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Following @Steve Krenz advice, I have started to pay much more attention to moving my fingers off the fretboard and trying not to let them touch when schifting between chords. This gets me a long way already trying to avoid string squeaks. Today, I also bought an old fashioned pumice stone to reduce the callouses on my fingertips. I know this does not sound very rock and roll, but I noticed after the pumice stone treatment a further reduction of unwanted squeaks when playing. My problem is getting solved. Wim.

Let me mention something on string lubricants and oils... While their marketing may make claims to "improve your speed" and "reduce string noise", I have not found any of that to be true. -Steve

Ahhh.... String Squeaks - the curse of playing wound strings. WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? When you rub your fingers along the wound strings (usually the 2nd-6th strings), the ridges on your finger rubs against the ridges on the wound string and it causes the squeak. Notice how your fingers don't produce a squeak on the 1st or 2nd string because those are not wound strings. HOW CAN I MINIMIZE IT? Avoid sliding your fingers across the strings when you change chords. When you play a chord put the pressure down onto the fretboard to get the note or chord and then, after the note or chord, remove the pressure straight up without shifting one way or the other. You have to be much more careful when you shift between chords. Don't keep your fingers against the strings when you shift. Make sure they are not touching the strings as you shift. So, why doesn't Tommy Emmanuel squeak as much? Because he's Tommy Emmanuel and he is VERY good at not rubbing his fingers on the strings when he shifts between chords. Practice shifting between chords by moving your fingers completely off the fretboard and not letting them still touch as you shift between chords. OTHER FACTORS Certain types of strings can certainly make squeaking more pronounced. But, overall, the issue is more about paying more attention when you are shifting between chords to not have your fingers make contact with the strings. You can always use flatwound strings and you will not squeak at all. BUT, your sound will sound very muffled because it is the winding on the strings that makes the strings sound sparkly from the higher frequencies. I hope this helps. It takes practice. You'll get better at it.

Someone mentionned to me that my recording of St. James Infirmary sounds a little squeaky. i have to agree that those squeaky strings bother me as well. Before recording that song, I changed strings from Elexir Polyweb to Elexir Nanoweb and I think it got worse. The callouses on my fingertips don't help either. So could anyone give me some advice on how to avoid or reduce string squeaks? Wim.

Thank you all for the great list of books. If I may add another book to the list, one which I have read a few years ago and seems to remain in my mind. Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy and Sharp by John Medina. Brain Rules for Aging Well I can recall how the author characterizes the changes in the brain as we age and how to become self aware of those changes. This in turn helps us to better understand how we can improve our behaviour in social settings.

Thanks, Steve. I thought I could buy the solution (other strings, lubricant), but realize now that I will have to work it out in the practice room 😀 Wim.

Well- that sucked all the air out of the room! 😇 P....P.....P

THE magazine published with me in mind just published its next issue! Can't wait to get my copy! ??

Recently I’ve read some new books that might be of interest. These are oriented toward general self- or skill improvement, not necessarily music, although music skills are well represented. I found valuable nuggets in each. One of these might perk up your practice, as they did for mine. If you enjoyed the late George Leonard’s Mastery (1991), I encourage you to follow up with his equally concise companion volume, The Way of Aikido (1999). It provides the backstory to the aikido lessons in Mastery, and we learn what it’s like to become a newly minted black belt. (Hint: You start over.) From the NYT best seller list we have James Clear’s Atomic Habits (2018) — build good habits and break bad ones. Chapter One alone is worth the price. Also well reviewed is Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (2017) by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. And we have a pair from co-authors Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, who have made new careers of studying the research on performance: Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success (2017). In writing that book, they discovered that burnout was a subject in itself. They tackle the issues that arise specifically from following your passion in The Passion Paradox (2019). To borrow author Tom Peters’ phrase from a related context, “there is an eerie similarity of language” among all these authors’ findings and recommendations. I heard the same themes echoing again and again: Deliberate practice. Consistency. Self-awareness. Tradeoffs. Challenge. Warnings abound: The object of your passion can consume and crush you. Feedback is healthy, but pursuing external validation is a fool’s errand. Rest — short, medium, and long term — is a biological necessity for growth. The principles apply to learning guitar or improving at almost anything. The links above go to Amazon, but first check your local library. Enjoy!