A Little help, please....

Hello all,

I am brand new to guitar....(a whole WEEK already, but it's going well so far! lol )

I'm a sax player, but I'm really liking guitar so far. I like that the guitar is linear and follows the staff. The sax doesn't, and it's kinda nice to know that if I'm looking for G#....it's going to be right next to G :)

I have been having a bit of trouble, though, that hopefully someone can help me correct...I'm finding that I'm resonating the strings and making sound as I lift my left hand fingers off to change position. Is this something that I'm doing wrong? Or, is there something I need to do that I'm not (like muting)? Or, is this just because my fingers aren't calloused yet, and the string is digging in and sticking? Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Scott

Hi Scott,
Welcome to GT..
My first thought would be hand position.. fretting the string at a slight angle and when you lift your finger off the string heads back to its position.. Like most beginners you are looking to see that your fingers are headed to the right fret.. causing you to roll the guitar lower side away from your body. This forces your hand out of position.

Try raising the neck (approimately 45 degrees).. This will let your wrist wrap around the neck a little easier.. This may help until you get your finger tips broke in, your joints flexible and memory in place..
Also check back in fundamentals 1.. A picture is worth a thousand words..

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=13958&c_id=1&ch_id=2

Hope this help..
Good Luck
Gordon

Hey & welcome!

Originally Posted by: samata...I'm finding that I'm resonating the strings and making sound as I lift my left hand fingers off to change position. Is this something that I'm doing wrong? Or, is there something I need to do that I'm not (like muting)?

It sounds exactly like muting is the problem. Muting is covered in various places of GF1:

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=1

I mention it early in the Left & Right Hand functions. Then again when it is time to play various chords & change chords.

Remember that both hands share the job of muting. Sometimes, when you change a position you can mute with your picking hand in between chords. Often you should be looking for places to maintain contact with the strings but release enough pressure to get from position to position. Your fingertips (and parts of your fingerpads, etc.) will still be lightly in contact with the string, keeping it from ringing.

Make sense?

This is a very subtle thing you develop gradually over the course of time. So, in the beginning don't worry too much about it. Just get your hands used to the chord shapes & changes. Then gradually refine the skill. Take your time, be patient with yourself. :)

Best of success, let us know how it goes & have fun!

Thank you, Chris.

Once again, this is so cool that not only are the videos so helpful, but it's really great to have the instructors here to help and answer "live". There are a lot of sites with instruction videos. Not many (if any) where you can post "hey, what did you mean when you said..." and get an answer.

I did watch your videos regarding muting. That's why I thought that might be my problem and asked that, because I wasn't sure it that was my issue. I took me a little while to figure out where that "extra buzz" was coming from. At least now that I have, I can try to address it. Thanks.


"Take your time, be patient with yourself. :)"

Hey, just because "patience is a virtue", that doesn't necessarily mean that IMPATIENCE is a vice ;) lol No worries. I'm in my 40s, know that sometimes learning takes time, and have no agenda other than enjoying the process. And, if I could have the patience to learn saxophone, guitar shouldn't be too bad. :)

Scott

Hi Scott,
Just wanted to comment on the patience thing. Im in my 50's and have been playing guitar for many years, but I am self-taught and mainly strumming. Learning how to put my fingers on specific strings and play a pattern has definitely been trying. I find myself going to fast, and repetition gets to me. So I'll play for a bit then get up and do something and come back to it. That seems to be working, but I'm thinking I probably need to push through more often and spend more time at one sitting.

Donna

Thanks for the comment, Donna (and everyone else) I appreciate it.
I agree about practicing. I'm 47, and one of the good things about starting something so complex now is that I don't have to learn how I learn. I've been doing the same thing. Instead of practicing for 30 minutes, for instance, I've been practicing for 10 minutes 2-3x a day. That way it makes me want to go back and pick it up again.

Also, even though guitar is new to me, I think I have a better sense (at my age) or when I'm "doing something wrong" or when it's just a fact of inexperience, if that makes sense. In this case, I thought there was something that I didn't KNOW that I should be doing...

Originally Posted by: compart1Hi Scott,
Welcome to GT..
My first thought would be hand position.. fretting the string at a slight angle and when you lift your finger off the string heads back to its position.. Like most beginners you are looking to see that your fingers are headed to the right fret.. causing you to roll the guitar lower side away from your body. This forces your hand out of position.

Try raising the neck (approimately 45 degrees).. This will let your wrist wrap around the neck a little easier.. This may help until you get your finger tips broke in, your joints flexible and memory in place..
Also check back in fundamentals 1.. A picture is worth a thousand words..

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=13958&c_id=1&ch_id=2

Hope this help..
Good Luck
Gordon

Good. Thanks.