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is this a dumb question?

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(@chinsumo)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 5
Topic starter  

so, i'm teaching myself guitar--on an electric--and i'm confused about the whole 'fretting' thing...

i go to put my fingers on certain strings at certain frets to create certain chords, like this book i'm looking at tells me to..

and then it tells me to strum, so i strum. and no sound comes out of the strings where i have my fingers...is this dead-ness supposed to be?

help me please...i'm also learning left handed, and its oh so confusing switching things around....


   
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(@anonymous)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 8184
 

First off the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.
I bet you are putting your fingers right on top of the frets right?
That will mute the strings.
Put your fingers just behind the frets.


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

'Deadness' can be caused by a bunch of things:

Your fingers might not be pressing hard enough - inexperienced fingertips are soft, and they take a while before they can give you good tone. Once they harden up, you'll need less pressure.

Your finger placement may be too close to the frets - it's the fret that makes the sound, not the finger.

Your finger placement may be too far back from the frets - the farther back (towards the headstock) that they get, the harder it is to get a clean sound.

Your posture and/or hand position may be wrong - you might be inadvertantly deadinging the strings with other fingertips.

Your strumming hand might be contacting the strings right after (or even during) the strum - that'll kill the sound quick.

Your guitar might not be set up properly, and the strings may not be clearing higher frets.

Dont give up - tone won't come easy, but it's worth working for.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@anonymous)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 8184
 

I was just thinking.
NoteBoat gave some great info and i would add a small suggestion.
Lay off on playing chords for just a bit and practice picking single notes to get used to fretting in the right way.
Just a single finger on a single string.
Once you are confortable with this go on to your chord lessons.
Oh and Welcome to GN


   
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(@chinsumo)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 5
Topic starter  

hey thanks you guys for replying to my post so fast...

i'm glad that theres a place like this on the web. as far as your information goes, i think its great, and i'm really trying to apply what you said to my fingers...haha.

its hard, but at least i have some sort of patience in me...


   
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(@chinsumo)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 5
Topic starter  

OMG i made a noise! haha


   
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 Taso
(@taso)
Famed Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 2811
 

Was it a Guitarnoise?

Haha, that was lame.

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your first noise.

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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 geoo
(@geoo)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 2801
 

Congrats on making a sounds. :) Just one other comment that I didnt see.. When you do go back to chord lessons, if you are still having deadness problems. Make the chord with your fret hand and then with your stumming hand, pick each string one at a time until you find the one that is humming, not sounding, buzzing or whatever. This will tell you which finger is causing the problem and then you can move that finger around a bit or press harder with it to make it sound better.

I have been helping my girlfriend a little at playing my guitar and she has to do this quite a bit because her fingers havent hardened up yet. SO, even though she thinks she is pressing down pretty hard, usually she isnt.

OHH and also I think you will find that there will be times that your will learn SO much during a day and then other days when you will think that it must have been a fluke when you had the good day. So just hang in there.

Good luck and have FUN..

Jim

“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

Try to find a friend or relative who plays a bit of guitar. It's much easier to learn if someone around you si willing to show you how it's done.


   
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(@dl0571)
Reputable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 240
 

I may be the only one that thought this, and (hopefully) its probably not right, but...

Is your guitar plugged into an amp? If it's not, an electic won't make too much sound. :wink:

"How could you possibly be scared of being bad? Once you get past that, it's all beautiful." -Trey Anastasio


   
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(@goodvichunting)
Reputable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 326
 

"OMG i made a noise!"

Noise? Thats music mate. :)

Latest addition: Cover of "Don't Panic" by Coldplay
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=502670


   
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 TimL
(@timl)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 41
 

"OMG i made a noise!"

Noise? Thats music mate. :)

You forget what it's like in the beginning...it's noise. :lol:
It's been less than a year for me, but it's beginning to sound like music (I hope). What a great feeling it is when you first "get" something and it sounds like it's supposed to.

It's a long, long road, but wow what a ride.


   
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(@chinsumo)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 5
Topic starter  

haha, i do have an amp...

and yeah, i was definately thinking about trying to find some people who play guitar, to maybe show me a little something...i think my friend has a friend who plays guitar--i think he's my only hope. haha.

i tried the local music store (victorlitz) but the guys werent that helpful. just salesman...


   
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(@bmxdude)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 119
 

chinsumo wrote:
i go to put my fingers on certain strings at certain frets to create certain chords, like this book i'm looking at tells me to..

Try to to get a couple of DVD instead of books. They seem to be easier to understand.

"The answer is practice.
Now, what's the question?"
Words by David Mead.


   
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(@undercat)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 959
 

There's nothing like seeing it... I've started teaching a few people, and I really do forget how much I don't even think about any more.

Coversation I had a few weeks ago:

Me- Okay, press down those strings, yes, that's good, now strum. Whoops, don't hit the lowest string, that's not in the chord.

Her- Should I mute it?

Me- You can, or you can just not play it.

Her- Not play it? But how would I not play it if I'm playing all the others, do I like... dodge my hand out right before I hit the last string? That sounds really hard....

Me- Uhhhh.... I really don't know, let me play your guitar for a second and see how I do it.

Etc.

All that to say... although poorly... that there's a lot of things we all assume and don't think about anymore that really need another human being to explain and show, so find yourself an instructor, friend or relative who can spend some quality time teaching you those utter basics.

And welcome to the asylum for the musically insane!

Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...


   
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