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Chapter 3: Grab Hold, Tune Up, Play On!
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Muffles, buzzes, and dead skin
Buzzes and muffles are the bane of beginning
guitarists, and they’re especially hard to avoid
when playing chords, which I discuss later in
this chapter. A buzz results if you don’t press
down hard enough on the string, and a muffle
occurs if your fretting finger comes in contact
with an adjacent string. Don’t worry too much if
your strings buzz and muffle a little bit; the buzz
corrects itself over time without you doing anything
consciously, just like a bad haircut. As
your fingers become stronger and more agile,
buzzes and muffles gradually heal themselves.
Left-hand fretting can make your fingertips hurt
a little until you develop calluses on them. Don’t
worry, though; the calluses are barely noticeable,
so you won’t look like a tree frog. But the
little bit of extra padding you develop eventually
allows you to play all night without the slightest
bit of pain or discomfort.
Pushing down on the strings
To know where to place your fingers, remember that the thin metal bars running
horizontally on the fingerboard are the frets, and you place your fingers
between the frets to make a note. To make the definition more complicated,
in music notation, fret refers to the space between the frets, where you place
your fingers.
To fret a string, press it to the fingerboard with the tip of a left-hand finger.
Place your finger in the space between the two fret bars, but a little closer to
the higher-numbered fret. Playing chords requires multiple fingers fretting
simultaneously. Keep your knuckles bent and your fingers rounded as you
apply pressure, making sure to press straight down on the string rather than
from the side. This produces maximum pressure and ensures that you don’t
prevent adjacent strings from ringing.
When you first start playing, your left hand will have trouble keeping up. You
may find it takes considerable strength and concentration to play notes and
chords that ring out clearly and that don’t buzz. Your hand may hurt after
only a few minutes of playing, and you may wonder how you can ever play
one song, let alone a whole evening of songs.
Left-hand strength develops over time, and you gain the endurance you
need just by playing the guitar a lot. Don’t worry about trying to build up the
strength of your left hand through independent exercises. Just playing the
guitar is enough to develop the appropriate and necessary muscles in your left
hand. Playing the blues is physical. As with any physical activity, don’t push it,
especially in the beginning. Keep at it, but take frequent breaks. When something
starts to hurt, stop for a few minutes — or for the day — and rest.
TEAM LinG