When playing a chord on the guitar do you place your fingers on the strings so they touch the fretboard?

Question

or do you lightly touch the strings? I'm just starting to learn how to play guitar.

Answer 1

No, you definitely have to use pressure or else you'll get a lot of buzzing or incomplete sounds. When you start playing guitar you have to get your hands and fingers ready, callouses are very important, your fingers will no longer hurt once you get those, the muscles in your hand also needs conditioning, you gain this by practicing cords slowly and on a daily basis's. I'm sure that you've already noticed that a full F cord is very difficult for a beginner to learn how to do smoothly and without buzzes, but in time that will change, you need to gain strength, and this only comes from practice, what seems impossible now will come easy later on, believe me I've seen this happen with many students, their amazed later on when then can do what they thought was impossible in the beginning.

Answer 2

The only time the strings should not touch the fretboard is when the guitarist is playing open harmonic notes. Playing harmonic notes 12 frets from the left hand chording requires the string to touch the fretboard.

Answer 3

You want to apply enough pressure so that the string touches the fretboard, also I've found that if you can put you fingers closer to the fret closest to the bridge where you're fretting you get a better sound that in the middle of the space.

Answer 4

for most playing, you need to apply enough pressure so that the string makes good, solid contact with the fret.

If it is really hard to do, it is possible that the guitar is not set up properly (strings too high, neck has too much relief, bridge too high, etc.) If the strings are really hard to fret, or you get a lot of buzzing when you fret up a note closer to the bridge, take it in to a local music store and see if they can check your setup.

It should not be hard to fret a guitar, but your fingers may get tired when you are just beginning. Go slow so you don't injure your hands.

Answer 5

everything that Izzy said is accurate...and you DO need to touch the fretboard, or rather, the string needs to have a solid connection, using your fingers.

imagine that your fingers are making the string either longer or shorter, based on which fret you are pressing. the length of the string is what determines the pitch or note you are playing. there are different notes on a xylophone, based on their lengths. it's kind of the same idea on a guitar...