11 Tips for Getting Rid of Buzzes on Classical Guitar

Imagine you’re about to make beautiful music. The glorious sounds you hear in your head are finally going to come forth into the world from the instrument nestled in your lap. But, as you start playing, the buzzes come. And they just won’t stop! Try as you might, you can’t seem to get rid of these frustrating noises marring to the music you’re trying to play.

So what do you do? How do you get rid of these annoyances so you can enjoy the music? Here are 11 tips:

1. Check the guitar action – Maybe the action of the guitar is too low. One way to check this is to measure the distance from the string to the 12^th fret. At the 12th fret, the 6^th string (bass E string) should be around 4mm from the fret. At the 12^th fret, the 1^st string (treble E string) should be around 3mm from the fret. You can also get a knowledgeable guitar repair person to check this for you.
2. Check whether the guitar neck is straight – Perhaps the guitar neck is warped. Set the guitar on the floor with the neck standing up toward you. Look down the neck to see if the neck is as straight as the string. You can also get a knowledgeable guitar repair person to check this for you.
3. Check the fret wear – If there is noticeable wear on the frets where the strings have worn ruts in the frets, it may be time to get the guitar refretted. You can also get a knowledgeable guitar repair person to check this for you.
4.  Try different strings – If the above tweaks to the guitar don’t help, try different strings. It may be that using very light tension strings causes buzzing, in which case, using normal tension strings or high tension strings can reduce buzzes. This is a tradeoff because it will make playing more difficult.

But what if the problem is not the guitar or the strings?

In many cases, I hate to say it, but the buzz is caused by the person holding the guitar. But if this is the case, the good news is the person holding the guitar can also get rid of the buzz. The following tips will help:

• Place each left-hand finger directly by the fret wire – A lot of buzzes are caused by having the finger too far away from the fret wire. You want to have the finger as close to the fret wire as possible without being on top of it.
• Avoid touching the adjacent string accidentally with a left-hand finger  - sometimes the buzz on one string is caused by accidentally touching the string with a left-hand finger on the adjacent string. You may have the left-hand 3^rd finger on the first string, but it is causing a buzz on the second string, which you are accidentally touching. Fixing this involves curving your left-hand finger more. If you are only playing a string on one side of the finger, you can cheat in the opposite direction. In other words, if your 3^rd finger on the first string is muting the second string, you can move the fingertip so that most of it is by the edge of the fingerboard instead of by the second string.
• Avoid accidentally touching the string with the right hand – If you accidentally touch a vibrating string with a right-hand finger, you can cause a buzz. So seek to place your right-hand fingers intentionally.
• Place the right-hand fingers on the string carefully – Even if you’re intending to play a vibrating string again, you need to place the finger on the string in such a way that it minimizes buzzing. Often this means placing a little more of the fingertip and less nail when you first contact the string.
• Play with less volume – Sometimes the buzz is caused because you are playing louder than is feasible based on the particular guitar and its limitations. Playing a little quieter can make some buzzes go away.
• More pressure may be needed in the left hand – I put this near the end because it is rarely the problem. Usually the buzz can be fixed by changing position of a finger, not adding pressure. But occasionally, particularly with barres, a little more pressure may be needed to avoid a buzz.
• Play more slowly – This is as close to a magic bullet as I know of for guitar practice. When you play more slowly you can be more intentional with finger placement, avoiding buzzes.

What questions do you have about avoiding buzzes?

Keep making music!