No noise...

General · 3 replies · 98 views · 8 followers

ShaunR

28 days ago

I've consumed way too much guitar content online than I care to think about, but I've never heard any other teachers talking about no string noise.

Now that I'm conscious of it, I hear it constantly and it's surprising to me how hard it is to avoid! The 1234 Chromatic exercise seem very simple, but when I'm walking backwards from 4321 I really struggle with string squeeking when I lift my third and second fingers off. Is this a common issue and easy to fix? It has to be related to putting pressure on the fingers towards the headstock in preparation for the next finger to go down? Thanks for any input in advance :)

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Clay

28 days ago

Hey Shaun - I had the exact same squeaks when descending on the lower frets. For me, I figured out that because my fingers are stretched on the lower frets, my finger (usually just third finger) would slide a little toward the headstock as I lifted it from the string. I had to concentrate really hard on pulling it straight up off the string when doing chromatics. If I was just "flowing" through the exercise, the squeak would always return. Stil does. But if I focus on pulling the finger off exactly perpendicular to the neck, no noise. It took about a month to figure it out, and about another month to make it go away (mostly). Hope that helps. At least you know you're not alone!

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Scott Fowler

28 days ago

I noticed the same thing with my fingers, too.

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Tomo Fujita Mod

27 days ago

Thank you Shaun for sharing this topic. Yes. Not so many guitar teachers mention this part. Becuase most teachers are just teaching exact patterns and not so much about "Feel"

Very simple! When you go down 4321... you should not play same tempo as 1234 go up! No noise is first priority here so once you hear any noises... then that tempo is out! Just go slower!
Plus, try to use as less as finger pressure everytime when you are practicing your guitar. Your fingers are not spread out so try to start around 5th fret instead of 1st fret.

Be patient and you will have more freedom in your playing.

Tomo

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ShaunR

27 days ago

Thanks Tomo - appreciate the response!

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Hugo W

27 days ago

I think a "proper" teacher will definitely mention/stress eliminating finger and string noise during their first few lessons. But for video contents on social media, they are not that exciting. So, people either filter them out or not mention them at all.

Muting with the fretting index finger has lots of nuances in different positions and it's hard to describe too. Also, our hand and finger dimensions are not exactly the same. So, it's probably better to have a good teacher to pick on these, or one has to be very critical about everything they learn.

Hugo

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Jordan Koll

23 days ago

This topic has been super helpful. Even to hear that others encounter the same problems. As a new player I get frustrated during practice with finger squeak. This is normally the part where I take a break and move over to something else like sight reading to take a mental break. I have been trying to focus on thumb position and stretching hands before playing, but I find making mistakes just loads up tension in the shoulders and angle of wrist. At least dynamics and muting have felt like a small win. Going really slow means I am checking my right hand as often as my left.

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Tomo Fujita Mod

23 days ago

Thank you Jordan! So great to hear that this topic is very helpful.

Once I hear any noises, I need to stop doing whatever I was doing then I need to do two things.
1) Play it simple.
2) Play it slowly.

Tomo

3 Likes

Sammi Fujita Mod

22 days ago

Thank you, Shaun, for starting this great conversation! The more we share, the more we learn and realize we’re not alone in this.

For everyone: noticing extra string noise is actually a good sign. It means your awareness is improving, which is essential for growth. At the same time, it can feel frustrating, like you can’t quite get it right.

A helpful word to keep in mind is “yet.” You might not be able to play without noise yet, but you’re working on it — and that is the practice. Tomo’s seemingly effortless clean technique comes from years of consistent practice, attention to detail, and ongoing refinement. Nothing about it is instant.

Be kind to yourself!
Sammi

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Parker Morse

21 days ago

Yes! I have noticed this as well, especially going down in the chromatic scales. Thanks for the advice. I've been sticking to doing the chromatics on the acoustic guitar because I can hear the finger noise and pick noise more easily there, especially when I'm trying to play softly.
I've been listening to the Byrds recently (I realized they were a common influence of a lot of guitarists and bands I like) and especially their early records have a *lot* of finger squeaks. Sometimes I can even hear the "thunk" of someone picking a note that wasn't fully fretted.

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