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Old 03-01-2017, 03:10 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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Default Do you rest your fingers on unused strings?

As a fingerstyle player do you rest your picking hand fingers on unused strings when playing? I tend to hover my hand above the strings at all times, but maybe this is wrong (self taught)?

I experimented with leaving any fingers not in use just resting on the string. I found I had better awareness of the strings and I was less likely to accidentally hit a wrong string. This in turn made me feel more confident.

I don't normally hit a wrong string, but I can occasionally graze other strings while playing. I don't anchor either, so maybe by resting unused fingers I'm in effect creating a temporary anchor? Wondering whether I should pursue this method, or if I'm wasting my time (I ask cus it's pretty hard to do on pieces using all strings, I have to think about resting certain finger during certain passages as I'm not used to it).
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:03 PM
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You can profit from now and then resting your picking hand finger or thumb on an unplayed string. It steadies the hand as well as help silence the unwanted ringing of certain strings. I do it in various situations - sometimes for example I will rest the thumb on the sixth or fifth string while doing scales with my fingers.
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:06 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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Fair enough, maybe I shouldn't get too fixated on it then, but use it where I feel I need the extra steadiness.
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:12 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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I really don't pay attention to the unused strings...unless I'm headed their way for some reason and I'm not always concerned about getting all the notes of a triad or chord fretted at the same time if one or the other of the strings gets picked after the change.

As Jeremy said in The Yelow Submarine, "Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo..."
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:35 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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Righty. Ok, I won't worry too much about it. I'm just struggling to feel relaxed and confident when I play, and anchoring gave me some stability and confidence. I can't anchor my pinky on the body though cus it feels too restrictive.

I'm very stiff and tight when I play. I think I'm holding a lot of tension in my body and struggling to loosen up. This makes it particularly hard to enter the groove zone - because you need to be loose and relaxed. When I'm stiff I can't lock in and my rhythm becomes mediocre. And when I force myself to be relaxed my right hand gets a bit wishy washy when it's not anchored and can start hitting wrong strings.

This guitar stuff is hard!
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:05 PM
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For example in this video watch the times the thumb comes to rest on a string providing a little more stability and accuracy to fingers are doing:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWKDfkEat8


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Old 03-01-2017, 06:10 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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Looks like he also momentarily rests his other fingers on the strings too.
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by s0cks View Post
Looks like he also momentarily rests his other fingers on the strings too.
Go for it!
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Old 03-01-2017, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by s0cks View Post
As a fingerstyle player do you rest your picking hand fingers on unused strings when playing?
Hi SoCKS

Absolutely. Controlling sustain or over-ring are important to the sound of some songs I do (especially slow and lyrical pieces). On others I want strings to ring out or sustain, and then not muting the string is important.

I also mute individual strings with the fretting hand.



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Old 03-01-2017, 07:20 PM
EllaMom EllaMom is offline
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Interesting thread. I can't really speak to resting fingers (or not) on the strings, but I sure identify with the tightening up when playing. To help with that, I will pick something very Very VERY basic to play...like arpeggiating a chord progression: A, D, E, for example. Something I don't have to think about at all what my hands are doing. That allows me to put my attention instead to things like my posture, whether I'm hunching up my shoulders, even gritting my teeth. I address those tight areas, one by one, playing the chord progression all the while, to give me the experience of playing while relaxed. It really works for me. Breathing is another thing I pay attention to....replacing short, shallow breaths with a bit deeper, slower inhales and exhales. Try it.
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Old 03-01-2017, 07:37 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EllaMom View Post
Interesting thread. I can't really speak to resting fingers (or not) on the strings, but I sure identify with the tightening up when playing. To help with that, I will pick something very Very VERY basic to play...like arpeggiating a chord progression: A, D, E, for example. Something I don't have to think about at all what my hands are doing. That allows me to put my attention instead to things like my posture, whether I'm hunching up my shoulders, even gritting my teeth. I address those tight areas, one by one, playing the chord progression all the while, to give me the experience of playing while relaxed. It really works for me. Breathing is another thing I pay attention to....replacing short, shallow breaths with a bit deeper, slower inhales and exhales. Try it.
Thanks, I'm gonna give it a try! I also find myself shallow breathing, or even holding my breathe, which is a recipe for the body tightening up. It's a stupidly bad habit that I'm really gonna have to work on, as I do it without thinking especially when concentrating on other aspects of playing.
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Old 03-03-2017, 05:44 PM
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I don't rest the hand on a fixed location whether a string or otherwise. I keep it free at all times.
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Old 03-12-2017, 07:18 AM
Frankieabbott Frankieabbott is offline
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I try to keep fingers anchored to strings 1, 2 and 3 purely because I'm new to this finger picking thing and I like to know where they are.....which may (at present) actually hinder playing dexterity. If I don't keep fingers anchored I find that they all seem to want to drop down a string which means that I have to use my little/pinky finger on string 1.
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Old 03-12-2017, 09:37 PM
Johan Madsen Johan Madsen is offline
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Pretty often, probably a habit I got when playing electric guitar, where you have to controls open strings, I like having right hand stability for certain kinds of stuffs
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