Hello from Perth, Western Australia

Hi Everyone,

I joined about 10 days ago and have been practising every day. I'm a beginner, but finding the course very good and I'm already improving. I'm using a Gretsch G2655 in forge glow maple. However, I've hit a hurdle, which is transitioning my fingers from Am to C. I can go the other way easily enough, but it's a real stretch (literally) getting to the A string of the 3rd fret with my 3rd finger. The only way I can do it is to place the 3rd finger first, then stretch fingers 2 and 1 back to the other strings, but it's costing me 1 beat to do that and I know it's not the right way to do it. Anders specifically mentions this transition as one of the easiest, but not for me. No, not at all. Any tips would be appreciated.

My short-term goal is to complete Guitar Fundamentals 1 & 2 and then play Personal Jesus (from Depeche Mode) repeatedly until I'm sick of it.

Welcome!  You're definitely on track.

My current axe is a Gretsch as well.  I was an acoustic guy and had intended to go for one of the 335s (Gibson or Epiphone) but saw this center block Gretsch  at my local store and fell in love.

Edit - sorry I forgot to throw in my 10 cents worth on your question.  A couple of suggestions:

1.  You might try changing the position of your wrist a bit:  moving it a little more under the neck.  That may allow more room for that particular finger to fret.


2. Since you're "C" to "Am" is working fine, try this exercise.  Begin with a strum on "C", then lift that finger off of the 5th string ever so slightly - just enough to let the string ring out cleanly.  Try to move nothing but that finger!  Strum the "Am", then drop the finger right back down where it came from and strum the "C".  I'd try using a metronome to time the chord change.  Set it to a low number such as "50" or even slower, but find a setting where you can play without fail - regardless of how slow.  That'll establish a base point and allow you to see your progress as your ability grows.

Good luck and hand in there.  It's definitely worth it.

Rumble Walrus

Best -

Rumble Walrus

Anders is right. Am to C (without the G in the base) is one of if not the easiest open chord transitions.

You have everything going for you mechanically with the G2655 too. It's short scale length with Gretsch's thin U neck profile, so arguably couldn't be easier. Rather a nice axe for a beginner. 👍 

So to your issue. Unless you're elderly like so many of us here and suffer from arthritis (?), reading your post the most obvious alternative thing impeding your goal is inexperience & impatience. You'll get there. Time, patience, repetitious practice. 

How to. Rewatch the individual lessons about forming those respective chords. Then practice forming them over and over individually until you can do so in your sleep - figuratively per the idiom. Then do the same thing changing to and from Am to C to Am until the transition is seamless. Pay attention to where the ring finger lands on the C relative to the fret. Adjust the hand position wrist angle as necessary to achieve it. Initially it'll require conscious effort and will feel a stretch and uncomfortable to have it reach closer to the actual fret unless you have spider like fingers. With time & sufficient repetition, your mind and body will adapt so it'll all be subconsciously automatic.

Don't be in a rush. To quote Tomo Fujita;

Don't Worry

Don't Compare

Don't Expect Too Fast

Be Kind To Yourself

Anders is right. Am to C (without the G in the base) is one of if not the easiest open chord transitions.

You have everything going for you mechanically with the G2655 too. It's short scale length with Gretsch's thin U neck profile, so arguably couldn't be easier. Rather a nice axe for a beginner. 👍 

So to your issue. Unless you're elderly like so many of us here and suffer from arthritis (?), reading your post the most obvious alternative thing impeding your goal is inexperience & impatience. You'll get there. Time, patience, repetitious practice. 

How to. Rewatch the individual lessons about forming those respective chords. Then practice forming them over and over individually until you can do so in your sleep - figuratively per the idiom. Then do the same thing changing to and from Am to C to Am until the transition is seamless. Pay attention to where the ring finger lands on the C relative to the fret. Adjust the hand position wrist angle as necessary to achieve it. Initially it'll require conscious effort and will feel a stretch and uncomfortable to have it reach closer to the actual fret unless you have spider like fingers. With time & sufficient repetition, your mind and body will adapt so it'll all be subconsciously automatic.

Don't be in a rush. To quote Tomo Fujita;

Don't Worry

Don't Compare

Don't Expect Too Fast

Be Kind To Yourself

Amen manX

That is awesome! A customized solution - congratulations!

Enjoy - Lisa