Question Regarding fingering

I have been using the beginners area of the site and doing well with it. I am however having some difficulty making chords.Lynn mentioned proper placement and wrist posture. and getting my ring finger to reach strings during chord formation but I am compensating for it by using my pinky finger.I have short but large fingers so when I form some of the chords I am getting some "dead" strings and a twang from some. This points my mind to recent inexperiance and improper posture. Is there a specific area on the site to get instruction for practice for it or can someone make some suggestions that I can try.

You are going to hear this a lot with guitar but there is truth to it: practice and repitition are your best friends.

My chords are usually clean now, even on necks as narrow as 39mm, but it didn't start that way. Wrist position, elbow position (moving it in and out) are all factors and it takes trial and error and repitition to find what works for you.

But having said that, some chords are so hard for me, I find work arounds. It's cheating, but for me, as long as I can play a reasonable rendition of the song and my son is good it (he plays the drums) we just move forward and jam to a backing track with the guitar and drums removed (https://www.karaoke-version.com).

How good you want to be depends on how much effort you can reasonably put into it. I am about the same age as you and this is just fun for me.

Originally Posted by: William MG

You are going to hear this a lot with guitar but there is truth to it: practice and repitition are your best friends.

My chords are usually clean now, even on necks as narrow as 39mm, but it didn't start that way. Wrist position, elbow position (moving it in and out) are all factors and it takes trial and error and repitition to find what works for you.

But having said that, some chords are so hard for me, I find work arounds. It's cheating, but for me, as long as I can play a reasonable rendition of the song and my son is good it (he plays the drums) we just move forward and jam to a backing track with the guitar and drums removed (https://www.karaoke-version.com).

How good you want to be depends on how much effort you can reasonably put into it. I am about the same age as you and this is just fun for me.

Thank you William I thought it was just me. I have found single string chords and power chords that come close enough to what is being called for that work. I am also at timed leaning on a stop with a quick go covering all the strings especially in bluesy tunes and hard rock tunes.

Thank you for the input it is mich appreciated!

Pleasure, enjoy and good luck

Originally Posted by: sir_path

I have been using the beginners area of the site and doing well with it. I am however having some difficulty making chords.Lynn mentioned proper placement and wrist posture. and getting my ring finger to reach strings during chord formation but I am compensating for it by using my pinky finger.I have short but large fingers so when I form some of the chords I am getting some "dead" strings and a twang from some. This points my mind to recent inexperiance and improper posture. Is there a specific area on the site to get instruction for practice for it or can someone make some suggestions that I can try.

Like Will said, you do need to spend time with ergonomics. The ergonomics section of the Fundementals is useful and is a guide but we're all built differently so it's simply that; guide. The key is the ability to comfortably get your hand enough underneath the neck tht you can fret chords.

A good tip; play with a strap. Even when you're sitting. I've practiced like this for decades. It really helps you get the guitar in the ideal position.

Great suggestion Jeff! I am using the strap when I sit as well but I may need to readjust it to get just the right slant and tilt of the body and neck. I think I am also going to get a stool to play on. Right now, I am sitting on our sofa and find that I am settling into the cushion. maybe causing poor posture/positioning. Thanks for the tips guys. I will keep practicing...still building calluses as well.

Originally Posted by: William MG

You are going to hear this a lot with guitar but there is truth to it: practice and repitition are your best friends.

My chords are usually clean now, even on necks as narrow as 39mm, but it didn't start that way. Wrist position, elbow position (moving it in and out) are all factors and it takes trial and error and repitition to find what works for you.

But having said that, some chords are so hard for me, I find work arounds. It's cheating, but for me, as long as I can play a reasonable rendition of the song and my son is good it (he plays the drums) we just move forward and jam to a backing track with the guitar and drums removed (https://www.karaoke-version.com).

How good you want to be depends on how much effort you can reasonably put into it. I am about the same age as you and this is just fun for me.

This works really well for me, thank you! Facing same issue here. Help is appreciated. https://www.mybalancenow.run/

Originally Posted by: sir_path

Great suggestion Jeff! I am using the strap when I sit as well but I may need to readjust it to get just the right slant and tilt of the body and neck. I think I am also going to get a stool to play on. Right now, I am sitting on our sofa and find that I am settling into the cushion. maybe causing poor posture/positioning. Thanks for the tips guys. I will keep practicing...still building calluses as well.

I used to sit on the sofa very early on (we'll just say years ago when I first started playing) and wish I had known this. Now I have a dedicated chair/barstool made for guitar/music, but for several months I would sit on the end of a very heavy coffee table to have a stable platform. The sofa was too soft and I kept hunching over to compensate. The strap is a good idea as well as you can get it to the right spot every time. Good luck in reaching your goals.

Thank you all so much! I just put a strap on my guitar and what wonderful stability!