Hey Yall.
I've been taking lessons everynight and i'm starting to get to topics that require my fingers to stretch quite a bit more than I'm used to. I've notices that my ring finger on my fretting hand is a little "thicker" than the rest of my fingers so when I attempt to stretch to fret a note my ring finger ends up muting the string above it(ex. 1st finger fretting E,B, on the 4th fret 2nd finger fretting G on the 5th, and ring finger fretting the D on the 6th, my ring finger mutes the G string. I feel it's also important to note i'm doing my best to fret with the tip of my fingers, but I think it's a stretching issue. Any advice?
I hope you do return to this.
Show me a guitar player and I'll show you a guitar player that has, at some time, complained about their hands and fingers
The point here is that our hands are not as nimble as we hope. In a way, guitar playing seems so easy when you watch it and then you grab a guitar and you realize that it is sooo not that easy. Even when it's easy! I've been playing for a long time and I don't think I'll ever love playing an open C chord. To most folks, I sound just fine. But I know I don't play it well. So much so that if I can, I'll play it in another shape. And I've been playing a long, long time.
So, what do you do?
Some of it can be ergonomic. You'll always hear me say that I practice with a strap even when sitting. It allows me to have the guitar in my optimal position. It also allows for the strap to 'hold the guitar' so that you're not supporting with your lap and fretting hand. One of the instructors, Chris, has said he does the same too. If you don't use a strap, give it a try and free up those hands to just play.
If you've found the ideal placement of the guitar for you and you're still having muting issues; yes, some of it is that you'll have to drill on that until you feel you're getting better. Still, there may be physical things that make it too hard. You mentioned that you fret with the tip of your fingers. So much so that you're rolling your finger on to the string above. Don't try to get that finger tip perfectly on top of the string. It's an overcompenation. Your finger doesn't really need to be perfectly perpendicular to the string.
We can type possibilities here but you will need to experiement. It is important to know that we all have challenges and find 'unique' ways to overcome them. And sometimes we cheat a little. It's the nature of everyone having different hand forms.
Therre's no silver bullet but a few tips may help.
