Switching to Am from G

I'm having such difficulty moving from anything really back to Am. I cannot find it blindly and without making adjustments throwing me off. I'm also finding that keeping the guitar still while changing chords is hard. The neck moves forward as soon as I release pressure from whatever chord I'm playing. I'm sure it's the way I'm holding it but I can't figure it out. It's so frustrating. TMI but I can't get the guitar snug against my body because my boobs are in the way 😂😢 and if I have the guitar snug against my thigh for balance it feels as though it's leaning forward so I have to lean it back slightly --- which makes it harder to reach the C or E with my index finger. Lord I'm struggling today. HELP!

1. [u]Check posture[/u] aka guitar 'body English'. Watch the how to position (body) and hold (neck) videos again. Won't do anything useful to help though if the guitar is a poor,...

2. [u]Fit[/u]. Is the guitar you're using a good fit with your physique? Bicycles and shoes come in sizes for a reason. Guitars too today thankfully. Edit: Just looked up your intro post. Says all. Dreadnought ugh! Not a fan. No wonder it sat in the corner for 5 years!

So do yourself a huge favour and buy yourself a Concert or Parlor body guitar if an acoustic is your thing. It doesn't have to be expensive to achieve decent tone or be fit for purpose. It will make all the difference. Concert if you're average to small build, Parlor if petite. [u]On a tight budget[/u] I recommend this, available in a full or cutaway body or e-acoustic as preferred, or this available only in that finish and option at that price point. Edit: Still affordable & value, Luce Series Parlor prices start here. Yamaha also make very decent relatively inexpensive instruments too, but not in a comparable priced Parlor or Concert size. I've played that linked to Concert and it's a pleasant instrument to hold, fret and play. Alternatives abound [u]at a price[/u]. But you know that already.

My sincere advice is don't try to put it off in the mindset of 'if I stick with it I'll upgrade' to persevere with what you have. It's self defeating. Motivation will evaporate fast. Guitar is difficult enough to learn as it is, let alone trying to with the an ill-fitting (wrong) tool.

3. Learning guitar is [u]a marathon not a sprint[/u], and it's not easy or everyone would be a guitarist. Both take training to participate in let alone be competitive. Guitar's no different once the initial novelty and excitement fueling enthusiasim fades. Keep that salient in mind and [u]learn to love and find joy in the small steps of getting better every day you play[/u].

Oh, and did I mention ditch the Dread! = ]

All the best.

As noted by manXcat Jadal, guitar is not easy for any of us. And you will find this message repeated on the forum.

Hopefully this little video will give you some encouragement, but ultimately the ambition and encouragement for all of us must come from inside and you find a way to continue to make your practice sessions happen.

Good luck.

https://youtu.be/AeQ-Mr2yGhg

I just can't thank all of you enough for the tips and the encouragement. I'm going to keep practicing on this dreadful dreadnought lol to keep my fingertips tough while I find a good concert style that will fit me better.

You're welcome.

Do do it as soon as you can afford to. A guitar which fits your physique will truly alter your whole perception and experience of guitar.

You are welcome Jada. I remember the neck moving about as well but now its something I don't even think about. I know it still happens but I just make an unconcious adjustment I guess.

There are little things like this, holding a pick was another problem for me, that tend to work themselves out with time and practice.

Good luck.

I add my voice to those pointing out that guitar size matters. I had a guitar that was way too big for me. My new one, much smaller/thinner/lighter though still a dreadnought, makes a lot of difference!

Also, I have similar struggles with Dm. That sinking feeling when it comes up... but I shall prevail, as shall you.

Play on.

Originally Posted by: faith83Also, I have similar struggles with Dm. That sinking feeling when it comes up

[br]Digressing, but with value in of doing so within this thread here and now without detracting from it now you have mentioned mentioned struggles with Dm.

A couple of things worthy of mention in forming re Dm first form I've discovered in my own journey you might find helpful Faith?

Technically in itself, the chord isn't extraordinarily difficult to form, sound reasonably cleanly and ring out as taught conventionally using traditional fingering 1, 2 & 3, or shouldn't be.

Where it can become quite challenging IME, is in changing to and/or from when Dm occurs within the chord progression, especially Allegro or faster tempo, notably where there is an all finger change. e.g. Even at a modest 100BPM in learning "Kiss Me" some time ago, whilst I had/have no problem forming Dm per se (either fingering of the same voicing, more on that in a moment), and I found the recurring change to [u]from[/u] Dm to G first form easy/pretty much a no brainer, whereas the tighter spaced F [u]to[/u] Dm at the end of the verse moving into to the chorus was a much trickier shift to accomplish comfortably [u]at tempo[/u] with consistent accuracy and speed for me. Similiarly, the changes back to Dm at the end of the next two bars of the chorus, notably from Am7 to Dm, C7 to Dm. The solution of course is as always, analyse, note the minutiae in the form/ing and change/movement, then persistance in repetition, correcting until consistent and eventually, rote.

For smaller hands, shorter fingers (ergo span) I personally discovered and think that forming Dm i[u]deally[/u] with finger #3 closely adjacent the fret it should be isn't a comfortable or natural stretch. Which leads to;

An [u]alternative fingering[/u] of the same voicing as suggested by Justin of Justin Guitar here in a very recent (2020) video than his original Beginners' (BC-123) Dm teaching video from 2009. Not only does using it with the 4th (substituted for the 3rd finger) landing immediately adjacent the fret as it should be sound better and require [u]less pressure[/u] (which is always faster), but is often easier, and faster or at least as fast as the traditional fingering in the change. Worth a watch, for your consideration.

Now it may not work for everyone nor might the fortunately ecto fingered find it necessary. However in much the same vein as Justin's alternative fingering of A first form on the premise of an anchor finger between A-D-A-E-A being more pragmatically facilitative, his fingering of 1, 2 & 4 for Dm not only makes sense, but I also find it faster and more facilitative for the length of my fingers, shape of my tips and size of my hands much of the time too. That said, I use both fingerings of the same first form voicing forms of Dm and A alternatively at times generally as suits the preceding and/or following chord fingering and facilitates finger placement/movement just as I use alternate fingerings of G, and for F with and without a C in the bass (F/C).

I do the same with A in many songs alternating between the three most common fingerings of first form voicing of A.

For your consideration. I suspect like me you'll find all pragmatically useful variations as your chord 'vocab' and dexterity expands.

Thank you for the tips -- I will check them out. Dm is the only open chord I can't reach for or change to easily -- it feels so nonintuitive in its form and I have trouble remembering if the first finger is on the second or third string and if the third finger is on the second or third string... it's a bit like time zones in that sense. I work across time zones and have for the last ten or more years, and I still can't seem to remember if the other person is ahead or behind.