Originally Posted by: JamesLJHey all...glad to be here. I'm VERY new at this. Every time I pick up a guitar and try to learn, I always end up giving up with the phrase "My fingers just don't work like that." Now I have three free resources for computer-based lessons, and I really don't have an excuse not to learn. That said...my main problem is that my fingers are too wide. I always, no matter how I hold my fingers, mute the string next to the one I'm pressing. Any tips on this??

I have a friend experiencing the same problem. My thought on it was that guitars have different neck widths. Classical guitars have very wide necks, or you could even start out on a bass just to start building callouses and your chops..BUT DO NOT GIVE UP! I gave up 25 years ago and just started again 7 months ago at 45 years of age and my teacher is 24! I have two guitars older than he is!LOL