How do you play your guitar?

metkillerjoe · Post by **metkillerjoe** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:18 am

I'm starting out playing guitar, and I have a question about were your focus should be:

On the fingers on the frets

or

On the strings that you are plucking (your pick hand)

Either way, its just another habit I will learn, so might as well pick up on it now.

HPDarkness · Post by **HPDarkness** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:32 am

Whatever is best for you. I usually concentrate on the frets. I find it easier.

shadowkhas · Post by **shadowkhas** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:09 pm

I really don't concentrate on anything, I just play and my fingers go naturally.
Sometimes I'll try to finger pick like on a bass guitar, then I focus on my right hand.

fishface617 · Post by **fishface617** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:29 pm

I tend to focus on my left hand (on the frets) and finger pick with my right. I dont really use picks because I pretty much alwyas play on my acoustic guitar.

metkillerjoe · Post by **metkillerjoe** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:48 pm

fishface617 wrote:I tend to focus on my left hand (on the frets) and finger pick with my right. I dont really use picks because I pretty much alwyas play on my acoustic guitar.

I almost never use picks, unless I'm playing something heavy (rammstein etc). I mean, I see most pros using the picks as well.

But I'm guessing where you look and how you pick the strings is all just personal preference?

noscottno · Post by **noscottno** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:12 pm

I focus on both.

Dissolution241 · Post by **Dissolution241** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:23 pm

When I start out on a new song, I tend to focus more on the left side (fingers on frets) and I shift between the two sides to make sure I'm hitting the right notes. If you're just starting (think you said that, too lazy to look down/up) then you'll probably shift your focus around.

stephen10101 · Post by **stephen10101** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:41 pm

At first I focused on the frets, but now I don't really focus on anything, I just play naturally, I think eventually everyone gets to doing that, because I never see any pros concentrating on either hand, they always look at the crowd.

Out of curiosity, what kind of guitar are you starting with?

metkillerjoe · Post by **metkillerjoe** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:47 pm

That's actually what all my friends bug me about. I have a Fender Strat, and everybody bugs me about getting an ibanez or les paul because they would be easier.

I consulted with the band teacher and he said I could probably pay somebody to do some modifications on the guitar to get the strings lower.

Its a nice guitar, and I enjoy playing it.

stephen10101 · Post by **stephen10101** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:54 pm

Nice, fenders are pretty cool. I've never heard of anyone lowering the strings, though. What is the purpose of that, to make them easier to press down?

metkillerjoe · Post by **metkillerjoe** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:20 pm

stephen10101 wrote:Nice, fenders are pretty cool. I've never heard of anyone lowering the strings, though. What is the purpose of that, to make them easier to press down?

Yes. People tell me that if you have the strings closer to the fret board, its much easier to move around and press, hence, its easier to play.

Xiion · Post by **Xiion** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:30 pm

do both. focus on your fretting first, then record your self playing, find where you should improve on, then practice it. when you are ready, move onto your plucking (it's harder than it looks, trust me!)
plucking at the exact time you hit a note is the best experience of playing a guitar because you get a perfect sound out of it. you gotta learn to do it at the same time to make your playing sound great.

WaywornMmmmm · Post by **WaywornMmmmm** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:52 pm

metkillerjoe wrote:That's actually what all my friends bug me about. I have a Fender Strat, and everybody bugs me about getting an ibanez or les paul because they would be easier.

I consulted with the band teacher and he said I could probably pay somebody to do some modifications on the guitar to get the strings lower.

Its a nice guitar, and I enjoy playing it.

Perhaps the neck needs to be adjusted. I can't really think of why the action on a fender would be high, considering it isn't adjustable.

metkillerjoe · Post by **metkillerjoe** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:59 pm

WaywornMmmmm wrote:
metkillerjoe wrote:That's actually what all my friends bug me about. I have a Fender Strat, and everybody bugs me about getting an ibanez or les paul because they would be easier.

I consulted with the band teacher and he said I could probably pay somebody to do some modifications on the guitar to get the strings lower.

Its a nice guitar, and I enjoy playing it.
Perhaps the neck needs to be adjusted. I can't really think of why the action on a fender would be high, considering it isn't adjustable.

Its not high, but it could be closer.

[cc]z@nd! · Post by **[cc]z@nd!** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:00 pm

i was actually thinking of getting into guitar myself, so i end up fiddling around with my sister's acoustic one every now and then.

sad thing is, it's a piece of crap. one fret is higher than all the others, so a good four or five frets in the middle all sound the same :\.

gh0570fchurch · Post by **gh0570fchurch** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:05 pm

[cc]z@nd! wrote:one fret is higher than all the others, so a good four or five frets in the middle all sound the same :\.

I'm pretty sure you can get a replacement fret board (can't find it on Guitar Center's website). No idea how much they cost, either.

UPS · Post by **UPS** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:09 pm

I usually focus on the frets first when I first learn something, then I focus on my picking. Usually the picking comes very easily and naturally so I can focus on both at the same time. The frets are the harder part to master though.
So yeah, as you get better, it'll be a lot easier to fingerpick/pick the right strings without even trying, just because you have the feel for where they are, then you can just focus on the frets.

kornkidcrazy · Post by **kornkidcrazy** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:11 am

I'm left-handed, but I play right-handed guitars, so I usually focus on my picking hand(right hand) more because it always seems when I am galloping really fast that it is kind of sloppy. I'd say if you havnt been playing for a long time or if you are learning a new song or something, focus on fretting first until you know what you are playing.

@ [cc]z@nd!:
You could google new fretboards or you could the cheap and ghetto thing and remove your stings and sand that fret down a bit. I have no idea what it will end up like in the end though.