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Hi Wenda sorry but I did have to smile a bit when I read your post…”im not playing, Im thudding”…good one. Im assuming that you are new to this, but not sure how long its been since you first picked up a guitar and tried to play chords…is it days, a few weeks, two months, six months? There are so many variables…first thing tho what is the quality of your guitar and is it properly set up? A set up ensures the guitar is straight, all the pieces are doing what theyre supposed to, and the strings are at the proper height above the fretboard ie the ‘action’. If the strings are too high, it is much more difficult to finger the chords. Most players want the action as low as possible…makes the guitar much more playable. So thats the first thing to check. Btw when I say quality of the guitar im not necessarily referring to brand names or price point. There are many great guitars for 2 or 3 hundred bucks. Also what size guitar are you playing and does it fit your body size? For eg if youre a smaller person and playing a big dreadnaught or jumbo it will be uncomfortable. And vice versa if you have large hands a smaller guitar might not be the best to start with. All of these things are important to check before you start. If youre not playing the right guitar or one that is not set up properly your frustration will increase and you may decide to eventually pack it in…many do. Learning guitar is hard enough as it is so having the right instrument in your hands helps get your journey off to a good start. Re making chords…your hands and fingers are not used to moving like this and easily get cramped and tired. Important to be regularly doing stretches throughout the day to increase your range and mobility. Also how do you keep your nails on your fretting hand? If your nails are too long they get in the way and fretting strings is very difficult. Most players keep their fretting nails very short. As far as fretting any notes, together in chords or one at a time….go very slowly and take the time to make each finger come down right on top and using your fingertip and not the pad of your finger. You may need to shift your fretting arm forward a few inches …this will allow your wrist to angle up more which helps your fingers come down from the top. I would also just work on one chord at a time for awhile before switching. Sit on one chord for a good ten minutes. Pick the one that is easiest for you. Dont worry about being perfect but once you get it so its not just a thud move on to the next one. Learning guitar is a long long game…I know you dont want to hear just keep playing …but yeah just keep playing. Getting good at guitar can take years. Repetition is imo the most important thing…when Im learning something new I’ll play it over and over a million times. Many times when I start to learn a new song thats stretching my abilities I think man this is tough, and does this ever sound bad, but ive learned that if i put in the work and keep at it, in probably several months time I’ll be playing and singing it pretty good. This is another variable…how motivated are you to learn, what are your goals, how much time and work are you willing to put in. I know Tony and many other teachers say just do ten minutes a day. You can do that but if thats all you play progress will be that much slower than if you practiced more often. The more you play the better you’ll get…it really is that simple. And the better you get the more fun you’ll have. But again it depends on your goals etc. And for sure ten minutes is better than nothing….Most important thing is dont be too hard on yourself, keep your expectations realistic, be patient. If you keep at it and play as much as you can you will get better, and it will get more fun. No question. And enjoy yourself along the way, youre doing something many people only dream of. So pat yourself on the back sister and rock on.