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Fretting Difficulties
Really having trouble playing the G cord. The a string and high e are making a muddled sound. Not sure I’m holding my fretting hand correctly?
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9 Replies
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@flayguy , I am going to guess your fingers are touching strings they shouldn’t be. Try plucking them one at a time. First the G note ( 6 string, 3rd fret), Then the C note (5th string, 2nd fret) then the G note on the 1st string (3rd fret). If those are sounding good plucked one at a time, try holding 2 notes to hold down, once that is mastered go to the full G. It’s just practice.
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@Cadgirl – Just for clarification, the second fret of the A string is a B. There is no C in a G major chord, and adding one would make it a Gadd4, but that’s often done by fretting the B string in the first fret while still including the B in the second fret of the A string.
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ha ha @dr_dave. My mistake. I had the location correct. Sometimes you just have to get your fingers used to holding down the strings. THe G chord is so spread out it’s hard sometimes.
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Thanks for the reply, @Cadgirl . I know what you mean, and I also am quite sure you know which note is where on the fretboard when you think about it. I just offered that comment for anyone else reading the thread.
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It’s amazing when you try to visualize the fretboard, without a guitar in hand. 🙂
Your comment was appreciated. Thanks
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Flagguy–
My two cents–
Make sure you do your stretching exercises– (at least some of them)– before every session.
Tip- when you’re pullin’, pushin’, and stretching your fretting-hand fingers—– try to keep that arm straight– so that you’ll feel the stretching from your fingers go clear up into your arm…… THAT part is what’s really helpful.
When playing those chords that are a bit of a “reach”, your (fore)arm gets tired before your fingers themselves will.
the old coach
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Hi @flagguy There’s a few different ways to fret an open G chord, and that’s with or without the D on the 2nd string third fret. Try all the different fingerings and see which one might be best for you to avoid muting strings… Also don’t forget the little trick of practicing your exercises with a capo on fret 2 or 3. The frets are now closer together and makes it easier for your fingers to form the chord shapes with proper technique. Once you get the muscle memory down, you can start moving the capo down a fret until you don’t need it any more 🙂
Best wishes with the G chord!!
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Hello @flagguy ,
It’s true there are several different ways to play a G chord, but no matter which 2 fingers are fretting the 6th and 5th strings, the answer is the same. The problem is that the finger fretting the 6th string is too flat and is touching the 5th string, thus partially muting it. It is necessary to push your wrist forward and lower you thumb to the middle of the back of the neck so that you can get good arch in your fingers. Then, it is important to fret the string with the very tip of your fingers, not the fleshy pad.
Good arch and finger tip are the answers to the problem you are having. It may take some time and some experimenting. Go slowly and take deep breaths often. And stretching will help a lot as @the-old-coach has suggested.
Now, in your description, you mentioned the A string and the high E. The A string is very easy to understand. All I can assume with the high E is that you are using your pinky and because it is so small, you are having trouble accurately fretting the string. Again, this will take time. Go slowly and take many deep breaths.
If you will be patient and persistent, you will get it. The biggest problem is to have fun while you are going through this phase so that your motivation to play guitar continues to be strong. So only spend a few minutes at a time working on your chords. You can do this every day and even several times a day, but don’t wear yourself out. After working on your chords, focus on making some pleasing sounds on your guitar. Have fun doing this. Do this after every single practice session so that you learn to love your sound, the music that flows from within you.
MG 😀
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Thanks everyone. Very helpful!
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