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ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,369
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,369
11/25/2017 7:33 pm

Hey & welcome to GT!

Originally Posted by: anniemacleodmusic

One thing that's been bugging me is there hasn't been any emphasis on which fingers to use to play as efficiently as possible.[/quote]

Guitar fingering is so unique to every individual that pretty much anyway you can get the job done is fine. Guitars & fingers vary a great deal. The only thing to watch out for is painting yourself into a corner.

Having said that, the guiding principle is to play with the most natural, smooth & efficient motion possible. Make sure that however you finger any given chord, notes, music is going to help rather than hinder you getting from one chord to the next. Or from one group of notes to the next.

A great rule of thumb here is to use one finger per fret in any given position. But since you might need to use more than one finger in a fret for a chord, or change anchoring positions for various melodies or scale lines, that rule can get thrown aside pretty quickly. :)

I always tell students to get it done how it works best for you. Then if you encounter a playing situation that requires you to reconsider your fingering, then learn a new way to negotiate it!

Learning multiple ways to play any given chord is just a natural evolution of learning to play guitar.

As long as you stick to the guiding principle of playing with the most natural, smooth & efficient motion possible, then you'll be fine.

My old tutorial on scale practicing may be helpful in demostrating practical applications of fingerings.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=451

[quote=anniemacleodmusic]Is that something that's up to me to figure out or is it discussed later on or am I missing something? I might have skipped over something because I did skip over most of the beginner level 1 stuff, as I'm not a total beginner.

You might want to ask Lisa directly in her instructor forum.

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/threads.php?f=46

Ask more if necessary! Best of success with the guitar. Have fun. :)


Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

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