How in the world?

[ross68200]

I'm a beginner to guitar so to say I've been at it for about a 1 1/2 years and just got back to a teacher last week ... he started me off with learning a fingerpicking song (dust in the wind) it's easy for the chords C, Am and those that go along with those two chords.

Playing the chords is easy but the constant holding down on the strings for those chords is hard ... My fingers feel like they did when I started learning to play, I feel like I'm pressing down way to hard but feel also that I have too ....

How do many of you learn to relax your grip on the strings and just put enough pressure to play the notes but not bear down on them so much that it hurts .. or is this just the beginning of the learning to fingerpick songs?

I can play songs that have many chord progressions that keep moving around and not have sore fingers but that's with strumming songs and a pick not fingers...

Well any thoughts will I'm sure be tried and appreciated ...

Lynn

[devellis]

Have your instructor check the action at the nut. Often, the slots are left a bit shallow and that can make those first position chords a lot harder to play than they need to be. More generally, maybe he could assess the setup for you or you could just bring it to a tech for an assessment. Playability is a make-or-break factor as far as I'm concerned and, if anything, is even more important at the start than after you've been playing for a while. Get it checked.

[Oldguy64]

When I'm strumming I have a much lighter touch with my fretting hand than I do when I'm fingerpicking.
Not sure why. But that is what happens.

[Redpick]

As has been advised already-the action may be too high. I wonder if a lighter guage of strings might help?

Listen to Devellis and check the nut height. A little bit too high there and those chords near the nut are going to be a struggle. Make sure you have a nice radius curve there too, that makes a difference: if you have one or two strings sticking up above the normal radius, that's a pain to deal with when playing and feels weird on your fingers. If you get it all just right it should feel real natural and easy. What gauge strings are you using?

[ross68200]

Ok! the action is fine had it done lately and also the gauge of the strings is a light with 12-54 martin 4100's ... I don't think that its the playability more then me that's the problem .. at least that's my thinking ... I forgot to mention those things when I wrote the post ... cuss you guys are good at those recommendations I just forgot how good you were

Lynn

Originally Posted by ross68200

Ok! the action is fine had it done lately and also the gauge of the strings is a light with 12-54 martin 4100's ... I don't think that its the playability more then me that's the problem .. at least that's my thinking ... I forgot to mention those things when I wrote the post ... cuss you guys are good at those recommendations I just forgot how good you were

Lynn

Try CL or XL strings. 11-52s. They should be a drop-in fit and a little less tension might be all you need. Don't think that going lighter necessarily means giving up anything on tone either. Some guitars actually sound better with 11-52s. I have two guitars right now and have different gauges on each because they have their sweet spots at certain gauges. So, what make and model of guitar we talking about here?

[SongwriterFan]

Try a set of Martin Silk'n'Steels, or a set of John Pearse Silk/Bronze strings (I prefer the latter).

[jseth]

Well, if your guitar is setup correctly, then that's as easy as it's gonna get...

After 55 years of playing the acoustic guitar, I still have to remind myself to fret notes and chords only as hard as they need to sound clearly... especially when I'm playing a gig after a long lay-off...

Just remember: YOU are in charge, so tell your fingers what you want them to do... they will fall in line, after a fashion!

[SongwriterFan]

At under $10, these are worth a try (they coming in several sizes):

http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Tips-F...dp/B0091C03YG/

They REALLY eliminate the pain, but I feel pretty darned disconnected trying to use them.

But if you want to practice for HOURS at a time, they might be worth a try.

[Molder]

Those Martin strings have higher tension than most other brands. I love how they sound, but when working on any new songs that have the same chording they cut into my calluses.

[Fretto]

yeah, the fingerpicking does not forgive the mistakes that are ok to strumming. It took years to me to get that "just enough of pressure" without paying attention, I am not a pro musician though.

It always needs some adjustment when a new guitar comes in. Is it your case?

That is (to me personally) also about the fretboard radius: the guitar with I ever first successfully learned to play a song had it 16". Since then my left hand just does not like anything else. I can cope with 14" or even 13", but after several experiments those ended up collecting the dust. Sold 'em all.
Many thanks to Martin in this regard.

[David M123]

Originally Posted by ross68200

Playing the chords is easy but the constant holding down on the strings for those chords is hard ... My fingers feel like they did when I started learning to play, I feel like I'm pressing down way to hard but feel also that I have too ....

How do many of you learn to relax your grip on the strings and just put enough pressure to play the notes but not bear down on them so much that it hurts .. or is this just the beginning of the learning to fingerpick songs?



Lynn

Hi Lynn,

You probably are holding the strings down harder, due to the unfamiliarity of what you are doing. This creates tension, which is then expressed by gripping harder.

The solution for this is both simple and hard - pay attention to how hard you are pressing down and relax so that you are only pressing as hard as necessary to get a good clean note. The bad news is that this gives you yet another thing to pay attention to while you are doing something difficult. The good news is that relaxing will make changes quicker and easier.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[RodB]

My advice would be to discuss it with your teacher - who can see exactly what you are doing. This is all part and parcel of the learning process, and the advantage of having access to an experienced teacher.