Fretting

A little more than a year ago, I started playing guitar, to keep up with my daughter who has also been learning.

I didn’t know was how painful it is to play a steel string guitar: pushing hard on the strings was excruciating until I started playing consistently.

I’ve been fully self-taught, using the occasional YouTube video for advice and the Tabs app for the music. But a few weeks ago I came across the online course I’d been looking for. It includes the technique tips I’d been missing.

One tip in particular stood out.

It turns out that you are NOT supposed to put your fingers at the midpoint between two frets: doing so makes you have to push twice as hard (remember: finger pain) and it often makes the strings buzz.  Instead, you’re supposed to place your finger as close to the metal fret divider as possible. When you do this, you need less pressure, and the note comes out clean.

So often the difference between the expert and the novice isn’t just skill, it is ease. Experts glide through things, novices sweat.

If you’re at the beginning of something, and things are going slowly, look for an expert who can teach you about the fret bar. New things are hard enough without the wrong mental model.