Muted F and C Chord

Hi all -

Well, I am learning my first Led Zep song - Tangerine. YAY! :D

The chord changes are challenging (for a newbie, of course). Last night, I was having difficulty in changing from E to F and G to C - I noticed that each time I executed these chord changes both F and C sounded muted. I know it has everything to do with my finger placement on the fret (and I have to be doing something wrong), but I was wondering if any of you have any tips on how I can execute these chord changes more efficiently, so that I am not muting these chords.

I would appreciate any advice or tips.

Thanks!
First off, are you using Open or Barre chords?

I'm using Open chords.

Just quickly off the top of my head, you might try (if you're not already) fingering the G chord (320003) using ring finger on the low E, middle on the A and pinky on the high E.

So when going from G to C (x32010) you can just drop your ring finger down a string to the A and your middle down to the D string. Then plant your index on the first fret of the B string and remove your pinky.

Hope this is of some help at least. :)

Practice, practice, practice....

No, but seriously, find the easiest and quickest way that your fingers change between chords, and then just practice. Learn all of the open chords, A,B,C,D,E,F,and G. Then go like this... A-B, A-C, A-D, A-E, A-F, A-G, then start with B and so on and so forth, practice these transitions a little every day and within a week you will notice great improvement. (Sorry if that sounded like a chinese proverb).

Anyhow, I kind of stole that practice technique from someone on this board like a year ago, forgot the name, so hat's off to you who originally posted this. When you become more advanced you can also learn 7th's, 9ths, sus2, sus4 chords, etc... then practice the same way.

Thanks for the advice! I tried your suggestions over the weekend, and it definitely has made a difference! And, michhill8, you are right: practice, practice, practice! But, I guess I need to learn some patience, patience, patience too! :D