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Why does this classical guitarist "fret" the G string with two fingers? The chords before and after are not related. I guess it isn't to help vibrato since the vibrato is side-to-side. Is it a technique to mute the B string?

tc

See the clip on youtube here 18 seconds in. They don't seem to use this technique for any other chords in this section.

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  • I just call that “fretting”.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Mar 13, 2019 at 1:12
  • Thank you for naming the technique @ToddWilcox. Any idea why they would use both fingers here?
    – Anna
    Mar 13, 2019 at 1:13
  • @ToddWilcox I'm talking about fingers 1 and 2 on the G string (third from below). It seems it was a conscious choice here, as they use a single finger per string in the surrounding chords.
    – Anna
    Mar 13, 2019 at 1:17
  • I’m not exactly sure why but I do it all the time and have done it consistently since I started learning guitar 26 years ago.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Mar 13, 2019 at 1:54
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    @ToddWilcox - might be interesting to reason why. I have the greatest respect for teachers who can give convincing reasons why 1. they want something done a specific way, 2. why they do something themselves. All part of education and learning!
    – Tim
    Mar 13, 2019 at 15:21

2 Answers 2

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It's not really fretting two fingers on the same string for any purpose. The chord at that point has four notes (that's what I hear), and the index finger is easier to use if it strays onto the 3rd string as well. No reason other than convenience and comfort. It could have been put on the top/second string with the tip lower, but that didn't happen.

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Barre (chord) and (possibly) Hammer-On.

In the photo the index finger is holding down G and B strings. The ring finger is also fretting the G string.

The index is making a barre across two strings. The ring is fretting on the G as well ... and would be removed and replaced perhaps with the index in place. If repeated that could be a hammer-on (and off).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barre_chord

"In music, a barre chord (also known as bar chord or rarely barr chord) is a type of chord on a guitar or other stringed instrument, that the musician plays by using one or more fingers to press down multiple strings across a single fret of the fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strings)."

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  • 2
    I think the question is about fretting one string with two or more fingers. Barring is fretting two or more strings with one finger.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Mar 13, 2019 at 2:44
  • Yep, updated the answer.
    – Randy Zeitman
    Mar 13, 2019 at 3:32

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