Fretting mechanics

When fretting notes, do fingers have to be right behind the metal fret or can they just be in the upper third space of the fret?

Originally Posted by: mahindru.gaurav

When fretting notes, do fingers have to be right behind the metal fret or can they just be in the upper third space of the fret?

Closer to the fret is better in general. But as long as you can get a clear & clean sounding note from that fretted string, just about any placement is fine. Sometimes too close can result in getting part of your finger on or over the fret & cause a mutted sound!

But, the closer you can get the more leverage you have, the more efficiency of motion you achieve, with minimal tension. If you wind up with your fingers too far back away from the fret you wind up having to press too hard. This wastes strength & results in your fingers & hand being too tense. That in turn makes it hard to switch to the next position.

You will encounter situations (certain chord shapes, or series of notes) that make it impossible to get every finger right next to the fret. But as close as possible is the general idea!

Are you working through the Fundamentals course?

https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals1

Hope this helps!

My $0.02 once again.......totally different animal I know C.S. but.......when playing slide guitar ......the slide actually should be directly over the fret wire, correct??!! Confusing except I suppose once this becomes second nature it's logical. Some day I swear......I shall work on at least becoming a wee bit dangerous on this super unique way of playing guitar.....both electric and acoustic!! But it does seem like you G.T. guys have a few nice courses on achieving this technique!! Jim C.

When I play the A minor pentatonic scale (or any scale in general) should I try to angle my fingers to avoid covering other bottom strings (even though those strings won't be played yet) or should I just play however as long as each note rings out clearly?

Originally Posted by: mahindru.gaurav

When I play the A minor pentatonic scale (or any scale in general) should I try to angle my fingers to avoid covering other bottom strings (even though those strings won't be played yet) or should I just play however as long as each note rings out clearly?

The thing to keepinmind is that all hands are different in size, length, limberness and so on. The angle of your handsand fingers is dictated by your hand type (big, small, long fingers, short etc), so there isn't a specific answer.

You did hit on the answer though > Play so that the string rings out.

There are really two main a factors to consider; does it sound good and is it reasonably comfortable to play (you're not forcing something that is uncomfortable). Obviously sounding good is important but the second of those two is about ergonomics and making sure that you don't over-stress or injure your hand.

Rare is the guitar player who has the hand to play everything perfectly 'like it should', so as guitar players, we are always trying to find the way that matches our set of physical circumstances and still sound good.

Originally Posted by: mahindru.gaurav

When I play the A minor pentatonic scale (or any scale in general) should I try to angle my fingers to avoid covering other bottom strings (even though those strings won't be played yet) or should I just play however as long as each note rings out clearly?

Your fretting hand fingers have 2 jobs.

1. Primary job is to fret the notes so they sound clearly & cleanly.

2. Mute other strings to stop unwanted notes & sound.

[br]So, as long as your fingers are muting those other strings that aren't supposed to be making sound, it's fine to cover other strings. In fact in some cases it can preferable to let your fingers do double duty here!

I cover fretting hand muting in detail here.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2281

Hope that helps!

How does one stop the little squeak that comes during chord transitions? When a player slides his or her fingers against the strings (without pressing down), a squeak is heard. How does one stop this (so it is not heard when gain is turned on)?

Originally Posted by: mahindru.gaurav

How does one stop the little squeak that comes during chord transitions? When a player slides his or her fingers against the strings (without pressing down), a squeak is heard. How does one stop this (so it is not heard when gain is turned on)?

Are you working through the Fundamentals or a style course? Muting & chord changes are covered in all of those.

What kind of chord transitions are you working on with a lot of gain? I encourage you turn down the gain & get your technique right before you start adding effects. In order to minimize string noise in betwen chord changes you have to learn to mute with both hands.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2281

Hope that helps!