Problems Learning to play Guitar

Hey there

I am trying to learn to play guitar and having great difficulty getting my fingers to only hit one string and not two. Also hard to hold them down strongly enough to get an actual note and not just a clunky noise.

Is it because my fingers are too fat? I am a very big girl...5"7 300 lbs, so I'm thinking my fingers may be too fat, or is this a normal thing musicians go through when trying to learn to play guitar?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sharron

Sharron, I can't see your fingers on your fretboard, so it's hard to know if weight is a factor.  Might be... but it sounds like you're working on that aspect of your life... good for you!

More importantly, YES, it's a totally normal thing that all newer guitar players go through.  Play enough, practice enough, and your fingers will learn to go to the right places, press down hard enough, and adjust to avoid buzzing or inadvertently muting strings.

You're really asking about two things, 1) positioning, and 2) pressing sufficiently hard.  On the first point, I suggest you try to get really comfortable with one fairly easy chord (like G) or 3 at most (G, C and D will let you play plenty of songs.  Keep working at your positioning, and you'll get there.  On the second point, you've got to play enough to build up some calluses on your fingers... for sure, guitar strings hurt soft fingers.  You'll get there too, for now quit when it hurts, and come back to it.  And remember, you only have to press down hard with your left hand when you're strumming the chord with your right hand.  You can "let up" in between strums, which helps.  You'll also be building up muscle/endurance in your left hand as you practice.

Whatever you do, don't give up!  Good luck.

HI there

Thanks so much for the tips and encouragement. I appreciate it. I have let it go for awhile now, been busy, but I would really like to learn to play since I already know how to play piano,keyboard,organ and accordion,so it would be nice to add to my achievements.

Thanks again

Sharron