#1
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Why can't I play a simple chord?
I am working on a nice finger style chord progression and what looks like a simple chord is giving me trouble. Let me say that I still consider myself an older newbie and I don't practice like I should.
It is t is B minor 9th fret D string 11th fret G string Open B string 10 fret high E string It's the high e 10 fret that I can't get. I can have problems with my middle finger as I cut the tip badly years ago and there was nerve damage. Parts are numb and other parts tender. The finger nail is also funny, no matter how short I cut it the nail still is slightly longer than the finger tip. I guess it's just practice? |
#2
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what fingering are you using?
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#3
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try tuning down a half step. The reduced tension might do the trick. Alternatively you can try some extra light strings at standard tuning.
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#4
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Index, middle, ring. So middle on the high e 10th fret.
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#5
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Any particular reason to double the B note - open and 9th fret D string?
Have you tried index, middle, small fingers? Have you tried playing a 4/6th barre chord on the 9th fret and playing the octave B at the 12th fret on the 2nd string? |
#6
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Hard to say given what you have said about the middle finger. However given that there should be many other chords you can't play easily.
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Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#7
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Try as I might, I can't find a place for the middle finger there. If I put it on the first string then the index finger on the 4th is awkward. I can put the middle finger on the fourth string but then the pinkie on the 3rd is difficult.
But if it hovers in mid air, with index, pinkie and ring on 4th, 3rd and 1sr respectively then nothing feels unduly stretched. But that's my fingers of course, YMMV and almost certainly will. The same notes are available from a barre Bm on the seventh fret, with the addition of the pinkie on the 1st string, 10th fret. |
#8
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Where is your thumb? If it's too high - like over the top of the neck - that 1st string note will be difficult to fret.
Try placing the thumb in the middle of the neck, opposite the middle finger position, and push the wrist forward so all the fretting fingers are perpendicular to the neck. Hope that makes sense. It's hard to convey this stuff in words |
#9
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Thanks everyone. I'll keep working on it. I can reach the string fine but can't get it clear? That middle finger works better when I have a callus built up. More consistent practice will do it.
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#10
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Hi, An update on playing a tough chord. As a newer player I have learned a valuable lesson. Slouched back on the couch is not the way to learn a new chord, at least not for me. I sat properly on my guitar chair, right foot on a shortened foot stool with my guitar on my right leg. Within minutes I was playing the chord clean and the progression is coming along nicely!
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#11
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Good learning experience! Posture/position contributes a lot to hand ergonomics, even though we don't think of that first thing. Having a slouchy playing position can be holding you back and you don't even know it.
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#12
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The Bm is all over the fretboard why not move your fingers around until you find a more comfortable place to play that chord and if necessary find the preceding and following chords nearby. Life is way to short to take too much time pushing boulders up hill. Play through..
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#13
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I believe there is a B Minor near that if it works for you. 9th fret D string, 10th high E, 11th G, 12th B string. I am fairly new as well but that one suits my fingers better. It is a Caged D minor shape.
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#14
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That should be fairly easy (I find it very easy), but maybe the injury to your middle finger is the issue. An alternative is:
-10- ring -0-- -11- pinky -9-- index --- --- Nice voicing, btw (I can see that the doubled B could be important). What's the tune?
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#15
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Just a simple chord progression from Marco Cirillo on You tube. I like his content.
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