Impatient??

[Eileen]

Okay, granted I just started playing 7 days ago (I used to play about 20 years ago but haven't touched it since then)but I sure am having a hard time getting some of my chords to sound good. My fingers can hold down some of the notes but then the others sound dead. Am I doing something wrong or does it just require more practice - my fingertips are killing me! but I guess that's just a part of it. Also, sometime I get a buzzing when I play notes...what is this from? Not having my finger in the right place? By the way, your whole site is fantastic!

[FINGERPICKINGOOD]

Its perfectley normal for your fingers not to be strong enough to hold the strings down well enough to get good clean sound. (sometimes its the guitar that makes this hard. Some guitars, especially acoustics, require more pressure on the strings than other guitars) If you continue to practice this will not be a problem. And the buzz that you are refering to could be more than one thing. It could be the lack of pressure on the strings causing the string to vibrate against the fret causing a buzzing sound. It could be that you are striking the strings too hard which can cuase a buzzing sound, or it could be your guitar itself. Some guitars have buzz becuase they are not set up correctly or havent been setup in years. Also, sometimes the neck of a guitar can be warped which can also cause buzz. What kind of guitar is it? Does the buzz come from only one string? Does the buzz only come from one note or fret? Do you get the buzz when you strike the string open (without fretting a note)? Basically if its not coming from the lack of pressure that your fingers are putting on the strings, you may need to take your guitar to a guitar tech. Hope this was helpful.

[StoneDragon]

Stick with it Eileen, it only gets better with practice.

Everything you describe is pretty common when you're first starting out.

You might consider having some set-up work done on the guitar. This is where they adjust the action (string height), adjust the neck, check the frets.... basically just get your guitar playing as well as possible.

You could also have it strung with a lighter guage of strings or see if you can find "silk and steel" strings.

[Gazaridis]

Make sure you fret the note with your left hand as close to the wire as you can. Less pressure is needed that way