proper fingerpicking technique

[t1m]

I'm a self taught player so I'm constantly watching videos and comparing them to my own playing to make sure I'm using correct technique.

Yesterday I noticed something that worried me, but I'm not sure if its just because I'm looking at my hands from the top or if I'm really doing it wrong.

My right hand generally stays in a relaxed "fist" position above the strings with the thumb sticking out maybe 0.75" from the index. Because I do not use a thumbpick, my hand is arched a little more than a thumbpick user and if I look down at my hand my thumb forms a upside down "V" with the index finger (got this from pumping nylon).

From the videos I've watched and the books I've read, I know that when your finger hits the strings...the force should be from your knuckle and not the middle joint of your finger. I always kind of imagined that my fingers were piano hammers coming down and hitting the strings and my knuckle was the joint that the "hammers" were attached to.

I noticed yesterday that while my ring and middle finger seems to be relatively rigid when striking the strings (the middle joint has little movement and almost all the movement is at the knuckle), my index finger seems to be half knuckle and half joint finger movement. In fact, it seems the softer I play with my index finger, the less I move my knuckle and the more I move my joint finger.

[Frosty]

My first thought for you is to let your ears be the judge. It is certainly true that technique influences tone, however if you are pleased with the sound you are producing and there are no stress related issues with your playing then my advice at this point is to not worry about it.

..the force should be from your knuckle and not the middle joint of your finger.

This idea belongs to classical guitar pedagogy, and it is one to which I subscribe. The analogy I use with students is the golfer.

my index finger seems to be half knuckle and half joint finger movement

Consider a golfer. The "force", to use your word, of the drive swing does not come from the wrists or elbows - but the wrists and elbows DO move along with the shoulders and torso. An artifact of the way humans are put together, I would say. Likewise the tendons that connect your finger bones to the muscles in your hand. Again, unless there is a problem, don't sweat it!

the softer I play with my index finger, the less I move my knuckle and the more I move my joint finger.

Remember that golfer? No longer driving, now the goal is to gently putt that ball. Bring to mind the way a golfer swings when the cup is a few feet away.

Without the benefit of watching and listening to you play, it sounds to me like you are doing ok. You are correct to pay attention to these details but bear in mind that the goal is to be able to create beautiful sounds with your guitar (however you define "beautiful") in the most efficient way avoiding techniques that introduce stress - which over the long term will take it's toll.

P.S. Apologies to golfers for any misrepresentation on my part.

P.P.S. The subject of the thread is "proper fingerpicking". Different styles of fingerpicking guitar demand different picking hand techniques. If, for example, you want to sound like Rev. Davis disregard the above. ;-)

[paul84]

I'm interested in this as I too am trying to pick up some right hand technique from classical guitar.

My first thought -- Is your index finger too close to the strings - this will force you to use the other joints ahead of the knuckle to avoid hitting the other strings.
Secondly - I think its fine to have some movement in these other joints - in fact you need some - however, you get better indepedence from using the knuckle.

Could be the blind leading the blind here though - I'm still working on this myself !!

PAul.

[rick-slo]

The primary engine in picking the strings is the second joint of the fingers so I would not worry about that. The variable is how much the knuckle is also involved. Watch some youtube videos to get an idea (Parkening, Huttlinger, ect).

[paul84]

This guy has a reasonable technique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8EDpJ-aIM8

If you watch his index finger, then it certainly has plenty of movement past the knuckle.

[anton]

Nice post. I studied a few years of classical guitar in high school and college, and while i dont play classical music anymore, most of my right hand technique still comes from the classical school.

I like Pumping Nylon alot, i have been using the various warm up exercises in it, as well as the Guillini studies in the back. I try to go through one group a day. Lots of great variety in there.

What you are saying sounds right. I try to hinge from the big knuckle as much as possible, and for me, i try not let the joint closest to my finger tip collapse to much when plucking the string. I find this causes my finger to brush the next adjacent string on its way back towards the palm.

I occasionally have a problem with my finger brushing the next adjacient string, which is annoying. One tip i read in the book The Natural Classical Guitar is to make sure that the big knuckle is directly over the string you want to sound. This seems to ensure that there is enough clearance so you dont hit the next string.

Can't say i have it all figured out, but classical right hand technique seems to work for me, but i dont play any alternating bass or styles like that.


Anton

Originally Posted by anton

Can't say i have it all figured out, but classical right hand technique seems to work for me, but i dont play any alternating bass or styles like that.

Anton

Classical technique for classical guitar is one thing, but acoustic steel string requires something different: check this link.

Hope it helps!

[Frosty]

Anchoring and palm muting is useful for that "western Kentucky choke-style", as Gamble Rogers used to say, and should be a part of a guitarist's technique toolkit - but it is a restrictive technique. When you want to sound like a Kentucky thumbpicker, for example, it is useful. But if you are chasing a tune by different stylists as varied as Rev. Gary Davis is from Pierre Bensusan... it won't work.

What I mean to say is this: a survey of recordings by "steel string" players reveals a variety of right hand techniques. There is no single answer. And thank goodness for that.

Another thing to consider is repetitive stress issues. The ergonomic advantage of a naturally positioned right hand is clear. I am old enough to know a few players who have burned out their body from years of stressful technique.

[Pitar]

If you are very, very observant and do a lot of "witnessing" of the so-called proper technique in books and videos, etc, you'll go to the nearest tree and hang yourself with technical cord. No two, or a hundred people play with proper technique because there isn't such a thing where making music is concerned. There's only your guitar, you and the best attack angle you can employ to make it sound its best. This changes from guitar to guitar and type to type. Some say to set the string in motion horizontal to the sound board. Others specify (fill in the blank) is best. You guitar will let you know what is best, not some book or video spouting generalizations. Great guides but your ear for your guitar should be the first bit of studying. Get that right to start with. If you think you need to mimmick the traditional classical pose to enable music making, go for it. I've got it down pretty good but it doesn't make the music better. Besides, I feel like a darn fool striking up the "pose".

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by t1m

I'm a self taught player so I'm constantly watching videos and comparing them to my own playing to make sure I'm using correct technique.

Yesterday I noticed something that worried me, but I'm not sure if its just because I'm looking at my hands from the top or if I'm really doing it wrong.

My right hand generally stays in a relaxed "fist" position above the strings with the thumb sticking out maybe 0.75" from the index. Because I do not use a thumbpick, my hand is arched a little more than a thumbpick user and if I look down at my hand my thumb forms a upside down "V" with the index finger (got this from pumping nylon).

From the videos I've watched and the books I've read, I know that when your finger hits the strings...the force should be from your knuckle and not the middle joint of your finger. I always kind of imagined that my fingers were piano hammers coming down and hitting the strings and my knuckle was the joint that the "hammers" were attached to.

I noticed yesterday that while my ring and middle finger seems to be relatively rigid when striking the strings (the middle joint has little movement and almost all the movement is at the knuckle), my index finger seems to be half knuckle and half joint finger movement. In fact, it seems the softer I play with my index finger, the less I move my knuckle and the more I move my joint finger.

If you're happy with the way you sound and you're able to accomplish what you want to play, you must be doing something that's right for you! Don't over-analyze, just play. Every player does things a bit differently.

Regards,

SpruceTop