes the strings shape gets indented into my fingers making a groove. As this happens I have to press down even harder so my strings dont buzz when im strumming them. I was wondering if maybe I am pressing down to hard on the strings initially or if maybe the calluses on my fingers just arent developed enough yet? Its mildly frustrating when Im pressing down really hard and still cant produce good tone. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

I think the short answer is, you are pressing too hard and you don't need to. Like John said, it happens to new players; the Iron Grip!

An experiment I've used for a few people to give them an idea how little pressure they need to exert on the strings is this:

1) Hover your middle finger over the Low E string, 3rd fret but don't touch the string yet (note - the 'angle' of your hovering should be no different than how you would fret a string/chord - like with your thumb anchored on the back of the neck etc)

2) With your hovering finger in place, start picking the Low E string in a steady pattern.

3) Lower your hovering finger towards the Low E string until it deadens the string.

4) Continue pressing lighty/slowly down on the string only until it rings out as a clean note, THEN STOP.

What you'll notice is how little pressure you need to exert to get the string to ring. Like riding a bike, you don't have to put on bone crushing pressure to control the handlebars.

The question then is; what do you do to stop the Iron Grip Syndrome? First, see the experiment above. Take one chord, like an open G, and just gently place pressure on the chord following the steps above but strum all the strings. It's gonna sound like a hot mess for a bit. With that said, just keep doing the slow application of pressure until it rings and you get a sense of how to hold the chord. You may have to do it a few times to get the hang of the feel. Do it with a few common chords like an open D or an open A.

Key is to not rush through the chord changes if you're not comfortable with how you're gripping the neck/strings. I know the Fundementals has a good ergonomics and handling segment so it can never hurt to review those multiple times if you need.

It's not really the callouses that's your issue. Yes, when they're built up, it makes it easier and more comfortable to play but is unimportant to the guitar if you have them. It's physics. The guitar only cares that pressure is applied enough that when struck, it can project the note.

I hope this makes sense.