Guitar Dictionary Category
Notation & Reading
What Does Let Ring Mean in Guitar Music?
Let ring tells the guitarist to allow selected notes or strings to continue sounding instead of stopping them when the next note begins. The instruction may appear as the words “let ring,” the abbreviation L.R., or a dashed continuation line over or under the passage.
Some scores use l.v., from the French laissez vibrer, for a similar instruction. Editorial conventions vary, so follow the marking used in the score.
Let Ring vs Written Note Value
A note normally ends according to its written duration or when the player deliberately stops it. A let-ring instruction asks the guitarist to preserve resonance beyond the ordinary separation implied by the passage, often allowing chord tones and open strings to overlap.
The marking does not mean that every string should ring indefinitely. Stop notes when the harmony changes, when they create unwanted dissonance or when the continuation line ends.
Let Ring vs Tie
A tie joins two written notes of the same pitch into one exact duration. Let ring is a broader performance instruction that can allow several different notes to overlap. A tie is rhythmic notation; let ring describes sustain and texture.
How to Keep Notes Ringing
Maintain fretting pressure on sustained notes while preparing the next fingers. Use open strings when the arrangement allows them to continue. Avoid lifting an entire chord shape if only one finger must move.
The picking hand must also avoid touching sustained strings accidentally. Palm muting, resting fingers and moving the thumb can stop notes that the score asks to preserve.
When Let Ring Creates Problems
Ringing notes can blur a chord change, especially with distortion or strong compression. An open string that belongs to one harmony may clash with the next. Learn the passage slowly and decide which notes should survive each change.
On acoustic and open-tuned guitar, sympathetic vibration can add valuable resonance. On amplified guitar, the same overlap may require more careful muting.
Let-Ring Exercise
Hold an open C chord. Play the fifth, fourth, third, second and first strings separately while keeping every available note sounding. Repeat the pattern while changing to G. Identify the exact point where notes from C must stop before the new harmony becomes unclear.
Why Let Ring Matters
Let-ring notation helps guitar music use the instrument’s natural sustain, open strings and overlapping voices. It can make one guitar sound fuller, but the effect depends on selective control rather than simply avoiding all muting.
Kalymi Tip
Open tunings and fingerstyle arrangements often depend on deliberate sustain. Hold bass notes, open strings and chord tones for their full value when the harmony permits, but do not let them ring randomly through a chord change.
Practise the passage once while exaggerating the sustain and once while muting each note immediately. Then choose the middle ground that preserves the melody and harmony without creating blur.
Use both hands to control the ending of the sound. Let ring is not the absence of technique; it requires knowing exactly which finger or part of the hand would otherwise stop the note.
Related Terms
Learn More
- How to Play Classical Guitar: Lesson One
- How to Play Classical Guitar: Lesson Two
- Open Tunings Guitar Learning Path
- Open D Guitar Guide
- Guitar Fingerpicking Poster
- Kalymi Music Library
Reviewed by
Brent C. Robitaille,
music educator and founder of
Kalymi Music.