playing bar chords without the finger squeak

[JoAnn]

Hi

How can I control the finger squeak on the strings when doing bar chords?

 

Thanks,JoAnn

Discussion

[Tomas]

Hi JoAnn,

This is common. I still squeak a little… it’s most noticeable when I recording.

The way to stop or reduce this is to practice lifting your left hand enough when moving to the next chord, but not too much.

It’s usually something I don’t have students work on until they are very comfortable with bar chords.

Here’s how another guitarist put it…

“String squeak is pretty natural and unavoidable…mostly I’d say make sure you aren’t putting much pressure on the strings when sliding your barre chord shape.”

and another…

“There are a few string lubricants out there that declare they can make all string noise go away. I never used one, since I’ve always kind of enjoyed the squeaking a little. To me, the small squeaks here and there make it sound much more authentic and real. If the squeak was gone, I’d just as quickly assume it was digitally processed.

Although you could try out coated strings, such as Elixir or D’Addario EXP. The coating on them tends to at least lessen the squeaking. But its almost impossible to COMPLETELY get rid of it.”

Here’s a link to a popular lubricant if you’re interested: https://www.amazon.com/Fingerease-2074-Guitar-String-Lubricant/dp/B0002GW3Y8/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1521668261&sr=1-1&keywords=string+lubricant

I’ve tried it but do not currently use it.

Tomas

[Author]

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