Challenges of Beginning Guitar and Bass Lessons – Part 3 | Action

The next factor to consider is the height of the strings from the frets, or the action. I have seen too many beginning students try with all their might to play an improperly set up instrument with extremely high action and heavy-gauge strings. The resulting frustration usually kills the enthusiasm of the student, leaving the person with a sense of personal failure. That would be like competing in a Nascar race with a ’76 Corolla, and then feeling dejected that you were lapped seventy-eight times in an hour.

It is fairly easy to check the action of your instrument. Point the headstock at your nose and look down the side of the neck toward the bridge (the piece which holds the strings onto the body). You can see if the string height increases dramatically as you get away from the nut (the slotted piece behind the first fret which determines string spacing). If the action becomes increasingly higher as you proceed toward the bridge, the instrument will be fairly unplayable above the fifth fret.

Beginning students usually prefer a low action so that it’s fairly easy to press and hold the string to the fret. Electric guitars and basses have individual bridge saddles for each string, which allows a custom adjustment to the taste of the player. Acoustic and classical guitars, however, have a one-piece bridge saddle which must be shaped and sanded in order to lower the action. This offers the student a good opportunity to contact either a guitar technician or a luthier to make the adjustment.