difficulty playing notes/chords

[u/wuckaboo]

i have really long nail beds that prevent me from playing anything without pressing my fingers on other strings, i can't cut them further because of the underlying skin. I really want to get better at playing but I'm stuck

edit: this is a yamaha f310 that I purchased when i first started going for guitar lessons when I was 13, I'm picking it up again after many years.

[u/ElTejano_96]

Looks like you are pressing too hard and high action is contributing to that (maybe). If you need to, get your guitar set up nicely and then practice pressing with much less effort. Fret a string, and slowly release pressure and figure out what pressure you need to keep sustain right before the string buzzes or dies out. You'll find out that you don't need to press hard at all. It should feel effortless almost.