Chords and Barre Chords

[Miskatonic]

I'm having a problem in that when I fret the chords, I often slightly mute the string below the one I'm fretting with the underside of my fingertip. I try and arch my fingers as much as possible and sometimes it works on the easier chords. Is it cheating if I just slightly bend the string upward to get some clearance, without changing the pitch or am I just going to have to condition my fingers to hold that extreme arch where the ends of the fingertips are fretting the strings? If that was tough enough trying to barre some of these chords is even worse, like C where I'm barring with my index and fretting with the other three fingers. Not the most comfortable, lol. Wish my fingers were just a little bit longer.  :-\

 

[Tipperman]

I'm having a problem in that when I fret the chords, I often slightly mute the string below the one I'm fretting with the underside of my fingertip. I try and arch my fingers as much as possible and sometimes it works on the easier chords. Is it cheating if I just slightly bend the string upward to get some clearance, without changing the pitch or am I just going to have to condition my fingers to hold that extreme arch where the ends of the fingertips are fretting the strings? If that was tough enough trying to barre some of these chords is even worse, like C where I'm barring with my index and fretting with the other three fingers. Not the most comfortable, lol. Wish my fingers were just a little bit longer.  :-\

Keep practicing it. You'll get more used to it.

 

[elfro89]

To start with, it hurts. A lot. bite the bullet, make your finger straight and just press, press like you've never pressed before, if you get a disgusting pain your probably on the right track.

 

[Miskatonic]

To start with, it hurts. A lot. bite the bullet, make your finger straight and just press, press like you've never pressed before, if you get a disgusting pain your probably on the right track.

Lol, sounds good.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Disco Scottie]

I still vividly recall crying to my mom about not being able to play an F major chord. I was 14 and had just started learning. I couldn't get my index finger to fret the high E and B strings at the same time. When I say I was crying, I mean really crying, bawling my eyes out. I told her if I couldn't do this I'd never be able to play. She called my guitar teacher and had him give me a pep talk... I think it worked.

 

[tfarny]

You'll get it, man. Then there will be other things later that'll make you want to cry. But nothing like learning to properly barre the F and A shapes.

 

[Tonar8352]

Pretend like you are holding a golf ball with the tips of you fingers and notice the arch that is being created. That is how you want your fingers to arch on the neck.  The other thing is making sure you get your fingers as closely behind the frets as you can. It takes very little finger presser to get a note to sound when your finger is right behind the fret.

 

[Cagey]

Is it cheating if I just slightly bend the string upward to get some clearance, without changing the pitch or am I just going to have to condition my fingers to hold that extreme arch where the ends of the fingertips are fretting the strings?

It's not cheating, per se, but you can't bend a string even a little bit without it affecting the pitch. With some fret sizes, simply pressing down too hard will do it. It doesn't always jump right out at you when you're playing acoustically, but run it through and amp and the louder you go, the more unforgiving those sorts of things become.

If that was tough enough trying to barre some of these chords is even worse, like C where I'm barring with my index and fretting with the other three fingers. Not the most comfortable, lol. Wish my fingers were just a little bit longer.  :-\

Comfort will come with time and practice. Finger size isn't as big an issue as is sometimes presented. Guy I knew 100 years ago had hands like Fred Flintstone, and he didn't have any trouble. But, he also played about 38 hours a day.

Another thing to consider is your fingernails. They will get in your way. If the nails on your fretting hand are much longer than about 1/32" past the quick, they will sorta force you to have a back angle on your fret attack. That is, you won't be able to press down square to the string. Your fretting hand nails should look something like this...

A good two-sided fine/coarse diamond nail file isn't expensive at all, and can often be had from a drug/grocery store for $5 or so.

 

[Alfang]

And again I agree with cagey, A seasoned guitar player always has two things in his pockets ALWAYS, a pick, and finger nail clippers

 

[Strat Avenger]

Do you have big fingers? If so, wider string spacing could help, such as a 1-1/16" or 1-3/4" nut width, and Fender or Floyd Rose Bridge spacing if you aren't already using that.

 

[chubs]

My solution was to give up on guitar and take up bass

 

[Alfang]

Dont give up guitar because of fat stubby fingers, David Gilmour is my hero because he has short fat stubby fingers, so while i'll never be him, I can have hope

 

[anorakDan]

I didn't see anyone else mention this but, say you're playing a C major barre chord at the 3rd fret. Instead of trying to use your middle, ring and pinky fingers to fret, try getting used to using only your ring finger to fret all three notes. I found that to be a lot easier, once I got used to it. With a bit of practice you won't even mute the high E string as much.

Another popular technique for those with big hands is to barre the low E and A strings with your thumb. It's not my favorite technique, because I have short fingers, but it works for some guitarists.

Like everything else, practice, practice, practice.