别问我要翻译，要翻译的直接打死。

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

In this video, I want to focus on explaining the correct way of fretting strings. This is a topic that I discuss with my students often, and I think it is important enough to have a video about. Your tone will suffer if you fret strings incorrectly, so let’s take a look at some key factors to consider.

#1 Press the string right before the fret

Usually, you will get the best sounding tone when you press down the string just before the next fret. However, you don’t want to fret too close because the note will sounded muted. Also, you don’t want to press too far away because this causes the string to buzz.

#2 Avoid accidentally bending the string

Another common mistake is to accidentally bend the fretted notes down or up a fraction of a tone. This results in a slightly higher pitch, which might make your playing sound out of tune. This usually happens when too much pressure is applied while fretting the notes.

To avoid this, try focusing on using the right amount of pressure so that the note sounds clear and unaltered. Also, keep an eye on the spaces in between the strings which should remain exactly the same at around 1 cm or half an inch.

#3 Use the fingertips

When fretting the strings, make sure you are using your fingertip rather than the pad of your finger and try not to flatten out the fingers. You need to keep your fingers somewhat squared with your two joints making a box in which the fingerboard is the fourth side. Pay special attention to the first joint and try to more or less create a 90 degree angle when fretting the string.

#4 Don’t apply too much pressure

Pressing the strings with too much pressure will create an unintended bending effect, which results in a pitch that is slightly higher than intended and tones that sound out of tune and unclean.

#5 Practice slowly

One of the most important factors to be able to play cleanly is to practice slowly. You want teach your muscles how to play correctly first, and then build up speed. If you practice too fast you will play sloppy and mistakes, but the worst part is that you will get used to playing incorrectly through muscle memory. It will be especially difficult to overcome muscle memory, so practice slowly in the beginning and focus on playing cleanly before speeding up.

These are some common mistakes that can ruin your sound. If you notice some of these problems, I highly recommend that you play the basic chromatic finger exercise and focus on correcting the mistakes highlighted above.

So happy (clean) playing...