Learning to play acoustic guitar: Should I wean myself off looking at the strings/fretboard while practising chords, or will this naturally come later?
November 15, 2010 11:35 AM Subscribe
Learning to play acoustic guitar: Should I wean myself off looking at the strings/fretboard while practising chords, or will this naturally come later?
I have learned 3 chords (D, A, E) and right now I'm practising switching between them and playing them clearly. I'm feeling good about my progress and my committment to practising.
The thing is, I have to get a good look at the fretboard and/or the strumming area to be sure I've got my fingers in the right spot and that I'm strumming the right strings for each chord (4 vs. 5 vs. 6).
I'm wondering... will NOT looking at the fretboard and/or strings come naturally with practise, or should I make a concerted effort now to "feel" my way through?
I don't want to learn a bad habit right from the start as discussed in this AskMe, but I don't know how else to know whether I'm strumming the right strings and touching the frets correctly.
I have learned 3 chords (D, A, E) and right now I'm practising switching between them and playing them clearly. I'm feeling good about my progress and my committment to practising.
The thing is, I have to get a good look at the fretboard and/or the strumming area to be sure I've got my fingers in the right spot and that I'm strumming the right strings for each chord (4 vs. 5 vs. 6).
I'm wondering... will NOT looking at the fretboard and/or strings come naturally with practise, or should I make a concerted effort now to "feel" my way through?
I don't want to learn a bad habit right from the start as discussed in this AskMe, but I don't know how else to know whether I'm strumming the right strings and touching the frets correctly.
Best answer: It's perfectly fine to look at the fretboard until muscle memory makes it unnecessary.
I would recommend:
1) Go through the chord change 3X while looking at the fretboard.
2) When you can do that with NO hitches whatsover, try to do it without looking.
3) If you goof when you're not looking, go back to looking at the fretboard. Repeat 10X.
4) Close your eyes. Try to get to the first chord. Open your eyes. Are your fingers in the correct position?
5) Keep practicing.
In short, don't necessarily feel rushed to wean yourself off of looking, but do attempt it regularly. Even extremely accomplished guitarists look at the fretboard while playing, to make sure that their fingering is correct. As you practice, you will find yourself needing it only for more challenging hand positions or changes.
posted by bardophile at 11:44 AM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
I would recommend:
1) Go through the chord change 3X while looking at the fretboard.
2) When you can do that with NO hitches whatsover, try to do it without looking.
3) If you goof when you're not looking, go back to looking at the fretboard. Repeat 10X.
4) Close your eyes. Try to get to the first chord. Open your eyes. Are your fingers in the correct position?
5) Keep practicing.
In short, don't necessarily feel rushed to wean yourself off of looking, but do attempt it regularly. Even extremely accomplished guitarists look at the fretboard while playing, to make sure that their fingering is correct. As you practice, you will find yourself needing it only for more challenging hand positions or changes.
posted by bardophile at 11:44 AM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
It has been so long that I've actually forgotten what I did about this, but it would be greatly helpful to be playing by feel from as early as possible.
Get good at learning where your hand is on the neck, and remember the shapes of the chords. Now, ADE are all open chords (so unless you play Ramones covers you're going to not be using them all the time), once you get to barre chords it will be even more important.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:44 AM on November 15, 2010
Get good at learning where your hand is on the neck, and remember the shapes of the chords. Now, ADE are all open chords (so unless you play Ramones covers you're going to not be using them all the time), once you get to barre chords it will be even more important.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:44 AM on November 15, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks so far. I should add, if your answer is "learn by feeling," I would love tips along the lines of what bardophile listed above.
posted by cranberrymonger at 11:51 AM on November 15, 2010
posted by cranberrymonger at 11:51 AM on November 15, 2010
It comes naturally. Look while you need to. You will find that when you've done the shapes and the changes enough your right brain will take over, as the right brain so gloriously does with these things. At that point you'll just notice that you did a change without looking and you'll think, "cool".
posted by Decani at 11:53 AM on November 15, 2010
posted by Decani at 11:53 AM on November 15, 2010
It will come naturally with time, as you get better. Your muscle memory will develop and your need to look at the fretboard will gradually diminish.
What helped me was learning songs. I would have to look at the chord changes and lyrics on a computer screen, or sheet of paper, and that gave me a reason to avoid looking at the fretboard, a reason that wasn't just "don't look at the fretboard." So if I were you, I'd pick out some songs I like, maybe half a dozen or so, with chords that I knew already, and play them over and over until I notice that I'm not looking at the fretboard anymore.
Bonus: now you know half a dozen good songs.
posted by hootenatty at 12:01 PM on November 15, 2010
What helped me was learning songs. I would have to look at the chord changes and lyrics on a computer screen, or sheet of paper, and that gave me a reason to avoid looking at the fretboard, a reason that wasn't just "don't look at the fretboard." So if I were you, I'd pick out some songs I like, maybe half a dozen or so, with chords that I knew already, and play them over and over until I notice that I'm not looking at the fretboard anymore.
Bonus: now you know half a dozen good songs.
posted by hootenatty at 12:01 PM on November 15, 2010
you need to develop the muscle memory in your fingers in order to play without looking. It doesn't have much to do with looking at the board. Find yourself a song with the 3 chords you know and play it over and over, that will help you develop your muscles faster and make it more fulfilling in the process.
posted by any major dude at 12:02 PM on November 15, 2010
posted by any major dude at 12:02 PM on November 15, 2010
Don't look.
I looked, and I regret it. It's been extremely difficult to break the habit. All the sensory information you need to play the guitar, you can derive from your ears and your hands. Your eyes don't give you vital information. Otherwise blind people wouldn't be able to play. Using your eyes might make things easier in the beginning, but an intimate physical/aural foundation for your technique will be more powerful later.
Build your memory from the essential sensory information right from the start, so that you won't train yourself to associate a superfluous visual cue with what your hands and ears can already tell you.
Sure, there are plenty of things I can do now without looking, but when it comes to playing single notes/improvising/melodies etc., it's taken much longer to wean myself off looking at the fretboard.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 12:03 PM on November 15, 2010
I looked, and I regret it. It's been extremely difficult to break the habit. All the sensory information you need to play the guitar, you can derive from your ears and your hands. Your eyes don't give you vital information. Otherwise blind people wouldn't be able to play. Using your eyes might make things easier in the beginning, but an intimate physical/aural foundation for your technique will be more powerful later.
Build your memory from the essential sensory information right from the start, so that you won't train yourself to associate a superfluous visual cue with what your hands and ears can already tell you.
Sure, there are plenty of things I can do now without looking, but when it comes to playing single notes/improvising/melodies etc., it's taken much longer to wean myself off looking at the fretboard.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 12:03 PM on November 15, 2010
If it comes down to being able to play while looking or playing poorly/not at all while not looking, I'd go with looking. Get the muscle memory down first, worry about not looking later, I think. Personally, I feel like there's only marginal benefit to not looking at your current skill level (open chords at the base of the neck). Being able to play without looking will be more necessary when playing higher up the neck, as you'll need to swing the guitar away from your body to reach the higher notes.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:11 PM on November 15, 2010
posted by backseatpilot at 12:11 PM on November 15, 2010
Best answer: Learn by feeling, yes, but also learn by listening. Take a sec to look at your hands as you fret the chord, and listen to how that chord sounds. Do you hear all six (or five or four) strings playing nice, clean notes? With your left hand still on the chord, take a look at your right hand. Can you play all 6/5/4 notes individually with your strumming hand? Do they all sound clean, in tune and with a nice, full tone?
Now try playing without looking at your hands. Does the guitar sound the same? Does it sound worse? If so, you should keep looking at your hands, because it's making you a better guitar player. I find that even to this day, with 15+ years of playing under my belt, my technique and tone are always slightly better when I am looking at my hands and the fretboard and really concentrating.
So basically, don't think of the ability to look away from the instrument as a goal of playing the guitar so much as a consequence of playing the guitar.
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 12:11 PM on November 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
Now try playing without looking at your hands. Does the guitar sound the same? Does it sound worse? If so, you should keep looking at your hands, because it's making you a better guitar player. I find that even to this day, with 15+ years of playing under my belt, my technique and tone are always slightly better when I am looking at my hands and the fretboard and really concentrating.
So basically, don't think of the ability to look away from the instrument as a goal of playing the guitar so much as a consequence of playing the guitar.
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 12:11 PM on November 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
As kind of a combo of the above, I recommend looking at first to get used to landing on the right strings/frets. Once you know the shape of the chord, I recommend playing in the dark. Not just closing your eyes. In the dark. Listen for fret buzz. Listen for fingers sloppily touching adjacent strings. Use these opportunities to also practice fingerpicking.
There is something about playing in the dark - eyes open, even - that worked so well for me. It seemed to heighten my awareness of what I was doing. I had a second, el cheapo guitar that I would actually play lying in bed. If I fell asleep and dropped it, I wasn't as concerned. Many times I woke up with it on my chest, set it aside, went back to sleep. If your living arrangement allows it, I highly recommend it. (Good going-to-sleep progression to lullaby you out: Em-Cmaj7-Asus2)
Also, practice making chord shapes with your hands when you are nowhere near your guitar. If a song comes on the radio that you know the chords to, air guitar along with it (correctly, not sloppily). Or just, pick one from your repertoire and play away. Even in a crowd, just make the chord shapes inconspicuously. That practice counts more than you know!
Here's where that all comes home: When you are changing chords in a song, you want to aim for being able to make the chord shapes "mid-air" and land all at once on the fully-formed chord, as opposed to "rolling" into the chord one string and fret placement at a time. Think of it as a skater hanging above the rim, setting the next landing mid-air. Your ease in changing chords will be absolutely noticeable. Get that muscle memory trained. It will take care of you later when it counts.
All of the above counts for scales and riffs, too.
posted by skypieces at 1:19 PM on November 15, 2010
There is something about playing in the dark - eyes open, even - that worked so well for me. It seemed to heighten my awareness of what I was doing. I had a second, el cheapo guitar that I would actually play lying in bed. If I fell asleep and dropped it, I wasn't as concerned. Many times I woke up with it on my chest, set it aside, went back to sleep. If your living arrangement allows it, I highly recommend it. (Good going-to-sleep progression to lullaby you out: Em-Cmaj7-Asus2)
Also, practice making chord shapes with your hands when you are nowhere near your guitar. If a song comes on the radio that you know the chords to, air guitar along with it (correctly, not sloppily). Or just, pick one from your repertoire and play away. Even in a crowd, just make the chord shapes inconspicuously. That practice counts more than you know!
Here's where that all comes home: When you are changing chords in a song, you want to aim for being able to make the chord shapes "mid-air" and land all at once on the fully-formed chord, as opposed to "rolling" into the chord one string and fret placement at a time. Think of it as a skater hanging above the rim, setting the next landing mid-air. Your ease in changing chords will be absolutely noticeable. Get that muscle memory trained. It will take care of you later when it counts.
All of the above counts for scales and riffs, too.
posted by skypieces at 1:19 PM on November 15, 2010
A good tip I learned was to try to use the right finger position that makes switching between your chords easiest.
Let me see if I can explain better: Take the A chord & the D chord. There are different ways to play both chords, but it is possible to play both chords where your ring finger stays on the B string for both. For the A chord the ring finger is on the B string at the 2nd fret, while for the D chord it is on the 3rd fret. So now you don't have to pull all your fingers off the fret board when you switch, you can use your ring finger as an anchor and that is one less finger you have to worry about. Make sense?
A lot of the open chords share these commonalities and these can really help you out.
posted by cuando at 1:26 PM on November 15, 2010
Let me see if I can explain better: Take the A chord & the D chord. There are different ways to play both chords, but it is possible to play both chords where your ring finger stays on the B string for both. For the A chord the ring finger is on the B string at the 2nd fret, while for the D chord it is on the 3rd fret. So now you don't have to pull all your fingers off the fret board when you switch, you can use your ring finger as an anchor and that is one less finger you have to worry about. Make sense?
A lot of the open chords share these commonalities and these can really help you out.
posted by cuando at 1:26 PM on November 15, 2010
all top shelf advice so far.
Just another thing, it usually help to play, or at least try to play something you know and enjoy.
Just with the three chords you have E, A, and D
repeat this progression
E-A-D-A over and over, that just gave you
What I like About You - Romantics
Slow Turning - John Hiatt
ROCK in the USA - Mellencamp
Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson
and probably 100 more I am blanking on right now.
posted by timsteil at 1:39 PM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Just another thing, it usually help to play, or at least try to play something you know and enjoy.
Just with the three chords you have E, A, and D
repeat this progression
E-A-D-A over and over, that just gave you
What I like About You - Romantics
Slow Turning - John Hiatt
ROCK in the USA - Mellencamp
Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson
and probably 100 more I am blanking on right now.
posted by timsteil at 1:39 PM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Easy progressions that fit tons of songs are great. Another is I-V-vi-IV (D-A-Bm-G, as in U2's "With or Without You", for example). Almost any transposition of that works for tons of stuff. That Axis of Awesome vid that went around is this progression. Hundreds of songs.
posted by skypieces at 2:09 PM on November 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by skypieces at 2:09 PM on November 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
This may be a bit advanced for where you're at now, but start early and you'll get great long-term results: practice singing notes as you play them. Seriously. Play a note. Sing a "La" or an "Ooh" or whatever, and try to match it. Play another, and match that one. Play and sing simple melodies. It's hard! But every bit of effort you put into this (a) makes you a better guitarist (b) makes you a better singer (c) makes you the kind of performer whose instrument is really part of you. Which is the best kind.
Otherwise, don't worry too much about looking yet. Have fun and work on playing your chords cleanly. Strum through chords for songs you like. Play guitar while watching movies or skimming the newspaper or having low-key conversations, so that it's just part of who you are. Love it. Don't get discouraged.
Oh, and work on keeping time. It can save you a lot of grief later.
posted by Erroneous at 2:43 PM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, don't worry too much about looking yet. Have fun and work on playing your chords cleanly. Strum through chords for songs you like. Play guitar while watching movies or skimming the newspaper or having low-key conversations, so that it's just part of who you are. Love it. Don't get discouraged.
Oh, and work on keeping time. It can save you a lot of grief later.
posted by Erroneous at 2:43 PM on November 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Muscle memory is a strange and wonderful thing. Practice something enough and you don't have to think about it and yes, you can do it blindfolded. I can play some of the most complicated things I learned in my youth when I believed that playing guitar would get me chicks. Last time I checked, I could play a lot of my guitar-wanking repertoire without looking. I didn't make it a goal. I just found that I could.
posted by plinth at 5:03 PM on November 15, 2010
posted by plinth at 5:03 PM on November 15, 2010
As long as you're conscious of it then it won't do any harm.
If find yourself gigging that's a good time to make sure you aren't staring at your freeboard the whole time.
I know I really know a song well when I can play it and look out the window. Or play while reading an article while singing. Stuff like that...
posted by zephyr_words at 5:50 PM on November 15, 2010
If find yourself gigging that's a good time to make sure you aren't staring at your freeboard the whole time.
I know I really know a song well when I can play it and look out the window. Or play while reading an article while singing. Stuff like that...
posted by zephyr_words at 5:50 PM on November 15, 2010
Best answer: I looked all the time when I started out (about 3 years ago). After about 6 months I thought I'd try playing without looking, and found I was able to play 90% of the songs just fine. Now I try to practice without looking often (mostly because I'm watching TV while I practice). So it comes naturally, but it won't hurt to encourage it.
Also, I ended up hurting my back holding my guitar and back at the required angle to stare at the fretboard. So it might be good to break that habit early.
posted by mmoncur at 4:00 AM on November 16, 2010
Also, I ended up hurting my back holding my guitar and back at the required angle to stare at the fretboard. So it might be good to break that habit early.
posted by mmoncur at 4:00 AM on November 16, 2010
I stopped looking when I started playing jazz. Having to read the music sheets makes looking fairly impossible.
posted by coolguymichael at 11:54 AM on November 16, 2010
posted by coolguymichael at 11:54 AM on November 16, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I think at this point, it's important to practice precision -- making sure your fingers are in the right place places at the right frets. Focus on this, and the ability to make chords quickly and without looking at the fretboard should follow naturally.
posted by BurntHombre at 11:42 AM on November 15, 2010 [2 favorites]