Originally Posted by: Louie_blu
I mean isnt the proper way to play is for any string that I play to be touching the fret board hard ?

Hi Louie... its a common mis-conception that you have to press really hard to make the note sound correctly. Actually you simply have to press hard enough that the note sounds CLEANLY, which usually isn't that hard at all. For example, on both my electric & acoustic I can sound single notes without even having my thumb behind the fretboard. I don't need a "deathgrip" to get the notes to sound correctly.

What I'd suggest is be open to the idea it could be your technique, and divide & conquer. First, make sure the guitar is in perfect tune. If you don't have an electronic tuner, get one. Then, like Dan was suggesting, play just the single note that is giving you trouble, but play it with your index finger. Check the note by ear and with the tuner. If its in tune, the problem is you. I had the same thing happen to me where in a solo I just kept bending a note out of tune, and it just took a while of making a conscious effort to get rid of the problem. It may be that when you add your other fingers, you're unintentionally bending that note. Even just a little bend will make a note in a chord sound out of tune.

If the note seems out of tune even when you just play it with one finger, check your intonation with the tuner. Tune your guitar, make sure each note is spot on, and then play each note at the 12th fret. If the notes at the 12th fret are flat or sharp, but your open strings are spot on, then yes, your intonation is out. You can set it yourself, but I won't go into that right now. Its not complicated and its a good thing to learn how to do. Just do a Google search and you'll find instructions.

If the intonation is good, and you're still getting the problem, then it could well be that the fret is too high. However, you'd think that would cause problems with the other notes as well. You could have a high spot, but you'd need a guitar tech to determine and fix that for you. I'd only go to tech when you've ruled out player error and intonation.

Let us know how it works out,

Cal