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  • How to let off with the fretting finger?

    Posted by NW7 on July 5, 2021 at 11:43 am

    Rank beginner here: I’m practicing the first two videos of week 1 of the 30 days to play. When letting off with my fretting fingers I notice that it distorts the sound I have created with the pick. To me it doesn’t sound right and I assume I’m doing something wrong. Are there any tips for how to let off the string properly?

    NW7 replied 3 years, 7 months ago 3 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • Crabby

    Member
    July 5, 2021 at 12:12 pm

    A few random thoughts:

    Another finger is touching the string behind where you are fretting it. You don’t notice until you pull off the fretting finger.

    You may be moving your finger in a way that creates a “pull off”. A pull off is a deliberate attempt to play a new note on the string by basically picking it with your fretting finger. you may be doing this accidentally.

    The above may cause the string to vibrate enough it buzzes against an adjacent finger.

    Your fingernail could be striking the string as you pull it off.

    Almost all of these things will naturally get better with time. Of course if you can identify the problem you can work on it specifically and speed up the learning process. At first I never felt a string buzzing against my finger. Now I can feel it and adjust.

    • NW7

      Member
      July 6, 2021 at 7:31 am

      Hi crabby! Yeah, sometimes it makes a different sound when I take the finger off and other times it’s like it stops the vibration when I take my finger off. Is the later supposed to happen? Doesn’t sound right to me.

  • Bill_Brown

    Member
    July 5, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    Hi @NW7 , I agree with @Crabby , It’s all about finger placement – make sure you’re fretting the strings with your finger tips – not the pad👍 to reduce the chances of the fretting finger(s) from touching adjacent strings😎 Hope that helps!

  • Crabby

    Member
    July 6, 2021 at 8:00 pm

    @NW7 yes when you take your finger off a string it will stop vibrating and go silent. This is normal. Not necessarily desirable but it is normal. As you get faster those silent notes will shorten and become un-noticeable.

    As you advance there may be times when you deliberately lift your finger to mute the note and shorten the ringing. But that is down the road.

    Right now I would say trust the process. Keep playing. Sometimes you will have mini breakthroughs that will excite you and motivate you. Sometimes some things will just gradually get better over time and one day you realize “Hmm that issue with pulling my finger off the strings doesn’t seem to be a problem any more”

    • NW7

      Member
      July 7, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Got it! Thanks!

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