When you first try to make chord shapes with your left hand, the fingers will tend to get in each other’s way. The way to fix this is to slow down and work on getting each individual finger in place so that they do not muffle the strings. This entails beginning with how you hold the guitar and your general overall posture. Start with trying to hold the guitar in playing position without excess tension, then go onto making a simple chord shape like E minor in the first position. Stum it a few times, keeping an awareness of any changes in tension in your body.

After you get used to the sensation of trying to play the guitar in a relaxed manner, try extending your efforts to slightly more demanding chords like the C major and A minor. If you keep practicing chords with a weather eye on your whole body, by the time you get to practicing barre chords you will be in a position to make your guitar playing progress much faster.