Finger blockage

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tron999
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Finger blockage

Unread post by tron999 » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:40 pm

hey, i just started playing guitar a few months ago. i know all the notes on the guitar and have most of the chord shapes memorized but i cant play them! i can play some arpeggios but when it comes to playing chords i completely suck. iv spent hours trying to play them without my fingers muting adjecent strings but nothing seems to work. are my fingers to big? i dont think so cause my friend has big ass fingers and hes really good. the problem is i have to press too hard on the strings to keep them down. doing this causes the meat in my finger to spread out and touch the other strings. maybe my finger tips are too soft or i should be using my nails to push down the strings, but someone said not to do that. the problem is im used to playing bass and im use to the size of bass strings and the wide distance between them, also you play bass note individually. anyway i was wondering if anyone has had this problem in the past and found some technique to overcome this annoyance. damn this is so stupid cause i know what to play and how to keep in time but my fingers keep blocking those damn strings!

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taparoo
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Unread post by taparoo » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:45 pm

Since it takes a lot of effort to press down on the strings you might want to get your action (height of the strings off the fretboard) adjusted. You can take your guitar to your local music shop and they will probably do it no problem, and won't charge you much.

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tron999
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Unread post by tron999 » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:50 pm

thanks for the advice but when i bought this guitar i bought it cause the action was really low already, actually a bit too low. i had been practicing on my friends guitar and he suggested that i get one with a low action then go higher as my fingers get stronger.

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Kahn
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Unread post by Kahn » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:08 pm

Look how Tron is livin

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RunsWithBuffalo
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Unread post by RunsWithBuffalo » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:26 pm

Make sure your left wrist stays down. Your thumb should be directly in the middle of the neck and not overlapping the E string unless you are muting it. This way you can actually squeeze the strings against the neck with less effort.

If your action is so low, why is your skin spreading out when you push down? Maybe try not pressing as hard and see it the notes still ring. A guitar with low action requires nimble fingers.

Good luck
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tron999
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Unread post by tron999 » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:42 pm

yeah thanks buffalo doing that helps a bit.

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tron999
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Unread post by tron999 » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:43 pm

kahn,

yeah thats exactly how i live, i dance wit muppets hell yeah!

i have no idea why that is so funny. f***ing retard :)

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