Blowing The Lid on The Biggest Guitar Secret

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Very few guitar teachers talk about this and it's a shame. The reason players get stuck in the late beginner phase is not because they don't know enough scales, licks or songs.. It's because they were never taught how to properly place their fingers on the fretboard. Let's fix this!

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[eclecticexplorer]

Any time that someone tells you "learn this one secret and you won't ever need lessons, " you know that you are being lied to. Yes, I did listen through. As I expected, it was more than one thing, none of which was particularly secret, and all of it together won't replace a teacher -- not even close.

[picksalot]

I have an extensive background in Classical guitar, degree, etc., and also play electric, adn acoustic guitar. Fretting is very different between them for a variety of reasons. Classical guitar music tends to be polyphonic, with multiple lines of music moving around at the same time. The action on a Classical guitar tends to be about twice the height of an electric guitar. Unless you play on your fingertips, you'll probably be inadvertently muting strings.

Music on the electric often involves single lines, where muting unfretted strings is highly beneficial so they don't accidentally ring out, so flattened fingertips are a big benefit. Acoustic guitar music tends to be somewhere in between the two. Of course playing styles and techniques can vary widely, and you'll get the best results by understanding how to use them with the appropriate music and styles.

[tonelocrian]

I've been coaching as long as this guy. I believe if students learn proper technique with cleaner note placement, they can always dirty it up later. Getting clean notes is the biggest challenge for most people at first. The feel is something you add in once they get the basics down 1st.

[fortunatejeremy]

The claim that guitar teachers keep knowledge from students is ridiculous. Joke or not, this type of claim really plays into the distrust of experts that is rampant on the internet.

[pmkrak]

Hendrix was the main reason I picked up the guitar as little boy in the 70's. I used to hold the guitar exactly like he did, with the entire back of the neck wrapped in the palm of my hand, thumb over the top and fingers on the fleshy part. It looked "cool", and Jimi played that way. When I started to take formal lessons in the 80's the first thing my teacher did was correct my grip and made me play hold it properly. Fingers up on the tips and just the thumb on the back of the neck to brace it. He was correct. This allows for greater reach, dexterity, speed, and cleaner tone. As I've gotten older and wiser, I've come to find that I adjust my grip (and general over all handling of the guitar, for that matter) for what it is I'm playing. But for about 90% of the time, I grip the neck properly, the way I was taught. In retrospect, I think every novice guitarist should be taught that from the very beginning.

[ollianddelphine]

As a total beginner I have noticed that when teaching they emphasise the end of the fingers but when you see pros play they don't do it like that. I figured it was just through experience. I do think there must be a reason it is taught this way, probably to stop you hitting other strings by accident.

[johnwelsh]

I'm learning to play bass and have been doing this and it has COMPLETELY changed my tone and approach and suddenly I can actually play the instrument with confidence because I know it doesn't sound like crap with every note. This trick is real, guys. You still have to learn all the others stuff, but that subtle shift in tone makes a difference.

[starbattles]

You're right. No one tells you this stuff. I figured it out partially because I have short fingers and struggle to stretch my fingers across the fret board. I noticed that people who can play keep their fingers relatively flat. Also allows you to hold the guitar lower while standing. Thank you for confirming what I thought, and giving so much detail. Reinforcing me to get this down. Its a different muscle dynamic and takes some getting used to. I actually got good at bending strings with the very tips lol.

[abeharris]

Awesome. Something new to show my own student. I don't want to teach classical technique when we both just want to play blues and rock

[dankmazzi]

My wife keeps asking me why I play the same thing alot, it's called practice and it's repeated until I learn it...thank you for your lesson sir.
I'm going to do this all weekend 🤪 😌

[jacobmiller]

I feel like a true beginner should learn how to play on tips initially and then the flattened fingers after. I've see moments where playing on the tips of my fingers worked better such as if I'm playing a hammered on double stop where the hammered string is on the d and the barred double is on the g. With flattened fingers it mutes the g. Atleast in my playing it seems

[FACTBOT_]

"Guitar teachers are hiding info that would prevent you from needing lessons."
Also, Officials in your area are FURIOUS after an elderly grandmother revealed this one simple trick that gives you a bigger tool and longer life! You won't believe what happened next!

[RNAMusic]

I teach this quite a bit. A lot of beginner players tend to play only with the tips of their fingers and very curved. Which is what you need to do when playing open chords. Which is where almost everyone starts out. However, when playing single note riffs or lead lines, playing with the pad of your finger with flatter fingers helps control and mute the adjacent strings. There’s different “grips” or technique that work better for certain things. It’s good to be able to play both ways when needed. Also everyone’s hand size and finger length is different and impacts this as well.

I think you’re the first person I’ve seen talk about this though in video.

[kushanisiwara]

Really good video David👍 Everything you said is 100 percent accurate. I have been playing guitar since 2016. Now it's 2023. I also started guitar like everyone else by learning chords and then slowly switching to lead guitar. Now I am the official lead guitarist of my batch in my university. So happy about my journey so far. Still to this date I cannot get over the fact that most guitar teachers/ Youtubers teach these very strict rules to their students thnking that will improve them but actually all it does is hinder the improvement of the students. (A very good example is the one you explained where the students are taught to fret the notes by the tip of their fingers. The chromatic scale most commonly known as the spider exercise 🙊 is an instance where the above finger technique is pretty common with typical guitar teachers. I personally found out that by flattening my fingers that I am much able to silence the other strings while being able to bend/ vibrato the strings more easily. Doing legato licks feels more easier with the tip of the fingers.). Personally I am happy that I never went to any guitar classes because without them I was able to improve much faster as I didn't have any unnecessary strict rules to follow, which allowed me to experiment with different styles and techniques. In 2020 I got my first electric guitar. I learnt how to adjust the pickups last year(2022) and learnt how to adjust the saddles and truss rod yesterday(2023). All of them I learnt by myself, by watching YouTube videos and trying on my own. Pretty sure no guitar teacher would have had such courses to offer me if I had gone to a class😂😂


This is the first ever video that I saw through your channel but still I believe that the guitar world needs more teachers like you.

Keep it up buddy👍👍👍💯💯💯

[NiechoBGC]

Great tip! I have very small hands and find myself all contorted trying to reach the strings needed. I'll definitely be trying this out. Subscribed!

[korayem]

Everywhere and every tutor instructed me to curl my fingers and use the tip of my finger
But it was until later I started to "see" details in playing and zooming in on pros that I saw how their fingers were flattened. Bonus it helps with noise control with high gain...

Great video with tons of tips

[surfinjim]

Excellent, thank you for pinpointing this aspect, that I was badly ignoring in my beginner-intermediate training 😀

[shanec]

I use both methods placing my fingers on the frets depending on style, speed, and sound I need

[walksuponwater]

i'm a pickcer and do lots of straight, picking and a plucking notes but this was Great, it gave me a new way of getting that slide smooth tone to work in and out of songs so it's never boring with a ton of sharp clear notes, having the relaxed smooth slide notes ( flat fingers!) makes it easy, fun and opens a whole new world. Thanks a ton for your free to the point way of teaching!

[nthInLine]

I've watched probably 20-30 of your videos over the years, this one is a cut above all the others I've seen. Well done, great information.