Right Hand Technique
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Q | I've been playing guitar for quite a few years and have a decent
technique, pretty fast but with some seemingly insurmountable flaws at top speed. Besides a drop in accuracy, these flaws include excess tension and fatigue. I used to want to play like Yngwie, but my right hand just never got there. Anyway, I've got other musical goals these days and a solid, relaxed picking hand is one them. I got your Right Hand Technique book because it looks like just the thing to do it. I just have a couple questions to make sure I'm on the right track before investing the time to overhaul 15+ years of picking habits.
My understanding is that the motion to be going for is not a strict side-to-side of the wrist, but rather a rotation of the hand without any wrist motion at all. The hand is actually pronating and supinating in very small, alternating movements. Moving between strings uses the elbow, and the hand is completely free-floating. Is that it? If so, then you're right, it is awkward. But if it works, I'll spend the time on it. Which leads to the next question: When you changed picking techniques, did you put all your playing on hold until the new technique was up to speed, or did you continue with the old technique while working on the new one until it was ready to take over? Thank you for your help and thank you for the amazing series of books you've written. I wish I'd come across them sooner. |
| A | It seems like you have a good grasp of the right hand technique movements. You might want to consider buying the e-book Guitar Technique so you can see video clips and pictures of both right and left hand movements. This will insure that you understand the techniques presented in the "Right Hand Technique" book.
When I worked on changing my technique I resorted back to the old technique for gigs for a while. Sooner or later though you just have to force yourself only to play with the new technique. I can remember a couple of pretty embarrassing gigs. The consistency and accuracy you gain with this new movement along with a wrist that doesn't hurt is the payoff for a few shaky performances and some development time. I should also mention something that is not in the "Right Hand Technique" book but is something that you should consider about your musical ability and whether this is affecting your physical ability to play the guitar. I along with may others believe that when you improvise or play a written part you have to be able to hear this improvisation or written part in your head. If you don't you will automatically cause tension to build which will distribute itself in your body in various places. A couple of common places are your hands or your shoulders. So even if you use this new technique you will have less fatigue in your right arm because you are using your muscles in a more ergonomic way but if you are unable to hear what you play you will never get to where you want to be. There are two sides to hearing what you play. There is the rhythm and there are the pitches. If either of these are not functioning right in your head you are going to have problems. Now on the other hand I should mention that I've had students who could play amazingly fast but really had no idea what they were hearing. How could this be? What was happening with these students was they had an almost total disconnect in their brain as far as how to actually transfer their fast technique into playing real music. In other words it was a totally physical act. Of course when you played with them it was like your weren't even in the same room, they would just start moving their hands real fast because it was just a physical act with nothing coming from the musical side of their mind. You've probably run into a few of these types; they hang out in music stores and usually play by themselves because that's they way they sound the best. For most normal people who are trying to express the music they have inside of them this is where insufficient internal processing of sound can cause tension problems which in turn cause physical pain and surely mental anguish if nothing else. This is what you get for caring about what you play and being honest with yourself I guess. So what can you do about this? I think the first thing to do is check if you sing what you play. Take anything you feel you really know on the guitar, play the first note of it or give yourself the key center and see if you can just sing it in time. Record this on a tape player and play it back. If it sounds like a dog howling at the moon, then you need to work on developing your inner processing of music through ear training. Let me know if you feel you need help with this and I'll recommend some books and some other techniques to get you on the right path |
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| Q | Thank you for your reply. You helped me immensely. The video clips for the e-book Guitar Technique were a Revelation. My right hand has tension, but my left has had recurring pain since the beginning. I'm looking forward to really applying these principles and doing what should have been done years ago. You may have saved my guitar-playing butt.
By the way, are you familiar with Kenny Werner's book "Effortless Mastery"? It's seems like it would fit in well with what I gather of your philosophy of playing. The book is probably responsible for getting me to finally confront my own unnecessary and detrimental musical tensions (physical and mental) and let to getting your book. |
| A | I'm glad the Guitar Technique e-book is helping you to use both hands properly I certainly am familiar with Kenny Werner's book "Effortless Mastery." I think he has many valid points about playing and being a musician.
I do feel that the book could shed more light on how one gets to the artistic levels he describes. When you get down to the nuts and bolts of how you should be hearing music, there's no substitute for direct application and practice in order to reach the physical and mental freedom you strive for. The following is an outline of the major areas of study I believe one needs to attain this freedom: 1. Ear training: A system that refines and develops your sense of key along with developing your internal (used in the process of composition, without an instrument) and external (when interacting with others, for example) recognition of sound. 2. Sight Singing (Rhythm and melody) to improve your visual recognition of sound which helps you: a. Express music without an instrument. b. Be more in touch with the notes you hear in your head when you improvise. c. Help you hear which notes you are hearing when composing. d. Develop your macro and micro understanding of phrasing and embellishment. See #3 and #4. e. Improve your sight reading abilities. 3. Knowledge of your overall phrasing of melodies (hearing the music you play on a macro level) 4. Knowledge of the internal phrasing of melodies (dissecting melodies and deciding how you are embellishing (or not) embellishing each note. (hearing the music you play on a micro level) Internal phrasing of melodies is something that also can have a huge impact on your physical ability to play a melody. It is also one of the main components that goes into a melody sounding like music and not just a bunch of notes. 5. The study improvisational techniques i.e. scales, arpeggios, approach notes, superimposition, intervallics etc. |
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| Q | I am studying your "Right Hand Technique For Guitar". My question is whether or not my right forearm should be resting on the face of the guitar while I am using your technique? I play a Fender Strat. If I keep my forearm off the face of the guitar it creates some tension in my shoulder and the freedom of motion in my forearm is harder to control. If I rest it on the face of the guitar, sometimes I feel a stickiness as my forearm slides across the face. This throws off my elbow generated sweep timing. Please advise. |
| A | You should rest your forearm on the guitar. The stickiness could be caused by build up of body oils on the guitar face. Try cleaning the guitar and/or putting talcum powder on the part of your forearm that touches the guitar. |
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| Q | My questions:
What exercises would you suggest to better develop both accuracy and speed in the right hand? Should I begin with the single preparation exercises, or should I start with the numbered exercises? Which ranges of speeds should I be able to develop? |
| A | It's hard for me to give you exact advice because I'm not there to hear and see how you are doing. In general I would say that any exercise you work with in the Right Hand Technique book should be done slowly with the smallest omount of movement and with the lightest picking you can do. As you speed up the metronome try to maintain this small movement and relax light feel. There is no limit to how fast you should play but you should a least get up to around 16th notes at 160. I would of course think of it as thirty seconds notes at 80 because you always want to think a larger unit of time when you can. Remember really any exercise can develop accuracy and speed it's all in your concentration and devotion to keep concentrated and relaxed. And of course playing with the right physical movements. |
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| Q | I have benefited a lot from your Right Hand Technique book. I take care with posture and right hand position. I no longer brace my right hand at all and I focus a lot on tension spots or tension buildup during right hand exercises. Now I am trying to increase my speed while picking once per string. Alternate picking is important to me because I am pretty much using position 5 to play everything. I figure that the left hand problem is complicated enough without having to memorize a specific hammer-on/off picking sequence for every arpeggio in every key in position 5. Some of my exercises require triplets across three strings at 130 bpm which means 390 beats per minute which is much faster than I can go. So I have been doing the following 6 days a week:
I start the metronome at 180 bpm and use down strokes only on the open strings across, back and across. Then I do the same at the 3rd fret, 6th fret, 9th fret and 12th fret. I repeat this whole sequence using only up strokes, then up/down and finally down/up. Then I repeat that whole sequence for each of the following metronome settings, 210, 230, 250, 260, 270, 280 and 290. Above 270 I start making inconsistent errors. Sometimes the picking sequences are perfect and sometimes I blow it. At 300 many more mistakes. Does this seem like a good way to go about this? My goal is to get solid up to 390 bpm. |
| A | Well there are a couple of problems with your practice schedule. First you need to slow the metronome down. For instance rather than starting at 180 start at 92. The reasoning behind this is the faster the metronome the faster your mind tends to think. Your mind can only think so fast so as you increase the metronome you will reach a limit where you start to make massive mistakes because you brain can't think that fast. Therefore lower the metronome speed usually helps people to play faster because their mind is thinking slower even though they are playing just as many notes. This is called point to point playing and is one of those secrets that most people don't know. So in general I would never use a metronome speed past 120 and usually only up to 100. As soon as you get to 100 put the metronome down to 50 play the same exercise at the same speed as you did at 100 but now you are "feeling/thinking" it half a fast.
The other important thing to remember is economy of motion. As you get faster and faster your range of motion has to get smaller and smaller. I recommend playing really slow and limiting you range of motion drastically. You will find from doing this even for a couple of days that you will have bursts of very fast speed. It seems weird but practicing very slow with limited motion makes it so you can play fast. You are correct in taking an exercise and speeding it up slowly but there is also other ways to gain speed. There is another point to point exercise that works incredibly well for gaining speed. 1. Choose a easy pattern to use for demonstration. A C major scale one beat using 16th notes. Start on C and play 5 notes. C,D,E,F,G. C is the starting beat and G is played on beat 2. You will notice that we are playing a group of 5 notes starting on beat one of a measure and ending on beat two of a measure. Put the metronome at a slow speed like 60 and play the C on the first beat of the metronome and G on the second beat of the metronome. Try to hear to other notes (D,E,F) that should be there in your head as you are only playing the C and the G. As you get to the point were you can aurally hear those other notes (you can also try singing them to help you hear them) in your head try adding in the missing notes. As you add in the missing notes still think only the C to the G but add in the misiing (D,E,F) Keep doing the process of playing the point to point (C to G) and adding the notes in after you can hear them in your head until you get to 120. Now it's time for the next step. We are playing a C scale again this time it's 9 notes. C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D. So C will happen on the first beat and D will happen on the second beat. Put the metronome on 50. Play the C on the first beat and the D on the second beat of the metronome. Try to hear the other notes in between the C and D (Remember singing them with help). When you can hear them try adding them into your playing. (Remember you are still mostly thinking the C to D as you add in these notes). When you can do this start speeding up the metronome. You will see your speed at this point is getting outrageous. The important thing to remember with this whole exercise is that the point to point playing i.e. C to G or C to D is the important thing to think and practice. You should practice the C to G or C to D 4 times as much as you practice adding in the notes. The last exercise may seem crazy but it works extremely well and is used by some of greatest musicians that have ever lived. It's mental practicing. To show you how this works I want you to write out or find a 1 bar phrase of music to learn. You don't want to play this phrase on the guitar at all to start with you just want to learn it in your head. Therefore you will have to work out the following: 1. The fingering and picking for both hands in your head 2. Learn to sing the notes in rhythm (this is where your ear training comes into play) 3. Imagine both hand using the smallest possible movement. 4. Practice fingering, singing and thinking this phrase everyday 4 times a day for 10 minutes. 5 After a week pick up your guitar and play this line. You will find it's the fastest cleanest thing you can play and you will remember it longer that any other musical phrase you know. This is a lot of stuff but if you follow this information your going to be a blazing guitarist. |
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| Q | I Bought the Technique E-Book, and I am very interested in trying this new picking technique. Right now I have pretty good chops, and have worked a long time to develop them. I have been working on your new technique for a about a week, and it still feels odd. I still can't play very fast yet. Do you have any specific guidelines as to how long I should work on this everyday, and about how long it should take to develop professional chops with this new technique? One thing I am pretty proud of is the speed of my alternate picking. I work on a lot of tremolo studies. Will I be able to build on this with your technique too? I guess since I have picked the same way for over 20 years, I am a little hesitant to change now, but if you think this will improve my accuracy and speed, I will surely go for it! |
| A | As far as the right hand technique goes, the technique presented in my book is what I use. If you have never had any physical pain problems with your current method of picking then you are welcome to stay with that. It usually takes at least 6 months for people to switch over and sometimes much longer. Most people switch because of chronic repetitive stress problems that can crop up with picking from the wrist. |
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| Q | There is but one draw back of your right hand technique (that I can see):
Open strings ring out (especially when using distortion). How does one combat this problem (without buying tons of noise gates and noise suppressors?). I even have this problem when playing clean or on my acoustic!! You have mentioned a couple of times that your approach is based on a lot of wide intervals and string skipping, does that mean your right hand approach is only good for players who want to play like you? My style requires more scalar type runs going up and down in groups of 2,3,4,5,6,7, etc. at speeds well over 16 notes per second with strict alternate picking, so basically 16ths at 240 bpm-340 bpm. At the moment I'm around ten notes per second with this new approach(not bad for three days work) but if this approach is not designed for stress free speed playing it's not gonna cut it for me. |
| A | First, why don't you go to arnoldjazz.com and listen to some of my music so you realize how I play. I think that will help you understand more of what I'm doing. Second I think you need to think more creatively about how you will solve your "ringing" problem. Because ringing is almost always related to specific situations, check into right and left hand mutings, changing how you play a particular passage etc.. Third you should investigate via videos and live performances just how many great guitarist are playing with a free hand position. Most everyone I know of the elite NYC crowd use this technique. Fourth keep in mind that great musicians are not measured by their speed but by their creativity and ability to find and develop new directions in music. |
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| Q | I have been confused about economy picking for quit some time. I originally practiced some arpeggio based licks using this technique until I plateaued. Then I tried alternate picking only to find that I was able to quickly play them faster and cleaner using this technique. Yet I have still not been able to get them as fast as I would like.
Do you have any advice that can give me some insight into economy picking? |
| A | I think the first thing to keep in mind is that economy picking i.e. 3 notes per string [down, up, down] or [up, down, up] or for arpeggios [down, down, etc] or [up, up, etc] can be very effective but by it's very nature only works well for a limited number of musical phrases. The reason for this of course is that not all melodies work on the guitar using 3 notes per string or constant similar motion with the pick. Alternate picking on the other hand will work with any musical phrase but isn't always the best choice. Basically over time and with experience you choose which type of picking will be better for each situation and sometimes it's a combination of the two. The important thing with either type of picking is to keep your movements relaxed and as small as possible. By adhering to these two variables you will see that your picking technique will become faster and cleaner. I'm not sure if you have checked out my Guitar Technique ebook which would give you the information through pictures and videos on what I recommend for physical movement on the guitar. Also, the Right Hand Technique book will give you a bunch of fretboard exercises to improve right hand technique. The correct type of physical movement of course has a lot to do with your progress so it might help in your situation. Overall I would say that most technical problems that I've noticed with students comes from either improper technique, excessive physical movement or the build up of tension as the speed increases. Unfortunately I'm not there to see you play so I can't tell which thing is your problem. |
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| Q | I have a question regarding right hand technique.
I have come across your book regarding this subject, and am now in the process of switching my right hand technique to this method. When I pick using the forearm motion, I find that the fleshy part of the palm that sort of connects to the thumb and is kind of right under it rubs across the strings when picking (it happens when i am playing the top 4 strings, not when playing the A, or Low E string). My palm does not rest on the bridge or on the strings, my hand is free-floating. But this one part of my palm rubs against the strings. My question is: Is this occuring because i am doing something wrong as far my right hand position is concerned? Or is this natural, and i should just work through it to a point where it just feels normal. I can't say whether this gets in the way of speed or other techniques or not, because i have just recently started to work on this method of the right hand. But i just wanted to find out about this early on, so i can get on the right track. |
| A | Well it doesn't happen to me nor has anyone else reported this but I'd say off hand it's not a great idea to have the fleshy part of your hand brushing the strings. This could cause strings to start ringing particularly if you are using distortion. The fleshy part of my hand does come very close to the strings but doesn't touch. You might try using more of the pick to help you gain some distance from the strings this should make your hand slightly higher and therefore not hit the strings. Give it a try and let me know if it works for you. |
| Q | Based on your experience when you first started out with this technique (using the foerarm to pick, rather then the wrist), and based on the response of some of your students, is it normal for the forarm to feel sore and a bit stiff when first practicing this technique. I have just recently begun working on this technique, after years of a different, inefficient one.
In the lower forearm just above the wrist is where i feel sore and a little bit of stiffness. (It happens mostly when playing, so usually I either slow the pace of my practice down, or stop). Using common sense, I would guess this is normal because I am utilizing muscles for the first time that I previously have not used as far as the guitar is concerned. But I just wanted to find out for sure, so that this time I can get my technique right. |
| A | You shouldn't have pain or stiffness. If you think about the motion you are making with your forearm, it's just like the motion you use when you drink a glass of water or turn a screw driver. This is a natural motion and even with long periods of moving your forearm correctly in this manner you shouldn't feel pain. Now for for the good news. Your problem is fairly common amoung people starting with this technique. The hard thing is figuring out exactly what you are doing to cause tension in your wrist which in turn is making the muscles above your wrist sore. This pain is not from moving your wrist but more than likely from your mind concentrating on the muscles in your wrist either because of a previous habit or because it's trying to limit the size of the motion of your pick by tensing up your wrist. These are some of the more common reasons for the pain. Let me give you a couple of things to try. When you do this forearm picking technique I need you to concentrate your mind on the source of the movement which is right below your elbow. Start picking slow and just concentrate on those muscles above your forearm and try to gain the feeling of relaxation all through your arm and hand. Don't worry right now if your pick is all over the place just try to memorize that feeling in your arm of relaxation. You will need this memory as you refine the technique because that is exactly how your arm/hand should always feel.
Try this for a couple of weeks 3 to 4 times a day for 10 to 20 minutes and let me know your progress. You can also do this without the guitar. Later you can also try what I call "the simmer," where you move your arm extremely quick like a tremor. But remember this has to come from the muscles right below your elbow. |
| Q | I have been working on the suggestions that you recommended I do. The pain and stiffness that I was experiencing is not gone, but it is definitely much less. My question is, should I continue doing the exercises you recommended with only the right hand until all of the pain is completely gone (which I think will be soon), or should I start incorporating the left hand as well? Also, if I continue only using the right hand, can you suggest some things that I can do to practice away from the guitar? |
| A | I'm glad to hear that some of the pain is starting to go away. It's a tricking thing knowing when to move from one set of exercises to another. I'd like to first say that using the right muscles and playing without tension or the build of tension can be very deceiving. Really you need to develop a better perception of yourself and how you function and interface with your instrument. For instance, the slight pain you feel in your palm could be tension that has developed as a reaction to you relieving tension someplace else in your arm. I'm mentioning this so that you can give it some thought and police your practicing better.
If you feel that you are in control enough to take some concentration off from the right hand and place it between both hands you could start to use your left hand in simple exercises like playing scales or something you feel you know well already. There's also a whole world of things that you can practice without your guitar. Actually, you can practice anything without your guitar. I call this mental practicing and it really is the best way to practice, but requires patience and practice to be perfect. To get started, I want you to play a C major scale in every position. You can download a page to show you the fingerings and positions at http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/index.html Download the C major scales and start with the C scale starting on F. I want you to sit down, close your eyes and work through this scale in your mind. Pay attention to which finger would go where for each note of each scale and envision your hand moving across the fretboard. Try to see the fretboard in your mind. As that gets better also try to imagine your right hand picking the notes. Be conscious of the up or down picking and the proper movement of your arm/forearm. Start out slow, but overtime you can even start to use a metronome while still playing it all in your head. Try this with one scale for a week and then try to really play it. I think you will find it will be the best thing you can play. Because this type of practicing is so mentally draining I recommend you break up your mental practicing into 5 to 10 minute sessions 4 or 5 times a day. |
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| Q | I find that when i am trying to limit my movement with my right hand technique the sound is very soft. Do you have any suggestions on ways that I can still play with this limited movement so that gradually speed will come, but also get a decent attack of volume?
Also I find that when changing strings, instead of my elbow doing all the work of moving me across the strings, I find that my wrist sometimes moves slightly and my hand sort of bounces (this is probably caused by using too much of the pick, although when i look at my pick, i am using as little as possible). Do you have any suggestions for how I can correct these problems? |
| A | When you start with this technique you want your picking to be whisper soft. Later when you gain more contral you can attack harder. Actually one of the secrets of super fast technique is to use extremely small movement and attack as little of the string as possible.
When you change strings, you can either use your elbow for larger movements or just make a wider arc with your forearm if you just changing one of two strings. Remember: your wrist moves, you just don't move from your wrist. Also your wrist needs to be relaxed. |
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| Q | I am thinking also of ordering the Right Hand techniques book, but after looking at the downloadable example of 'exercise 1' I was wondering why there are not upstroke and downstroke markings on the music. I'm not sure I would understand how to use the book. |
| A | The right hand music exercises in the Right Hand Technique have picking markings for the technique building exercises. The back of the book has exercises that develop your muscles rhythmic sense. These exercises do not have the picking marked because it is a repeating pattern. For example the first exercise you play one note on each string moving up then down. The picking would be all down strokes as you go up in pitch and all up strokes as you go down is pitch. Hopefully you have also downloaded a copy of the Guitar Technique ebook which gives you pictures and videos on proper technique for both hands. |
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| Q | I have purchased the E book 'Guitar Technique' and it has helped me understand how to play scales without strectching. But one issue I am having on my warm up excercises is the movemnet of my pinky. For example, if I play a basic 6 string 1->2->3->4 down excercise and then 4->3->2->1 back up moving to the next 4 frets (2->3->4->5), I notice on the 4->3->2->1 my pinky has the tendency to move away from the fretboard. I have started to ground my fingers on a higher or lower string to keep them in one place to get more control, but then I was thinking maybe I am putting too much stress on the fingers and they should just hover over the note played. Essentially I would like your take on a warmup excercise like this and how I should treat the fingers that 1) are playing the current note 2) just played the last note and 3) will play the next note. Since I am dedicating the appropriate time to warming up I want to make sure that I am doing it correct and not actually hurting myself or gaining bad habits. |
| A | First let me say I'm not a big fan of that exercise but I've seen many of famous guitarist doing it in the dressing room. My approach is to practice more musical things like a scale or arpeggio but in the long run if we are just talking technique, either will do.
Usually I find that the biggest problem for guitarists is not letting the pinky jerk up as they are playing down a scale or pattern. Most of the time this is caused by an old habit carried over from reaching and stretching with their fingers rather than just sliding the hand down and letting the fingers fall onto the notes as your hand is passing over the fret. You shouldn't approach correcting your problems by grounding or forcing your hand/fingers to keep in the proper position, this can only cause problems. You want to slow down to a point where you can just be relaxed and let your fingers raise and lower to the string without excessive movement. This is not easy and takes concentration and patience on your part. Your muscles have to relearn how to approach the guitar fretboard and this can take time. Actually the longer you have played, the long this can take. For me it was about 4 years until I gained back the technique I had before. But now I play with no pain and can play light years faster and more accurate with no overall growing stress on my hands. Remember to watch your hand in a mirror or even video tape it so you can take a serious look at what is happening. Watch closely for any reaching that you might do with your first finger or your pinky. This is a common problem for people that have played with a stretched hand. Also realize it usually takes a stretched hand a month or two before it comes back from the deformation caused by stretching. Lastly remember that it takes time to perceive relaxation and even longer to sustain this through a performance. I also should mention that this type of playing technique does not work in every situation. You should think of this relaxed unstretched hand as your basic position and that as you play other factors such as 4 and 5 fret trills, bending and other factors will change this basic technique momentarily. But if you can always come back to this relaxed state you will find great things happening with your playing. |
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| Q | While practicing Right Hand Technique I've noticed that a "bouncing" occurs when i am trying to play at faster tempos. When picking fast, rather than a smooth motion, my motion is a jerky motion that gives my hand a sort of a bounce. I attribute this to being new to this technique of using the forearm to pick each string. When i play at slower tempos, this does not occur. So there is nothing left but for me to say that this arises from a lack of control and experience with this technique. |
| A | I think you need to slow down with the picking until your arm gains more control. |
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| Q | I just discovered your materials doing an internet search; I plan on buying several of your books, as budget permits, but for right now, one question:
I played classical guitar for some years and now want to learn jazz. Before finding your material, I already bought William Leavitt's "Berklee" series. One thing that's a mystery to me with jazz is right hand technique (either with a pick or hybrid picking). I am starting to get around ok with a pick, but believe I'm actually doing it WRONG (from some advice picked up on a guitarist's website.... which he either explained very badly or he manages to use even though it's not the best way to go). SO: for someone like me, who has a relatively dextrous left hand (at least from classical study) and can ready fairly well, but without much in the way of ear training and theory applied to the guitar, and with a fair bit of confusion about jazz/plectrum technique.... Is the book Right Hand Technique suitable as a first book for someone in my position? Or is First Steps a good way to go? Or the e-book excerpted on right hand technique? The excerpts from the Right Hand Technique book on your site are musical exercises. Does this book also literally start from how to hold a pick and the proper muscle mechanics, or does it assume I've gotten that from one of the earlier titles? |
| A | I would get the guitar technique ebook. There are pictures and videos on the website that go with this book that will explain the right and left hand playing technique. You could order Right Hand Technique if you wanted further exercises to develop the right hand technique part of the equation.
For you I would recommend the following books to get your started on the right foot with jazz. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One Ear Training One Note Complete This will get you started with chord structure, scales, chords, chord progressions and ear training. |
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| Q | I got the technique e-book, and indeed it did correct the problem I was having from trying to use the technique (either poorly explained, or just plain poor) from another site. A good 10-buck investment for me, indeed.
I'm buying the books you suggested. In fact I ordered two of them.... I'm a little financially challenged and will have to wait for another pay period or two before getting the other two. I suppose I should have emailed you first to ask this before I went ahead, but alas... I'm impulsive. I ordered the Chord Workbook for guitar vol. 1 and the Ear Training Complete. So I have not yet ordered the two theory workbook for guitar vols. I figured the Chord Workbook would have some basic theory in it and I could get started with that... is this sensible? or should I wait to have the other books before I get deeply into working with your stuff? Ear training I'd want by itself anyway, so I can get started while travelling to work and such (I expect not to have anything like the time to work that I would, had I aspirations to being a professional; I don't mind slow progress if it's indeed progress, and I do spend some time commuting so figured ear training would be efficient). Ok, I'm rambling, but really there are two questions beyond should I get started with what I have or wait... Do you think I should be working on tunes? I don't particularly need to for self-fulfillment or anything, but I don't now if the chord workbook is enough for me to get going with actual guitar-time. And I DO need to work on this right hand technique in a big way (left too, of course, but as I mentioned earlier I played classical for long enough that it's less alien to me than picking). And, at what point will it become necessary to pair the ear training with the fanatic's guide to sight singing... ? |
| A | I think your choices are fine. The Guitar book has tons of stuff to keep you busy and you can do the Ear Training while commuting.
The chords progressions in the back of the Chord Book will be good enough for now. They cover 3 important progressions: Blues, Minor Blues and Rhythm Changes. These 3 forms are the bases for 100's of tunes. We can do the right hand technique stuff in a lot of different ways. Let me list a few possibilities. 1. Learn the scales located at http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES and keep close watch on your right hand to make sure it follows all of the things I mentioned in the Guitar Technique book. 2. Get the Right Hand Technique book and do the exercises presented in the book 3. Use the rhythm series of books (see muse-eek.com for list) to work on right hand technique. Rhythms 1 and 2 are particularly good for this. You should actually start pairing the ear training with the fanatic's guide soon. Mostly because you will improve quicker if you are doing both listening and singing work. |
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| Q | I have a few questions relating to technique. First off, in the inside flap of the Right Hand Technique book you mentioned that many of the students that came to you had to quit completely because of pain before they came to you. In order to help them get a healthy hand again, did you pretty much have them do the exercises exactly spelled out in the book from the very beginning (strumming exercises, etc ...)? Also, when did you decide was a good time for them to move to the next exercise (whenever it could be done with as little stress and tension as possible, or when they seemed to be sorta getting it)?
When you switched techniques, how did you go about it? I know you mention these are the techniques you used, but how would you organize your practice schedule to efficiently and intensely practice these exercises? About how long did it take you to feel you that had successfully switched over? You can probably see from all these questions that I have some hand troubles, and am working very hard to switch over techniques. I have been working for a while (6 months), but I am getting so much better about understanding how I interface with guitar and about how to control my muscles from tensions and things like that. |
| A | I wrote the Right Hand Technique as I was going through the change in Right Hand Technique so most of the exercises are either ones that I personally did or others that I have given students. I don't think there is a preferred sequence to go through the book, you could jump around to different exercises based on your style and ability. For instance reading the long exercises in the back of the book is very important because it develops a sense of rhythm in your forearm but for some people just the reading part is very difficult so if this is the case I would wait longer before tackling those exercises. The most important thing is to be conscious of your body when you are doing any of these exercises so you pay close attention to your movement and/or stress.
I would highly recommend you get the Guitar Technique ebook because that helps you with both hands and has pictures and videos to help you see each movement. |
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| Q | I'm waiting to receive Guitar Workbooks that I ordered from Amazon. This being said, there is another side of guitar playing I'm a bit frustrated with, and it's my right hand. I indeed feel awfully clumsy as soon as I have to skip strings, or play chords in an arpeggio way, mostly because to sound good, an arpeggio often requires to skip strings, to go from down to up, etc... At this game, I often miss the desired target, mainly, I think, because if not looking at the strings, I'm not aware enough of the exact place where the strings are under my pick.
So, I would like to get some more information about one of your books, Right Hand Technique, to know if it's a book that I will benefit with by ordering or not. The summary of this book (available on your site) seems not to be the right one, (theory, chord construction, available tensions... seems a bit off-topic, tell me if I'm wrong) so it makes it difficult to really determine if the content will meet my needs. More, the given excerpts on the site are also very short)... Well, with this I am under the global impression that this book is rather health-oriented, like how to avoid pain, problems later, etc. than playing technique oriented. What I really am looking for, is simply a book focused on how to build a good picking technique (mainly for single note soloing, arpeggios, and, less importantly - but, why not - strumming). So the themes I'd like to see covered might be: - Picking Basics: exercises to get a strong feeling about where the strings are, (as you say in your Guitar technique e-book). In order: * to avoid missing one string when skipping one or more strings. * to pick single notes (or arpeggios) when ascending the strings as easily as in when descending them * to develop speed and accuracy - Principles and developments of alternate picking, like tricks to combine picking and hammer-ons/pull-offs to improve efficiency and speed of play. - Introduction to sweeping technique... Well, I hope this will help you see what my quest is, and so can you tell me if Right Hand Technique can satisfy these needs or not? |
| A | I'm not sure where you got the information that the Right Hand Technique book was about theory, chord construction, available tensions. If you could send me the link possibly there is a mistake on the website. I looked but couldn't find the quote you gave. I would recommend two books for you. Right Hand Technique, which has exercises for all the techniques that you mentioned. I would also recommend the ebook Guitar Technique because that will show you with pictures and videos exactly what you should be doing with both hands. Right Hand Technique only deals with the right hand and does include a written description on how to pick with your right hand but a picture or video is worth a thousand words so this is why I recommend both books. |
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| Q | I have both the Right Hand Technique and E-book on technique. I'm encouraged by actually seeing an approach to picking that actually is anatomically based. I also could cry because of the technique that I've used since I was 17: Wrist movement!!! Picking was never addressed, it was pretty much different strokes for different folks. I always wondered why my velocity never increased much even when I concentrated on it. I pretty much gave up on speed because it just didn't improve. I just played the music the best I could and improved from that and ignored speed because it just was a frustration. I had a gig once with one of the big guitar players here and we discussed it and came to the conclusion it may be genetic. Now I don't think so. I was just using a technique that didn't really work. As far as the right hand technique is concerned, should I complete all of the exercises for the first part of the technique, moving from string to sting and strumming, before starting to work on forearm rotation? I can't seem to get a handle on relaxing when playing. Are there any general guidelines or anything you could recommend? I've played so long with tension it seems to be ingrained. |
| A | As long as you understand the basis for the movement from the elbow and have worked a week or two on the exercises you can move on to the forearm movement exercises. Keep in mind that speed comes from relaxing and making your movements as small as possible but at the beginning you will have to make your movements large to grasp an understanding of the right movement. I also want you to do the exercise shown in the attached video. This will help you gain the right movement quicker.
You also need to remember that you are retraining your forearm to articulate all the rhythms you play. This will take time to re-train your muscles to feel rhythm from the forearm and not the wrist. Also the longer you played with your wrist the longer it's going to take for your mind to reprogram muscle stimulus so be patient. Please report back to me in a few weeks and let me know your progress. |
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| Q | I've just bought your book, Right Hand Technique for Guitar. I was hoping you may be able to help with the following questions:
1. How many volumes are there in the right hand technique series and where can I buy them (I'm in the UK)? 2. I'm confused by the section titled right hand finger placement on page two. Does this mean that absolutely no part of your right hand or fingers can rest at all on the guitar. I've been playing guitar for years and I'm in a particular habit of very lightly resting the ball area of my thumb on the bottom strings and my ring finger very lightly below the high E string. As you touched upon in your book, the thought of starting all over again and totally changing my right hand technique, is a daunting/overwhelming thought! Also, after reading your book, I immediately watched a Joe Satriani live video and, unless I'm not seeing things right, I would have said he's not always free floating with his right hand. So, as I said, I'm confused by what appears to be a conflict between your technique book and the technique employed by a guy who I would have thought had a perfect right hand technique. On the subject of confusion, I always thought that, as a general rule, a downbeat is played with a downstroke and an upbeat with an upstroke and yet a lot of the exercises appear to start on either a downstroke or an upstroke on the downbeat. I bought the book thinking that my technique may need a bit of tweaking, but I actually feel quite despondent now as it feels as though I have to start all over. Again, It's hard for me to reconcile this with the knowledge that, from now on, it seems that I can't really just pick up a guitar and play it automatically i.e. I have to consciously think and re-plan everything I play. So, any help you can give would be appreciated. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly thorough book, I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed with it all. |
| A | Thanks for contacting me. There is only one volume of the Right Hand Technique book so far. I plan on other ones but it will be awhile before you see them available. I recommend the free hand approach to playing the guitar. You of course wouldn't use this technique all the time. You have situations where you are muting the strings either for effect or to stop feedback of the other strings. If I were you I would think of the free hand approach as your basic technique with others employed when needed. As far as Joe's playing, I've seen Joe warming up backstage two or three times and he uses the free hand as do many other great guitarists.
As far as picking directions, you need to be able to play upstrokes and downstrokes on or off the beat. Having this versatility will make you much more expressive and allow you to play any musical passage without technical difficulty. If you want to change your technique from a wrist movement to a forearm movement, the Right Hand Technique book will be a great asset. Deciding to do this is a long process. There are many advantages to the forearm technique but I can understand a person being concerned about the amount of time it takes to redo their technique. I would say if you are having difficulties with pain in your wrist or you find your technique just doesn't improve no matter what you do the forearm technique is a good choice. If you are fairly happy with your technique using the wrist, then I would concentrate on the exercises in the book striving to minimize your movement (smaller movement = faster movement). You really need to starting thinking about picking, you can't just wing it. Of course when you are up there improvising you shouldn't be thinking about your picking, but when you are practicing you definitely should be working out what is the best picking combination for a specific passage. I should mention that I would also recommend you get the Guitar Technique ebook. This will show you with pictures and videos the exact technique I recommend for both hands. Please keep in touch and let me know your progress. You can buy the books in the UK from amazon.co.uk or muse-eek.com could even drop ship them to you, they have a printer in the UK. If you want the books drop shipped contact sales@muse-eek.com. |
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| Q | Thanks so much for replying to me in such great detail and so quickly, I really appreciate this. It gave me the encouragement I needed to start working on the book last night! I'll check out the ebooks as suggested through Amazon.
Just one more question if you don't mind. When I go back to playing my own stuff each day after working through the exercises, until I master the new technique, is it OK to revert to my old technique until the old and the new just merge together as it were, or will this undo the good work achieved through the exercises? |
| A | It's cool to go back to your old style of picking when you perform or just want to unwind with some improvisation etc. One thing to keep in mind is that anything you learned with your old technique will have to be relearned in the new technique. So it's not a bad idea, once you get a handle on the technique, to start applying it to your own music or songs and licks that you might play often. |
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| Q | I bought your Right Hand Technique book and have read the introductory pages very carefully. I started practicing picking with just the elbow movement and I'm able to play the exercises (for now without a metronome) as you indicate.
I have never had pain when playing, but when I play with a band I always anchor my fingers on the pickguard for single note playing, and consequently have trouble with speed. This is the only time I feel tension in my right arm. At home when I practice single notes I do not use any rests and have been getting better at it over the years. I've just never made the big jump to abandon this bad habit. Now I'm intending to do that with the help of your book. I checked the way I hold a pick and my right hand fingers are correct. Even when practicing at home I already pick as you indicate in your book. I would like some help in organizing my practice sessions with this book. Should I use a metronome? How long should I stay on the elbow only movement exercises before moving on to the forearm movement exercises? How much is the minimum time I should dedicate to these exercises each day and in how many sessions. I'm still working diligently on the Advanced Ear Training CD and Fanatic's book. I was hoping it wouldn't take me as long as it is taking to get an 80-90% consistent average with the advanced CD. Is this normal? I really am improving my note recognition, and much of the time I get at least 80% correct, but aside from the average I realize that I still need to work on the CD to really get a good solid grasp on the notes. |
| A | Thanks for contacting me. I'd stick with the elbow movement until you feel you are fluid with it. In general I'd say a week or maybe two depending on how quickly your body responds. I believe that when I did it I spent about a month with the elbow technique. The longer you have played with another technique can also effect the amount of time it takes. For me it was 20 years of another method so it took longer. With the elbow or the forearm movement I'd say you definitely want to work towards using a metronome but be careful at first not to force your playing at a tempo that is too fast. This often causes people to tense up and that is the last thing you want. Overall I'd say practicing the development of right hand technique should be done in multiple practice sessions throughout the day. Try to do these sessions for around a 1/2 hour or shorter if you feel fatigue or tightness. Up to 5 sessions would be excellent but again this is an individual thing just make sure you don't push too hard and certainly work up to the multiple sessions over time. When you feel you are getting a handle on the forearm technical exercises in the book write back and I'll give you a list of other exercises to augment you practice sessions.
For the ear training keep in mind that everyone is different and some people take longer than others to master the Advanced CD. Remember you are totally reprogramming the way you hear so this takes time. Overall I'd say you'd be better off psychologically not to even think about how long it's taking. This tends to build up mental tension and reinforce negative feels, which can actually start to impede your progress. |
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| Q | I had multiple tendonitis, and other muscle inflammation in arms, neck, back and shoulders, and some nerve damage (from prolonged compression). So it was a multi-dimensional problem coming not just from bad guitar technique, but many other areas such as bad posture in daily life, bad diet, not enough water, stress, computer use, other uses of the hand that contributed to it. But bad guitar technique was definitely one of them. Over the 6-7 months that I was not able to touch the guitar, I eliminated most of my bad habits such as those mentioned above and it really has made a big difference along with getting physical therapy.
My old technique was as follows: right hand wrist rested on bridge with all movement coming from wrist, and left hand wrist was bent much more than it should have been. Also, I pressed down with the left hand fingers much harder than is needed. Shoulders were also shrugged. But I have taken all this into consideration and worked with my therapist on correct technique and posture. By the way, she was very delighted to read your right hand technique book, especially for the fact that someone actually described how to move the arm and hand, not just say 'use alternate picking and practice slowly.' My main confusion is just where to start in getting back to playing. I am feeling much better now and am OK'd by the doctor to start playing again, but I just don't know where my focus should be. Unfortunately, it seems like coming back from injury puts one at rank beginner, if even that, because the risk of injury coming back is so great. One more thing I should mention is that about a year before this all started I really picked up the amount of time spent practicing to about 5-6 hours daily. So I'm sure going through 5-6 hours of practice with bad technique pushed things over the edge. So that's where I am as of now. By the way, I just wanted to say that I really, really appreciate you willing to help me out on this. Not only are your books great, but the fact that one can get in contact with you about questions is quite wonderful. |
| A | I would recommend the follow path to get back up and running.
Start with the Right Hand Technique book and do the beginning exercises for proper elbow movement and then work into the exercises for proper forearm movement. I would start off with shorter practice sessions so that you can make them very concentrated and secondly because many students notice pain after they stop practicing and not while they are practicing. You probably will only need a week or two on the elbow movement because this is just used to get you across the strings while the forearm movement is for actually picking the strings. Once you work up to it I would spend 1/2 hour a day on just right hand technique. You can also use the Rhythm Series of books to help develop your right hand technique. Start with Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume One. Remember that when you are changing your technique you are actually changing where your mind sends it's 'rhythm' signals so you need to work on a rhythm method to develop your rhythm in the new muscle groups. After a few weeks of forearm movement exercises I would add in the left hand. I would start with the scales found at: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES Work 3 notes per string and use the techniques found in the Guitar Technique Ebook http://www.muse-eek.com/books/guitartech/lower.html To start the scales I want you to do an exercise to develop a light feel on the neck. I want you to start with the C major scale starting on the F on the low E string. Press on the F and pick 10 times as you slowly push the string onto the fret. On the 10th time the note F should sound out clearly. Continue up and down the scale in this manner. It will take forever to finish the scale but will help you develop a very light feel because you will know exactly how hard you need to push on each note to make it sound. I would spend a few weeks on this before moving on to playing the scales in a regular fashion. Once again develop this slowly with short practice sessions (10 to 15 minutes). You actually can put in as many 10 to 15 minute sessions as you want just so you wait an hour or so between sessions. Over time you can lengthen your sessions up to 20 minutes but I would make it a habit of taking at least a few minutes for break after 20 minutes as a general rule. When you feel up to it I would begin working with some chord exercises. I would start with the chord progressions found in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Try to learn one progression a week. It you find you are pressing too hard with the chords, use the same scale/note pressing technique on the chords. |
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| Q | I'm working on my last week (Key of G) of the 6 note Fanatic's Book exercise with the metronome (3 times a day for 10 minutes). I'm now able to sing the exercises up and down at quarter note = 40 bpm. Of course pre-hearing notes at this speed is quite challenging for now. Please send me my next assignment. I'm getting more comfortable with the singing, but of course still have some weak notes at 40 bpm.
I'm also working on the Single String vol 1 book (first page) 3 x a day for 5 minutes with the metronome. I'm currently in the Key of Eb and I'm working up to quarter note = 40 bpm. I'm getting better at singing the exercise and now It's taking me less time to learn the transposed notes when I change keys and I'm getting up to 40bpm in less time. I've been getting at least 80% correct on the Advanced Ear Training CD for the past 3 weeks but still don't feel I really know the notes well enough. I've been listening to the CD 4-5 times a day. Should I take more time to let the sound of the notes sink in, or should I move on to the Key note recognition CD? I've also been working on Right Hand Technique (2 x 30' per day, only elbow motion). I have a hard time playing the Sweep Picking exercises fluidly, and think I'll need 2-4 weeks to improve on that before moving on. I do all the exercises with a metronome and feel absolutely no pain or tension. I've been increasing the speed at which I play the various exercises gradually. |
| A | Well my first concern is how quickly you can do the Fanatic's Guide and the Single String Book. We need to raise up the speed at which you can pre-hear notes and sing the correct note. So what I would like you to do is go back to the 3 note exercise in the Fanatic's Guide and start transposing the first note of each exercise up an octave. You then want to sing each measure in all keys. Overall we just need to speed the process up before we move on.
I think we should stick with the Advanced CD for awhile longer. It's important that your accuracy improve some more before we move on. You're close, so keep your nose to the grind stone - we are almost there. With the Right Hand Technique it's important to move your elbow correctly to get across strings but remember that most of your technique will come from the forearm movement. I think you could start some of those exercises particularly the ones that are just playing one string. |
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| Q | I unfortunately do not have the ability to videotape. For the last few days, however, I have been spending LOTS of time just trying to find the 'exact' position for me in terms of holding the guitar. The classical position is uncomfortable for me so far, but I am experimenting with it and am starting to get closer to an exact position for me. Sitting the casual style with the guitar on the right leg simply does not work for me, everything gets thrown off whack, and so sitting in classical style is something I will have to get used to. This leads to one last question regarding the subject of technique. Well not so much a question, but just I want to get my understanding correct. I will below describe my understanding of the technique of both hands based on what I gathered from the Guitar Technique E-Book, Right Hand Technique, and some other stuff you have at arnoldjazz.com. Could you let me know if I have the correct ideas?
Left Hand - The idea is to sort of keep a rested position for the hand. So, the wrist is in neutral position most of the time and fingers are not spread out, but just sort of relaxed, and only in special situations (large interval trills, certain chord voicings, etc...) does the left hand come out of this neutral or rested position. Second, great attention should be paid to make sure one is only pressing the minimum amount when pressing notes with the left hand. Right Hand - The area right below the elbow, or upper forearm area, is the only place where the arm touches the guitar, and the rest is free floating. And there should be no movement from the wrist, but the wrist should be kept relaxed, so the wrist moves, but I just do not move FROM the wrist. The motion for picking is almost like how one would turn a car key to start the engine, or like you said, turning a doorknob. This forearm movement turns the hand, which then moves the pick back and forth. And string to string playing comes from the elbow, or if between 2 strings, perhaps a larger arc from the forearm. And pick should only be held tight enough so it doesn't fall out of the hand. I guess most of this stuff seems like common sense, but I just wanted to make sure I understood everything from your books as best as possible, as I certainly am not looking to injure myself again. |
| A | I think you got everything correct except I think you should stand when you play and practice. I actually had a lot of problems with my shoulder until I started standing when I played and practiced. Standing makes sense from many perspectives especially because this is the usual way you will perform so why not practice that way too. |
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| Q | I am reading your Right Hand Technique book and find that I have been using the technique that you're talking about. I stumbled upon this way of playing while trying to escape from the pain due to a repetitive stress injury from overuse of computers.
But your articulation of the technique is actually clearing up some of the issues I was confronted with. Even though the technique felt good, I didn't have the courage to develop it further along those lines because everyone talks about playing from the wrist, circular picking, etc. I thought there was a 'correct' way of playing and that I was 'cheating' by not doing it their way. You have liberated me from that kind of thinking and that kind of reticence. I have questions though: 1. Do you recommend playing with a flat wrist or a slightly arched wrist? 2. Should your forearm be in 'zero' position (when not picking), or can it be slightly pronated? I can't tell from watching you on the video. |
| A | You can have a slight arc. I would make the ark more than 20%, after that you could get into trouble. If by pronated you mean to bring the palm facing downward with it facing the guitar, then yes you want to leave the pick close to the strings ready for your next attack so you would have your palm facing the guitar. In general you want your arm and hand to be relaxed so whatever natural position it falls into should be fine unless you are holding the guitar in an odd way to make your arm/hand contort in some way. |
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| Q | By pronated I mean that instead of keeping the underside of the forearm absolutely parallel to the face of the guitar, the arm is tilted so that the thumb is closer to the strings than the pinky. |
| A | You want your arm in its natural position as it lay across the guitar. In other words you do not want to force it into any unnatural position thus causing stress and tightness. Each person is built slightly different so there is no definitive answer to your question. |
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| Q | I've been continuing to work on the advanced ear training CD for the past couple of months and I'm at the point where I can recognize the sounds of all 12 notes and get a consistent above 80% average.
Of course there's still room for improvement but I'm wondering if I could start work on the key note recognition CD. I have 3 more weeks to go before I finish the fanatic's 3 note exercises (3 x 10' each day, first note transposed up 1 octave) which I'm currently able to do at 55-60bpm. I'll also be finishing the Single String Studies first page in a couple of weeks (I work on each key up to 40bpm before moving to the next key) and I'm getting much better at transposing and singing the exercise (3 x 10' each day). I'm also doing about 30' of the Right Hand Technique each day. I've been working on the forearm movement on the one string exercises (16ths at quarter note=100 bpm) and also the 6 string exercises (16ths at quarter note=80 bpm) plus a bit of the sweep picking exercises. I'm looking forward to your suggestions and assignments. |
| A | I would move on to Key Note Recognition but also continue doing the Advanced Ear Training CD too.
After you finish the fanatic's guide assignment I want you to transpose two notes up an octave. Your bpm are getting better that's a good sign! Continue with the single string studies, sounds like it's helping. I want you to start applying your right hand technique to scales. Go to the member's area and follow the link to Help files for scales. Watch the video scale movies and try to learn a new scale every week in all positions. In other words, one key only so C major then C dorian, C phrygian etc. |
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| Q | I was just wondering if you have the exercises in the book available in tab format? |
| A | Sorry none of our books have tablature in them. I know it's helpful for many guitarists but Mr. Arnold tries to keep his books pointing the student towards a professional career in music and of course you never see tablature in a professional playing situation. Mr. Arnold feels particularly strong about this with the Right Hand Technique book because tablature doesn't have rhythm durations and the whole point of the many exercises in the back of the book is to develop rhythmic coordination within your picking arm using his technique. I think most of the other exercises in the beginning of the book even though they are written with notes on a staff can be figured out very quickly. |
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| Q | The idea of using forearm rotation makes sense to me, for speed and strength, but what about muting? Seems to me that lots of players (including me) use the base of the hand for muting, which requires us to rest it near the bridge. Does your approach to the right hand preclude this kind of muting? (I'd love to see photos in your book, for clarification!) |
| A | Muting is very hard to do while also moving your forearm. I usually use a wrist motion with a slight bit of forearm for muting. With all my technical recommendations for right and left hand guitar playing there is always some exception to the rule. It's best to think of my playing recommendations as your base technique and when you have special situations like muting in the right hand or a 5 fret trill in the left hand you will change your basic technique to accommodate these situations. By having a base technique that doesn't stress your muscles and tendons you will find that you can play faster, more accurate, sustain your playing for longer periods of time and of course the most important you won't hurt yourself.
Photos is a good idea for this book I think I'll do a few videos in the next couple of months. |
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| Q | I've been doing as much as I can of the ear training since my last email, and here's where I'm at.
Ear Training Advanced CD: I've been getting 90% or more correct answers for at least 3 weeks except for the occasional bad day. However I still feel that certain notes need more time to really nail them. I was listening 5-6 times a day but now I've cut back to 4 times a day in order to dedicate more time to the Key note Recognition. Key Note Recognition: I'm getting the major/minor keys mostly right, and slowly I'm starting to get the notes too. I was listening 1-2 daily, but now, since getting 90% correct answers on the Advanced Ear Training CD, I have increased to 3-4 times/day. Fanatic's Guide: I'm on my last week (key of G) of the 4 note exercise, singing the first 2 notes up an octave and the other 2 notes as written. I sing up and down, down and up for a total of 10' x 3 daily. I'm able to sing at 75 bpm pre-hearing the notes. What next, continue with the 5 notes? I've now identified my 3 weak notes: C sharp (Di), D sharp (Ri) and G sharp. Single String Studies Vol One: I'm finishing my last key (of G) after doing all the keys cycle 5. To vary the material I progress through all the E string examples and I consider the key signature of the exercise always as Key of C (I ignore the flats and sharps in the key signature) and change key each week (cycle 5) so that I'm replacing one note each week (therefore B natural in key of F becomes "Fi" ). No need to worry I am doing it right! I do this for 10' x 3 daily. I'm currently starting each new key at quarter note = 40 bpms and in a week can bring it up to 70 bpms. Right Hand Technique: I've been reviewing and increasing the bpm's on the basic techniqe exercises, forearm and elbow movement (single string and 6 string). I've had many false starts with the scale exercises. I've only reached the Dorian scale (gasp!). It really took me some time to reorganize my approach to the C major scale. Before downloading your scales, I'd always played patterns using hand stretches to play the notes, always starting from the tonic of the key, and I wasn't used to thinking (singing) the notes I was playing. Now I've gotten better at your approach. It does make sense to think/sing the notes with a chord progression or drone chord playing ... It ties it all toghether with the ear training part. Time is also a factor. I'm dedicating as much time as possible to the ear training that I'm only able to practice the scales a few times a week (it takes me at least 30' to go through scales in all positions with the modal sequencing ascending 3rds up and down the scale I would also like to improvise using the grooves I've downloaded from your website, but rarely have enough time to do that too. One question: When I'm listening to the downloaded grooves (for example C Dorian as I play the C Dorian scale and do the modal sequencing), what I'm playing doesn't sound as nice as when I'm just playing the scale over a Cmin7 drone chord. Of course the grooves sound better with the improvisation because I can pick which notes I like from the Dorian scale. Should I keep using the grooves for the scale and modal sequencing? |
| A | Seems like your doing well and on the right track. For the Fanatic's Guide just continue on to 5 notes.
For the downloadable grooves you can use them with so many things. I recommend: 1. Playing scales in 7 positions with the groove going to keep your ear in the right key. 2. Improvising with the groove to improve your improvisation and help you develop a musical application of scales or other techniques. 3. Use the vamps along with the direct application CD (available from the muse-eek.com website) as a backing track as you play and listen to the direction application CD. Remember this would require two CD players. Keep up the good work I'm very proud of you for your dedication. I'm sure you are starting to feel some of the benefits in your playing so keep it up it only gets better. |
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| Q | I bought several books by Mr. Arnold and I'm trying to figure out how to get additional online instructions, particularly as the books seem to be short on photos and actual instruction.
I tried once before to get a username and pwd and I'm trying again now. I went to http://www.muse-eek.com/books/books.html and filled in the info, then clicked on Submit. I hope it works this time. Please advise if I'm doing something wrong. |
| A | We just send you a username and password so hopefully you will be able to enter the member's area. I'm intrigued by your statement that the "books lack actual instruction." Could you please elaborate? |
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| Q | For instance, in the Right Hand Technique for Guitar which by no means is an inexpensive book (I run a publishing company myself), the bulk of the book is exercises with very little bits of actual knowledge (mistakes that people make, ways of using the right hand for picking, for strumming, etc) imparted.
I'll check your website; I'm hoping that will more than make up for the "thin" books. |
| A | Right Hand Technique is an explanation of the playing method Mr. Arnold recommends for students. The aim of the book is to present a picking method that Mr. Arnold feels will be beneficial to your development as a guitarist and exercises he used to develop this technique. It concentrates on a method that you can use to avoid repetitive stress injuries. It is not meant to be a book explaining mistakes people make in general or giving you alternate uses for the right hand. If you read the explanation of the book:
Tendonitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injury are specters haunting the life of every musician; they are career stoppers. It is unfortunate that the teaching of contemporary guitar rarely includes the basics of proper stance, posture or positioning of the arms, wrists and hands, even though this is the most basic foundation of technique! Most students tend to fixate on the left hand, due to the complex nature of its task, but the right hand has an equally important, if seemingly simple function. Incorrect technique in this area and its painful consequences can be avoided by applying the information found in this book. The exercises and positions described have been developed by the author in conjunction with physiotherapists and major players in both the classical and jazz world. This book is invaluable for the beginning student who wishes to get on the right path immediately, the musician who is experiencing fatigue or pain in playing, and the musician who may already have some damage. The exercises are geared to help the muscles respond smoothly to the demands placed upon them, and develop fast, precise playing. 24 exercises can be downloaded from the internet to facilitate correct practice and aid internalization. There is no mention that this book will cover general "mistakes that people make, ways of using the right hand for picking, for strumming, etc" So I'm unclear why you would think this book would cover this information when the book description doesn't mention this. But all is not lost Mr. Arnold is more than willing to work with you if you do have problems or questions and that is one of the reasons why he offers email support. What other authors of guitar books offer this? If you have particular problems with picking or strumming. I'm sure he would be glad to answer any of your questions and explain his method if you need clarification please contact him at: FAQ@muse-eek.com As for your comment that the books are thin this personally seems odd to me. The size of a book isn't what matters it's the content found inside. If you feel the the content found inside one of our books is below some standard you have set please let us know we will gladly refund your money. In my opinion Mr. Arnold has presented a level of education unparelleled in music education. He also has created a free member's area for book owners with an incredible amount of information in the form of videos, mp3's, and other downloadable files and ALL of this information is available, even the files that don't concern the book you bought. So basically you get tons of free information. To top it off he will answer any question you might have about this information or any other problem you might have. I fail to see where you feel cheated because the books are thin. |
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| Q | I bought your book Right Hand Technique for the Guitar Volume One with the hope that I could fine tune my picking techniques. Mainly, I wanted the exercises that are in the book for increasing control. Starting on page 16, the exercises seem like they will exercise my sight reading more than my technique. I must be misreading the intention. I do recognize that you are addressing string jumping and such, which are not giving me particular difficulty at this time. As speed increases, that will be an issue, I am sure.
One of the first things I wanted to address was palm muting and pick technique. I had read that palm muting was not covered but was looking for pick technique. Before receiving the book I started reading the FAQs from your e-book on technique as well. When I looked at the videos for that book it looks like I have pretty good right hand technique. Relaxed hand with relaxed grip on the pick. Everything looks much like your video. When picking notes that ring out, alternate picking, sweeps, etc, I tend to roll my wrist instead of fan it. My wrist pretty much looks like yours in the videos for the e-book. My question involves palm muting. For lead riffs, I use a lot of right palm muting. In those instances, I tend to fan my hand up and down along with a slight roll, but I think the primary motion is pivoting the wrist up and down. The wrist is busy muting strings and I tried rolling it and it just does not seem to work. I never have pain from tension when playing or anything, so I tend to think that my technique is fairly good for my level of experience. Do I need to get the e-book as well? Should I be rolling my wrist even when palm muting? That feels very inefficient and ineffective when I try. It does not seem to be addressed in Right Hand Technique for the Guitar Volume One at all. Frankly, I don't know where palm muting is addressed. Can you please guide me on that one or give me some pointers? Is this something that I should address or just keep doing what I am doing? I just don't want to keep going and have to undo a bad habit later. |
| A | You should think of the Right Hand Technique for the Guitar Volume One exercises as a way to develop a base technique that will be the most effective and least likely to hurt you over time. If you want to use special picking techniques like muting then you will have to alter the technique in order to achieve the best results. Muting is done by the fleshy part of palm. This is either the section that runs along and connects to the thumb or the fleshy part running along the outer part of the palm. The pressure you apply greatly changes the amount of percussiveness vs. the amount of "note sound" heard. For different situations I vary the pressure to achieve the various levels of muting.
The Guitar Technique book covers guitar technique for both hands and the most ergonomically correct way to hold your guitar. I would tend to recommend it just because if you are playing wrong and go through all the millions of exercises you find in my books only to find out later you were doing something wrong like lifting your little finger up to high on your fretboard hand you won't be to happy. This can mean going back and redo exercises to fix the problem. |
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| Q | After two-three years of not playing the guitar I finally have gotten started again and I bought your books to finally get started for real.
Anyway, I was a bit shocked when I read that you shold NOT REST the right hand to the guitarbody but it should hang freely. This contradicts everything I've learned earlier and it feels very natural for me to hold my fingers against the body of the guitar or rest my palm at the bridge. Do you really think I should unlearn this? Why? I will give this an effort if that is your absolute recommendation. Thanks for a great product! |
| A | Yep no wrist resting on the bridge. Think about it for a minute if you rest your wrist on the bridge you can't get your movement from your forearm. If you do rest your wrist you will have to move either from the wrist or the finger/thumb combination. Do a search on Repetitive Stress Injuries and see what they say about moving from your wrist only. This can cause tendonitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome etc. This is the same problem people have that get problems from using computers and a mouse.
Now there are plenty of people out there that play there entire life moving from the wrist so I'm not saying you will for sure develop a problem but this forearm method has been a saviour for folks like me that developed a wrist problem and need an alternative. I should also mention that I do use the wrist on the bridge when I'm doing special FX like muting so you an use the wrist on the bridge but not as a base technique. You are correct to challenge and confront your previously held beliefs and to ask for logical reasons why things are the way they are. Keep that up it's an important ingredient to becoming a great player. Most people just do things because someone told them it was correct or so and so does it. Remember that each individual is unique and what works for one person may not for another. Always think through each step because proper development on the guitar is in it's infancy of understanding. |
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| Q | First I'd like to say how impressed I am with all of your books. I have been working with your ear training books for a few months now and they really work, I also love single string studies, and the funk comping book.
My question is about the technique book, I wanted to know if you thought it would benefit me. I'm a pro NYC guitarist, I've been playing for almost 20 years now. I'm very comfortable with my technique and never had any hand problems (tendonitis etc...), I use mostly alternate picking (some economy) with the picking motion coming mainley from the wrist. From reading about the book I understand that you recommend generating the motion from the elbow. Honestley, I don't think that I'm about to change my technique at this stage, but I wanted to know if the book can be used as an exercise book with other picking techniques. I have been very impressed with how methodical you've been with all other aspects of music, so I thought I'll give this a try as well. |
| A | Thanks for your kind words. Yes the book has tons of exercises in it and that will keep you busy for quite some time. Changing your technique to a forearm based technique is quite difficult so I wouldn't recommend it unless you have problems with your arm or you can't develop your technique to the point that you want. |
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| Q | I have been reading about your right hand picking technique book on the web at muse-eek and have a few questions. First, is this technique suitable for flatpick style acoustic guitar? I have played guitar for about 30 years and in a number of styles. Up until about 2 years ago I was quite accomplished in the flat pick style ala tony rice/doc watson, as well as swing style jazz and chord melody. However, I had always played with more arm than wrist and was having some problems with consistency of attack and reliable ability to play fast. I began to study the picking technique of the bluegrass masters who all seem to:1. plant the right pinky on the pickguard 2. play with a wrist/thumb up/down motion. With the exception of Doc Watson, all the best players use a very relaxed econimical right hand wrist motion and a 1.0 mm pick with medium strings. I have been working with a mirror to mimic the technique for over a year but am getting nowhere and quite frankly feel like a baseball slugger in a slump (depressed). I'm wondering if your book might be helpful, but am concerned about being able to play at the volume required in the styles I play. I rarely play electric any more at all. I would sure appreciate your honest advice. At this point I am willing to commit the time and focus required to change my technique but I don't want to take on such an arduous task without knowing what I'm getting into. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. |
| A | Right Hand Technique teaches a forearm technique of picking. As far as volume goes you will get much more volume from a forearm derived picking style than a wrist because of the use of larger muscles. Right Hand Technique book will give you many pages of exercises that I found helpful. You might contact me after you get the book and I'll explain where I think you should start in the book based on some feedback. Make sure to check the member's area for videos that will help you understand the method better and you might also check out Guitar Technique E-book to see what I recommend for left hand technique too. |
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| Q | I am excited to be learning the guitar through your materials, both printed and online. I made a go at this 20 years ago as a teen, learned a few riffs, but nothing else really. I've now got an old Yamaha acoustic (garage sale find) which I'm starting out on. About a month ago I started by just some scales and chords off the web, and just last week I found your site. I so far I've had 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Volume One for 3 days.
One immediate concern I have is technique related: namely I've developed some soreness/pain in my right wrist. This concerned me because about 3 years ago, I had a case of cubital tunnel which I was able to get under control with a couple months of physical therapy. (I am a software engineer, btw.) This pain is different (before was elbow and forearm), but set off some alarms nonetheless. Yesterday, I reviewed more carefully what you wrote in the book, and also on your web site and faqs, including the faqs for Right Hand Technique. After watching some of your video items, I thought I understood what you were talking about, and was even emulating the forearm rotation sitting at my desk. So I was looking forward to getting home and trying it. Well, that didn't quite go as smooth. When I get the pick in my hand and to the string I can't help but pluck at the string, which of course is mostly wrist action! So I take it that that's was all the re-training fuss is about? Do I have enough info from the 1st Steps Book to be sure I'm doing this correctly? Seems there was an awful lot of music in the Right Hand Technique book (from browsing in at Amazon) for it to be helpful to me right now. Incidently, strumming from the elbow without using the wrist seemed easier. Any advise? I am now extremely limiting my time with the guitar because I feel I need to get this under control before going on. |
| A | Sorry to hear about your problem. I really wouldn't recommend moving from the elbow. It may solve your problem for a while but sooner or later you stand a very good chance of developing a problem in your elbow.
You could get the Right Hand Technique book but keep in mind you will doing some of the first exercises in this book for quite some time before you get further into the book. The videos in 1st steps are a good place to start with seeing the proper technique and economy of motion. I'd like you also to check out the videos for the Right Hand Technique book. There is a scratching exercise in there that I think will help you get the right motion even though it's a bizarre exercise. Just remember the forearm movement is the same movement you use when you drink a glass of water or use a screw driver. You arm at this point doesn't have any coordination with these muscles so it's going to take time to develop the movement you need to play. So I think we should first start with getting the Right Hand Book and watch the soon to be released "scratch video" and we will work out a group of exercises for you. Let me know when you get the book and I'll design a practice schedule for you. |
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| Q | I got the Right Hand book today, so I'm ready to hear more about how I should use it (along with the 1st Steps). My guitar is in the shop getting a strap pin installed so I can play standing up and I should have it back tomorrow.
I really haven't played in a week and the wrist is much better with mild discomfort only when I stretch it back and to the side. I have some stretches I'm working on and my chiro recommended ice and a grip-ball. I should perhaps mention that I have quite thin wrist and arms. I got a good wrist brace, primarily for sleeping because a couple mornings in a row it was quite sore upon awakening. But this brace has, I think, also helped me understand the notion of using the forearm to pick from since it restricts the wrist (it doesn't completely immobilize it, btw). For reference, it is this one: http://bracesupport.com/hely-weber/titan%20wrist.htm I did see the Constant Strumming video and it looks like your wrist is moving, more like swaying; it's not locked to your forearm like I might have expected it. But that's probably not the technique I'll be working on initially, I suppose. As for time available for practice, all things considered, I'm conservatively thinking of an hour, though I might be best served by a half-hour right off the bat. Should I be working from both Right Hand Technique and 1st Steps? |
| A | The first thing I want you to do is the exercises on page 3 and 4 of the Right Hand Technique book. You are going to play these exercises two ways. First by just moving from your elbow to get use to moving across the string by changing the position of your elbow. Do that a couple of times and then try to start picking the notes by moving your forearm. Before you attempt to do this go to the member's area and look at the right hand technique video so you see exactly how your forearm is suppose to move. I would do this everyday for 5 to 10 minutes. You could do this up to 3 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes but remember always stop if you feel any pain. Most likely you won't feel any pain because you are not using your wrist muscles.
Until you have had no pain in your wrist I wouldn't do anything but the exercise above. Pretty boring but you need to let your wrist heal a little before getting back into playing. Ice is an excellent way to help your wrist. You can also use Motrin it is good for inflammation. Brace is good for awhile but also weakens your wrist so you want to get away from it as soon as possible. Obviously if you use a computer you don't want to use the mouse with your wrist. Start with this a give me a report on your progress. |
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| Q | Speak of the videos, the Scratching one's are kinda dark, so I can't be sure what you're doing, but I think I get the idea. Particularly on the strumming one, I can't really tell if your wrist is moving (I assume it's not) or if it's just an illusion of the shadowing. If you reshoot those with better lighting, it might also be helpful to 1.) wear short sleeves 2.) pan around to get an angle looking up the guitar and arm. Similarly on Constant Strumming your sleeve makes it look like theres lotsa wrist movement.
I'll be mindful of my wrist. I noticed that somewhere along the line I have gotten sloppy with my hands/wrists at my computer and will get to thinking about that. Lastly, what's that guitar with the cutaway on the Acoustic Technique vid?! That's what I'd like 2-3 years down the road when I feel competent enough! |
| A | I checked out the videos and I think they could be done better. I'll get to that in a couple of weeks. You'll just have to believe me that all of the movement is coming from the forearm. The main thing for you is you have to start moving from the forearm which can be plainly seen in the right hand technique video. This is going to take time to change over your muscle memory so be patient. Start with the pages I recommend in the Right Hand Technique book and make sure the movement is coming from your forearm.
The guitar in the video is a Taylor electric acoustic. Nice guitars but not cheap. |
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| Q | I've had no wrist discomfort for a couple days! I have felt a little something going on in my elbows/forearms, which isn't actually unusual given it's been an extra-busy workweek. I think the guitar playing was a little extra-stress on my (weak) system and I caught it in my wrist first. Good thing I didn't just plow through -- at least I'm conscious of the importance of technique, feeling and tension from early on.
I've spent anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes going through the excersises (my get-home schedule isn't very consistent). Overall, it's going well. Sometimes I'll catch myself going faster than maybe I should because when I slow down I noticed that I could be doing it better - it's a subtle feeling which I'm not sure if it's just in my head. Occasionally I will notice a little action in the wrist, particularly on an upstroke -- not much and it usually means I need to change how I'm holding the plane of my forearm with respect to the guitar. I'm wondering if I should start adding pages 5 & 6 and/or if I should start incorporating any of the wrist rotation action. |
| A | First there is no wrist movement involved in my right hand technique. You can add in page 5 and 6 by using movement from your elbow but remember these exercises are extremely slow. Do not try to play these exercises even remotely fast when you are only using the elbow for movement. You are not trying to develop a fast picking technique from your elbow you are trying to use your elbow to get you across all the strings. At this point I think you should read page 11 on using the forearm as a pivot point. Check the videos in the member's area so you see the proper technique. You can SLOWLY start to use your forearm with any of the exercises in the book. But remember in order to do any of the exercises in the book you will use a combination of your elbow moving and your forearm moving in one coordinated movement. |
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| Q | I've been playing guitar for about 11 years now, One thing I never seem to be able to get down solid yet is my right hand, alternate picking, etc... I just came across one of your books on right hand technique. The thing is, my style is mostly classic metal, my influences are Steve Vai, Criss Oliva, Randy Rhoads. Can this book of yours still help someone like me? It seems like there are very few books on this very essential topic in playing the guitar... |
| A | The Right Hand Technique book can be used with any style. In the past I've had some questions from metal guitarists that find a problem with muting strings when using a floating hand position which is what is taught in the Right Hand Technique book. In other words they have problems muting the strings at loud volumes without keeping their palm on the strings and picking with a wrist motion. I've never experienced this problem. I'm kind of from the Joe Satriani school of live playing were you stand on stage where you need to to control the feedback and use alternative wrist muting if you have too. In other words you use a basic picking technique and then alter it if a musical situation calls for it. But anyway I think you should also realize that problems with picking can also be caused by a poor understanding of rhythm and/or long line rhythm inabilities. If this is the case books such as Rhythms Volume One and Two and A Big Metronome are more appropriate for your condition not a new technique. Unfortunately I can't check you out in a private lesson to know what your exact problem is. Therefore I can only make the comments and recommendation found above.
Keep in mind that all of these books require that you read music not tablature. |
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| Q | I have read about your Right Hand Technique book on Amazon and your website and I am very excited to order it because I have been plagued with serious wrist and forearm tendonitis for the last five years.
I just have one question about this technique. I understand that the right hand floats and does not contact the strings. I like to play rock and as such there is a lot of palm muting to produce certain sounds, and also, to reduce the extraneous noises from a loud, distorted amplifier. Given that I need to palm mute, do you think this book would be appropriate for me? I hope so because I need to develop a pain free technique and I'm sure yours is the best out there. |
| A | If you must mute your strings constantly then the right hand technique will not work. If you switch back and forth then I'm sure this technique will help the pain. If you continue playing with serious wrist and forearm pain you will most certainly not be playing the guitar for much longer. You can only push your wrist so far before you permanently damage it. Personally I've heard these claims from students before that they need to palm mute their strings constantly. I play with serious distortion and find it necessary only at certain times mostly in a live performance situation. Go see Joe Satriani or Steve Vai they mute but it certainly isn't all the time. |
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| Q | I bought a bunch of your books and CDs, eager to have found a system that seems rewarding and legitimate. I've been practising for about 3 weeks for 3 hours a day to some good results.
Problem is, I have begun to experience a mild tension or pain on the back of my left (neck) hand -- in the area an inch above my wrist and about an inch and a half below my middle knuckle. It's not severe. I can easily play through it. But my concern is that the problem will grow worse. So I have completely stopped playing until I am pain free. First question: was that the right move? Or am I worrying too much? I have studied your form and your instructions regarding form very carefully. As far as I can tell, I am playing with picture perfect form. Second question: how should I proceed from here? Are there any stretches or exercises I should consider? Have you heard about a similar problem? Is it correctable? I'm hoping I won't have to give up playing guitar. |
| A | That doesn't sound good. Usually that kind of pain is from bending your wrist too much. Are you sure you haven't been doing that. It's an easy thing to miss. You might consider making a video tape of yourself practicing and check for problems. Let me know what you find.
There are a million stretches and exercises but if you are playing correctly you don't need any of them. I've had the exact problem you have and it was from bending my wrist too much. It's certainly correctable we just have to get to the bottom of the problem. And the good news is you won't have to give up guitar. Let me know what you find from your investigations. |
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| Q | I really believe that this new technique will help me greatly, but I seem to have one major problem: I can do the right arm pivot motion just fine, but every time I move even close to the guitar (right before touching it) my hand starts to move back and forth. By this I mean that my wrist does not stay straight; it generates a small amount of movement ever time, back and forth (if my palm is facing the floor, my hand moves left and right). I'm not really sure how to fix this problem. Would |