Brand new guitar player here. Going through the core course #1 and even on the most simple note fretting, my fingers hits the other strings. It makes an awful sound. I have a Alvarez RF 26 guitar. Will this get better with practice? Makes me think I'll never fit my fingers in between the strings ?
Every finger seems to hit the other string
# 1
They tend to do this for the 1st while John. But with continued practice they basically sort themselves out.
Best piece of advice I ve seen is take your time and get the shape down and focus on keeping it clean. Then, start working on tempo. So, for me, it basically goes like this:
Chord shape and notes clean, then as I try to make the chord transition at tempo it all falls apart but does come together with practice.
Eventually I can play the song.
Good luck
This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!
# 2
Hey John -
Brand new as of June myself, and I feel you. Some chords of course are easier, but some really seemed impossible to me. D, for example, I struggled with for the longest time. And I still can't make a barre shape.
I think William's advice is what worked for me, too - focus on the shape, then on the clean tone, then on tempo. One thing that I do still is make the shape, play each string in the chord one at a time, listen for anything off, and correct. I like to do some flat picking exercises using chord shapes, too. Just strumming the same chord over and over can get a bit . . . well, monotonous.
=Keith
# 3
hi guys, greetings from sunny Singapore!
@John ... i feel you pal. I have the same problem, on especially barre cords. I literally get forearm cramps with some shapes, especialyl those requiring my ring finger.
[br]Other than ploughing through hours and hours of aweful sounds, are there other ways to practice or build finger/arm strength that helps make for cleaner fretting?
By the way, I've been a brand new guitar player for a better part of 2 years now. On and off again since the start of covid. So i'm now trying to get serious enough to get to the point where i don't piss off the neighbours!
# 4
Who hasn't been there? Another common mistake is pressing too hard on the strings. This flattens the finger tip forcing it to touch other strings. Make sure your fingertip is as close to the fret as possible then you don't have to press as hard to get a clean sound.
# 5
G'day John.
Your experience isn't abnormal mate. In a word, [u]patience[/u], and don't be too hard on yourself in your [u]initial[/u] expectation of progress.
Like an intrinsic natural sense of rhythm, everyone has different levels of intrinsic natural coordination along with different shaped hands, fingers and finger tips -accident of genetics. Of course, regardless those, age with its diminished reflexes, motor skill acquisition rate and for many in their senior years here scarring, injury acquired over a lifetime along with inevitible development of even miild osteoarthriitus does us no favour either.
The overwhelming majority who persevere will improve with exposure. The formula is persistent consistent effort put in over time. BTW, acoustic will make you particularly aware of every finger fumble, as there's nowhere to hide behind gain or distortion from those errors. [br][br]Another consideration you might like to look into is the gauge of strings you have fitted. The nature and thickness of wound acoustic strings make fretting clean notes more of a challenge than on an electric, so check the gauge of strings you have fitted. It may be of benefit in your case to consider a lghter gauge set. Most companies fit .12s or .13s out of the box to acoustics. Particularly Dreadnoughts can frequently come with .13s fitted default. Personally I prefer .12s fitted to my own acoustics, and they are light enough for me and were as a rank beginner, but some beginners do step down to .10s or even lighter until they come to grips with fretting and develop calluses. Cheers.
# 6
