This may be completely off topic but I can’t seem to keep the bottom of my index finger off the bottom of the guitar neck, I first noticed this when doing the c major and the high e strung was muted because the fleshy part of the palm near the base of the ring finger was constantly touching the high e string, that led me to a problem of not keeping my thumb at the back and had to “re-learn” everything with my thumb at the back. Despite many attempts, the chords sound alright now, the index base keeps touching the bottom of the neck. Any solutions?
Hi Krish, welcome to the community!! If I’m picturing your description right it might just be needing to push your wrist a tiny bit further forward to give you that separation at the base of the next. Could you post up a picture of your hand in position to see what you mean?
Cheers!
If it’s any consolation I have the same problem.
Even though I keep my thumb at the back, the base keeps touching the bottom, I know that some guitarists do that but I prefer to learn the way Justin has shown
I’ve been struggling with this as well, Krish, but it’s usually big G that gives me more trouble trouble. I’ve been focusing on using the tippy-tips of my fingers, keeping my knuckles up in the air. That said, here’s a photo playing C. I’ll be following to learn the advice you get from more knowledgeable folks!
That is the same problem g major does pose a challenge but again, c chord is the one that stretches over 3 frets
Hi Krish, thanks for posting that and sorry for taking a little while to reply!
Looking at your photo the orientation of your thumb looks fine but my suggestion would be to try and straighten it a little at it’s first joint, that should push your whole palm forward enough to stop your palm hitting the high E string.
If you look at the photo @judi has posted that joint is pretty flat, that’s what I’d be trying to replicate to see if it helps with your unintended muting
Another thing you could try…get the palm of your hand more parallel to the bottom of the neck.
Some ways to accomplish this:
- Bring your elbow in closer to your ribs, and let that motion move your palm more parallel.
- Keep your elbow in place, and just move your wrist more parallel. This motion is similar to turning a key in a lock, and actually comes from the 2 bones in your forearm, not the wrist. I think the medical term is "supination’ - your palm becomes more supine I.e. pointing more upwards.
- Some combination of 2 and 3 that feels most comfortable.
Some of your other fingers may need to flex more to accommodate this…you have to decide if it is worth the trade off.