Members cuthere28 Posted June 22, 2006 Members Posted June 22, 2006 Great site! New guitarist here. The problem I am having though, is when practicing my scales (0-1-2-3-4-) pattern, as I move up the strings (Mostly D and G) I can't seem to keep all four fingers in place without my finders brushing up against other strings. Even after an hour a day practice for 2 weeks, I'm no closer to solving the problem... Any insight that can help? Thanks!
Members geeoff Posted June 22, 2006 Members Posted June 22, 2006 keep practicing, i know an hour a day may seem like a lot of practice, but its really not. Everything comes with time, the more time you put in the sooner it will happen. Sorry, but there's no shortcuts learning to play music.
Members Moggo Posted June 22, 2006 Members Posted June 22, 2006 It's all about practise. Keep a positive frame of mind and you'll get there, even if you have no talent. Geoff has it. Keep going
Members MorePaul Posted June 23, 2006 Members Posted June 23, 2006 Originally posted by cuthere28 Great site! New guitarist here. The problem I am having though, is when practicing my scales (0-1-2-3-4-) pattern, as I move up the strings (Mostly D and G) I can't seem to keep all four fingers in place without my finders brushing up against other strings. Even after an hour a day practice for 2 weeks, I'm no closer to solving the problem... Any insight that can help? Thanks! It's a little tough to dianose without really seeing what's going on (that's where lesson - formal or informal - can help...even Hendrix had a neighbor kid get him started) My *suspicion* is that you don't have much finger arch going on , that you are gripping the neck like a baseball bat as opposed to pressing the strings Q : Is there any "daylight" between the back of the nack and your palm (esp near the bottom about where your palm meets your fingers...those pads opposite your "punching knuckles")? I also suspect that how you are addressing the guitar may be causing your wrist to leave a "neutral" position as you are moving up the neck Q: as you are moving up the neck, is your wrist a - not rotating much at all?b - rotatating sso the thumb goes skyward? (hand bending "back" like a pushing motion)c - rotating so the thumb is dropping (so the thumb is getting closer to the wrist)? I would strongly suggest lessons - I realize folks are often very hesitant to do so, but it can save you a lot of time Given where you are right now, I'd rather [my opinion, that's all] see you break the practice into multiple shorter sessions...these are new muscle groups so there are going to be some stamina issues and I'd rather see you approach it fresh with decent technique than "cowboy" it as you get tired there's a cool saying "practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent -- perfect practice makes perfect" (adult learning story -- I enjoy Fencing, but as a beginner, my first coach did not want us practicing outside of class...the reason? the positions and motions are sort of exacting and you are, by the nature of the sport, put under stress...so, as a beginner, it was too easy to 'cement' into place bad habits that would take extra work to correct later. I'm not saying "don't practice", but I am saying practice well)
Members MorePaul Posted June 26, 2006 Members Posted June 26, 2006 still out there brother? touch base and we'll get you fixed up as best we can remotely (I have a couple of exercises which may help you with thi, bu first I want to make sure we get you practicing from a decenty solid mechanical foundation)
Members cuthere28 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Members Posted June 27, 2006 Thanks for all the help so far guys! This is great information. I bought the Metal Method training program, to learn the basics and I do plan to sign up for lessons as the time becomes available. In the meantime, that guitar is just screaming for me to pick it up... I just wish there was something I could play that was recognizable.. lol I am taking every shred of info you provide though to heart!
Members MorePaul Posted June 27, 2006 Members Posted June 27, 2006 hit us back with the answers to the questions (I ask em just to try to figure out how you are addressingthe instrument so we can adjusst your position a little)
Members cuthere28 Posted July 3, 2006 Author Members Posted July 3, 2006 Sorry it has taken me a while to get back with you guys. I have been out and about. Ok, to give you guys a better understanding of what is going on here... I am currently using the Metal Method series of tapes as instruction. The problem I am having is in the ability to stretch from my middle finger and ring finger. The stretching just isn't there. This also causes my pinky to hit at an odd angle that saps both strength and accuracy. I do seem to have as much of an arch as is possible. I grip the neck as I was taught by a good player I knew years ago, who told me to keep my thumb straight, and ligned up with my middle finger if possible, and to "pinch" the neck when fretting... Does that info help? If not let me know.
Members martingibson70 Posted July 4, 2006 Members Posted July 4, 2006 When my students palm the neck on open chords I help them adjust their finger angles by sliding a pencil between the neck and their hand so that they have to arch their fingers over the pencil then down onto the neck.
Members Paragraph51 Posted July 4, 2006 Members Posted July 4, 2006 This reply is for everybody, but I'm putting it here. When you practice your chord forms, your arpeggios and scaler finger patterns, hold the thumb of your fretting hand away from the back of the neck, and do not touch the neck with your thumb, or hook the neck with your fingers to get leverage you were getting from your thumb, as you fret the notes. This is the best way possible to train in your fingers and reflexes to fret the notes on the guitar. Forget about gripmasters, or whatever that finger squeezer thing is called. Spend about 15-90 minutes playing with your thumb off of the neck, out of your daily 60-720 minutes playing time.
Members Li Shenron Posted July 4, 2006 Members Posted July 4, 2006 You need to make sure your posture and movements are correct. The hand and fingers should not be tense, except when stretching is required (and even in that case they should be not too tense). The best thing you can do is to ask a teacher to check you out. The second best thing to do is to spend some time practicing at your minimum speed (i.e. one note every few seconds) or completely still, just keeping the position, and to find the posture which relaxes you most without causing the brushing problem at the same time. If you're trying to eliminate the problem while playing at your maximum speed, you're wasting time.
Members MorePaul Posted July 5, 2006 Members Posted July 5, 2006 Cut -OK given your description I'm currently little concerned (and there may be no problem there, but it's hard to tell without witnessing the position) not so much abt the thumb alignment along the longitude of the neck (behind the second finger) but how the hand/wrist is rotated around that longitudinal axis. As far as exercises, I'm going to suggest the old Howard Roberts Equal Presure exercise it's technically easy (we'll get to that when you read on), but has some physical components that may very well help you
Members cuthere28 Posted July 9, 2006 Author Members Posted July 9, 2006 Thanks! I will check those out.
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