Stop Choking your guitar!!

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by BernebeM50

I play classical guitar so I don't use my thumb to fret notes. One way I learned not to use so much pressure with the left hand is to sometimes play without placing the thumb on the neck at all. It just floats without touching the guitar. This works for chords and single notes but not so easy (okay, impossible) for barre chords. I do this sometimes when practicing scales.

This is what I was trying to explain, in my post above. It is a great practice exercise, especially when done with chords. In your case it is more than an exercise, it is an actual playing style. Glad to hear someone else does this as well.

Barre chords, without pushing on the back of the neck, are easier on narrow neck guitars. This is only done for fun and as an exercise for finger strengthening.

[BernebeM50]

Oh yeah, I missed that. I am going to have to try that some more with barre chords with my Bernabe, it has the best action and is the easiest to play. There is no way I could do it without my thumb with my Taurus, it's action is much too high. It is like a Ramirez with high tension strings.

[jaybones]

I learned this very early when I was first learning chords.

My teacher said "Don't try to strangle the neck! All you'll do is give yourself hand cramps, a light touch is all you need."

When I was learning barres, he taught me to try and play them without the thumb behind the neck. Sounds counterintuitive, since there's nothing keeping the neck in place, but actually worked.

[BernebeM50]

Okay I just tried a few barre chords without my thumb with my Taurus guitar and it mostly worked. I'd say 3/4 of the time without buzzing. I guess it is possible on classical guitars after all, I just need to practice some more. Isn't that always the answer? Practice, practice, practice...

[Ditch]

This is a great thread. Two things I need to work on. I know that pressing harder on the strings is not good yet I still do. Guys I jam with are always hounding me to play louder. I feel like I'm hitting the strings hard and I am no tiny guy by any stretch of the imagination. I got some good tips from this thread. I do know I have to work on the breathing also. Thanks !!

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by guitar george

Try playing notes and chords without using the thumb on your left hand.

For a beginner, this is impossible

For an experienced player, this is quite easy and a great exercise and shows how little pressure is really required.

Yes, and assuming a good set up (especially at the nut), this should be no more than a gentle squeeze between thumb and fingers.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Toby Walker

Here's another way to monitor your stress... keep aware of your breath. If you're breathing normally and not holding it in as you play, chances are you won't be choking the neck either.

Good advice. I also read somewhere that one should consciously relax one's jaw while practising. The reasoning goes that otherwise that muscle tension will be translated to the hand via neck, shoulder and arm muscles, leading to a death-grip.

[Blueser]

Originally Posted by Moocheng

surprising how much energy can be saved by not strangling the neck.

part of my warm up is to first play something easy using the least pressure on the strings possible, if it buzzes, let it buzz then get the feel. Not sure why this works, it just does, Its like recalibrating how fretting should feel

I do this exact thing. It's helps me calibrate the amount of pressure I need for the fretboard, which seems to vary for me, from day to day, for some reason.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Ditch

This is a great thread. Two things I need to work on. I know that pressing harder on the strings is not good yet I still do. Guys I jam with are always hounding me to play louder. I feel like I'm hitting the strings hard and I am no tiny guy by any stretch of the imagination. I got some good tips from this thread. I do know I have to work on the breathing also. Thanks !!

Perhaps a gentle hint that they might play a little softer?

[harleycaptain]

Not just breathing, but shoulder, arms, legs all should be relaxed.

I just remembered when I started back on guitar 18 months ago I was so tense my legs were giving me trouble. I realized after a few weeks it was the leg the guitar rests on and until I got a foot stool I could hardly walk. I told my wife "it's just guitar injuries."

There are some real good tips here for beginners.