The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    After watching this Tomo Fujita video, I did the first chromatic exercise mentioned and noticed I was making A LOT more finger noise than he is.

    How does one eliminate finger noise?

    (By the way, Tomo is a great player. Been teaching at Berklee for over 25 years.)


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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2
    I use flatwound strings - they are a little bit more expensive. But then their is almost no noise at all any more.
    For example Thomastik JS111 or Daddario ECG24

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by GolanTrevize
    I use flatwound strings - they are a little bit more expensive. But then their is almost no noise at all any more.
    For example Thomastik JS111 or Daddario ECG24
    Yes, when I used flatwounds finger noise wasn't an issue. But I play a Tele now and I don't want to put flatwounds on it.

  5. #4

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    Practice

  6. #5

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    From Joe Pass: rub your fingers against the side of your nose or your scalp to get a little bit of oil on them.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    From Joe Pass: rub your fingers against the side of your nose or your scalp to get a little bit of oil on them.
    Never thought of that! Thanks. My fingers tend to be dry. (Scanners have trouble reading my fingerprint unless I put SorkKwik moistener on them.)

  8. #7

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    Don't just slide your fingers along the string, lift them slightly. Like Christian advised, it takes some practice, but anything about playing guitar takes practice. Pay attention while you're playing, and intentionally try to reduce the noise. It will slowly get better.

  9. #8

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    Can I ask why you don't want to put flatwounds on your tele, Mark? I have them on my tele and the sound is great for my ears.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzereh
    Can I ask why you don't want to put flatwounds on your tele, Mark? I have them on my tele and the sound is great for my ears.
    Here's a nice bit about flatwounds on Teles (and other solid bodies).

    I've never put them on my Tele, or played them on a Tele, Maybe I'll give it a shot. But I DO like twang, so I'm not looking to lose that. ;o)


  11. #10

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    Ah, well, you won't get 'twang' with flatwounds. More the Ed Bickert sound.

  12. #11

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    i have flats on a tele...just don't go heavy...keep an unwound g...plenty of twang..especially with stainless steel flats

    ghs even makes 09 flats!


    listen to cousin kenny v!

    cheers

    ps- forget if kenny mentions in above vid, but johnny cashs original guitarist luther perkins always used flats on his esquires and jazzmasters...he had some twang..think i walk the line...and those were heavy strings!!
    Last edited by neatomic; 11-10-2020 at 03:52 PM. Reason: ps-

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    i have flats on a tele...just don't go heavy...keep an unwound g...plenty of twang..especially with stainless steel flats

    ghs even makes 09 flats!


    listen to cousin kenny v!

    cheers

    ps- forget if kenny mentions in above vid, but johnny cashs original guitarist luther perkins always used flats on his esquires and jazzmasters...he had some twang..think i walk the line...and those were heavy strings!!
    Yes, Kenny does mention Luther. He used flats all the time. Marty Stuart has all of Luther's old guitars (--Kenny plays in Marty's band) and Kenny says Luther kept the strings he took off his guitars. Wound them up and put 'em back in the sleeves they came in! Apparently, he didn't change strings very often. Kenny says whenever Luther went to California, Leo Fender gave him a new guitar to try! (Evidently Leo really like Luther.)

    Kenny says flats were the norm in the' 50s, esp for rockabilly.

    I suppose I'll have to give 'em a try. Hell, if I don't like it, I'll just switch to something else. I have some Chromes and a set of TIs around, though they may be heavier than I want to go on a Tele. Thanks for the tip about GHS flats!

  14. #13

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    I haven't owned one for many decades, but aren't classical guitars generally strung round? Just have to learn to pick 'em up and put 'em down I think.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    Don't just slide your fingers along the string, lift them slightly. Like Christian advised, it takes some practice, but anything about playing guitar takes practice. Pay attention while you're playing, and intentionally try to reduce the noise. It will slowly get better.
    Yeah, I agree with this and Christian's post. I listened to Pepe Romero speak about this constant challenge once. So it's always there, fellow guitarists.

    One classical guitarist that I will refrain from naming said that their practice of a piece went something like this:

    1. Get the mechanics of a piece/tune down,
    2. Get the artistic expression and dynamics down, (which will likely make you re-set part of #1)

    The squeaks can be minimized through both #1 and #2.

    I notice these same effects and challenges when I'm learning a new jazz tune/head. When I decide to focus on reducing squeaks, I'm able to.

    Or like Christian said - practice.


  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Here's a nice bit about flatwounds on Teles (and other solid bodies).

    I've never put them on my Tele, or played them on a Tele, Maybe I'll give it a shot. But I DO like twang, so I'm not looking to lose that. ;o)

    I was surprised to learn that the Beatles used flatwounds, at least in the early years. Surf music involved flatwounds and single coils.

  17. #16

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    GHS Brite Flats. Also - vertical attack, vertical lift, then shift hand position.

    And - flats in general, with a plain G.

    But mainly, VA,VL; TS.

  18. #17

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    Finger noise afflicted me unexpectedly several months ago. After much anguish, I found that thinking less about my left hand and thinking more about my right hand makes it go away. I was both gripping the fretboard and losing control of the plectrum.

  19. #18

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    THIs as nothing to do with this THread but I am new to this ( even if I registered years ago ) and cannot figure how to start a thread ???
    I need help choosoing archtop strings... so I want to ask the question

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by hebaton
    THIs as nothing to do with this THread but I am new to this ( even if I registered years ago ) and cannot figure how to start a thread ???
    I need help choosoing archtop strings... so I want to ask the question
    This is easily done.
    First, decide where you want to post. (For example, Guitars Amps and Gizmos.)
    Once in that section, there will be a brownish orange oval under the name of the section that reads: Post New Thread.
    Click that.
    Then you're on your way.

  21. #20

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    Funny, I was watching a YouTube video today by someone highly regarded here and I thought, "Whoa, man, the squeak! The squeak!"

    I'm doing less of it but still too much. One day at a time...

  22. #21

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    Thank you sir, I figured it out secounds after posting here :-)
    now I am hoping for answers ...

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Funny, I was watching a YouTube video today by someone highly regarded here and I thought, "Whoa, man, the squeak! The squeak!"

    I'm doing less of it but still too much. One day at a time...
    A little finger noise is a good thing — it comes with the territory. Otherwise you might as well be playing a synthesizer.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by pcjazz
    A little finger noise is a good thing — it comes with the territory. Otherwise you might as well be playing a synthesizer.
    When I get down to just a little, I'll be happy. ;o)

    Sometimes it's a plus, a desired effect. (SRV did this a lot.) Other times it's like the grease in good home cooking---you know it's not ideal but it's so tasty! But when it gets out of hand, it's distracting. (And I guess that's the definition of noise: it distracts from the music you're playing.)

  25. #24

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    I switched to flats on my Tele (GHS .009s, their 'rock' set, recommended to me by Neatomic---thanks, man!) and voila, string noise is gone.

    I'm glad I worked on minimizing it with roundwound strings but I'm happy to be back with flats. They seem to suit me better.

  26. #25

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    Or you can cheat... at least on recordings. The same as a de-ess. I don't often de-ess but when I do I do it manually. (The EQ-compressor way is cool but kind of complicated so I haven't messed with it.)