2 Questions

[uncw_grad]

Okay, first, can anyone tell me a good way to hold down a whole fret as in something that reads 111231. I have really skinny fingers and am having trouble getting all of the chords down and getting the correct sound out of them. My second problem is I don't understand about reading the x on tabs. When something has 3x0023, how do you not play the x? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[higrob]

I'm glad that you asked that?I also need to know the answers.

[Problem Child]

It's really funny, almost every new guitarist asks the same questions. Some months ago I asked the same question here. So, here we go.
The x is a muted string - it means that you don't hear it while playing, coz you touch it with your finger (but don't press down) so that it prevents the string from oscillating. To make it clearer I'll take the chord you mentioned 3x0023. To fret the high e string use your ring finger. For the b string take the middle finger. Now use your index finger to fret the low e string. Press down on the string so that the bottom side of your index finger touches the a string, but don't press the a string down. If you play only the a string now, you'll hear a click. Then play the whole chord.
The other chord you mentioned (111231) is maybe a little bit hard for beginners. Take your index finger and lay it down on the first fret, across all strings. Press down. Play every string separately. All of them should ring. If you don't get it, try lowering your thumb on the back of the guitar, and maybe taking the side of your index finger. Then take your other fingers and fret the g and b strings.
Good luck!

[Coffee]

When playing barre chords it's very important that the barring finger is very close to the fret. If you're to far away your likely to get buzzing or just a thump off the improperly fretted string