Do you want to quickly learn how to extract clean sound from your favorite instrument instead of an incomprehensible cacophony of poorly clamped barre? Then you looked at the address, because in this article 7 secrets of how to properly clamp the strings on the guitar will be revealed.
A similar problem is faced by all novice musicians, the most talented of whom, having overcome all difficulties, gained world fame. Therefore, if you can’t do it right away, don’t despair, because, as the popular wisdom says: “Patience and work will grind everything.” And very soon you will understand how to learn to clamp the strings on the guitar.
Excuses for the lazy
In order to relieve himself of responsibility for the fact that beautiful sounds are not immediately extracted, a person begins to complain that he has:
- long / short fingers;
- small / big hands;
- fingers are not spread wide enough.
But believe me, this is all a whim, because in the history of guitar music there are a lot of geniuses with both small and big hands. Moreover, everywhere you can meet a fragile Japanese woman laying on a big Gibson, or a healthy man with a ukulele baby in his hands. Therefore, first of all, a person who wants to understand how to properly clamp the strings on the guitar must have a great desire - otherwise time will be wasted.
About patience and practice
Develop muscle memory, as it is very important for further progress in the difficult task of mastering the instrument. Practice, coupled with patience, will do their job, and you will succeed. There is no magic here, just the learning process will speed up significantly if you start to trust your hands.
Learn to force yourself to take all the necessary steps to achieve the goal, and your patience will be rewarded a hundredfold.
Therefore, be self-critical and follow the principle: “It didn’t work out - repeat it again”, and in the process of constant training your fingers will get up to where they need to.
The first significant difficulties begin with meeting the F (Fa) chord, because this is the first barre to be mastered.
Faced with his muffled strumming, I want to thoroughly “blow” my guitar against the wall, but believe me, you won’t achieve anything! Therefore, it is more advisable to calm down and just “go have a drink of water”, and then continue the battle with the evil F (Fa).
Possible mistakes
Consider three important points that may interfere with reproducing clear sound:
- Insufficient pressure on a particular string.
- The finger lies far from the nut.
- The finger clamping the desired string is in contact with another.
Therefore, secrets for beginners will be revealed later on how to clamp the strings on the guitar.
Secret # 1: Choose Simple Chords
If your mental state is dear to you, do not choose a song with five or eight chords. Since for a good development of the game’s technique it’s more convenient to choose a couple of the main ones and practice their transitions from one to another. If you still want to play some difficult, but very favorite song, then break its chords into pairs and boldly practice. So it will be easier for you to understand how to properly clamp the strings on the guitar.
For example, a song consists of: C, G7, Am, F. First we work out a pair of C - G7, and when the sound becomes clear - a pair of Am - F. Then we swap them: F - C and G7 - Am. When everything worked out, play the whole melody first.
Secret No. 2: Find the desired point of contact
To understand how to pinch strings on a guitar, learn how to control the process. Make sure that each finger is located on the fret indicated in the manual, and if it says that you need to "clamp on the second," then press on it, and not between it and the third.
To make it clearer, remember that when the string is “clamped”, it snugly fits to the very highest nut lying at the base of the head of the neck (or feather). Therefore, it is so important to put your finger exactly on the way, especially for a clear sound barre.
But remember: the farther the string is clamped from it, the worse the sound and the more difficult it is to produce a good result.
Secret No. 3: Determine the force of pressure
Check how tightly the strings are pressed, as often beginner guitarists press them hard enough.
Of course, at first it is not easy, since they are quite rigid and injure the soft fingertips. But believe me - this is not for long, because in the process of hard training corns will appear on them, due to which coarsening to insensibility will occur.
To better develop your brush and fingers, use an expander, which you can buy at any sporting goods store.
Secret # 4: Position your thumb correctly
You should check how exactly he lies, because a lot depends on his position. It must be straight and “look up”, and the tip should not lie on the front of the neck.
Here are examples of incorrect thumb positions:
- If your thumb rests on top of the bar, then you pressed it with the wrong muscles. It should be pressed due to the tension of its own muscles, and not those that are at its base.
- If the thumb “looks away” from the guitar body, then it stops the whole thing for you, since the longitudinal position fetters the hand movements.
- If the upper phalanx of the thumb is bent, then this pose changes the angle of the remaining fingers relative to the palm. Actually, this also complicates the matter and leads to pain in the wrist.
Secret No. 5: To tips - yes, to pillows - no!
A beautiful and high-quality game is based on the correct use of fingers. To make things finally work out, stop pinching the strings with pads and start pinching them with the place next to which the nails grow, that is, with your fingertips. Therefore, putting them on the neck, imagine a half of the apple that they supposedly hold. Here's how to grip the strings on the guitar.
Secret # 6: Control clean sound
Watch the sound of each chord, and if one of the notes is muffled, then identify it as soon as possible. Then get a clear sound. This is not entirely simple, since during the performance of a melody, chords are replaced one by one.
A special exercise can come to the rescue, which often needs to be repeated: put your fingers - lose a chord, then release and repeat again. For a better result, you can play blindfolded, as tactile sensations play a paramount role here.
Secret # 7: The Basis of Barre
This difficult method of building a chord is achieved by pressing the index finger to the desired fret with the back side. It should be absolutely straight and parallel to the nut, and this should be done perfectly, as it can come in handy very often.
In general, patience should be shown and everything will work out. Surely after this article you will not have a question about why to clamp the strings on the guitar, because all the secrets for beginners are revealed here.