Hard time with the chord m7

[gokyo66]

Hello forum,

maybe is looks like a silly question but I'm struggling a lot with this. Let me say first that, so far, I'm using a classic guitar.

I can handle fine the m7 barre chord (Fm7, Gm7) but starting from Am7 going up is a nightmare the D chord instead of having a nice sound is muted, no matter how close am I to the fret or how much pressure I put. Sometimes the sounds is good but I've to put a lot of pressure.

I don't have the same issue with Am, Bm and so forth. Looks like that when I'm lifting my pinky, I loose lot of strength on my ring finger and as well on my barre (even doubled with the middle finger) and the D string sound muted.

Any suggestion? Is really long time I'm having this issue, and I'm trying to practice regularly only for this exercise.
Thank you

[BlackBird]

I am not sure if I fully understand what exactly the problem is? You said you can handle the m7 chord form. On which string? E, A or D? Normally it shouldn't take that much pressure to produce a good sound from your guitar if you play close enough to the fret. I have a classical background and my teacher always told me that everybody is pressing way to hard than one has to to produce a good tone. So the problem must be somewhere else. If you could explain better what exactly the problem is and which form you are talking about, maybe we could help you better

[ragman1]

Yes ^

Which m7 shape and which D shape? Let's have a very clear diagram, not a verbal description.

[Dave70]

Light tension strings would help. The action of the guitar is another factor as well.

[gokyo66]

Hello everybody and thank you for all your answer.
Sorry if I wasn't so clear, hopefully this picture can help
Basically starting from A going up, the problem got worse.

My finger is close to the fret, I tried close to the fret, a little far away nothing change, but as I said, Gm7 or Fm7 works perfectly fine
Thnx

[BlackBird]

Ok so basically you are talking about the E string in the 5th position. If your bar chord is not clean try to start with shell voicings and work slowly to improve your barré. Here you have a chart for the shells:

Shell Jazz Guitar Chords (For Beginners)

If your index finger does not produce a clear sound try to slightly tilt your index to the left so that you are not pressing with the flesh of your finger but more with the boney side if that make sense. I can also recommend the video from Merce Font here:

. She is a classical guitarist and has a lot of very good educational videos. Try not to press as hard is you can that is the total wrong approach. Your thumb should only rest on the back of the neck as a guidance and is not there to act as a counterpoint pressure for your other fingers. Try to follow the approach in the video and work every day a little bit. Eventually you will develop the ability. AND if it hurts STOP and give yourself a rest. DO NOT PUSH through.

[Tal_175]

Most jazz players don't bar that minor 7 voicing with one finger and also they ditch the 5th. So you would use:

3
3
3
3
x
2

or

2
2
2
2
x
1

Initially don't worry about the high e string. Try to get the other stings ring cleanly first. ie:

x
3
3
3
x
2

* Numbers indicate the left hand fingers

[AllanAllen]

Also, if I understand correctly, you are playing index finger across the neck and ring on the E(7th fret A string). And above the 5th fret the D string is choked and not making sound?

If that's the case it could be a string height issue, or just a fingering issue. Either way, try the smaller voicings Tal mentioned before you adjust the guitar. You can even simplify them more.

EADGBe (string order, in case you aren't familiar with these chord descriptions)
5x55xx (These are the frets)
2x34xx (these are the fingers I use, you don't need to be tied to this, but it's what I use when I want three clean notes)

[pamosmusic]

Another thing that helps is making sure you have a decent angle on the neck of the guitar. Start elevating the knee so that the neck takes a slight upward angle. It can go as high as having the headstock be about eye level. But as you raise the headstock you’ll notice a really unhealthy bend come out of your wrist and the wrist will become a bit straighter … with the straighter wrist you’ll be able to apply more even pressure across the strings with the barre.

But also … what tal said. Still having a healthy wrist position is important for basically everything.

[mikeSF]

did you try bringing your thumb lower on the back of the neck to get more projection from your 3rd finger?

Also, not sure what syle you are playing but I've come to realize the note on the 5th string in that form is the least important sounding voice. Even though I land my finger there, I do not pluck that not to prevent low end mush.
Someone above mentioned you can very easily replace barred forms with fingering each note, skipping that 5th string altogether. try that?
good luck

[sgosnell]

Playing all 6 strings doubles both the root and the fifth with that fingering. I don't need to play either of those notes twice. I mute the A string, and either of the E strings, depending on the sound I want. When playing jazz, I almost never play all 6 strings, and seldom more than 4, often just 3. It depends on the situation, of course, but sounding all 6 strings is not something I try to do most of the time, regardless of the chord.

[ragman1]

I'm guessing, of course, because you're not here but it seems to me that Fm7 and Gm7 would actually be harder to play because they're further away than the Am7. As you come up the neck it should be easier because the playing position is more natural.

Also, the 5th fret would be easier to play than lower down if the strings were correctly set up.

So it might have something to do with the guitar itself. Is it an old guitar? Old guitars can go out of shape and need resetting.

Look at this picture. It's an old guitar and you can see how far away the strings are from the neck. Instead of being easier to play lower down it gets harder. The gap gets bigger as you go up.



Now look at this, which is my current guitar. The strings are very low equally all the way up so it's very easy to play.



So it may be the guitar you're playing.

This is one answer. If not, there are others. Have you got a music shop near you? You could take the guitar in and ask them. I'm sure they wouldn't mind at all.

[gokyo66]

wow guys, your are all amazing!! Thnx 4 all your suggestions and Tips&Tricks, has been really much appreciated

[gokyo66]

yes looks like my one is more like pic 1. I have also an acoustic guitar that I rarely use. I’ll check if got the same issue with the acoustic one ;-)

[wolflen]

as advised in posts above..have a tech look at it...go to a guitar shop and play a few guitars.. nylon and steel string acoustics .. see how they feel..

if you can play the chords your having trouble with cleanly..then you may want to upgrade your guitar..it is the gift giving season ..give one to your self

[ragman1]

yes looks like my one is more like pic 1. I have also an acoustic guitar that I rarely use. I’ll check if got the same issue with the acoustic one ;-)

Gotcha, it's a crap guitar :-)

So, as wolfen said (I like him), ask Santa nicely to find you a new one for Xmas and change your life!

[gokyo66]

as advised in posts above..have a tech look at it...go to a guitar shop and play a few guitars.. nylon and steel string acoustics .. see how they feel..

if you can play the chords your having trouble with cleanly..then you may want to upgrade your guitar..it is the gift giving season ..give one to your self

Will do for sure but I'm afraid of my wife . Last year I bought a new acousting guitar this year a keyboard and at the end I'm still stuck with my piece of crap that got almost 40 year. For her are simply object that are taking up space in the room, for me is different story of course.
Coming back to my issue though, I've to admit, that after seeing the video that BlackBird posted, with my great pleasure, I was able to produce a very nice and clean sound up to Dm7 in fret 10. I was amazingly and positive surprised that today I started my new job day with a definitely different spirit.

THnx to you all.
Bless