GMag Chord

[JimmyZ]

I am concentrating on learning the open chords at the current moment and making them pretty much perfect. Unfortunately, I am having trouble making the GMaj chord ring just right. I can never get the 6th to do anything but be muted, and when I do get it to ring, 2 or 3 other ones are buzzing because my index and middle fingers are sprawled out from trying to get the pinky to press hard enough. Is there anything else I should be doing other then trying my hardest to get the chord right?

[drumstix128@aol.com]

For one thing, your fingers just might not be big enough. What 6th are you talking about? Are you using 3 fingers or 4?

[StoneDragon]

Is there anything else I should be doing other then trying my hardest to get the chord right?

Yes... Try less hard. Problems with chords (especially in the beginning) almost always come down to coordination problems rather than strength problems. What you really need to do is strengthen your mind/pinky connection rather than your grip. Try practicing some exercises that make you work your pinky for a little while. (like the finger exercises that I lay out in the first few lessons... or just make some up yourself) Then come back to the chord. You will find that the chord is easier and you are actually using less pressure with the fingers than you are now.