[Islandboy]

Greetings all from Newbieville !! I did a search and could not find the answer. Heres my small delima. After putting it off for 25 years, I finally started to play the guitar this year. I have two people that help me ...... an instructor that comes to my house to teach me every week. And a friend that is an amazing guitar player for 20 years.
With regards to finger placement on the fretboard, my instructor teaches me to fret the note or chord in the middle of the respective fret.
My friend, when he saw me play, was a bit mortified. He is telling me that the finger must be placed on the fretboard, but right up against the metal fret. NOT in the middle of the fretboard as my instructor taught me.
Who is giving me the right advice? Or are they both correct, and its just down to different styles?? Because there is definately a tone difference between the two placements. I want to get it right while its still easy to change habits. HELP .........................

[knight46]

Hi Islandboy and welcome to the forum. I am sure that several of the members here will be able to help you with this question.

[OldG]

I've always played up against the fret, same as placing a capo..

[Fretsource]

I always teach my students to place their finger as near to the fret as possible. The reason is that the closer to to the fret, the less finger pressure is required to ensure the string makes a good clean contact with the fret.
Placing it in the middle (halfway between 2 frets) requires more finger pressure to ensure a clear note so you risk fret buzzing and muting.
With some chords, you've no choice but to place your finger in the middle if you can't get it any closer, but your default position should be as close to the fret as you can manage. So I agree with your friend, not your teacher.

[frewgosh]

HI Island boy, good to have you around. With regard to the dilemma you have. I think the right answer is there is no right answer. Generally speaking you get a clearer tone the closer to the fret your finger is. The most important thing is that when you fret a note or a chord, that the sound is clear and that each note you play rings out. Try playing an F chord and play down the strings slowly. If each note is clear, you are doing it right. It is perfectly possible to have clean notes by fretting in the middle so I would advise whatever feels comfortable. However if you are paying an instructor they are the person who should advise you most.
God that was a longwinded way of saying something straight forward. Good luck and happy playing.

[allthumbs]

Most instruction states the fingers are to be played as close to the edge of the fret wire as possible. Some advanced players shift their fingers back from the fret wire to achieve different tones though.

[Islandboy]

Thanks for all the GREAT feedback. Does the type of guitar or music played make a difference? I play a Peavey Wolfgang electric guitar, and am interested in playing mostly rock and roll, as welll as some reggae............

P.S. Also thanks everyone for the very warm welcome!

[Dewy]

I play "towards" the middle of the fret... but I'm all over the place... and I think the correct answer is to try both, and use both as needed to "achieve" your best sound.

Certainly less effort is required to get a clean note closer to the fret. Often with chords your forced to fret at various places... and then hitting clean tones is most important... not how you fret it.

I throw my thumb over the top of the fretboard to hit F# @ 2nd fret /E string in my B7 chord. I doubt any serious instructor would condone that. Me... eh, whatever makes it sing is what I do.

Wolfgangs are fine guitars... but any production line guitar could have been made on a "good or bad" day. As far as which guitar is better suited for a particular style... welcome to the discussion. Music starts with the musician, and somewhere between style, intent and guitar/effect/amp combo it becomes a "sound. Hard Rock comes from acoustic guitars sometimes... I have heard Beautiful Christmas carols pouring out of a Marshall full stack Cab.

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Fretsource

....Placing it in the middle (halfway between 2 frets) requires more finger pressure to ensure a clear note so you risk fret buzzing and muting...

I've also found that the combination of being further from the fret and using more pressure increases the likelihood that you'll push the note a little bit sharp.

I try to fret as close to the fret wire as possible....don't always succeed, but I try....

[Jomi]

Hi Islandboy,

While you can see from the above that there are differing views, I think the reason your instructor may have opted for centre position is to give you the best possible chance of hitting the right note. If you were to hit the fret slightly offcentre you'd still get the right sound.
I just sat and tried a few notes and I can't hear any difference or detect any change in the pressure I needed to apply to make the note ring properly.
I also notice that when I play a chord some fingers are central and some are close to the fret wire.
If you're noticing a difference in tone then you're probably pressing harder in the centre position, this will tighten the string a small amount and slightly sharpen the note, if that's the case you might like to think about having the action lowered (effectively moves the strings closer to the fretboard) which will reduce that effect and make playing a bit easier as well.

[Mike8307]

Islandboy,

Everything I have ever read or picture I have ever seen would indicate that the finger should be close to the fret wire, although I don't consider myself an authority on anything.

I would be very interested in why your teacher has you place your finger in the middle. You can try to ask him in a very non-threatening way. Say you've seen pictures in books and on the net where the fingers are close to the frets and you want to know what the difference is.

I'd be interested to know what he said.

Michael

[hoopermj]

i ned some tunes,or peice sto practice and im a beginner o inee dquite basic 1s

[felixdcat]

Um... I'm confused. I don't pay much attention where I place them, but place them as close as you can to the fret, because it requires less pressure. If you press it directly, you get a different sound. I'm off