Learning Chords

hiya and welcome.

first you must be doing something right - most people find the A the hardest of the "easy" open chords to learn due to fitting in three fingers into the space on the second fret. So well done on a good start!

Right the D. This should be relatively easy. A few tips though. First and probably most important, try and get your fingers to stretch right up to the fret wire, the nearer you get, the less pressure you will need to get a good sound.

second, if you have a capo, try putting it on the 2nd fret and then playing the D. Is this easier? It should lower the "action" of the strings a little (the action is the height of the strings from the fret).

third - try and figure out which string is giving you problems. Pick each on in turn. Does one sound worse than the others? If so concentrate on it. Particularly your fingering, the more accurate you can get, the easier.

If you are still having problems get a freind who has a guitar to have a look at your instrument just to make sure it hasn't got an abnormally high action. Beginners will find things much easier on a well set up guitar.

Lastly, you could try really light guage strings, these helped me when i was starting.

All the best

Matt

thanks for the advice. I'll try that out and see how it goes.
I have small hands and therefore small fingers so i didn't find it too hard to learn to play the A chord. :)
Whats a capo by the way? And is it necessary to get one?

hi again

where do i start? Right a capo is a device that clips onto your guitar, holding the strings firmly down. I would strongly suggest you read the article on this site (trawl the beginners bit, its in there somewhere!).

In effect, it acts like a permanent barre across the strings. Its primary use is to change the key that you are playing in. Have a look at the beginners lesson on Tangled up in Blue for instance.

There isn't much point going into this in detail. Suffice to say for the moment that when i was learning I would often clip a capo onto the 2nd fret, or sometimes 1st fret, just to lower the string height a tiny bit, this can help.

The other thing you'll learn is that some songs are actually written in a key that means you almost have to use a capo to play them. For instance many Simon and Garfunkel songs use a capo. Homeward Bound - 3rd fret. Scarborough Fair - 7th fret. Get one!!

All the best - and do read up on capo's, it doesn't matter if you don't understand the theory, just understand what they are for.

I would recommend the Dunlop trigger type, or Kaiser ones. These are easy to put on and take off.

Cheers

Matt
Y

My advice is keep at it and experiment with finger placement. I still find the D major chord problematic at times simply because my fingers don't always land solidly in the appropriate spot just behind the fret. Consequently I sometimes find that one or two of the strings buzz a bit or a note sounds just a little off. Time and practice with chord changes, finger placement, arching of your fingers etc. will eventually give you the results you're looking for. Don't worry much about out, and don't try to force things. Keep on practicing and you'll be suprised when one day (soon) you suddenly notice that the problems you were having have stopped.

The capo is a nifty gadget that you clamp on the fret board just behind the frets that essentially moves the nut up and down the neck effectively changing the key the guitar is tuned in. Not something that I personally think you'll need for a while yet. I think the experiment that Matt was suggesting was using the capo as a means of checking to see if perhaps the action on the guitar was set a little high - strings a little too high off the fret board.

yeah your right, but even on my Yamaha acoustic that is pretty nicely set up, putting it on the 2nd fret will lower the strings a tiny bit.

Arching your fingers, and getting tight to that fret wire, are the best things - the capo is just something to try if all else fails!!!

Matt

It is rough when you start out, no doubt about it. Some buzzing may be caused by a lack of callouses on your fingertips. Especially on th B and E strings (the smaller two) this can cause the string to sink into the flesh of the finger, sometimes giving you a buzzing noise as there isn't enough pressure at the fret to give a clean sound. If this is the cause it will improve as you develop callouses on you fingers.

In the mean time keep you fingers close to the fret (but not on them) and as vertical as you can to prevent touching other strings (as was pointed out above).

This will be a cliche answer, but practice, practice practice is the key and it will get easier when your fingertips get tougher and you dvelop more stregnth. Don't give up, but take breaks when you need to. You should have discomfort in your fingertips, but not outright agony. Playing till your fingers bleed is a myth, stop for a while when it hurts. It will come in time.

If you don't want to stop outright when it does hurt, simply lay your left hand across the strings (mute them all) and use that time to practice even strumming, with a couple of simple rythmes. In other words work on your right hand mechanics too. In six months you wil likely have all the chords you need for most songs, but I will gaurantee you that right hand mechanics will still be a challenge.

Readers digest version:
- Fingers as vertical as possible.
- Close to fret.
- Callouses will help with sound.
- Callouses will take time.
- Stop for a while if fingers hurt.
- While stoppped with left hand, mute strings and practice with right.
- Take your time.
- Practice, practice, practice.

Books upon boks have been written on beginning guitar, but this site is great. Never be afraid to post if you have a question.

Take care.

Chiyo

First of all, do not be discouraged. EVERYONE has trouble fretting chords at first. But just stay at it. Soon you will be changing from one chord to another without even thinking about it.

If you have a metronome, set it to a slow speed like 50 beats per minute (BPM). Start out with all downstrums. Keep you picking hand close to the strings and strum quarter notes. 1, 2, 3, 4 and then change chords. If you do not have a metronome, keep the beat with your foot. Keeping time with your foot is a good habit to get into. It will become second nature.

Make sure to keep your palm off the guitar neck. You do not hold a guitar like a baseball (or cricket) bat. Try as much as possible to place the curve of your thumb on the center of the neck. Arch your fingers like a spider. It also helps to hold your guitar in the proper position. The headstock of your guitar should be about even to your ear in sitting position. This will give you much greater reach.

As the others said, Practice is the secret. Practice, Practice, Practice. You'll get it. 8)

Man...do i remember when I was learning the D. :)

That one was pretty difficult because it was at the bottom and I would often miss it from transitioning from an Em.

Just practice it. Soon you will see a big improvement within a week of practice.

Practice..

Wait...how many times have we said practice?

Practice Practice Practice...

:)

Jet.

I would strongly suggest you read the article on this site (trawl the beginners bit, its in there somewhere!).

I believe the article you are referring to is "The Underappreciated Art Of Using The Capo" by David Hodge, I am pretty sure. It's an early article. Click on the master list link at the bottom of the home page and it should be near the top of the list. Excellent article, I must say.