Newbie (to forum and to guitars)

[sparx_uk]

Hi there.

After an age of wanting to and meaning to I finally bought myself a cheap little acoustic to learn on. Had it a week now and try to give it half an hours attention each night. Coming up with a problem though and could do with some advice.

Got problems on my chords trying to clear the strings either side of the one i'm pushing down. This is especially a problem when playing D, Dm or A.

I suspect it's something to do with my soft fingertips because there's no difficulty to start with but after a while, once the string marks start to appear, I start to struggle as I have to press harder. Over time I guess i'll build up callouses but is there any short term solution? It's frustrating not being able to get a clean sound.

Thanks all.

[I_b_a_n_e_z_e_r]

Welcome! Yeah, your fingers will get tougher the more you play. But don't over do it. No way that I know of to deal with it other than... well, dealing with it, haha! Just keep practicing.

[Acoustic]

Welcome to the forum bud. :)

[Shadue]

Welcome Sparx!

I am fairly new to the guitar scene myself (2months). And had the same problem when I first started. What I can tell you is, after you practice it enough it clears itself up...

What I did for the first few weeks when I was practicing my chords, I would not sit there strumming full strums on chords.

When I first formed the chord, I would play each string individually, making sure that each string sounded out clear. If one didn’t, I would readjust the finger that was disturbing its neighbor, and repeat all the strings again single. Once they all came out clear, I would give it a few full strums then move on to the next chord.

Your finger muscles will eventually learn their proper place on each chord... you just need to teach them :)

GL... and don't get too frustrated... with practice it will come.

[BASSMAN]

Welcome to the forum!!!

[Dude Absher]

Hello and Welcome to Jam Session.

[Sixstring]

Welcome to the boards! Your fingers will toughen up, it just takes time. Not a lot, a couple weeks and you'll notice the difference. I suggest you check out our Woodshedding area and the lessons at the bottom of the page. And don't be shy about asking questions- we're all here to help.

[sparx_uk]

Thanks for the welcome guys. Scanned through the site yesterday and it looks like a very deep mine of information.

Shadue, good to hear another newbs point of view. Tried your advice last night and it does make a difference. Cheers for that.

[emersa_guitar]

Welcome aboard!

[Jamie]

Hi there.

After an age of wanting to and meaning to I finally bought myself a cheap little acoustic to learn on. Had it a week now and try to give it half an hours attention each night. Coming up with a problem though and could do with some advice.

Part of the problem with buying "cheap" instruments is they can in some cases hinder your growth as a musician. Often, to make an instrument less expensive corners are cut that cause problems for players. One of the first things that suffer is the action of the guitar. Because of the obligation to build the instrument quickly and cheaply little attention is paid to how the strings lay across the fret board. Some times on cheaper instruments the action will be much higher than it needs to be making it harder to push down the strings. An unwanted side effect of this is when the string has to travel that far to be fretted to a note the intonation will be off because of it. So unfortunately, when beginners grab a guitar for the price they get frustrated that the guitar is so hard to play and never sounds right. The problem might not be completely the player, but they have nothing to compare it too.

As you improve as a musician you'll recognize things you like and dislike about your instrument. Use this knowledge to seek out guitars that sound and feel like what you’re looking for. I'm not trying to say "buy a $2000.00 guitar and you'll play better than anybody." I am saying that as a player, positive feedback from the instrument is paramount. If you don't like what you're hearing, or if it’s a pain to play, why would you want to continue?

Got problems on my chords trying to clear the strings either side of the one I’m pushing down. This is especially a problem when playing D, Dm or A

This will fade with time. Keep practicing. As you advance you'll play more complicated chords and scales (I’ve been playing for 8 years and right now I'm struggling to cleanly play a set of particular 7th chords, so we're in the same boat) The pattern of having to learn proper technique will never stop. Make sure you relax and try to play cleanly, the rest will come.

By the way… Welcome to the forum!

[stratman50th]

Welcome to Jam Session!
Can't really add anything additional to what everyone has said, so I'll say it again so you feel better.
Practice will get you toughened up, as well as get the chords to ring clear.
A good quality guitar will also make it easier to play. (I said good quality, not necessarily expensive).
Don't get discouraged, it does take time. If after a couple of weeks you still have problems, swing by your local music store and try out some better quality guitars. Even if you aren't ready to buy, you'll get the idea of feel. That will give you a goal.
Feel free to ask any questions that will help you along, and know that everyone on this forum has been through what you're going through now.
Now go practice! :D