Fretting Question

[Jerryc41]

I've seen good players do this, but I haven't been able to find an example when I want one. A friend asked me about it, but I don't have an answer.

When good players are strumming and fretting, they will often lift a finger or two and then put them back down. Instead of holding an F chord, they will lift the finger from the G string for a split second and put it back down. They tend to do this throughout a song. It's not hammer on or hammer off.

I probably didn't explain this very well, but maybe you know what I mean.

 

[rhiggie]

Yeah Jerry, I do that regularly. With G I lift and replace my middle finger, G7 it would be my ring finger (but same string/fret), F it would be middle finger, D my ring finger. I'm sure when the finger is up, it's a different chord like an Aug or Sus but I do it to add some "flavor". And I use it either at the end of a vocal line before moving to the next line chord like G - G lift (hold), next line - C, or quickly just before changing chords almost anywhere. Like G - G lift - G - C or D - D lift - D - G or F - F lift - F - Bb. It doesn't work everywhere, and it sometimes depends on what the next chord is, but once you "hear it", you'll know where it fits! Hope my explanation makes sense... Rick

 

[JJFN]

I've seen good players do this, but I haven't been able to find an example when I want one. A friend asked me about it, but I don't have an answer.

When good players are strumming and fretting, they will often lift a finger or two and then put them back down. Instead of holding an F chord, they will lift the finger from the G string for a split second and put it back down. They tend to do this throughout a song. It's not hammer on or hammer off.

I probably didn't explain this very well, but maybe you know what I mean.

I think its to enhance the sound of the chord, or play a melody note.

 

[Knows Picker]

I do it all the time.

But I didn't know I was a "good" player.

Mediocre, maybe.

 

[Jerryc41]

Yeah Jerry, I do that regularly. With G I lift and replace my middle finger, G7 it would be my ring finger (but same string/fret), F it would be middle finger, D my ring finger. I'm sure when the finger is up, it's a different chord like an Aug or Sus but I do it to add some "flavor". And I use it either at the end of a vocal line before moving to the next line chord like G - G lift (hold), next line - C, or quickly just before changing chords almost anywhere. Like G - G lift - G - C or D - D lift - D - G or F - F lift - F - Bb. It doesn't work everywhere, and it sometimes depends on what the next chord is, but once you "hear it", you'll know where it fits! Hope my explanation makes sense... Rick

Thanks!

 

[Jerryc41]

I do it all the time.

But I didn't know I was a "good" player.

Mediocre, maybe.

Well, you know now. : )

I do it all the time.

But I didn't know I was a "good" player.

Mediocre, maybe.

Yeah Jerry, I do that regularly. With G I lift and replace my middle finger, G7 it would be my ring finger (but same string/fret), F it would be middle finger, D my ring finger. I'm sure when the finger is up, it's a different chord like an Aug or Sus but I do it to add some "flavor". And I use it either at the end of a vocal line before moving to the next line chord like G - G lift (hold), next line - C, or quickly just before changing chords almost anywhere. Like G - G lift - G - C or D - D lift - D - G or F - F lift - F - Bb. It doesn't work everywhere, and it sometimes depends on what the next chord is, but once you "hear it", you'll know where it fits! Hope my explanation makes sense... Rick

So, you'll just put a finger up and down while you're strumming - not in any particular place in the song?

 

[ukudancer]

Are you asking about little chord flourishes?

 

[Jerryc41]

Are you asking about little chord flourishes?

I have no idea. I don't think so. Just a finger going off a string and then back on while strumming.

 

[LorenFL]

I'm not good at a lot of things, but I'm actually pretty good at this!

If you're playing something, particularly something that's a little repetitive (as most songs are, especially if you're not singing over them), you're just adding some variation or accentuation to a section. Because I don't sing when I play, if I'm playing something familiar, I might try to alter the chord to emulate the sung part. Not fully, just to accentuate.

I usually start by getting the song down. Once I've got the chord changes and rhythm down to my satisfaction, then I'll think about what seems too repetitive, or where a sung part (or another instrument that's not present) and try to inject something. Either lift a finger, or drop an extra finger, or a slight shift somewhere. Play with it. If it sounds right, try it again.

Now, this part is optional, but if you want to KNOW what the chord you just "invented" is, you can usually find it here:

Chord Namer - UkeBuddy

What's the name of that ukulele chord? Just select the notes of the chord on the ukulele fretboard and we'll find matching chord and key patterns.

ukebuddy.com

I've run into a couple that were weird and didn't show up there. Strange extensions like a A7 no5 #9. Almost anything can be "defined" as a chord if you think about it long enough! The only question is, does it fit your song, and can you reliably reach it? So, you can either try to look up possible chord variants beforehand... or you can just experiment and see what works.

Example:

Ukulele chords Statesboro' Blues, Blind Willie McTell, | Jim's Ukulele Songbook

Ukulele and Guitar chords with free download

ozbcoz.com

Simple 12-bar blues. Pretty much sounds good no matter how you play it. But, you can add some cool variance to it by doing stuff like this:

The second line is kind of long on that C7. Just drop a finger on the 3rd fret and turn it into a C in the middle of that line!

You can also use the same finger on the 3rd fret C note to turn a G7 into a G7sus4. It sounds all fancy, but it's really super-simple!

I don't think it works well for THIS song, but you could also take that D7 and LIFT your finger off of the 3rd fret A-string, and if you barre the rest of that chord as I do... you've turned it into a D6.

Once you start developing a mental library of these variations that work, you can insert them wherever you like and see how they work!

Basic G chord, lift off of the A string = Gsus2
E7, lift off of the G string = Em7
E7, lift off of the A string = Amaj7sus4
E7, drop your pinky on the A string 3rd fret = E7+5 (I don't even know what that one means! But, it sounds cool sometimes!)

One-finger C chord, drop a finger on the E string 3rd fret = C5
Same C chord, drop a finger on the E string 2st fret = Csus4
Alternate between C and C7 (or Cmaj7) by just moving one finger along the A string

The possibilities are not endless, but they are plentiful! Pick any chord that you know, and play "what if" games. Do that, and play with some strumming variations, and you can almost sound like one of those "good players".

 

[LorenFL]

Oh, here's a rare video of me playing the above song. It's exactly as stated above. Straight-foward standard chords for the song, some strumming variations, and just a couple of simple variations. Mostly the C7>C trick and maybe the G7>G7sus4. Both involve just adding a finger on the 3rd fret of the G string.

Statesboro Blues on a Romero STL

I just finished doing some mods to this uke, now I really like how it plays! I almost never record myself playing, but here you go. I got a little screwed up in the middle, but I pulled it out. Most people wouldn't notice too much, but y'all might.

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

I think it was a Phil Dolman video about blues playing that turned me on to this way of thinking. Fun stuff!

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Jerry- your question inspired me to try the fretting thing with “Just A Closer Walk With Thee/ A Bowl of Butterbeans”. Raising a finger & adding a pinky note to walk from chord to chord made a tremendous difference in the strumming sounding “correct”

 

[rustydusty]

I've been known to lift a finger when someone cuts me off...

 

[kkimura]

There's the F to F7 and back too.

 

[TimWilson]

There's the F to F7 and back too.

Lots of fun to be had with F, too! Adding the ring finger under the middle finger is a Dm, but I'm sure has a name with F in it too.

And because F has a C in it, you can double it up by using your pinky on the A string where you'd normally be using the third finger. If you're in the key of C, you can often get away with leaving it there the whole time, and just raising and lifting your first two fingers for the F.

One-finger C chord, drop a finger on the E string 3rd fret = C5
Same C chord, drop a finger on the E string 2st fret = Csus4

These moves on C, along with the G moves in particular, are what I call "James Taylor moves" -- moving been those roots and sus4 chords are soooo characteristic of his style!

On You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, there's also a super-distinctive movement around the D at the end of the verse, right before the "Hey!" You come off the regular C into a Dsus4 (C string 2nd fret, E string 3rd fret), then a D, then a D2 (3rd fret G and C strings). It sounds tricky, but it's super easy with a tiny bit of practice, and sounds dynamite!

Here's how it plays out. https://www.ozbcoz.com/Songs/song.php?ID=3005,soprano You'll be able to see in an instant that it's basically starting with the D, then moving the finger closest to floor (I use my pinkie, but you might be using your third finger) over one fret, then to your usual stack, then lifting up that lowest finger. Easy!

This song was in fact my introduction to what I'm calling "take a finger, leave a finger", inspired by the "take a penny, leave a penny" jars of coins you sometimes see in convenience store checkouts. I'll be honest, I was an inch away from crawling up on the roof and shouting "I AM THE GOLDEN GOD" the first time I got this move in You've Got To Hide right. It's one of the easiest things you can do to elevate your playing on the most basic chords, with the most basic strums. Maybe the VERY easiest.

You're right, @Jerryc41, these are definitely NOT hammer ons or pull offs, although I suppose in some cases you could. The point is simply to create movement. It sounds more like music once you get the hang of it.

I'm still a beginner-ish, so it took me a while to wrap my head around a critical truth: most guitarists don't pay that much attention to these. That is, they do 'em, for sure, but they don't necessarily care all that much about the specifics.

I'm thinking of my boy JT again. (MY boy JT is James, of course. Ymmv. LOL) His favorite among his amazing catalog is Sweet Baby James. How many times has he played it? Your guys is as good as mine, but tens of thousands, surely. Yet you won't find two identical live versions! He cares, a LOT, and it's not different because of long discursive jams a la The Dead and Dark Star or whatever. It's just that he's doing the "take a finger, leave a finger" thing a little differently every time.

Me, I need some consistency at this stage in my playing, but I'm recognizing that that's me, and you'll go crazy trying to slavishly imitate guys like James who care more about musicality than extreme precision. You'll find the balance that works for you.

So yeah, following the advice here of people who actually know what they're talking about, any time you're going at least a measure on the same chord, and for sure if you're going more, just try slipping in one or two of these variations. It won't take long you to figure which songs do and don't benefit from this, and which are the variations that sound most musical to you. Then you'll be on the way to making songs sound like YOU, and that's when the big changes start coming.