Developing right hand technique

[jthorpe]

As the title suggests I'm looking at developing a right hand technique suitable for myself. I'm not trying to create something new just asking for advice on where people learned what they now employ.

I'm trying to adopt a classical hand position as my base and am using i & m for multiple notes being played on a single string. I'm finding this to be a very comfortable and relaxed position and I'm getting greater volume and accuracy!

HOWEVER

There are limitations that I've come across thus far! I am aware that it is MY fault, I'm not slating tried and tested techniques! These are right hand damping of bass strings and difficulty muting multiple strings with a single digit!

Are there any players that have inspired any of you to develop your techniques? Anything or anybody that I could study in order to develop my playing in this area.

P.S. As a relative newbie to fingerstyle guitar I am focussing on repertoire, but I do want to make sure I have a solid foundation that will let me progress as much as my own limitations will allow.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers
J

[rick-slo]

A big thing in keeping playing clean or having the effect you want is muting ringing strings, and that can take quite a bit of work. Lifting your left hand fingers a bit off the strings is the most obvious one and of course there is the general style of right hand palming ( but that has a specific sound to it and is often used more for damping than total muting).


There are number of things you can do depending on the musical passage.
For example say you need to play the following with this particular fingering

--------------------------------------------------------
---------0----1-----3-----1----0----------------
—0---------------------------------2-----0-----
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
How do you mute the first note and further on the sixth note?
One way would be to use rest strokes so that playing the second note
mutes the first note, and when playing the seventh note lay your fretting
finger for the third string flatter so it contacts and mutes the second string.
Or for example with:
------------------------------------------------
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---0----------------------0---------------------
--------------0----------------------0----------
How do you mute one bass string before playing the next base string?
One way is to briefly lay the left third finger briefly down across the strings.

Or for example picking these notes with your thumb:
-------------------------
-------------------------
-------------------------
-------------------------
---------0—2----4----
----0-------------------
How do you mute the first note?
One way is to lean in the side of the right hand thumb into the 6th string when
getting ready to play the fifth string.

There are various things you can do depending on the situation.


" using i & m for multiple notes being played on a single string" is usually ok but don't always do this in every case. It depends. For example, sometimes something like i-i-i-i or m-m-m-m works better.

[jthorpe]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

A big thing in keeping playing clean or having the effect you want is muting ringing strings, and that can take quite a bit of work. Lifting your left hand fingers a bit off the strings is the most obvious one and of course there is the general style of right hand palming ( but that has a specific sound to it and is often used more for damping than total muting).


There are number of things you can do depending on the musical passage.
For example say you need to play the following with this particular fingering

--------------------------------------------------------
---------0----1-----3-----1----0----------------
—0---------------------------------2-----0-----
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
How do you mute the first note and further on the sixth note?
One way would be to use rest strokes so that playing the second note
mutes the first note, and when playing the seventh note lay your fretting
finger for the third string flatter so it contacts and mutes the second string.
Or for example with:
------------------------------------------------
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---------2----------2-----------2---------2----
---0----------------------0---------------------
--------------0----------------------0----------
How do you mute one bass string before playing the next base string?
One way is to briefly lay the left third finger briefly down across the strings.

Or for example picking these notes with your thumb:
-------------------------
-------------------------
-------------------------
-------------------------
---------0—2----4----
----0-------------------
How do you mute the first note?
One way is to lean in the side of the right hand thumb into the 6th string when
getting ready to play the fifth string.

There are various things you can do depending on the situation.


" using i & m for multiple notes being played on a single string" is usually ok but don't always do this in every case. It depends. For example, sometimes something like i-i-i-i or m-m-m-m works better.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to type such a detailed response - I've tried these passages and will continue to try to develop on my technique with them...

In the first example I'd mute the first note with my middle finger the instant I played the second note with my ring finger. I got that idea from Pierre Bensusan (great technician imo). The other examples about muting the basses without straying too far from the base position... Do you have any links to pictures or videos illustrating what you described, I can't quite get to grips with what you mean. Don't worry if not!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by jthorpe

…I'm trying to adopt a classical hand position as my base and am using i & m for multiple notes being played on a single string. I'm finding this to be a very comfortable and relaxed position and I'm getting greater volume and accuracy!

Hi JT...

So are you dropping/angling the wrist so your fingers are perpendicular to the string bed, or are you holding the picking/plucking hand at an oblique angle across the string bed when you play?

There are lots of choices one can make which all seem to work. Here are a few who make different right hand choices, yet all seem to play relaxed right hands.

Tommy - oblique angle - CliCk

Doug Young - Classical hand position - CliCk

Ed Gerhard - straight wrist slightly oblique - CliCk

Al Petteway - oblique with wrist straight - CliCk

Michael Chapdelaine steel string - CliCk

Michael Chapdelaine - classical guitar - CLiCk

Many more examples could be added...the point is, not many steel string acoustic players run the headstock high and angle the wrist to play nearly perpendicular to strings like a classical player would.

There is more space between classical strings, and they need different technique to fully exploit all the tone shifting they are capable of (as in Michael Chapdelaine example on classical).

Michael Chapdelaine elevates the neck when playing classical to change the angle of fingers on the string bed. Actually he elevates the neck on acoustic as well (top of head high with headstock). Others do not...

I keep the headstock at least chin/mouth high, with an Oblique hand picking/plucking angle because it keeps both my wrist ergonomically more straight (which is easier for me to stay relaxed). I use a lift called a NeckUp so my guitars stay right knee.

I also tend to pick/pluck about ⅓ into the bottom section of the soundhole (thumb centered over upper ⅓ of soundhole). But then, I'm an all flesh player. I like the warmer tone which comes from playing over the soundhole region. There are lots of shading which can be done.

For right now, you should probably pick a technique and learn it well. Thumb-n-two or Thumb-n-three fingers are choices to be made, as are left/right knee or lift or strap or lap.

This is a topic where there isn't a right or wrong, but there are choices you can make which make it easier/harder to accomplish what you want when it comes to right hand technique.

[jthorpe]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi JT...

So are you dropping/angling the wrist so your fingers are perpendicular to the string bed, or are you holding the picking/plucking hand at an oblique angle across the string bed when you play?

There are lots of choices one can make which all seem to work. Here are a few who make different right hand choices, yet all seem to play relaxed right hands.

Tommy - oblique angle - CliCk

Doug Young - Classical hand position - CliCk

Ed Gerhard - straight wrist slightly oblique - CliCk

Al Petteway - oblique with wrist straight - CliCk

Michael Chapdelaine steel string - CliCk

Michael Chapdelaine - classical guitar - CLiCk

Many more examples could be added...the point is, not many steel string acoustic players run the headstock high and angle the wrist to play nearly perpendicular to strings like a classical player would.

There is more space between classical strings, and they need different technique to fully exploit all the tone shifting they are capable of (as in Michael Chapdelaine example on classical).

Michael Chapdelaine elevates the neck when playing classical to change the angle of fingers on the string bed. Actually he elevates the neck on acoustic as well (top of head high with headstock). Others do not...

I keep the headstock at least chin/mouth high, with an Oblique hand picking/plucking angle because it keeps both my wrist ergonomically more straight (which is easier for me to stay relaxed). I use a lift called a NeckUp so my guitars stay right knee.

I also tend to pick/pluck about ⅓ into the bottom section of the soundhole (thumb centered over upper ⅓ of soundhole). But then, I'm an all flesh player. I like the warmer tone which comes from playing over the soundhole region. There are lots of shading which can be done.

For right now, you should probably pick a technique and learn it well. Thumb-n-two or Thumb-n-three fingers are choices to be made, as are left/right knee or lift or strap or lap.

This is a topic where there isn't a right or wrong, but there are choices you can make which make it easier/harder to accomplish what you want when it comes to right hand technique.

Hi LJ thanks for such a great response!

I think the Ed Gerhard video is probably closest to my current efforts, I guess I feel that having my wrist resting on the body of the guitar makes my hand feel tense when the tempo increases.

With regards to the position of the guitar, it sits almost exactly like Tommy's (despite mine being a dreadnought), shifted over to the right on my right leg - this has come after a good week of trial and error with this, I feel I get better control this way.

I am also a flesh player! I use my thumb and three fingers with no pinky anchor. I've noticed quickly about the variety of textures that one is able to create by picking at different locations (much more so than on an electric).

My real concern is the lack of flexibility with my technique, for example - when playing something that requires consistent palm muting throughout, this is not possible without adopting a hand position like TE, or is it?!

Cheers

J

[sprucetophere]

Hi Larry,

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on planting for steel string finger style. Let me clarify - I do NOT mean the pinky on the sound board type of planting. I am referring to the classical technique of preparing for the subsequent striking of the string(s) by placing the finger(s) on the string(s) prior to the stroke.

As a classical student I was taught that it is essential to clean, accurate playing and it's standard pedagogy. However, in steel string it seems to me that many great players do not plant in this manner.

Learning steel string I find myself NOT planting and wanting to avoid it - it feels constrained, awkward, insert adverse adjective here.

I guess I have two question. Do you think it's necessary or best practices for steel string and do you use it/teach it?

Thanks!

Robert

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by sprucetophere

Hi Larry,

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on planting for steel string finger style. Let me clarify - I do NOT mean the pinky on the sound board type of planting. I am referring to the classical technique of preparing for the subsequent striking of the string(s) by placing the finger(s) on the string(s) prior to the stroke.

As a classical student I was taught that it is essential to clean, accurate playing and it's standard pedagogy. However, in steel string it seems to me that many great players do not plant in this manner.

Learning steel string I find myself NOT planting and wanting to avoid it - it feels constrained, awkward, insert adverse adjective here.

I guess I have two question. Do you think it's necessary or best practices for steel string and do you use it/teach it?

Thanks!

Robert

Often that does not fit into the music very well except on an ascending arpeggios and where on the next arpeggio (if any) muting strings in advance is not going to be a problem.
Planting a thumb or finger on a string to steady your hand while picking other strings can be useful - say the thumb resting on the fifth string while you are doing a scale on the upper strings.

[HarleySpirit]

Originally Posted by jthorpe

There are limitations that I've come across thus far! I am aware that it is MY fault, I'm not slating tried and tested techniques! These are right hand damping of bass strings and difficulty muting multiple strings with a single digit!

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers
J

Hi,
This link shows my recommended R. hand position for steel string guitar.
You might want to check out the rest of this site for inspiration, info, free fingerpicking lesson, etc.:

http://users.eastlink.ca/~harleyspi/position.html