Weeks of practice but i keep muting strings

i am stuck on the simple Am lesson by Lisa McCormick my ring finger which is on the second fret 3rd string keeps muting or touching the string below i keep ajusting and no results i curve until my wrist is sore i have been at this for 3 weeks now with 1 to 2 hours of practice time

I wish I can was there to see what you are doing thats causing that.. I just started myself.. So please understand my word isn't gold.. Do you have big fingers and using a guitar with a narrow neck ? Maybe the guitar is just too small for you.. Are you having to press real hard on the string ? I found that developing callusis on your finger tips made it easier.. Your finger tips give way when they're soft making you press harder.. Just move on to the next chord and come back to that one later.. You'll get it eventually..

Hi Matt

I am a novice myself.

I find it better to demonstrate via video than try to type it out, so hopefully the video below will help you out.

Best of luck and keep practicing!

Matt - a minor chord

also, is your hand resting parallel to the neck ? Or are you reaching downwards with yor fingers ? That can lead to your finger tip resting on the string where your finger is wider leading to touching the other strings.. Hard to put in words what I'm trying to say.. Make sure where where the ring finger tip is even to where your ring finger knuckle is.. If your finger tip is more down the neck than where your knouckle is then you're reaching, possibly too much..

Another great video, William. I'm beginning to consider you one of Guitar Trick's tutors now 😄

Hope this solves Matt's problem.

Haha, thanks Pound. He will get it.

hello everybody thank you for the replys i have a a les paul epiphone goth edition and a yamaha f355 my index and ring finger dont have calus but they are very harden from practice.

thank you william i will check out your vid when i have free time later

Just for a little bit of irony.... Once you get the muting out of your way when it comes to playing open chords, then you get to start learing how to accuratly put the mutes back into the mix to expand your musical posiblities. I know....it seems odd, but so it goes.

Don't worry about the future and where you are in terms of learning. Just keep working at the skill that is in front of you at that moment. If you keep practicing you will grow those technical ablities like magic. One foot in front of the other does it. Soon you will be raking riffs, chiming harmonics, and developing tonal ablities that will surprise you.

It is how it's going, and i'm afraid you can't do anything with this. You just need practice. Just a bit more time

Matt88townsend,

Might i suggest switching your ring finger position with middle finger.If your fingers are like mine, putting the middle finger on 2nd fret D string and ring finger on 2nd fret G string allows the ring finger to naturally give clearance(it is at more of a degree angle which minimizes finger tip surface area--- if that makes sense) As your progress, keep in mind, you will change

chord fingering to suit your playing abilities

Take care, Jon