Exactly what lesson are you working on?

Originally Posted by: ken.needham

I'm only playing the high High E string. I play with the first fret pressed with my index finger, then play an open note . . .[/quote][p]I thought you were only playing the 1st fret then the 3rd fret. But there is also an open string note?

[quote=ken.needham]So I have to lift my first finger to play the next two notes??

You need to lift your finger off the string gently only when you need to play open string notes.

But in general the idea is to maintain contact with the strings so they don't make unwanted noise or sound.