Flexibility of joint of finger nearest fingernail.

[Fingerbuster]

Something a lot of advanced fingerstyle players seem to share is a flexibility of the joint nearest the nail of the finger. That is they can place the tip of a finger on the fretboard and bend that joint at a ninety degree angle.

It's not a practice thing, my joints have very little movement here, I just can't do it. Subsequently I have to look at workarounds for songs such as Tommy Emmanuel's Angelina and Lewis and Clark. I've sometimes thought about tackling some of Kent Nishimura's stuff, but noticed that he seems to have this ability of joint movement in all his fretting fingers. The songs are probably difficult enough in the first place but I think a workaround here would be virtually impossible.

Just interested how many players can do this with fluency and how many, like me, have to use workarounds.

[rick-slo]

Never seen anything close to that. I can flex it to about 45 degrees but never would even close to that while playing guitar. So don't "fret"

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Fingerbuster

Something a lot of advanced fingerstyle players seem to share is a flexibility of the joint nearest the nail of the finger. That is they can place the tip of a finger on the fretboard and bend that joint at a ninety degree angle...

...Just interested how many players can do this with fluency and how many, like me, have to use workarounds.

I don't think of it as flexibility. It's a position I use if covering two strings at once, otherwise I cannot think of any instance where doing that 'move' would be appropriate.

Perhaps there something I'm not understanding…

[Jamolay]

I haven’t seen anyone bent the distal joint of their finger backwards 90 degrees. That is anatomically very unnatural and would likely lead to stability problems. It doesn’t mean there aren’t some loose jointed people who can do that, but please don’t try to achieve it through any force, you would only damage yourself, and don’t expect that as an eventual ability either.

I have seen people (Justin of Justin guitar, for example) who do have some flexibility and can bend that farthest joint on their fingers back enough to fret two or three strings while leaving the highest string or two under the finger open.

Nowhere near 90 degrees, maybe 30 degrees max, but enough that they have an easier time doing that than I do. For example, they could play a two finger A shape barre cord and choose to let the highest string sound out or choose not to. If I play that cord with two fingers I can only mute the high string and even that is not easy (yet) because I tend to actually fret it and it is the wrong note.

[Coler]

I can play, e.g.

A using one finger in the second fret (index or pointer), and the bottom string is still open/clear if I want it to ring.

Barre A shape using one finger (pointer) and the bottom string is still open/clear if I want it to ring.

In open D, Em using one finger in the second fret and the bottom three strings are open/clear.

It involves what I would consider decent mobility in that joint, but not 90 degrees flex.

It also needs a good level of dexterity but at the same time I am not at all an advanced fingerstylist. The technique itself just has to be practised - it is indeed very useful - and all elements are important including thumb position.

[Fingerbuster]

OK, ninety degrees is perhaps overdoing it. However with the Tommy Emmanuel songs I gave as examples he is able to fret one string with the tip of his index finger and then bend that joint rapidly up and down to alternate between playing an open and then fretted note on the next highest string. This is something I just can't get my fingers to do.

[jeanray1113]

Originally Posted by Fingerbuster

OK, ninety degrees is perhaps overdoing it. However with the Tommy Emmanuel songs I gave as examples he is able to fret one string with the tip of his index finger and then bend that joint rapidly up and down to alternate between playing an open and then fretted note on the next highest string. This is something I just can't get my fingers to do.

Tommy Emmanuel is, kind of a special case. Not only is he a phenomenal musician that most of us mere mortals can only dream of aspiring to, he has really big hands. I recall hearing him saying on an instructional video that he sometimes frets two adjacent strings with one finger.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Fingerbuster

OK, ninety degrees is perhaps overdoing it. However with the Tommy Emmanuel songs I gave as examples he is able to fret one string with the tip of his index finger and then bend that joint rapidly up and down to alternate between playing an open and then fretted note on the next highest string. This is something I just can't get my fingers to do.

That is a common thing to do. Helps to have the center of the tip of the finger on the fretted string a little more towards the the next
lower string which gives you a little more distance to clear the next higher string.

[Coler]

Originally Posted by Fingerbuster

OK, ninety degrees is perhaps overdoing it. However with the Tommy Emmanuel songs I gave as examples he is able to fret one string with the tip of his index finger and then bend that joint rapidly up and down to alternate between playing an open and then fretted note on the next highest string. This is something I just can't get my fingers to do.

It's a combination of dexterity and mobility. It just needs to be practised a lot. You can do a lot of exercises to improve mobility generally.

[Fingerbuster]

Originally Posted by Coler

It's a combination of dexterity and mobility. It just needs to be practised a lot. You can do a lot of exercises to improve mobility generally.

Oh, I have practised a lot over the years with no improvement. I genuinely believe that some people are fortunate enough to have more give in this joint than others.