The Stuck 3&4 Chords

Absolutely normal. Chord Perfect daily, and slow changes from chord to chord. It will come together and you’ll gain more finger independence and flexibility. Some people hit this kind of stuff a lot earlier on, what’s different now is you’re using 4 finger chords. I hit the same at this place.

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Now that you have some experience, you probably have a better idea how things should feel, and are noticing that something feels off. I’ve had that experience several times.

Have you tried deliberately muting the A string with your 1st finger? On my guitar, it actually sounds better (Justin talks about this too…but perhaps in a later lesson), and it sounds fine on most guitars, I think.

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I tried the version with deliberately muting as well since Justin mentions that chord, but he treats it as a separate one and for technique practice sake I want to do the full version as well. Im trying to do it the “right” way without shortcuts

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Try moving your elbow (fretting arm) forward a little so you can bend your wrist just a little more. This should curl your hand a little making fingers stand more upright. It’s a bit of trial and error to find a position and grip that suits your fingers (or at least it was for me😁). It also helps when finger tips harden up.

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How much of a bent wrist is okay? I can easily do them like this, but Justin his wrist is perfectly straight in his videos and it starts to go wrong when I try to emulate that.

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Maybe put a couple of photos up?

A little bent is OK. Maybe some tweaks with how you’re holding the guitar can fix that. A lot bent, and sore, is probably just going to get you injured.

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For a beginner, I’d aim for 30 degrees or less.

Anything more than 45 degrees is a definite red flag, and is usually associated with excess hand tension that can become habitual (and thus imperceptible), leading to all kinds of problems down the road.

These are just my own rules of thumb. If any guitar teachers can suggest better numbers, I’d be interested.

Also, joint flexibility varies a lot from one person to the next. So 45 degrees or more might be fine for some people.

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We’re all built differently so what works for one person may not suit another. If it feels comfortable and works for you, then try it for a while. “Little” adjustments can make a big difference.:slightly_smiling_face:

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I had a really busy week so didn’t have much time for photos, but here they finally are.


Both these were taken during my chord change practice. The angles is sometimes a bit more, sometimes less, but it doesn’t deviate that much I think.

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That looks fine.
Having your wrist not perfectly straight isn’t that major a concern.
The big thing is that you’re not tilting the guitar up/leaning over the guitar so you can see the fretboard easier, which will result in your wrist being excessively bent.

If you’re unsure if you’re tilting the guitar or not, try standing up with the guitar on a strap. It usually takes a lot more effort to tilt the guitar when stood up, so you’ll soon notice if you have been tilting the guitar.

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If there’s no pain, it’s probably not a concern at this stage. As you play more and play standing up you’ll naturally adjust.

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how do i memorize the names of all these chords?

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Hi Juan! Welcome to the Community.

Disclaimer: I’m a beginner, also currently working on Grade 2 Module 11, so you might get differing advice from more veteran players.

With that: If you go to the Beginner Sus Chords lesson on the website, scroll down and you’ll see a text description that supplements the video. The section “What Are Sus Chords On Guitar” provides some music theory that explains sus2 vs sus4 (and probably explains other subtle things that I don’t understand!). That helped me learn the names. I suppose another way to approach this as a beginner is simply to know how to make the cool sounds, and use them when it sounds good! I’m confident that we’ll learn more theory, in more depth, as we continue this journey.

Judi

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Play them and say them… you’ll soon remember the names as you remember the fingerings.

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I’m having trouble muting the thickest string in Cadd9, I can’t do it first try or sometimes I’m muting the 5th string lol. Can’t I just avoid playing the thickest string?

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I know that Justin has recommended muting the 6th string with the tip of you ring finger when you play a C or Cadd9 chord and that is a great recommendation. Note however it’s a bit of a “Cheat”, in an ideal world you just don’t hit the 6th with your pick.
This with come with lots of practice, it can take quite a while to develop enough pick control to consistently miss the string. So to your question, Yes avoid hitting the thickest string, but until you can do it consistently you can try to use you ring finger to mute it.

Glen

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Hi Aris, I consider myself pretty good with the stuck3&4 courtesy of my Oasis obsession :flushed:

From what you describe, muting the 5th string, it sounds like your second finger is too high, ie you’re excessively touching the 6th string. Do you have the same problem with a normal C chord? I appreciate that’s using a different finger to do the muting but the principle’s the same. That’s basically what you’re trying to replicate with the Cadd9

By all means I suppose you can try to avoid playing the thickest string, but it’s yet another thing to concentrate on. For me, especially in hard or fast strumming songs I’m nowhere near accurate enough to consistently miss the 6th string.

As a suggestion, try doing some one minute change exercises between “Big” G and Cadd9, it’s a small movement but might help with consistency with some dedicated practice.

All the best!

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@OpsRes @Notter

When practicing, I’ve been avoiding strings that doesn’t need to be played. Though sometimes when playing a song, I just let it happen if I ever didn’t avoid the string. I actually didn’t know that you should mute the strings. I thought you should just always try to miss the string and let it ring if you accidentaly picked it. So I just kept playing the C chord sometimes not hitting the 6th or sometimes hitting it. So thank you guys.

Also for more context, when I’m trying to play the Cadd9, I can’t mute it first try. Sometimes I try too much that makes my finger too high and it’ll mute the 5th string and play the 6th. But when I’m only putting a tip of my finger near the 6th string, I’m able to mute it! Maybe more practice for me!

Thank you guys!!

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Whether you can get away with letting a string ring or not, largely depends on the chord, and the situation.

With a C chord, letting the E ring out isn’t really a problem, as E is part of the chord construction (the major C consists of C,E&G). The only issue is it means you’re not playing the root note on the first string you hit, which is what you typically aim for with chords on a guitar.
The same also applies to the D major for the 5th string, as A is part of the chord construction.

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Hello Aris, while I’m able to mute the 6th string when playing the Cadd9 chord, I’ve got exactly the same problem as you describe it, when playing the C chord. Muting the 6th string is impossible without muting the 5th string simultaniously :face_with_peeking_eye:. But I keep on trying, and additionally I focus on not strumming the low E - just like you :slightly_smiling_face:.

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