Learning Fingerstyle -- Preventing unwanted noise from lifting fingers from strings

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lanuk

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Hey all,

I've been playing the ukulele for about a year and I have started trying to learn some songs with a lot of finger picking.

Occasionally when I am trying to play notes in quick succession and switching between strings I find that lifting my finger from a string will produce a sound.

I try to keep my fingers down on the strings as long as possible before releasing them, but in this particular measure I cannot figure out how to correctly play without making unwanted noises when switching from string to string:

notes.PNG

Could anyone help with a strategy/fingering to quickly and cleanly play these notes?

Thanks in advance!
 
There should only be 2 string changes in that example. On the notes on the same string, try keeping all the fingers down even if not needed...when switching from 7 to 9, instead of lifting from 7 to 9, play 7 with the index and then leaving that down when you press 9 with the middle finger.

I think Seeso said it best at the Milwaukee Ukulele Festival: there is no right or wrong--only efficent and less efficient. Adding or removing a finger is very efficient.
 
As is often the case, the answer is in your question. If you can't get the result you're hoping for "quickly and cleanly" the "quickly" must be removed from the process until the "cleanly" is consistent. Only after that (maybe long after) should you speed it up a bit.
 
First, be sure that your hands are clean and dry. Strings can stick to any contamination on your fingers. Second, practice lifting your fingers straight up from the fretboard. Any sideways movement can pluck the string in the manner of a pull-off.
 
Which noise do you have? Just check Black bird by the Beatles or Paul McCartney, or unplugged by Eric Clapton. They have finger tip noise. If it were same as yours, you don't need to much care about it.
 
You might be pressing too hard on the strings, too. Or your finger tips may be too soft still, so the strings stick more to them. This goes away when the skin gets a bit more taunt (not actual calluses, just slightly more leathery skin).
 
lanuk said:
View attachment 96477

Could anyone help with a strategy/fingering to quickly and cleanly play these notes?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Try laying a barre across the 7th fret and fingering the other notes with the second and third fingers (or maybe second and little fingers if you've got small hands and a big ukulele) ... as a phrase it works, not sure how it'll fit into the wider context of the music.

Edit:

Ha! Just realised, it's a scale in G major ... silly me :eek: :music:
 
Last edited:
Camsuke said:
Here's the fingering I would suggest. https://app.box.com/s/8884bhqh7rks18hyx9vpvfih64pylwsw
Click to expand...

I'd play it like Camsuke suggests. This way, there's no hurry to lift your fingers completely. So when you've played the second note, you can lift the third finger to stop the note from sounding but leave it resting on the string so that the string is muted while you move on to the next string. Then lift it completely over the next note or two.

But don't stress or focus too much on this until you've got everything else down pat. Odds are you'll fix a lot of these type of issues as you practice without ever realising how you did it.
 
Wow, thanks for all the tips and advice guys! Still having trouble, even when I try holding my fingers on the strings as long as possible. It is weird because I have never had this kind of issue with strings making unwanted noise when lifting my fingers.

Part of it is probably that my fingers are too soft. I will keep trying following the advice/fingerings above, though, and hopefully make progress!
 
String material can also be a factor, some are just more sticky. But before you go down that road, I'd just keep practicing for now. It's such an unsatisfying bit of advice, but practice really does help with a lot of things (keep reminding myself of that, too).
 
While focusing on making the left hand finger's lift offs quiet is excellent you should also foucus on right hand muting techniques. I applies classical guitar techniques I learned when I was younger. It will make your playing much cleaner and more controlled.
 
Do you have wound strings? They tend to rub against the grooves in your fingers and make noise. If you have any wound strings, get "polished wound" to reduce noise. The tab you have shouldn't make noises when you lift your fingers. Choice of fingering is a personal choice. I would not use the thumb as often as shown in your tab, but alternate between index and middle fingers more on the plucking (classical guitar style). I find that faster. Try different brands of strings.

–Lori
 
It has been my experience that in order to reduce noise when lifting fretting fingers, you have to concentrate very carefully on lifting at a ninety degree angle to the surface of the fretboard. Pulling down or pushing up causes the finger to create a semi-plucking effect on the strings. This also happens to a lesser extent when moving left or right (toward or away from the nut).
One must lift as straight up as possible. If you practice this slowly (very slowly) you can reduce the noise. If you only try to do it at performance speed, you've finished improving.
 
Can't find a quick better examaple but see here on around 5 second mark:

https://youtu.be/t_x203IhEMk


Why does she do that? Why does anyone (usually in classical guitar they do this often I see) do this as it is more efficient and clean to pull off straight up instead of downwards parallel to strings.

Is it more for show? I don't see the technical reasoning behind it I've asked instructor and they don't have a clear answer.

If it is for show, to me , it is sort of cheesy looking I think.
 
Debussychopin said:
Can't find a quick better examaple but see here on around 5 second mark:

https://youtu.be/t_x203IhEMk


Why does she do that? Why does anyone (usually in classical guitar they do this often I see) do this as it is more efficient and clean to pull off straight up instead of downwards parallel to strings.

Is it more for show? I don't see the technical reasoning behind it I've asked instructor and they don't have a clear answer.

If it is for show, to me , it is sort of cheesy looking I think.
Click to expand...

i would guess that it is a way to "shake off" any cramping that can happen when you are playing challenging songs. Sarah is amazing, and what she does is pretty hard on your hand muscles. I know I couldn't play like that because my left hand couldn't take it.

–Lori
 
Debussychopin said:
Can't find a quick better examaple but see here on around 5 second mark:

https://youtu.be/t_x203IhEMk


Why does she do that? Why does anyone (usually in classical guitar they do this often I see) do this as it is more efficient and clean to pull off straight up instead of downwards parallel to strings.

Is it more for show? I don't see the technical reasoning behind it I've asked instructor and they don't have a clear answer.

If it is for show, to me , it is sort of cheesy looking I think.
Click to expand...

I reckon it's simply because there's no fretted strings so there's nowhere to support her hand ;)
 
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