playing notes??

[bubba]

hello all...

i'm just a beginner here and i'm having a ruff time playing notes!! when i place my finger on a fret and play the string, sometimes it plays nicely and sometimes it makes a sound like you're trying to play a really taught(right word??) string..neone knu why this is??

thanx much for ne help in advance http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[Sixstring]

Bubba,
A few questions come to mind.
What type of guitar are you playing, accoustic or electric? How's the action, (distance from the strings to the frets)? Where are you fretting the note- at the edge of the frets or in the middle of them? Have you built up good callouses?

Mostly I would guess that it's just a matter of practicing and getting a feel for fretting the notes. Hand position, action, etc., will determine how difficult it will be to get a clean sounding note, but it sounds to me like it's just a matter of putting in the time and being sure you hold the note down hard enough to make it sing.

Keep at it and it will pay off. I learned on a brutal accoustic with strings about as far away from the neck as my mother had to walk to school in 25 feet of snow! You think that stopped me from hammering out Shock Me on a nightly basis? No way, baby. Beat those fingertips into submission and revel in the burn! http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[Soard]

Hey
I am just a beginner as well, and I am going through the exact same problems that bubba is. Fingers hurt and the notes sound like crap. Sure hope it gets better (it even hurts to type right now)
Soard

[ghodaddyyo]

Trust me, it does get better, and the dues are well worth it, when you've got MUSIC coming out of your fingertips!

[StoneDragon]

You said it!

there is definitely a sort of "rite of passage" that you have to go through when you first start learning.... you gotta get them calouses worked up... and your body has to figure out exactly what you're trying to get it to do with this weird new posture you are forcing it into.

Once you get past that initial hump though.... that's when you get to start making music.

[gibsonboy]

you have to wear grooves in your fingers, ive been playin 20 years and my fingertips are like leather. you must practice every day and learn how to quickly pick alternatively. the guitar is a hard instrument but a rewarding one in the end.