How To Play Guitar : Step 3

Place your fingers correctly on the frets. Right-handed players use their left hand for fretting and use their right hand for picking. The frets are the metal strips that run perpendicular to the strings. You actually press your finger down between the metal strips, not on them. For example, if you're playing the third fret, you place your finger on the string between the second and third metal strip. Hold the string down firmly so that it only vibrates between your finger and your strumming hand. Do not forget that you must play on your fingertips and not on the soft part of your finger. This requires cutting your nails to avoid scratching the fretboard. Place your finger as close to the fret as possible to create a good sound.

• When you hold down multiple strings at once at different frets (to play chords), it can be a little tricky (especially if you have short, inflexible fingers). There are usually several different ways to position your fingers for the same chord, so research them and experiment to find which one feels most comfortable for you.
• Keep in mind that every time you move from one fret to another, the resulting pitch will be half a step higher or lower (i.e. "sharp" or "flat"). This is important for if you want to eventually read and play from sheet music.
• Some people find that placing the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, not coming over the top, leads to better finger placement because it allows better reach and strength of the fingers on the frets. Ultimately, however, do what feels best for you.
• The most important thing is to achieve a clean sound for each open chord when you are practicing. After you had placed all your fingers on the fretboard, play through each of the strings of the chords. Make sure that the strings that are supposed to ring all not muffled or muted. If the notes are not ringing out properly, find out why. Chances are that you are not pressing hard enough or parts of your fingers are touching that string which prevents it from sounding out clearly. Are any unused fingers touching strings?