This is the most stuck and frustrated I have been so far.
I am getting it right like 1 out of 20 times, I keep muting the G string with my middle finger and it is sooo difficult to fix for me because my middle finger has somewhat of a belly, the pad is rounded out and idk why and it’s driving me insane .
I even try to get it so far up it touches the A string (but that’s okay since the A string will be fretted on the next fret), but even with that, I mute the G string most of the time, my hands feels exhausting after trying to adjust for so long. Add to that, I have a classical guitar so it should be easier for me since the strings are further apart.
Is there a trick that will help? or should I put my middle finger on some sort of diet.
Is your thumb at the back of the neck, as Justin suggests to begin with, or on top/over the neck? A short video is always helpful to see exactly what you are doing.
oh moving the thumb actually made a remarkable difference ! Thank you so much.
At the beginning, I was teaching myself to keep my thumb a bit down, because if it went up it often mutes the high e string, because the neck is so wide.
But at this stage It is much easier to be more mindful of the e string and curve my palm a bit, it still sometimes gets muted but it feels much better and easier to improve.
I have a question about the C chord. i got into the habit of placing my 3rd finger down first followed by the 2nd and first as opposed to 1 then 2 then 3. It is alot easier like this for me when i try to do it the way justin tought i find it very difficult getting a clear sound is there any cons to this method?
You should try to place all your fingers down at once. When first learning a chord one finger at a time help with placement but the goal is to place all your fingers down at the same time.
So if placing your 3rd finger down first is becomming a habit now is the time to break it and start trying to place all 3 fingers together.
This was driving me insane where a lot of times and seemingly at random, my middle finger would mute the G string.
Turn out, it was because I was pressing TOO hard, yes pressing to hard with middle finger made it kinda squished and fatter which muted the G string. and I press hard because when trying to mute the E string, the A string is hard to press properly without more force, which results in all my fingers being pressed harder.
After Discovering that it was genuinely like day and night.
Med @MG_Rain, Great observations! I think all us beginners struggle with pressing too hard - I’ve been at this for a couple of years and still do sometimes. You’ll find as your callouses develop that your finger won’t squish out so much - partly because the callous is firmer, and partly because you won’t feel the need to press so hard. I’ve been working on a song that requires a lot of pinky finger on the first and second strings…that callous isn’t nearly as developed as I thought!
Hi @MG_Rain, make sure your third finger (A string) sits right up to the fret. It might even feel like it’s on top of it. This strongly reduces the amount of pressure needed. Have fun!
I have been playing the C chord for a while, but never heard of muting the low E- string with my third finger. I tried it out, but it does not seem possible. Otherwise the finger moves too far away from the A string and I can not place it down properly… I guess I will just continue to simply not play the low E-string when playing this chord.
Try sliding your finger closer to the fret - it might even feel like it’s on top of it. This minimises the pressure needed to an absolute minimum, which makes it a lot easier to fret the A string and mute the E string with your 3rd finger.
Am I the only one, who just cannot get it right with this fingering? If I mute the thickest string with my 3rd finger, then the 5th string won’t be good. Now I’m more ahead in the course, I’m learning the F chord, and I still struggled with this, then I’ve decided, that I try to use my 4th finger for the fifth string and mute the sixth with my third finger, and it’s so much easier to me, I get it right and clean all the time. It’s kind of like in this one: https://www.justinguitar.com/songs/britney-spears-baby-one-more-time-chords-tabs-guitar-lesson-bs-403
At first it was a bit hard to use my little finger, but when I got used to it, it’s so much easier for me.
I’m at the end of the Beginner 1 course and in the second week of consolidation, but I’m still having trouble with the transitions from all the chords (except A minor ) to C.
I’ve been practicing exercises for three weeks to get a smooth chord change from G and D to C, but it’s still always inaccurate and not very fluid. I can do over 30 chord changes per minute (not super clean), but I can’t seem to get it close to 50/60, where I’d be able to play songs decently.
Do you have any exercises to recommend?
For songs, you don’t need 50-60 changes per minute, especially not for grade 1 songs. Instead of focussing on speed, focus on accuracy. Speed will come, accuracy won’t if you don’t pay close attention to it. Work towards getting 30 (close to) clean changes per minute. That will allow you to play songs.
I’m having trouble getting quicker with the changes because my fingers want to lay down one at a time. The other chords I can place all three fingers at once for the most part. I can’t seem to tell my brain to do all three on the C. Any suggestions?
The #1 top priority is making sure the 3rd fret, the root note, on the A string rings out clean.
Muting the low E string with the same finger is a luxury item, an optional extra. Something to try to achieve only when you have the main chord grip successfully learned.
There are two other ways of dealing with the low E string. Be careful with your pick and do not hit it in your strumming motion.
Bring your thumb up a little to mute it with that.
Eventually, you can aim to combine all three.
Do not learn a bad habit. And fretting string 5 with your little finger so you can achieve muting with 3rd finger is a bad habit.
Please go back to the regular chord grip and make it work. Even if you struggle to also mute the low E string to begin with.
This exercise is designed to improve the ability to place all fingers on a chord simultaneously by actually doing the opposite – placing them one at a time, but in varying sequences. This will build finger independence which is essential for finger cooperation.
Place each finger sequentially on to the strings to form the chosen chord in the orders 1, 2, 3 then 2, 3, 1 then 3, 2, 1.
Do four repeats for each combination.
Repeat but with the sequential placing reversed, now following the orders: 3, 2, 1 then 2, 1, 3 then 1, 3, 2.
Finish by making four attempts to place all fingers simultaneously.
Thanks! I hadn’t thought of that. I will definitely give it a try. I have gotten a little bit quicker but not nearly as quick as I need to. This practice might help!
When playing C chord and strumming, and you want to mute the E String, should you place your third finger directly onto the A-string/3rd fret and then bend the A-string over so the finger touches the E-string, or should you place the 3rd finger off-centre on the A-string/3rd fret so that it overlaps and touches the E-string?
I think all us beginners struggle with pressing too hard - I’ve been at this for a couple of years and still do sometimes. You’ll find as your callouses develop that your finger won’t squish out so much - partly because the callous is firmer, and partly because you won’t feel the need to press so hard. I’ve been working on a song that requires a lot of pinky finger on the first and second strings…that callous isn’t nearly as developed as I thought!
) to C.