***Disclaimer-I apologize in advance to any and all LEFT-handed guitarists out there, but all my diagrams and videos are oriented for Right-handed players (players who use their right hands to pick). All of the information is still valid for lefties, but you will have to visualize a “mirror-image” for many of the graphics.
As a beginner, your fretting hand needs to perform the lion’s share of the work. The earlier you work on correct mechanics,the better. Don’t be overwhelmed by trying to remember all of these suggestions at once; concentrate on one or two points at first. After your hands “remember” these mechanics you can move on to others.
Making contact between the string and the fret is the key to producing a clean sound. If we make constant clean contact, the note will sustain as long as the string vibrates. If the pressure is removed, the note will die out. On a properly set up guitar, it shouldn’t take much finger pressure to make the connection. You should experiment to find the least amount of pressure it takes to produce a tone. Exerting too much pressure is fatiguing and could possibly pull the note out of tune on higher profile frets. Here are some helpful hints to perfect your fretting hand:
when fretting a note, get as close to the body side of the fret space as you can without physically touching the wire- touching the wire will mute the note.
keep your fingers straight with the fret wires- this will increase your stretch.
your palm doesn’t need to squeeze around the neck. Use only the fingers you need (with your thumb applying opposite pressure) to produce sounds. If you try to grip too close, you limit your stretch and cramp your hand.
don’t keep your elbow tucked into your torso- this pulls your hand out of position and hinders your ability to move up and down the neck fluidly.
Here are some easy exercises to help you with your technique:
EXAMPLE #1
This first example uses all four fingers of your left hand to cover a 4 fret block. Each finger will cover one specific fret across the guitar. In this case, our index plays the 5th fret, middle plays 6th, ring plays 7th and pinky plays the 8th fret. Imagine yourself drumming your fingers on a desk (from index to pinky).
* Don’t be afraid to experiment with any and all exercises. Why not try playing EX.1 starting from a higher /lower fret while maintaining the same shape?
EXAMPLE #2
This exercise uses the Low E (6th) string exclusively, but you should also try it on the other five strings. You will still use one finger per fret like EX.1, but now our “four-finger block” will ascend up the neck- one fret at a time. (*NOTE that whenever you hear terms like “ascending”, “up” or “higher” it means that we are headed towards the body of the guitar).
Hopefully you’ve already read the “GUITAR PICKS” article, because we’re going to begin this lesson with picking.
Q: “What’s the best way to hold your pick?”
A: The ideal way would be to hold it between your index and thumb, with the point of the pick aiming at the body.
* try holding the pick in the center-it’ll give you more control.
Your picking hand should be “anchored” when playing scales and single-note passages. This just means that your hand should be sitting on the bridge (or Low E string) of the guitar. Don’t try using your pinky to hold up your picking hand. It’s just plain wrong and other guitar players will point at you and laugh.
And NEVER try to play single note runs using what I call the “Claw Machine” technique. This is when a guitarist tries to play with their hand suspended in mid-air.
When strumming chords, your hand should move freely across the strings.
holding the pick, fingerstyle, “clawing”, RH tapping. pinch harmonics? CAR PICKUP SUV!!!!
downstrokes, up strokes, down up/up down, alternate picking, try playing each note 3X dud/udu
Choosing guitar strings is a very important decision. After all, this is the junction between your hands and your instrument.
Guitar strings come in two forms: unwound (plain) or wound.
Unwound strings are your High E (1st), B (2nd) and G (3rd) strings*. These are a solid strand of metal and they feel smooth to the touch. Unwound strings are suited for higher pitches.
Wound strings are your Low E (6th), A (5th) and D (4th). They are plain strings with metal wrapped around them to produce lower pitches. You can see the difference between wound and unwound, or simply slide the edge of your pick against the strings. Wound strings will produce a jagged, scraping sound.
(*Occasionally you might encounter a guitar with a wound G (3rd) string. This is a throwback to the early days of electric guitar when wound G’s were the only type available. )
Modern guitar strings offer many options– composition, string gauge, round wound/flat woundand coated/non-coated.
Composition-
For electric guitar, the most common string materials are stainless steel and nickel.
Stainless steel strings have great volume, tone and sustain. They’re also the brightest sounding. Given its magnetic properties, it’s a good match for electric pickups. Stainless steel is also very resistant to corrosion, much more so than nickel. These are a fine choice, but some players believe they feel a little “stiffer” than other strings.
Nickel-plated strings are essentially stainless steel strings with a light plating of nickel. The plating makes them feel less stiff than pure stainless steel and also takes away some of the brightness. Nickel is also a smoother surface so they produce less “whisper” ( string noise). These are probably the most common type of electric strings.
Pure Nickel strings are another popular choice. They are less bright than stainless steel and nickel plated strings and they also have more “give” to them.
String gauges-
String gauges are another option to consider. Sets are usually referred to by the size of their thinnest strings. These can vary from very light (8’s) to heavy (12 or higher). Some common string gauges are: 9-42, 9-46, 10-46, 10-52.
***It’s important to understand that the higher gauges are more difficult to bend on. Their additional mass makes them difficult to budge at concert pitch. Higher string gauges are usually preferred by rhythm guitarists and “doom and gloom” metal heads that tune their guitars WAY down. Drop tuners need additional mass to make the strings sound fuller. (A set of 8’s tuned down to Drop C feel like cobwebs and sound about as heavy.)
Round wound/flat wound-
We’ve already learned that a wound string is nothing more than a plain string with windings around it. They are also known as Round wound strings.
Flat wound strings are Round wounds that have the windings ground down to have less of a serrated feel. They produce a mellower tone and are most commonly used by Jazz guitarists and bass players.
Coated/non-coated
Non coated strings are any of the strings mentioned above. They are wound or unwound lengths of plain metal. But since strings are subject to breakage and tuning issues due to body oils and dirt, several companies offer an additional option of “coating” each string in the hopes of prolonging string life. Manufacturers claim that string life can be doubled or even tripled-but then again the prices of coated strings reflect this.
*I like to get my “bend” on, so I prefer light gauge strings.
