Beginner question about G chord
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lhmatthies
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- Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:59 pm
- Status: Offline
I've been hacking around for a while, but I'm basically a beginner, especially with chords. I've watched the beginner lesson series. The G chord is really hard for me; either the last knuckle of my pinkie is curled over so far it almost hits the second string or my ring finger lays on the fifth string when I play G on the sixth string. I'm using a nylon string guitar. It looks like Neil has bigger hands than I do, but I suppose there are other reasons I'm having trouble! Any suggestions?
It's all about hand position. If my 8 year old granddaughter can play my jumbo dred, then you'll have no problem once you get good hand position.
Try this:
Stick your fretting hand straight out at your side, level with your shoulder, palm up. Then, keeping your fingers straight, touch your shoulder. Your hand will now be in the correct position for you. Before you move it, look and see how much your wrist is bent. Also, once you get your hand on the neck, keep your elbow out of your gut.
If you could post a video of you playing, then we would be able to help you much more easily. We need to see your whole arm, not just your hand.
Try this:
Stick your fretting hand straight out at your side, level with your shoulder, palm up. Then, keeping your fingers straight, touch your shoulder. Your hand will now be in the correct position for you. Before you move it, look and see how much your wrist is bent. Also, once you get your hand on the neck, keep your elbow out of your gut.
If you could post a video of you playing, then we would be able to help you much more easily. We need to see your whole arm, not just your hand.
Andy has some good pointers. I keep my fretboard at 30-45 degrees instead of straight. When the fretboard is higher it' s easier to keep your arm straight without bending your wrist. Over bending the wrist is certainly making it difficult to make any chords. And as Andy said, it is not a matter of hand size but about position. To help switching you might want to practice to alternate between to chords like Em and G (a little easier) then D and G (more challenging).
Good luck and have fun practicing
Marc
Good luck and have fun practicing
Marc
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Hydroman52
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- Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:52 am
- Status: Offline
Hello lhmatthies,
Welcome to TG. It sounds to me like your hand is too high on the fretboard. You need to go back to the Beginner's Genius series. Then you need to watch Lesson 2 - Part 10: Left Hand Position.
Neil goes into great detail on the fretting hand position here. If you follow his instructions, your problems will be solved. For a beginner, this will probably feel quite awkward because your hand "muscle memory" hasn't learned it, yet. That will come with time as you practice, practice, and more practice.
Here is a direct link to the series:
Beginner's Genius Series
You said that you are playing a nylon string guitar. They usually have a wider neck than a steel string guitar, but are easier to press the strings to the frets (in my opinion). You will have a longer reach to get to the bass strings (6th and 5th) with the nylon string guitar over the steel string. If you don't own a steel string guitar, you may want to go into a guitar store, tell them you are a beginner (be honest), and you want to try out a steel string guitar with light gauge strings and a good set-up. The key here is a good set-up. In my experience, a poorly set-up guitar (where the strings are too far away from the frets and are difficult to push down) is one of the biggest forms of discouragement for a beginner. The point here is to get a feel of a different type of guitar to see if the neck dimensions may suit you better. At least you'll know what's out there.
Good luck on your new journey with the guitar. It can be a very pleasant life long experience.
Hope this helps,
Hydroman52
Welcome to TG. It sounds to me like your hand is too high on the fretboard. You need to go back to the Beginner's Genius series. Then you need to watch Lesson 2 - Part 10: Left Hand Position.
Neil goes into great detail on the fretting hand position here. If you follow his instructions, your problems will be solved. For a beginner, this will probably feel quite awkward because your hand "muscle memory" hasn't learned it, yet. That will come with time as you practice, practice, and more practice.
Here is a direct link to the series:
Beginner's Genius Series
You said that you are playing a nylon string guitar. They usually have a wider neck than a steel string guitar, but are easier to press the strings to the frets (in my opinion). You will have a longer reach to get to the bass strings (6th and 5th) with the nylon string guitar over the steel string. If you don't own a steel string guitar, you may want to go into a guitar store, tell them you are a beginner (be honest), and you want to try out a steel string guitar with light gauge strings and a good set-up. The key here is a good set-up. In my experience, a poorly set-up guitar (where the strings are too far away from the frets and are difficult to push down) is one of the biggest forms of discouragement for a beginner. The point here is to get a feel of a different type of guitar to see if the neck dimensions may suit you better. At least you'll know what's out there.
Good luck on your new journey with the guitar. It can be a very pleasant life long experience.
Hope this helps,
Hydroman52