Is minimum movement that important?

[wintersnowman]

I've seen a lot of Youtube lessons stress minimum movement while playing scales, etc. They stress finger independence as well. I think they are connected, they are right? But my main question is, are they really that important?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8

Here we can see Krist Novoselic is playing a scale if I'm not wrong and his fingers are quite obviously flying all over the place. You can get a clear look around 2:00. But it seems to work for him so why is this important again?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by wintersnowman

...But it seems to work for him so why is this important again?

Hi wsm…

Speed, accuracy, and efficiency.

[themachinist]

Lifting your fingers more than you need to between notes is indeed considered by many as 'bad technique'. Let's bear in mind that often things that are considered "bad technique" are seen in the hands of some of the world's greatest guitarists.

Lots of finger movement is definitely going to hinder you if you want to run up and down the fret board with the left hand making note by note solos/scale runs. As for me a little of this finger movement actually helps me keep time and emphasize certain notes... and I use lots of hammer ons and pull-offs too. So it just depends on what you want to play really!

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by wintersnowman

I've seen a lot of Youtube lessons stress minimum movement while playing scales, etc. They stress finger independence as well. I think they are connected, they are right? But my main question is, are they really that important?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8

Here we can see Krist Novoselic is playing a scale if I'm not wrong and his fingers are quite obviously flying all over the place. You can get a clear look around 2:00. But it seems to work for him so why is this important again?

He's playing a fairly complicated bass riff, which requires moving between 2 positions - 1st fret and 3rd fret.
You can see the basic riff at 3rd fret from 1:50-56. From 2:00, you can see him move down to 1st position (on the word "control", where the chord changes) and play the riff down there before moving back up to 3rd position (on "face").
The way he's fingering it would be the most efficient for that particular line.
His fingers are not exactly "flying all over the place" - but because he is playing an acoustic bass guitar he is applying a more positive attack with his fretting fingers than would normally be necessary on ordinary guitar.
This is because the heavier strings need a more vigorous articulation - from both hands - to make them sound correctly. You will see most bass players (electric or acoustic) using this kind of finger movement - almost like they are hammering on with their fret hand all the time. (Check out this bass tour de force: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwhjlNvF-4Q - 0:15-26)

IOW, while there is definitely a good rule about economy of movement - moving smallest distances between notes (across the fretboard or between strings) - there are other rules about articulation which may sometimes require lifting the fingers higher off the fretboard: eg to make a more positive hammer-on, as here. (A bass tutor of mine once advised me to try playing lines with the left hand only; it improved my rhythm and sound hugely, once I brought my picking hand back. Of course, it meant a lot more finger movement off the frets.)

It's all about producing the sounds you want in the most efficient way. What's efficient on bass is different from what's efficient on guitar. And what's efficient for hammer-ons is different from ordinary scale or melody playing.

As themachinist says, you sometimes see examples of what look like "bad technique" in professional players. Not only this lifting of the fingers here (which is actually good technique in this context), but using thumb over the top of the neck, which is always "bad" in classical terms. In rock, of course, thumb over is often necessary for certain techniques which are not used in classical guitar - and at other times, players put their thumb over simply because they are good enough to play well enough in that relaxed "incorrect" position.

Similar considerations apply to how rock guitarists hold the guitar. Showmanship might dictate that they wear their guitars strapped low, in what is an awkward position to play in. But they are good enough (or are playing simple enough chords or lines) that they can get away with that. IOW, it's a compromise between an efficient playing position, and a position that looks cool. (And notice how many guitarists with low slung instruments raise the neck up and/or put thumb behind when playing tricky passages.)