– The nut height might be good, but the nut slots themselves aren’t shaped properly and the breakpoint of the string over the nut is a tad too far forward or backward. So, when you press the strings down the notes are literally pulled sharp due to the extra amount the string has to stretch. – The nut may be too high, which makes the action higher than it should be at the nut. Whenever you’ve got intonation set properly but one or two lower-position guitar chords sound out-of-tune, it’s almost always a nut issue: Typically this is a result of an issue with the nut, as Bobby Davis, the Guitar Answer Guy, explains in his article, “ Who Do Some of My Guitar Chords Sound Out of Tune?” It is fairly common for guitarists to experience intonation issues on just a couple chords that are out of tune. I wish you all the best in your guitar playing journey.Have you ever been playing a gig or practicing your guitar when all of a sudden something doesn’t sound right? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I know this may sound too simplistic.” – Tomas The best advice is 1) find a good teacher or systematic online lesson course, 2) practice 5 days a week, and 3) persist…don’t stop. The real issue is just practice and patience. many students have told me over the years they thought their hand were too small or too large. If they really are small like a child just get a smaller guitar (3/4 size). I want to assure you that it’s very unlikely that the size of your hands is really a problem.
“I commend you on taking a first step…getting help. Here’s what Tomas Michaud’s point on that : If you think you’re having a smaller hands, then don’t worry too much about. For left handed players, I hope that this post will also help you a lot.
With regard to your problem on muted string, allow me to share with you a blog post written by Tomas Michaud himself, its How To Avoid Muted Strings When Making Chords >. Then making other changes to lower the bar makes more sense if you're still having difficulties with something. This includes regular practice that's done in an effective way.
It really helps if you follow a good systematic approach to learning guitar. I do want to also emphasize there is a time and a place to change the guitar, change strings or try something easier. Unfortunately this doesn't address the underlying issue… a lack of a systematic way of practicing a new skill and difficulty with staying with something that you can't quite do yet. Often students try to do something for a little while and when it doesn't work they either quit (really bad idea), or start looking for a quick fix like a different guitar or an easier way to do the particular technique. Learning to play a complex skill like playing guitar involves learning many movements that your body is not accustomed to doing. How To Avoid Muted Strings When Making ChordsĪ lot of students that tell me they have a problem with fingering guitar chords really have a different problem. If you'd like more help with this check out my blog post and lesson: The reason you want to take your fingers off after a few strums is that your handle start tensing and you want to break that tension. As you do this over a period of a week or so you'll find the chord sounds better and better. Repeat this process about 20 times per practice session. A good guitar chord exercise to start with is to just finger the chord, strum it once or twice, make a few adjustments, strum again, and then take your fingers off.Again it takes practice but it's something to pay attention to. You'll want to press the string using mostly your fingertip and not the flat pad of your finger.Here's a picture of what a good angle with the C chord will look like.
There is no exact angle, but many beginners tend to straighten out their fingers when fingering guitar chords more than his optimal. You should have years fingers, as much as possible, go straight up and then straight down on the string.
Over time you will likely figure out how to keep from touching, or muting, the other strings little by little. Get the fingering of the chord the best you can and then practice changing from one chord to another slowly. A lot of this can be sold just by patience and persistence. This is common when you're first learning. Touching other strings when you're trying to play chord will mute the sound of the strings.