I'm learning to play guitar, and i have meaty fingers?

Question

i'm JUST starting, i played around for a while about 2 years ago, and now im getting into it, i'm working on gmaj (320004)

and my middle, forefinger, and ring finger are kinda "meaty" and the ends of my fingers keep grazing other strings, making the note not ring out, any ideas?

i really could use some help

Answer 1

It's not that fact that you have "Meaty" fingers. It's the fact that you are not arching your fingers. You can just play the guitar, what I call "Flat Fingered". Here's a good tip to remember:

If your fret hand (The one you use to finger notes) looks like a dead spider, your playing the guitar wrong. However if your fret hand looks like a live spider, than you're positioning is correct.

Hope this helped!

-Nakayama Akira

Answer 2

keep practicing , you'll get it.

Answer 3

"i'm working on gmaj (320004)"

Im not sure what to say that anyone else hasnt said, but 320004 isnt a G major man. A Gmaj is 320003

I have fat fingers too, but i've never really had problems, so i'm not sure what to say.

Answer 4

First and foremost, make extra sure your hand is parallel to the fingerboard. Many guitarist tend to twist their hand a little.

By making sure the hand is parallel, it forces you to play with the tip of your fingers and secondly, it makes it easier to do chord stretching.

As for the G major, it is 320003 and for a Gmaj7, is it 320002

and for a G7, 320001.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

You want to note the strings with the very tips of your fingers, not the fleshy pads.  As someone else suggested, your fingers should come down on the strings from a nearly vertical angle.  This means you need to keep the pad of the fretting hand thumb on the back of the guitar neck, do not allow the palm of your fretting hand to touch the back of the neck, and curl your wrist out away from you.

Finally, practice, practice, practice.

It can be done.  I know several big guys with big meaty fingers who play mandolin and fiddle very well -- and compared to a mandolin or violin fingerboard, a guitar fingerboard is huge with tons of space for your fingers.  So just keep practicing.  You'll get it.

Answer 6

would be smart to switch to a bass.  but try to keep ur fingers coming down on the strings from straight up. that should help you will have to get use to switching chords and putting ur fingers this way

; ) hope that helps ya

Answer 7

when you put your fingers on the frets, use your fingertips.  when you strum the strings, use a pick.