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Hi there. I've been playing guitar casually for 7 years, more or less entirely acoustic. I've put a lot of work in to it but never done anything professionally, and never really had proper lessons. As such I'm a fairly sloppy player and have a lot of technique issues. I've made a conscious decision recently to develop my playing style without a plectrum, as I find this more natural and love folk fingerstyle music.

My problem: my right hand lacks accuracy and never quite feels either secure enough or relaxed enough. I used to rest my palm and/or pinky on the guitar, which was much more comfortable, but I found my thumb was not sufficiently far in-front of the other fingers. And the sound tends to be more muted. I've recently started trying to play without resting my pinky, like how Neil does in his videos, but I find I have a few problems:

1. My hand feels sort of weightless, although I'm fairly accurate this way I don't feel in control of what I'm doing.
2. I often miss bass notes; my thumb doesn't feel like it's driving the song
3. My fingers tend to 'gallop'. That is, they skip away from the string after plucking. Not sure how to reign them in.
4. Should I consciously arch my wrist so my thumb is further forward, with my fingers at a more vertical angle?

I could do with some encouragement and guidance as I find it hard to really commit to learning new songs properly or really moving ahead until I'm sure I'm practising the right thing. Although I can play a lot of songs fairly pleasantly I can't play a single one perfectly as there's always little mistakes my right hand makes.

Hello, Though I have been playing much longer than you I recognize many of the things you mention. Don't give up, it will come. Unfortunately, I don't have anything magical to offer. Just keep at it.
When I first started trying to learn alternating finger picking I spent hours working on four strings, alternating thumb and middle finger then thumb and first finger in this pattern. outside, outside, inside, inside. After I got comfortable with that I worked on moving my finger around to different strings. Then I practiced plucking two strings and working that into the pattern and so on.
I am sure Neil has a much better plan of attack for you than my meager routine. I just want to encourage you to not give up.

Steve

Part of the solution may be in using rest strokes with your thumb. e.g. When playing an E Bass note the thumb which is pointing down the neck and your fingers pointing to the ground moves in a downward direction as opposed to plucking away from the body, then once played it rests on the A string. This would have the effect of keeping your hand closer to the body of the guitar. Other than that I guess its repetitive practice to work the old muscle memory.

banapaulo wrote:

1. My hand feels sort of weightless, although I'm fairly accurate this way I don't feel in control of what I'm doing.
2. I often miss bass notes; my thumb doesn't feel like it's driving the song
3. My fingers tend to 'gallop'. That is, they skip away from the string after plucking. Not sure how to reign them in.
4. Should I consciously arch my wrist so my thumb is further forward, with my fingers at a more vertical angle?

Hello BANAPAULO. Welcome to TG, you have certainly came to the right place. For most of us here, the only thing harder than learning the guitar is un-learning bad techniques and sloppy habits. Neil's lessons will correct that!!! To answer your questions, here are a couple of suggestions for you;

YES, arch your wrist slightly so that your thumb is slightly forward and your fingers are perpendicular to the strings. Try placing your hand closer to the strings rather than extending your fingers. The picking motion of your thumb and fingers should be very small. This will help with your accuracy and eliminate that "galloping" you mentioned. Continued practice will improve your control and speed. Stay with it.



Bill