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Topic: Let's talk bar handling |
Bill McCloskey
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 3:10 pm |
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This is for you 2 3/4' bullet nosed bar players out there.
How do you hold your index finger on the bar. Coming from a dobro background, I usually keep my index finger flat on top of the bar, but going through the Jerry Byrd book, he has an arched index finger, creating a pivot point for slants. It takes a little getting used to.
So how do you hold your index finger?
And while we are at it, how about a poll on what bar you do use (for lap steel players only...we know what you dobro guys use).  |
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 3:50 pm
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I hold it exactly as JB says, but the tip of my finger is slightly off center. I got to see Paul Franklin play up close..as in right over his shoulder... Last year and he has the "classic" JB bar hold (high knuckle bend) and uses what appears to me as substantial pressure on the bar.
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 3:59 pm
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I do not hold my index finger straight on top of the bar.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 4:59 pm
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| Jerome Hawkes wrote: |
| I hold it exactly as JB says, but the tip of my finger is slightly off center. |
ditto, but I keep adjusting it back to center (just to keep the old man happy) on a 3" bar. |
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G Strout
From:
Carabelle, Florida
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 5:19 pm
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I guess I do it all wrong... but it works for me!!
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 7:29 pm
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| I hold the bar like Mike does! |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 9:13 pm
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Yeah, I hold it more or less like Mike too. I've got a feeling its about different hand and finger shapes, but using the tip of your finger to create a pivot seems shaky to me. When I go into a reverse slant the bar pivots under the flat of the finger just ahead of the first knuckle. Much more grip and balance than the tip of the finger.
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 18 Jan 2013 11:18 pm
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| I use the Jim Dunlop 3/4" bar. I think it's the "#918" ? |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 19 Jan 2013 11:19 am
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| Doing it just as JB did/instructs should pose no stability problems, in fact it helps keep the hand looser (once you get it) and fully allows bar manipulations which can be restricted with other positions, plus makes the vibrato free and easy. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 19 Jan 2013 12:18 pm
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| Ron Whitfield wrote: |
| Doing it just as JB did/instructs should pose no stability problems, in fact it helps keep the hand looser (once you get it) and fully allows bar manipulations which can be restricted with other positions, plus makes the vibrato free and easy. |
JB's method does not work for me at all. I tried several times through the years but I don't like it. I'm content at this point with holding it the way I do.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Tom Gray
From:
Decatur, GA
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Posted 19 Jan 2013 1:35 pm
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Years ago Leonard T. Zinn demonstrated to me his bar grip with a restaurant butterknife. He said the index finger should act only as a guide. The grip is between your thumb and the bigger joint of your middle finger. If you lift your hand the front of the bar should fall and point down. This grip works for me.
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www.tomgraymusic.com |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 19 Jan 2013 2:03 pm
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| Ron Whitfield wrote: |
| Doing it just as JB did/instructs should pose no stability problems, in fact it helps keep the hand looser (once you get it) and fully allows bar manipulations which can be restricted with other positions, plus makes the vibrato free and easy. |
For one thing, JB had much meatier fingers than I have. Also, my fingers lie almost straight when relaxed. I have to put tension in my hand to arch the finger. I'm curious though. How exactly does arching the finger help with vibrato?
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother.
Last edited by David Matzenik on 19 Jan 2013 9:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dave Mayes
From:
Oakland, Ca.
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Posted 19 Jan 2013 4:37 pm
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I follow the J.B. "arched index" game plan.
I use a Dunlop 918 like Jeff, as well as the classic Dunlop 919. Sometimes the 918 feels a little too long and sometimes the 919 feels a little too short. |
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