Is this okay, or am I missing something crucial in proper fretting hand setup?
Many thanks in advance!
Fretting Hand Position Woes
Okay, so I'm at the garage waiting them to install new tires on my wife's car. As befits someone properly obsessed, I brought my digital guitar along for some waiting room practice time. This leads me to a question that's been burning in my brain for the past several days: how to I get my fretting fingers all nice and vertical like so many of the how-to images I see? Please see the attached image. That's the F/C from the "Your Song" lessons. Even on my digital, that has a much shorter neck than either of my traditional guitars, best I can do without crazy wrist contortions is the fingers slanting as they do in the image. The closer to the nut I go, the greater the finger slant so long as I keep the arm and elbow square and the wrist not severely bent.
Is this okay, or am I missing something crucial in proper fretting hand setup?
Many thanks in advance!
Is this okay, or am I missing something crucial in proper fretting hand setup?
Many thanks in advance!
-
TGNesh
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- Location: The Netherlands
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That's a great question Mark, and in short, you indeed don't want to have your finger slant like that. All joints must be bend.
I would love to get into it, but I'm out the door for a couple of days. (it's not like i could type the answer in just a few lines, in fact, a video would work better) So I hope Neil will elaborate a bit about it in the weekly recap.
Thanks for bringing it up, since it's quite important for any guitar player.
Ness
I would love to get into it, but I'm out the door for a couple of days. (it's not like i could type the answer in just a few lines, in fact, a video would work better) So I hope Neil will elaborate a bit about it in the weekly recap.
Thanks for bringing it up, since it's quite important for any guitar player.
Ness
So, the more I delve into playing styles deeper than the "campfire" open chording, the more I realize how many bad habits I've embraced, habits that make proper fingerstyle more difficult than it needs to be.
Okay, fair enough. Just gotta work on doing things the proper way. So grateful for the thoughtful, carefully-explained lessons here to help with that. B)
Right now I've abandoned working on new songs per se and have taken a step back to the basics in order to get a good foundation in place. With fretting hand placement, after reviewing several different videos of various songs showing representative chordings, it seems that there's not so much an issue with my fingers not being perfectly perpendicular to the angle of the fretboard on the lower (closer to the nut) frets as there is with not having proper curl to the fingers themselves so they are mobile and the fingertips (not lower on the pad) are doing the fretting.
Seem an accurate assessment?
This is a quick shot of my finger positions on the same F/C chord from "Your Song" with proper (or so I think) curl to the fingers. Especially with the need for the mini-barre on fret 1 it seems the index finger has to cant somewhat so the barre is using the side edge of the finger rather than the underside (which from instruction I've received from other sources seems to be the best barre approach in general).
Very much looking forward to your feedback. :cheer:
Okay, fair enough. Just gotta work on doing things the proper way. So grateful for the thoughtful, carefully-explained lessons here to help with that. B)
Right now I've abandoned working on new songs per se and have taken a step back to the basics in order to get a good foundation in place. With fretting hand placement, after reviewing several different videos of various songs showing representative chordings, it seems that there's not so much an issue with my fingers not being perfectly perpendicular to the angle of the fretboard on the lower (closer to the nut) frets as there is with not having proper curl to the fingers themselves so they are mobile and the fingertips (not lower on the pad) are doing the fretting.
Seem an accurate assessment?
This is a quick shot of my finger positions on the same F/C chord from "Your Song" with proper (or so I think) curl to the fingers. Especially with the need for the mini-barre on fret 1 it seems the index finger has to cant somewhat so the barre is using the side edge of the finger rather than the underside (which from instruction I've received from other sources seems to be the best barre approach in general).
Very much looking forward to your feedback. :cheer:
A follow-up: I'm pleased to say this is getting better. I have ingrained bad habits that were fine for campfire chord strumming but as I try more ambitious playing styles the flaws become obvious obstacles to getting my fingers where they need to be, and when.
I'm going back nearly to square one: I've dug out the very first two songs I learned to play and am re-learning them using proper hand placement and better technique. I figured since I was yanking the old out by the roots I'd return to those roots. B)
I hope to have a test video ready ere long of my running through the first song (not fingerstyle, not yet) for folks to throw darts at.
Have a killer weekend! :side:
I'm going back nearly to square one: I've dug out the very first two songs I learned to play and am re-learning them using proper hand placement and better technique. I figured since I was yanking the old out by the roots I'd return to those roots. B)
I hope to have a test video ready ere long of my running through the first song (not fingerstyle, not yet) for folks to throw darts at.
Have a killer weekend! :side:
Hey Mark,
Below is my version of "Your Song". The best advice I can give you is to stop worrying about perfect hand positions and such and just go for it. The best counsel I've ever received for accomplishing things involving skills is... just do it. Don't over think it... In other words, don't get into the process of "paralysis by analysis" and perfection..."if you think you stink"...! Just do the best you can and odds are your audience will love it. If you look at my hand positions, you can see all kinds of "wrong" things, like "baseball grip" "thumb wrap" playing E/G# in an alternate position etc.
Don't get me wrong, proper technique and proper practice are essential, but striving for perfection can be counter-productive. We all have to depend on things that work for us based upon our God given anatomy. If you can't achieve a certain position, try something that let's you accomplish the task. Look at Eric Clapton...he does all sorts of "wrong" things with his hands, but he gets the job done.
Just saying...
Bill
Below is my version of "Your Song". The best advice I can give you is to stop worrying about perfect hand positions and such and just go for it. The best counsel I've ever received for accomplishing things involving skills is... just do it. Don't over think it... In other words, don't get into the process of "paralysis by analysis" and perfection..."if you think you stink"...! Just do the best you can and odds are your audience will love it. If you look at my hand positions, you can see all kinds of "wrong" things, like "baseball grip" "thumb wrap" playing E/G# in an alternate position etc.
Don't get me wrong, proper technique and proper practice are essential, but striving for perfection can be counter-productive. We all have to depend on things that work for us based upon our God given anatomy. If you can't achieve a certain position, try something that let's you accomplish the task. Look at Eric Clapton...he does all sorts of "wrong" things with his hands, but he gets the job done.
Just saying...
Bill
Thank you, Bill, both for your sage advice and for sharing that beautiful rendition.
You're right: I'm overthinking this. By nature I'm an analytical, and getting back into music is one of the antidotes I've been seeking to help let the creative side run free. Sometimes I clearly need the clue bird to light on my shoulder and point out when I'm letting one intrude on the other.
Okay, clue-by-four in hand, time to stop fretting (see what I did there?) and just play.
More to come. :side:
You're right: I'm overthinking this. By nature I'm an analytical, and getting back into music is one of the antidotes I've been seeking to help let the creative side run free. Sometimes I clearly need the clue bird to light on my shoulder and point out when I'm letting one intrude on the other.
Okay, clue-by-four in hand, time to stop fretting (see what I did there?) and just play.
More to come. :side:
spinland wrote:
Thank you, Bill, both for your sage advice and for sharing that beautiful rendition.
You're right: I'm overthinking this. By nature I'm an analytical, and getting back into music is one of the antidotes I've been seeking to help let the creative side run free. Sometimes I clearly need the clue bird to light on my shoulder and point out when I'm letting one intrude on the other.
Okay, clue-by-four in hand, time to stop fretting (see what I did there?) and just play.
More to come. :side:
HI Mark,
I'm sorry I'm so late to this discussion. My work has been keeping my away recently.
I'm sure Vanessa will have a splendid answer, but in the meantime, I have to agree with Bill. You just have to play. I am still enough of a beginning guitarist to remember when my fretting hand would be angled when attempting barre chords and it's no longer that way now. And I still notice how Neil has this wonderful hand position in some killer measures that I'm only just now beginning to get.
My advice would be not to keep playing the same songs over and over waiting for something to happen. You may be waiting a long time. I would suggest moving on to something else, something different, something more challenging. Find something with some tricky fills, attempt a lead, try an easier instrumental. These will require different movements which will improve what is giving you trouble. Then after a while (weeks, maybe months) go back to what you were trying and you should see an improvement.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I'm sorry I'm so late to this discussion. My work has been keeping my away recently.
I'm sure Vanessa will have a splendid answer, but in the meantime, I have to agree with Bill. You just have to play. I am still enough of a beginning guitarist to remember when my fretting hand would be angled when attempting barre chords and it's no longer that way now. And I still notice how Neil has this wonderful hand position in some killer measures that I'm only just now beginning to get.
My advice would be not to keep playing the same songs over and over waiting for something to happen. You may be waiting a long time. I would suggest moving on to something else, something different, something more challenging. Find something with some tricky fills, attempt a lead, try an easier instrumental. These will require different movements which will improve what is giving you trouble. Then after a while (weeks, maybe months) go back to what you were trying and you should see an improvement.
Good luck and keep us posted.
-
TGNesh
- Posts: 116
- Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:25 am
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Hi Mark,
I have been pondering your question as in which answer to give you (I have a lot actually!), but instead I'll ask a few questions instead.
What are you goals as a guitar player? How much of your potential would you like to use? Or even more specific, how good of a guitar player do you want to be?
I have been pondering your question as in which answer to give you (I have a lot actually!), but instead I'll ask a few questions instead.
What are you goals as a guitar player? How much of your potential would you like to use? Or even more specific, how good of a guitar player do you want to be?