Palm Blocking Specifics

Tim Tweedale · From: Vancouver, B.C., Canada

I have been listening to Charley Pride's album "Live At Panther Hall" a lot lately, and of course, it features the wonderful playing of Lloyd Green. It made me want to buckle down and finally learn to properly palm block, but before I develop bad habits I have a couple of questions;

Firstly, I see a lot of steel players stick their baby finger out quite a bit. Is this necessary? If so, why?

Secondly, I'll go through a blocking exercise like the one outlined by someone here (ascending rolls on strings 10,9,8 then 9,8,7 etc. blocking each string as I go) and then I'll get to one note and I miss the block, because the part of my hand that came down is where my baby finger joins my hand, and there's sort of a valley there. So frustrating! How do you avoid this spot on your hand?

Thank you!

-Tim

Mike Ester · From: New Braunfels, Texas, USA

What I do is curl my ring finger into my palm and use it to aid in blocking. When I first started using Winnie Winston's book, I couldn't get comfortable holding my hand in the manner he recommended. There was a picture in the book of Curly Chalker curling his ring finger into his palm. I tried it and it felt perfectly natural and comfortable to me.

YMMV.

James Sission · From: Sugar Land,Texas USA

I am so new to this, I probably have no business posting, but I will. I too am learning palm blocking. Its not as easy on the steel as it is was on the tele, in my opinion. My teacher taught me a technique called, tracking. If your moving your right hand accross the neck at the same time your moving the bar, then your right hand should fall into a position that naturally allows you block with the fatty part of the palm instead of in the area around your knuckles. That is to say, if you move your bar towards the higher notes, your right hand should follow along in the proper picking position instead of streaching out for the strings. As for the pinky on the right hand, there are probably as many thoughts on that as there are players, but concentrate on anchoring the pinky and moving the right hand along with the bar to make all the blocks clean. I am not saying this is easy, but a good many players do it and it seems pretty effective. I still find myself pick blocking and have to remind myself my use the palm, but like anything else, I think in time and with LOTS of practice, its going to come along ok...James

[This message was edited by James Sission on 25 October 2005 at 03:13 PM.]

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Jeff Newman's Right Hand Alpha Video straightened me out properly on blocking. When I find myself fumbling, it's usually because I've strayed from Newman's suggested right-hand position. I swear by it, and my speed has improved dramatically since I've employed his technique. Newman has such a conviction on this video about his technique that you get wrapped up in it and want to commit to it. It's almost as if you don't want to let him down....strange but true.
I too find that the pinky finger tucked under the wrist gives me better blocking, especially when going quickly from say, the 6th string to the 2nd, or something like that. It's a little fail-safe in case the wrist hasn't gotten down that far. It also provides a neat way to get harmonics; I believe I read here on the forum that Lloyd Green gets his harmonics this way.
Newman says in the video that it doesn't matter what you do with those other fingers - whatever feels more natural.
I can't thank Gary Arnold enough for sending me this video....it has brought my playing to a whole new level.

Mark Fasbender · Posted 25 Oct 2005 10:41 pm

Tim

The right hand alphe video helped me out immensly too. Once you get it ,its pretty cool. Gives good,fat tone too. Check it out.

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Got Twang ?

Mark

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

When I was first starting out someone taught me to block by picking, and then rolling the hand over to the side for the block... I tried for some time before I realized what bad advice I'd been given.

Just one movement, starting from "block" position, hand resting on the strings- then each note picked by raising the hand just enough to let it ring, returning to the rest position for the next picking attack.

Tracking the bar hand is also a big part of it. One thing that really helped me was realizing that it all had to be very relaxed, no tension in the arm or hand at all.

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

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