Please help me

Ok slow down, take a deep breath, and welcome to guitar Noise.
Guess what? We all sounded terrible at first. Don't worry that is normal.
Ok first lets talk about technic.
are you fretting (pushing the string down) just behind the fret, NOT on top of the fret?
Are you playing single notes or trying a chord?
Lets talk about setup. How high are your strings above the 1st fret? how about at the 5th fret?
Acoustic or electric?

Welcome to Guitarnoise, the place where you go from terrible to terrific.

Missileman nailed it - we all sound awful when we start. :shock:

You can't possibly sound worse that I did when I began, and on a good day I sound pretty damn terrific now. 8)

The answer to 95% of guitar problems is practice, and the main difficulty to overcome is finding ways of keeping motivated while you get through the "ten thumbs, no talent, no skills" time at the start and into clearer waters.

Keep playing and keep asking. There are people here who can help with every single problem, because we've all "been there, done that, got better..." :D

Welcome to GN. You have come to the right place to make that crappy sound go away.

First step is to figure out which hand is the biggest offender then work on that one.

For the strumming hand, hold the pick as soft as you can, relax, strum mostly with the wrist, relax, and a little from the elbow. Did I say relax.

For the fretting hand, press as light as you can and still get the strings to ring, as close to the fret wire as possible, keep the fingers straight up from the strings and try not to touch the adjacent string to the string you are fretting. If the note or chord does not sound good pick one string at a time and see what strings are offending and fix the problem.

And by all means come back here and ask questions.

I had, and still have that problem. Though recent developments have lead me to believe its my amp. So that could be it too.

I feel your pain. Is there anyone you know that plays, or can swing a little money to have a knowledgable person tell you for sure if it's the techique or the equipment. At least that way you will know for sure which direction to head.

Sorry, that's the geek in me coming out. Never fix anything until you know what the problem is. :)

we all sound awful when we start.

I resent that remark! I've been playing 9 months now and I still sound awful. I just sound less awful than I did.

Still enjoying it though, don't know why. Don't care either.

Is your guitar intonated properly? Tuning won't help if it the guitar isn't intonated well, and if this is the case nothing you'll play will sound ok.

+1 to Arjen. If the intonation is off, so will your playing. Grab your tuner and fret each string at the 12th fret. They should ring the same note as the open string. If it is way sharp or flat, your intonation is off.

OK let's start at the start eh?

what is sounding bad ....are you getting a clunking sound instead of nice clean ringing notes?

without understanding what the issue is, we can't help. So post again but more detail, please

Matt

Hi cornershop, I'm just like you. I'm going for my first evening class on Wednesday. The very nice people on this website gave me some useful exercises which have at least started giving me calouses on my fingertips so they don't hurt so much. Also, read the beginners section, some great articles including one on posture, very useful. I played "Scarborough Fair" yesterday, and Mrs Rafterman actually recognised it, (and the cat didn't run away). All I'm saying is, ENJOY, you will get better as I'm sure I will.
Keep learning
Mikey :D

Hi cornershop, I'm just like you. I'm going for my first evening class on Wednesday. The very nice people on this website gave me some useful exercises which have at least started giving me calouses on my fingertips so they don't hurt so much. Also, read the beginners section, some great articles including one on posture, very useful. I played "Scarborough Fair" yesterday, and Mrs Rafterman actually recognised it, (and the cat didn't run away). All I'm saying is, ENJOY, you will get better as I'm sure I will.
Keep learning
Mikey :D

Excellent Rafterman!

Cornershop11, definitely Have your guitar checked out, because as others have said, a disadvantaged guitar will make a beginner frustrated.

Getting the guitar to sound good is possible with patience and getting to a comfortable point. The more comfortable you are, the better. I've been playing for a long while, and still sometimes sound bad... especially when I am concentrating too much and trying hard to play. Playing guitar is a mix of technical skill and your own emotion "feeling". If you are feeling frustrated, take a break and think of your goals.

I believe that you shouldn't put to much effort in comparing yourself to others at the beginning - you should focus on comparing to yourself, such as "today I played that a little smoother" . Start to enjoy the victories of your own goals, and the sound will come. It may take awhile, but with practice and dedication to yourself it will come ;)