[Symmes1]

I am having trouble playing chords. When fingering the Chords, my fingers touch open strings. This kills the sound of the chords. I have tried all kinds of hints but nothing seems to work. I have short stubby fingers. When I say stubby, when I press down on a string lets say with my index finger I can feel the other strings touching my index finger on the sides. When attempting to play chords you can probably imagine the terrible sound that comes out. The C chord really sounds bad.
I have attempted to learn to play for about a year. With the progression I am making I lose interest pretty quickly. I have never had private lessons. Maybe a professional person should make the call on my physical ability.
My guitar is a Taylor "Big Baby". Maybe the fret board is not wide enough. Just guessing. I hope someone can help me.

[guttertrashsingalong]

practice practice pratice takes times ,could be the guitar but i think you just need to sit and make some simple posture and hand adjustments.i think its easier for some people to get lessons than to try to understand from reading i was one of those.you cn get lessons fo around 10-15 a hour maybe a few bucks more i wouldnt go to high.but this site is excllent so i hope it can help ya before ya dish out any dough......

[Bennett]

My teacher has quite large fingers/fingertips and has no trouble getting clean sounds. Of course, he's been playing for years but I think it's one of those cases of continued practice and your fingers will appear to shrink.

Having said that, I'm not familiar with your guitar so maybe a wider fret board will help. If anything it might just help with motivation; it's one thing to tell you to practice but carrying that out can be quite difficult if you're facing constant frustration.

[guttertrashsingalong]

bennett right fat fingers and all i seen people play with fingertip missing with their nub or whatever its called. if they can do it you should to..practice practice practice

[broylestb]

Hi Symmes,

I'm new to guitar also and have had the same troubles. After much practice I have found that a couple of things helped me:

1.) Try to not push the strings down too hard. It's a fine balance between not pressing hard enough and and pressing too hard and making the ends of your fingers fatter. You don't have to get the strings pressed against the wood itself to get the right sound.

2.) I also found that I was trying to lean the guitar back to see the fret board. When you get more comfortable getting the fingers in the right positions for the chords you can then make an effort to not lean the guitar back. Make sure it's almost verticle. I'm not sure if it's right posture but it has helped me the most.

These two things have helped me alot.

Playing guitar has made an old elbow injury show up again in my left arm. It is getting better and I can play longer now than when I first started playing. I don't think it will ever go away completely though. I just try to play with the pain and not play more than 30 minutes at a time but several times a day when possible since I play for my own fun and not a career. Trust me when I say... I would starve to death.

[krissovo]

Just a quick point, I would also suggest getting you guitar looked at by pro and "set up" correctly.

This can often make a huge difference especially if your "action" is too high.

[douglas englund]

i also have fat fingers so i bought a cheap 12 string fender and took every other string off (the smallest one on each note, it will give more room), it should help until you get better then you will be able to play any guitar. good luck and don't give up.

[Symmes1]

Thanks everyone for your comments. It gives me confidence again. It is very frustrating when my chords don't sound like the chords that are on my guitar computer program. I don't have anyone to compare with either. Thanks again.

[guttertrashsingalong]

wow that is some fat fingers