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Topic: Right hand question - more than just a difference of opinion |
Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 25 Dec 2012 5:44 pm |
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Two questions, actually:
1) My right-hand technique looks a lot like what's taught in the old books, except I have a tendency to anchor my ring finger on the first string. Palm-blocking is developing naturally for me without too much thought. However, when I'm accessing strings 10 through 6, my right hand technique goes right out the window and I play those with more of a flat hand. Trying to keep my hand in the same position on those strings as in the higher strings causes me to have to shift my entire arm and right side of my torso. What do I do?
2) I play for my own enjoyment, so I'm content with developing my skills naturally while I pluck away on the instrument. As long as I stay mindful of the fundamentals, is this really a bad way to go? When I type this question, I have palm-blocking in mind. I'm not the kind of person who will take the easy way out in order to speed up my competency on pedal steel. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 25 Dec 2012 6:00 pm
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| Are you keeping your right elbow tucked in close to your body? |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 25 Dec 2012 6:09 pm
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| Yeah. I don't even have to think about it anymore. It's not tight against my body, but fully relaxed at about 15 degree angle or so. |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 25 Dec 2012 9:10 pm
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| How do you approach wide grips ... like picking string 1 to 5 and adding in lows on string 10 ? |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 26 Dec 2012 5:43 am
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| The wide grips actually aren't a problem. The grips where my index and middle finger are on the lower strings is where it's hard to keep form. For the wide grips, it's just a matter of reaching my thumb back. |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 26 Dec 2012 6:15 am
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| Quote: |
| I have a tendency to anchor my ring finger on the first string |
I would think you should not do that if you have trouble picking the other strings without changing the shape of you hand. Try keeping your hand in the exact same comfortable shape it is in while anchored and move it back across the strings. Try anchoring on the 5th string. Move your hand across the strings by moving your arm while not changing your hand shape. The goal is to not anchor at all. You want to by able to adjust your tone by moving up and down the neck and also you want to be able to access all the strings with equal ease.
_________________
Bob |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 26 Dec 2012 5:04 pm
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| I think we're zeroing in on the problem. If I bring my elbow straight back instead of bowing it out, the elevation of the wrist naturally changes. To keep the wrist in the same position without bowing out the elbow causes something else to give... the problem travels up the arm to the shoulder. |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2012 8:06 pm
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| I just elevated my seat more than half an inch to see if that made any difference. Besides feeling really awkward, I couldn't tell if it made a noticeable difference. Maybe my arm is just proportioned differently than Jeff Newman or Buddy Emmons. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 6:56 am
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| Curt Trisko wrote: |
| I think we're zeroing in on the problem. If I bring my elbow straight back instead of bowing it out, the elevation of the wrist naturally changes. To keep the wrist in the same position without bowing out the elbow causes something else to give... the problem travels up the arm to the shoulder. |
Maybe I have a more flexible wrist, or maybe I'm just an oddball, but holding my elbow in or out has no affect whatsoever on my hand position? Normally, I do keep my elbow close to my body, but only because it's less stressful than holding it out. My elbow and hand position are "as they fall, naturally", totally relaxed. In other words, if I were playing tied in the chair, and then passed out, nothing would move! 
I have noticed that players who sit closer to the guitar, or lean over the guitar, have the tendency to move the elbows out slightly, but that's just ergonomics. As you body gets closer to the guitar, your arms tend to naturally move out to get more clearance from your body. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 7:22 am
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my friend & mentor Jean Yves Lozach suggested that i lean to the right as to keep my arm closer to my body
it helps to see the bar when you pick up high too
the newspaper or magazine under the right arm is great exercise for newbies - it it falls out : you lost !
i keep my belly button at fret 14 & slightly lower than the deck - my arm lays flat & relaxed - i pick on a D10 so C6 neck acts like a pad
(yes, i play C6 too ! )
it's important to have a relaxed position otherwise, you're gonna hurt & you're not gonna get right
my right hand is like a claw w: the crease on string 5 - as Jeff N suggests: like holding a ping pong ball w: thumb, index & middle fingers
muh hand rests on the strings - i mute w: the bottom edge ( kinda like a karate chop ) - my pinky is tucked in for muting & harmonics
since i pick block too, i have learned to ALWAYS DIG IN FIRST - pick - then put 'em back in to mute
the more you practice & play, the more things settle in & become assets
Last edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 28 Dec 2012 7:25 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 7:23 am
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We are all proportioned slightly different, and will to some extent have to find our own ways to comfortably pick the PSG. Some like/need slightly higher seat, and some angle the PSG for improved comfort/ease of playing. Makes sense to try to follow guidelines set by the best, but don't get so hung up in how they do/did it that it holds you back.
| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
| You want to by able to adjust your tone by moving up and down the neck and also you want to be able to access all the strings with equal ease. |
...says it all, really.
In the beginning I listened to, and observed, all better players I could get in contact with (no internet back then), and tried the best I could to do it right. It worked, but playing like them did not suit my body all that well, and over time I found that it did not suit my musical taste either. So, borrowing ideas and methods from everyone and adjusting it to my own body and taste, turned out to be the best way forward for me.
Best advice I have ever received came from a non-musician - my chiropractor: "best way to teach all limbs to react fast and precise, is to always keep the body in an unstable state - slightly out of balance".
Translated to playing the PSG: no anchoring of hands or feet at any time.
Works for agile jet-fighters  , and after lots of practice it works for me too. Don't know if it works for anyone else.
And, my preferred style of picking is all over the place by now, and is not recommended if you want to make one technique work. |
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Tony Williamson
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 8:16 am
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I don't know if I would anchor the ring finger or not and here's why...when I play banjo and steel I anchor my little finger. My ring finger follws my middle finger in movement.. so if we anchor the ring...it could possibly hinder the middle. I play a lot of chromatic stuff on banjo. I might go halfway thru a roll and reverse it..a lot of my right hand isn't rolls at all when I play this stuff and I need total ease and fluidity.my hand knuckles are up high and my fingers hang down like one of those claw machines in walmart that picks up prizes..lol sometimes on steel I'll anchor my LITTLE finger just outside the first string...but I usually move my hand over whatever section of strings. In other words....always do things the easiest it can be done..with the least resistance from anything.
_________________
stelling banjos . shobud ldg and superpro/ martin hd28v weber mandolin, session 400, danelectro delay, korg d3200, bose L1 x2 |
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