I’ve noticed my hand is becoming more relaxed and my fingers aren’t as scrunched up as much anymore. I tried moving my thumb but it causes my wrist to start bending too much which is why I started putting my thumb where it is behind my index finger. I’ll try to get another photo within a couple days.
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Yeah, it’s all about finding the best compromises and trade-offs… Which varies from person to person.
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So don’t press it hard enough to fret it, but also don’t try to press it hard enough to completely mute it? When I hear “muted strings” I think of how much Justin mutes them in the lessons on strumming practice. I cannot mute the E string to that extent just by barely touching it with my finger.
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You don’t press the E string, you just touch it with your fingertip…while also fretting the A string.
It just requires a light touch so it doesn’t keep ringing long enough to clash with the other notes of the chord when strummed.
You might have to experiment a bit. And as I said above, I couldn’t do it at on my guitar…at first. But I could on my girlfriends guitar, which had a narrower neck.
Just like most things guitar…YMMV 
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What @Tbushell said, I am finally, sometimes, managing to just touch it with the tip of my short fingernail, just deadens the sound a bit. You don’t have to press it down for “traditional” muting at all.
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Hi @Tbushell, I know you didn’t ask for help, but your pictures really struck me.
A number of people in this thread have remarked on the C chord being quite “stretchy”. This always struck me as odd, since I never found it stretchy at all. Seeing your picture, though, it does look stretchy. The reason is that your fingers should be more angled. They are almost parallel to the frets, while they should be angled something like 30 degrees.
Justin discusses this issue in the video at around 0:55. The following is the incorrect way to play it (similar to your 1st photo):
and here is the right way:
I would suggest anybody who finds the C chord a difficult stretch to review the angle of their fretting hand.
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I was unable to use 3rd finger on 3rd fret in the start, so used the pinky instead. I can however now do the stretch and use 3rd finger, but habit using the pinky is strong already. - But I need to unlearn that habit and change to the one Justin shows, as I need the pinky to be able to do the C7. - From my own experience, the stretch will come and if done correctly from start, there will be no need to unlearn something, as I now have to do. 
Just know, that even with short fat farmer fingers like mine, it is possible to train to get the stretch. 
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No problem - always appreciate feedback - especially with things I struggle with.
Hadn’t looked at Justin’s C chord pics for months and months, but remember him talking about slanting the fingers. And my first pic does look very much like his “wrong way” pic!
Guess I never noticed - things can look very different from the players view. Might explain my ring finger muting difficulties as well.
I thought my thumb muted pic was pretty similar to Justin’s WRT to finger angle. But I’ve had pinky mobility and lockup problems there (wrote a whole topic on it), so probably needs a revisit as well.
I also notice that Justin has his thumb behind his index finger - which I counselled against upthread - so I’m rethinking that as well.
Two things seem clear:
-
Looks like I’m going to have to revisit the C chord for the 3rd time. Sigh
-
Any advice I give on this topic should be taken with a big handful of rock salt
On the plus side, other people are posting hand pictures, and I’m learning things. For example, it never occurred to me to try muting with my fingernail instead of fingertip.
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For me it is not really with the fingernail. I touch the string with the flesh and maybe only slightly with the nail. - The flesh mutes the string much better. If only the nail is touching, then there is a different sound. If nail is only slightly touching or a hair width from the string, you get an awful buzzing sound. -
Pictures can cheat a bit, I am mostly if not fully, touching with the flesh and hardly if at all, with the nail. - One trick, is try move around with the 3rd finger and not think about or put the other fingers down. Only use 3rd finger and just move it around until you both mute the 6th string and have a clean ring out from the 5th string and not muting the 4th.
When first you have got that one, then you easy find a way to put the 2 other fingers.
(Trick I learned from the F-chord, concentrate on the trouble finger only and first.)
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With the C chord muting is more like insurance if you accidentally hit the low E. The goal is to not strum that string which you will get better at over time with practice.
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Hi All,
Currently learn changing between C D G and found out about that Cadd9 that make things way easier. If you play G with your ring finger at B and little finger at E, then the ring finger acts as an anchor when changing between all of C D and G (when using Cadd9).
The question is: Is this appropriate and it is a good approach to know or it is better to follow the course instructions precisely (using regular C).
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Ok…this is getting harder as time passes and no progress is made. Let me share my case with you, any input will be very welcome.
I’m almost a month working on module 5 and my C chord is far from perfect.
The app recognize the strings as correct when I play and honestly it sounds decent but I know I’m muting the 3rd and/or the 4th string most of the time. Not completing muting but also not getting a clear sound from them.
Clearly my issue is with the fingers position and most of it is because the 3rd finger cannot be close to the fret. Honestly I tried different approaches, putting my fingers in angle sometimes help, sometimes don’t change absolutely anything. 
Looks like my fingers are far to be flexible enough to this, there is a lot of tension involved. Believe me, I tried a couple of different options, including exercising with elastic bands to strength the fingers and playing with different guitar angles.
I’m posting some pictures of it on my Les Paul. I have better results on the Squier Strat because the neck is thinner but still far from perfect and I know I have to improve regardless of the guitar I use.
I wasn’t expecting to stay much longer on this module but I don’t feel I’m ready to add more complex stuff if the C chord is not improved.
What do you think I should do? Working harder on the stretches exercises? It’s quite frustrating to practice every day and see almost no improvement, but I guess I just have to accept I will need more time.
Is there any other good exercise that can help with this finger stretching besides the one showed in the lesson?
Thanks!!
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@andreschiavon, I don’t think it’s a matter of stretching, but rather getting the right hand position. And I think your hand position is not quite right. If you look up-thread at the photos I posted of Justin doing it “wrong” and “right”, your position looks more like the “wrong” photo. Your ring finger is essentially parallel to the fret, it should be more angled (like the 2nd photo of Justin).
Seems like the photos of @kimlodrodawa above look pretty good in this regard.
In any case, see if you can get the same position Justin has in the “right” photo.
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Hi @andreschiavon, as @jjw said your fingers should be more angled. One thing you can try is moving your thumb so that it pokes up above the first or second fret. Yours is currently sitting sideways along the back of the guitar. Moving the thumb should mean that the other fingers naturally start to angle.
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The Justin picture is not very good actually. In some of his videos where he teach something else, his fingers are more laying down like mine. - What I notice, is that you bend in the wrist. I have my wrist strait. All my three fingers are touching eachother, while your fingers are spread. - Seem you have approx same fingers as mine, which will force you to have them touch each other when doing the C. - The first nuckle from hand of the index fingers need to be more towards the fretboard nut. That will force the other fingers to follow that direction also, so fingers almost are laying down in a 45 degree angle to the fretboard.
@andreschiavon - Here is a picture where fingers are without the guitar. If you put your fingers in such order before moving them to the fretboard, you know what I mean about angle. - I am pretty certain that will make it for you.
PS, forgot to mention, that my elbow is going inward towards the body. That makes a huge difference also, as it else will feel very uncomfortable.
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@andreschiavon, in addition to the comments about a more diagonal finger position, I also noticed your “flying pinkie”.
This is usually a sign of excess tension in your hand and/or arm, which can cause all kinds of problems.
If you look at the pictures upthread, you will see that people are either “crooking” their pinkies (more or less over the e string), or curling it parallel to the other fingers.
If you can’t do one or the other, you should probably experiment by very slowly applying the C chord - one finger at a time - and start to become aware of when and why that pinkie wants to fly up.
Also, I can’t really make out your wrist position. A picture from the side would be helpful.
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Don’t worry. A month is nothing as part of this journey. Took me 6 months to get close and it’s still not perfect depending on what chords I coming from/going to!
Looking at your pics you need to rotate your fingers more.
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As I have long arms like a monkey, I need to have the neck kind of far from the body for the elbow to be able to move freely. So the angle I am holding the guitar might differ from others. - When I have compared my hands to others, I really do have small hands and short fingers. - So I really have to be creative to make it work. - When I tried the Taylor Guitar at the shop, which have slightly more spacing between the strings, it was way more easy for me, to make everything work. With this guitar I need to push and pull a little here and there, for my fingers to fit and not having buzzing sounds everywhere. ----- When moving from A minor to C, I just move the ring finger and slide the middle finger. So A minor to C and back is very easy. But the A minor, I also need to take little angled. - I have noticed other teachers and players and they all do the same, having the hand and fingers angled somewhat.
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Thanks all!!
I will keep trying. Who said would be easy, right? lol
I still cannot reproduce your pictures or videos, there is a lot of tension in my left hand and in my fingers. I will need to figure out a way to make this happen. 
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Try bending your ring finger at the top joint more, and try rotating your hand so your fingers are angled more towards you when you grip. I’ve been learning for about 3 years now, and I still have to consciously make my ring finger stretch a bit to reach the fret.
To help the ring finger stretch, I try to put my ring finger down against the fret slightly before my middle and index finger. Then, as I put the other fingers down, my hand naturally moves towards the nut and creates a mild stretch as I hold the chord.
YMMV.
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