I'm learning the guitar and have a question.

[rickyd123]

I've been using the Justins guitar site for a few months to teach myself the guitar. I learned about the site hear and it has helped me a lot and I thank the forum members for showing it to me.
Here's my question. I've been learning three chords D,A,E. I'll place my fingers on the strings and pluck the strings. They'll ring true until I get to the ones that go THUNK. I'll work on getting that string to ring true then move on to the next chord. I've been doing this and only this for about a month now. I've kinda stopped progressing. I'm trying to get to the point where I put my fingers on the string for a chord and all the string ring true. My question is should I just accept the fact that they won't. Play the chord with the thunk. Ignore it. Figure as I get better the thunks will go away. For now accept them as part of learning. Play the chord thunks and all and move forward to the next lesson on the Justins guitar site. Or should I keep practicing each individual chord until I can place my fingers on the strings properly with out any string thunks most of the time?

[SFCRetired]

The thing that helped me the most with that was playing in a finger picking style to John Denver songs. But there are many songs you can play in that style.

It sounds like you aren't using the correct angles to make your chords and your fingers are either hitting the strings next to each other or you aren't applying adequate pressure on the string.

try picking each string first and then strumming it a few times. Your fingers will learn where to go and how much pressure to apply.

It's also a good idea to try and find songs that only use 2 chords, then progress to 3 chord songs, etc. There are tons of songs out there like that.

[Bikewer]

I think most beginners have these problems at some point. A few things you might check:

1. These are all "first position" chords...Is the action of your guitar set up properly? If the action at the nut is too high (not uncommon at all...) your task will be that much more difficult. It should not be hard to fret a note.
Here's an easy way to check.....Apply a capo. If it's suddenly much easier to fret those chords, you need an action adjustment.

2. Check your hand position and the way your are holding the instrument. If you are holding the guitar horizontally, and your wrist is bent, there will be a tendency to pull your fingers away from that "vertical" attack on the strings and more "sideways"...Resulting in deadened strings.

3. Check your thumb position. Ideally, against the lower half of the back of the neck. The tendency for beginners is to grip the neck as you would a baseball bat...Again tending to pull the fretting fingers sideways instead of vertical.

[dhalbert]

I think you have to figure out why you are getting the thunks. Are your fingers not curved enough, so you're muting adjacent strings? Are you fretting too far back from the fret? Are you not pressing hard enough? (And that might be because your guitar needs a setup so it's really a strain right now to press hard enough.)

Justin's lessons contain a bunch of troubleshooting information, so go back and re-watch the beginning lessons. Or find a guitar-playing friend or a teacher who can look at what you're doing and make suggestions.

There's no reason not to move on to other easy chords, but you want to make sure you're not practicing bad habits or technique.

[Jim Owen]

Welcome to the forum, Rickyd123.

It's hard to fret cleanly when you're just starting out. But there's a lot of value in trying to get as far from "thunk" as you can before moving on. My reasoning is that practice time is valuable, so it's better to practice good technique than to learn bad habits.

Do you have any friends who play guitar? There's a lot to be learnt from the internet. But a hands on lesson might straighten out your issue in a snap. My bet is that you've not yet found a playing position that allows you to comfortably fret your guitar.

[Gmountain]

I think you have pointed out the advantage to lessons with a live teacher- you get problems corrected, and solutions to problems- live feedback. I think it would be worthwhile for you to see an instructor.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by rickyd123

…My question is should I just accept the fact that they won't. Play the chord with the thunk. Ignore it. Figure as I get better the thunks will go away.

Hi rickyd…

First of all, Hello and Welcome to the forum! Glad you joined and are making a serious effort to learn to play.

I teach guitar and have never settled for thunk, unless I wanted something to go thunk. Not in my own playing, nor in my students.

It's a matter of working out the issue.

First, be sure your guitar (which I'm not sure what your guitar is) is setup properly so it plays easily, and neither so high the strings are hard to press or so low they buzz too easily. It is especially important when learning. If it's playing too hard, you may not be able to NOT make it go thunk.

Then once you know the fingerboard and strings are well matched to play easily, it's a matter of working from chord to chord in a manner that you will not produce muted strings (unless you choose to).

Hope you get it all worked out…

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Bikewer

I think most beginners have these problems at some point. A few things you might check:

1. These are all "first position" chords...Is the action of your guitar set up properly? If the action at the nut is too high (not uncommon at all...) your task will be that much more difficult. It should not be hard to fret a note.
Here's an easy way to check.....Apply a capo. If it's suddenly much easier to fret those chords, you need an action adjustment.

2. Check your hand position and the way your are holding the instrument. If you are holding the guitar horizontally, and your wrist is bent, there will be a tendency to pull your fingers away from that "vertical" attack on the strings and more "sideways"...Resulting in deadened strings.

3. Check your thumb position. Ideally, against the lower half of the back of the neck. The tendency for beginners is to grip the neck as you would a baseball bat...Again tending to pull the fretting fingers sideways instead of vertical.

All of the above ^^^^^. It could be more than just one of these things at once too.

[hermit]

If you are 'fat fingering' chords you may want to check your nut width. It may be too small for you hands. Practice helps but too slow progress can be an incentive killer.

[dhalbert]

I see from a previous thread you started that you now have (or at least started with) a $5 (used) "Protocol" guitar. There could be all sorts of issues with the guitar. It is likely impeding your progress. You can continue to practice, but try saving up for something better.

Ideally find a guitar-playing friend to help you find another guitar or evaluate this one. Failing that, (I am being very concise here) your safest bit would be to find a used Yamaha on Craigslist, and make sure the string action is not too high. Measure the distance from the top of the twelfth fret to the bottom of the low E string. It should be somewhere between 5/64 - 7/64".

I see Yamaha F325, F335, FG335 and similar for $30 and up on the local Craigslist. If the action is not too high on one of these, it would be a great cheap starter guitar.

I am assuming you want a steel-string, not a nylon string guitar.

[Kinda Old]

Try to keep your thumb on the back of the neck rather than wrapped around like a baseball bat. This might help, although some of the greatest players play the baseball bat way. These guys usually have big hands.

[Rosewood99]

I agree that a good setup with lower action will hope. Also, make sure you have light weight strings. Lastly you can tune down a half step which will decrease the tension and make fretting a little easier.

Also, one month is not a long time. It took me a couple of months to build up strength in my fretting hand.

[Earwitness]

These are all great suggestions but to answer another part of your question, it is what everyone goes through--don't worry you can do it. Clean first position chords--truly clean--are a lot harder than they look, and you will be cleaning them up for years. However, it's well worth it because they are the raw materials you will use forever.

[Von Beerhofen]

When I started I didn't immediately use the prescribed string gauges for my guitar but went with what felt comfortable at the time and gradually worked my way up to heavier gauges.

Most beginners just lack handstrength to properly press down on the string, besides having the wrong sized fingerboard for the shape of their fingers.
When I started my classical school my study guitar was just what it was and no attention was paid to getting me a slimmer or wider neck. However in a pre examination to the study, someone did look at my hands and told me I might just mannage.

Back then there wasn't much choice in the pricerange my parents could afford and I just went with what I was given.
Nowadays I can probably handle most fingerboard widths but my hands are slender which I think is a bit of an advantage over chubby fingers.

I agree fully with the previous post that we've all had to get through it somehow and there are tough ways to do it, which probably pay off sooner. Personally I've always stayed within my own comfort zone, which is probably the main reason I never gave up where most of my friends did. Then again I was just playing for fun to make a few extra bucks on the side.

Just hang in there, a few months isn't the apropiate timespan to assess your progress, just see guitar playing as a power sport, in about two years from now you'll crush everyone's hand when you just mean to shake em.

Good luck,

Von Beerhofen

[TBman]

Go on www.youtube.com and do a search for beginner acoustic guitar. I bet there are a lot of videos for beginners. A picture is worth a thousand words.