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I remember years ago when I was teaching myself (well... re-learning actually after taking lessons as a kid) I used to buy books that were a "made easy for guitar" series. So they had different artists or genres and they were presented with super tab in a really easy to play format. There are many 3 chord songs in those I'm sure... I'm just not sure if they still make those books - geez, I'm feeling old now!

Anyway - the only other thing I would very strongly recommend is that if you can play those three chords fairly easily (and it sounds like you can) you should definitely start to expand your base a bit.
Start with an Am, which is just one finger movement from the C. Then, if you can do that then move all three fingers all up one string and viola - you have an E! and if you can do that, then the Em is right there... soon you'll see that you can quickly expand your G,C,D knowledge into 8 or 10 chords pretty easily. As you do this your level of enjoyment will bloom along with your ability to take on more and more tunes!

Good luck with it - keep playing (that's the biggest thing you can do for yourself).

I'm curious to know if this is a constant thing or only sporadic? Also I wonder - did this just start happening after the guitar sounding fine for a long time prior to this?
The reason I ask is 1) if it is only sporadic it may be related to how you're playing. I know that there are times when I pick up my guitar, get half way through a song and just put it back down because for whatever reason I'm not playing it well at that moment. No fault of the guitar, just has more to do with my own mood or energy level. 2) if this is something that has just slowly crept into the sound over a bit of time but it was fine before it is probably the strings. It could also be the guitar mellowing with age. Things like temperature, humidity and exposure to sunlight can affect the tone of the guitar pretty quickly and can also take it out of tune pretty fast.
Just some things to think about, but as a first step I'd slap some new strings on to her and see if she smiles back at you. If the strings you currently have on are getting long in the tooth it could be just as simple as that.
Good luck.

You're right that you can give the barre chords more "wwmmph". Of course, they also return to you more wwmmph because now you are utilizing six strings instead of say just four (compare the sound of F barred vs. F played open for example). So you can easily see then why the barre chords are going to have a place in your kit bag of techniques.
As for the Strat vs. acoustic there are a couple of things. First, yes, generally speaking the electric is going to be much easier to barre than the acoustic. But particularly with the acoustic it is important that it is set up properly - that your action is where it should be. Also using lighter strings can be quite helpful on the acoustic when you're practicing the barre chords. Some buddies have recommended Elixor strings to me and I haven't tried them on my own guitars yet, although I did try them on my buddy's Taylor and found them to be very smooth feeling which is good for a guy like me who doesn't play as much as I used to since I no longer perform (decided I needed a job to be able to eat and buy beers - lol). I suspect they might be a good choice for learning the barre chords as well.

Although I've done some performing in bars both solo and with a couple of small local bands I've never played an open-mic except when I was in university. The university scene was great because you'd get a variety of styles and skill levels and for the most part the audience is there because they want to hear the music - you know, the whole "being all intellectual" and all that. But it was fun.
Coincidentally, I recently saw Ashley MacIsaac - a great Cape Breton fiddler - playing at a "listening room" venue in Halifax, N.S. Canada and even in the listening room environment once the booze begins to take effect the yapping grows. Staff were trying to "shush" people but then Ashley said he thought people should be able to talk and carry on because he felt it meant they were enjoying the music and enjoying themselves and he feeds off that kind of crowd dynamic. So to each their own I guess.
For me if its a true open mic event then the audience should be going there to listen to music. Some talking and having fun is appropriate, but honestly folks - give the performers a bit of a break and listen to them play. If you don't want to do that you are probably in the wrong place and should go to the pub down the road where the stereo is cranked up and nobody gives a damn how loud you are.

Here's a few ideas.
First is this little web site I found and I quite like it because it gives you standard tuning along with several alternative tunings so when you encounter songs that are played in alternate tuning this will still be a helpful site:
http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/
Also, electronic tuners are pretty cheap these days. I use a Korg GA-30 that I bought several years ago for 20 bucks. It features your standard E A D G B E tuning in 440 hz as well as "quinta" tuning allowing you to tune down up to five semi tones. It has and lcd level indicator, sharp and flat led indicator lights a jack to plug in for electric guitar and an audible tone option if you want to tune by ear. That's pretty good for a $20 tuner! There are several like this available for small money.
Lastly, I suggest also getting a tuning fork because it will help you develop your ear for the right tone. With it you will tune one string to the fork's pitch, then tune the other strings in relation to that and to each other. The benefit here is that when you're playing and hear that something's just off a little you'll know how to check each string's tuning and make a couple of small adjustments without having to pull out the tuner or go online in the middle of jamming.
Lots of people see tuning as just a chore standing in the way of getting down to playing, but embracing the tuning process will pay good dividends in the long run.

That's awesome topdown - thanks. I wasn't familiar with that site, but it looks good. I'll have to check it out a little more.

I don't consider myself a "purist" and I have no problem with cheating on a couple of chords in order to allow you to keep learning and progressing. After all, as some have mentioned here, there are many guitars collecting dust in closets because of new players getting frustrated with tough new chords that are quite frankly not so easy to get the hang of.
So I say go for it - by all means learn the little tips being offered here if it will keep you playing. Just do yourself a favor and never settle for that in the long run. I've been playing for around 20 years or better now and I occasionally struggle with a chord here and there and I still need to practice at least a little every day to keep up on things. So do what you must in the early stages to keep interested, but keep challenging yourself to take on those chords that seem impossible right now.

Ok, maybe its because I'm getting a little older and mellowing with age, but I hear your question, or rather you request for a "challenge" in a bit of a different way. If its just hot licks you want, then just ignore the rest of what I'm saying - that's cool.
But listening to what you tell us you're playing now and hearing the suggestions others are making to you I think you should challenge yourself to play something peaceful and packed with emotion rather than trying to get more and more sizzling licks to scream from your finger tips.
Many great rock artists have done this with sometimes astounding results. One that comes to mind is "Beth" by Kiss. Another interesting approach might be to play something like Whiskey in The Jar, like Metallica did, but go find the Evans & Doherty, or other Irish musician's more original version and master that - Gaelic lyrics and all - then switch it into the Metallica style and see if knowing where the tune came from makes any difference to how you feel about where it is now.
You could be surprised at how diversifying your talents and understanding of music will effect the way you play. Try not to forget that it isn't always about the destination - sometimes the journey itself is where the real joy is.
However you find new challenges, I wish you all the best!

Hello nmontgomery.
I have to say that the very first thing that struck me about your post is that you've only been playing for a very short while. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that you're having some of these problems and I think you'll find that in almost every response the one thing everybody here can agree on without a doubt is that practice makes the difference.
I hear what NELA is saying about finger position, but personally - and this is just me - I don't like that approach for two reasons. One is that it actually adds another thing to learn/remember and the other is that it can sometimes result in incorrect finger technique which might come back to haunt you later when you're learning many more chords.
My advice is to learn the chords properly, one at a time and just keep practicing until they become second nature and you no longer have to think about where you're putting your fingers. What is helpful, if you're at the stage where you can do it, is to practice other songs as well which will build on the flexibility to switch between the chords in different ways. For instance, another good song to try with the same chords you mention is "Time of Your Life".
I guess the point is that just as you have to walk before you can run, you also have to learn chords and how to switch between them before you can get too worried about mastering strum patterns techniques.
Just my two cents worth :-)

OK - gonna jump on the band wagon here. These guys have said it like it is my friend. Spend hours (maybe not all at once), but hours with your guitar and the recording and work it out.
One little trick that I use though to figure out the structure of a song is rather than trying to play along with a song's rhythm, try picking out a lead. This will get you going up and down the fret board finding out where certain strings make the right sounds and if you already know what the song's basic chords are you will definitely learn from this experience, not to mention you might gain some speed and accuracy with fingering.
Also, a good song to get you picking up on the little fingering tricks is Wild World by Cat Stevens. The little run in the chorus takes some practice (here's a tip - it begins with the open F) but it will give you some new confidence and again, help you to hear what kinds of sounds can happen with just a little effort. Lastly, if you're playing by ear along with the recording make absolutely sure your guitar is tuned to concert pitch (440 hz). Otherwise it will never sound quite right.
Cheers & good luck!

I say go for some experimenting with alternate tunings. A great start is to try Bruce Cockburn's Wondering Where the Lions Are in drop to D tuning (drop the low E to match the sound of the D). Add a capo in the 2nd fret and this is a beauty! If you have a lot of patience, you can also try Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy either in drop D or even double drop D (tune both E strings to match the D). Experiment with the capo on this tune and again - pure magic baby! Biggest trouble with this one is remembering all the words.
Also here's a link to a nifty little site that will get you thinking and playing with tunings:
http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/
Have fun with it and don't be afraid to try some new things. Good luck!