Help with Chords

[Braden]

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.

[petelanger]

https://youtu.be/JKC2rL7F9FE

[petelanger]

This clip was taken directly from today’s Daily Challenge. You might not be in the Daily’s yet since you are new to TAC. But Tony addresses the expectations issue that all new players face.

I was right there when I started just over 2 years ago, thinking I would have a playlist of a few dozen songs within a year. Reality sets in and you discover the hard truth that this C chord is kicking my butt and I’m not gonna learn it by sundown! I got discouraged early on, I had pretty much quit 3 months later when I found TAC.

Today I have most of the essential chords under my fingers and while I’m still struggling with some of the barre chords, there isn’t one that scares me. I’m getting there. Today’s challenge took me about 5 minutes to be able to play, 2 years ago I could have spent a week and not been able to play the first line.

It will come, you are improving even though you don’t see it. In our struggles is when we are learning the most. Suddenly it’s going to surprise you that you can do it; but only if you continue!

Enjoy your journey! I assure you I had many, many thuds on mine.

[Bob_Man]

I know how you feel. I’ve been playing guitar for a long time, and I still feel like I suck. I think you always do, but the important thing is to have fun. As Tony said in that video, “it’s a process” You never reach the end of the road.

I can play most open chords, but I just can’t play full barre chords, no matter how hard I try, like you said it’s just “thudding”. So I just play the smallest art of a barre chord without the bar.

Also take your guitar to a luthier, at a good guitar shop to ask for a referral to one who can look over your guitar. You may just need a simple setup to fix the string height and maybe suggest thinner strings.

Have your guitar checked out, relax. keep working, have fun and you’ll get there.

Bob

[Wenda]

I have a new Martin guitar that was fitted for me. I wish I could blame the guitar for my issues, but, alas!

The thirty day challenge may just be too fast for me. I can’t get a single chord, and everyday one gets added. I am doing no good at all practicing when it never sounds right. I’m certainly not improving. And sounding awful is not motivating or enjoyable. I’m not going to continue thudding with no idea how to improve.

I may have to find some other course to strengthen my fingers before I attempt this.

[petelanger]

It’s been a while since I took the 30 Days but I don’t recall there being a new chord each day. I really hope you can get it sorted and come back into this program. There isn’t a better one. I know that some beginners have spent more time on the 30 Days before moving on. I’ve always recommended not to delay since the principles will be repeated in the daily challenges, but to each their own. You can delay it if you want to, it’s your program! I wish you well, @Wenda !

[petelanger]

Okay, I found my way back into the 30 Days to Play and yes in week 2 you get the G and the C and finally the D chord. As I recall I was able to form these chords when I started but transitions in and out were very bad and slow. I had some mutes in all 3 of them, I wouldn’t say it was an entire thud show, but far from clean.

They continued to be that way for months and months into the daily challenges. I didn’t let my deficiencies in making chord transitions deter me from doing TAC. Some weeks were very limited, I could do parts but never get very far in the more advanced lessons (Thursdays and Fridays). But I got a little better day by day, week by week. Year after year. I still have some issues today, but a lot less than during my first month of TAC.

[petelanger]

@Wenda I just remembered this exercise that really helped me when I started out. I did this everyday for at least a month, and I still use it sometimes in warmups before playing sessions:

https://youtu.be/2onjflSqHNo