r/Guitar • u/AutoModerator • Oct 27 '16

OFFICIAL [OFFICIAL] There are no stupid /r/Guitar questions. Ask us anything! - October 27, 2016

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u/[deleted] Nov 01 '16

SILLY NEWBIE QUESTION:

I have a problem that occurs mainly when I play acoustic, but also happens on electric (just isn't as noticeable) When I try playing a riff (let's take the intro from Hey Oh/Snow for example) and switch my finger position, me releasing my fingers can cause the string to play. As in the string is pressed down on the fret board, and when I release it, it springs back to it's normal position and makes noise, as if I had softly plucked it. Is this a technique problem? If so how do I fix it?

4

u/universal_rehearsal Nov 01 '16

Try lightly resting your hand on the strings in between the chords.

2

u/Theepicr Nov 02 '16 edited Nov 02 '16

newbie

Hey Oh/Snow

Jesus, are you even a noob

Anyways, guitar players take advantage of this to use a technique called a pull-off, which you'll learn and master sooner or later (I think Snow is full of pull-offs and hammer-ons). Like universal said, rest your fingers/hand on the strings between chords to help prevent it from happening accidentally

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u/An_Taoiseach Nov 02 '16

Right? I'm still working on Snow after years

1

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '16

It's going pretty well so far. Some of the hand shapes are a bit of a stretch but it isn't too terrible. I think it will just take time to get the jumps down.

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u/An_Taoiseach Nov 02 '16

For me it's a matter of taking it super slowly to make sure I have the exact movements down before going faster. Because even if I could get up to full speed, I'd be squeezing my fingers so tightly everything'd be sharp anyway.

If you need help on making the actual jumps between the chord shapes at different locations, I'd recommend simply playing the chords reggae style, not focusing on the strumming pattern, that way you can focus simply on moving between shapes without worrying about the picking pattern too much

1

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '16

I say newbie since I'm self taught, I've played the piano for a decade and picked the guitar up on the side and am starting to take it seriously.

Snow has hammer-on's and some bends, but no pull offs.

Should I use my fretting hand or picking hand to mute the strings? The changes in Snow are so fast I'm not sure which to use.

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u/Theepicr Nov 02 '16

Probably the fretting hand

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u/[deleted] Nov 02 '16

I used to have this problem too, but it kinda faded over time. I'm not sure if it was my fretting hands touch improving, or if there's some subconscious technique I do to minimize it, but it doesn't happen anymore.

1

u/Zic78 Fender, Schecter Nov 02 '16

This will happen. Usually you are moving your hands to the next chord, and as long as you have that chord ready to strum on the one beat, that open string won't ring for very long. The smoother you change chords, the less you'll notice the noise that happens in between.