Anyone Else Find This Difficult Options

[Todd Simpson]

heheheheheheheheh Got a good giggle on that one. Touche' Good Sir!!!!

just cause I dont agree with your political views doesn't mean you got to get lippy

The one in the picture is actually an Alvarez Artist series 5008c circa 1994. I had it confused with my Yamaha classical which I must have loaned out to someone as I can't find it in my studio!!!! argghhh.

Tod

The classical I borrowed was actually a older Yamaha w/ pickup & eq and the one you have looks similar. High quality guitar, great sound and played very comfotable! Probably exactly what I will go for.

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[Blister]

It would seem the key to this exercise is keeping the fingers on the string & only moving one finger per note while keeping the other fingers behind the next note still remaining pressed "on" the string. Very challenging. It would also seem that this exercise would aid in training the fingers to stay close to the strings on the fretboard. It seems like my fingers want to get as far away from the fretboard after that particular finger has finished playing its note. I know it's important to keep the fingers close to the strings/fretboard but seems easier said than done. (I hope you understand what I mean)

QUICK POLL:

WHO HAS A NYLON STRING/CLASSICAL GUITAR?

WHO HAS HAD ANY CLASSICAL GUITAR PERSONAL INSTRUCTION?

Todd

I started on a Yamaha classical, with a private instructor, as it was considered best for a beginner. I'm not real sure if my teacher was classically trained but I do remember he was a big Moody Blues fan. My immaturity as a teen, I wanted an electric. Regrettably, I sold it & have been kicking myself ever since. I do remember the fretboard being the size of a tree trunk (slight exaggeration ). I will definitely replace at some point. At least I still have my old Carcassi Guitar Method book.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Right you are Gary - that's why I always rant about moving your fingers as little as possible away from the fretboard. The less you move, the more relaxed and in control you are, the more efficient you will become. Try this at very slow speed and focus only on it when you do it I am sure you will be amazed.

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[Todd Simpson]

Yet again with great advice Using an "economy of motion" or as little as possible really, is important. Wasting motion on the fretboard creates inefficiency and thus reduces precision and therefore reduces potential speed as by product. Watch your fav guitarists, slash is a good example. Notice how his right hand barely looks like it's leaving the fret board and barely looks like its putting forth effort during brisk passages. This takes practice as sometimes your hand wants to entirely pull away from the fret board. Sort of like holding your breath, you have to take over the autonomic responses and force it to stay near "home"

THE OTHER SIDE
Certain players like Marty Friedman, or our own VERC tend to eschew specific training on executing techniques and that's valid as there is no one "perfect way" So if you find this does not work for you at all, just skip it and you'll find something that does This worked great for me so I thought I'd share.

Here's a vid of Slash with good close up on his hands.









Todd

Right you are Gary - that's why I always rant about moving your fingers as little as possible away from the fretboard. The less you move, the more relaxed and in control you are, the more efficient you will become. Try this at very slow speed and focus only on it when you do it I am sure you will be amazed.

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[Blister]

Right you are Gary - that's why I always rant about moving your fingers as little as possible away from the fretboard. The less you move, the more relaxed and in control you are, the more efficient you will become. Try this at very slow speed and focus only on it when you do it I am sure you will be amazed.

Ok, I love this exercise & I hate this exercise! I can see the benefit & yes, ring finger & pinky finger do not want to be team players. I am going to try this everyday (starting slow) for awhile to see what happens. I am also curious if anyone else is noticing that ascending from low string to high string is much harder than decending? My fingering seems to work better when my thumb is actually a little lower than the middle of the fretboard. Is this a good or bad position for the thumb in this exercise or should I really try to keep the thumb in the middle of the fretboard?

Yet again with great advice Using an "economy of motion" or as little as possible really, is important. Wasting motion on the fretboard creates inefficiency and thus reduces precision and therefore reduces potential speed as by product. Watch your fav guitarists, slash is a good example. Notice how his right hand barely looks like it's leaving the fret board and barely looks like its putting forth effort during brisk passages. This takes practice as sometimes your hand wants to entirely pull away from the fret board. Sort of like holding your breath, you have to take over the autonomic responses and force it to stay near "home"

THE OTHER SIDE
Certain players like Marty Friedman, or our own VERC tend to eschew specific training on executing techniques and that's valid as there is no one "perfect way" So if you find this does not work for you at all, just skip it and you'll find something that does This worked great for me so I thought I'd share.

Here's a vid of Slash with good close up on his hands.

Todd

I definitely can see what you mean, Todd. The camera angles show how close his fingers are to the fretboard very well. Guess that proves why he is a Master!

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[bleez]

I am also curious if anyone else is noticing that ascending from low string to high string is much harder than decending?

Yes, very much so! Im doing this exercise with a classical position so I think my thumb is in a good spot both ascending and descending but its still way more difficult getting the ring finger to move up the strings than down.

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[Todd Simpson]

Putting the thumb a pinch lower should be fine

Ok, I love this exercise & I hate this exercise! I can see the benefit & yes, ring finger & pinky finger do not want to be team players. I am going to try this everyday (starting slow) for awhile to see what happens. I am also curious if anyone else is noticing that ascending from low string to high string is much harder than decending? My fingering seems to work better when my thumb is actually a little lower than the middle of the fretboard. Is this a good or bad position for the thumb in this exercise or should I really try to keep the thumb in the middle of the fretboard?



I definitely can see what you mean, Todd. The camera angles show how close his fingers are to the fretboard very well. Guess that proves why he is a Master!

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey Gary - for me the math goes like this: the more I have to stretch, the more I pull my thumb lower on the back of the neck I'll show you in a movie, aye?

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[Blister]

Hey Gary - for me the math goes like this: the more I have to stretch, the more I pull my thumb lower on the back of the neck I'll show you in a movie, aye?

Thanks so much! Todd has been very persuasive in using the classical position in all playing which I believe really helps. A video would be very helpful!

I think everyone should at least try this exercise. If you don't try it, you may not realize just how "rebellious" that ring finger is.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Thanks so much! Todd has been very persuasive in using the classical position in all playing which I believe really helps. A video would be very helpful!

I think everyone should at least try this exercise. If you don't try it, you may not realize just how "rebellious" that ring finger is.

Hey buddy - here ya go:

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Im sure he does..... he is a doctor afterall, so im guessing he's quite a clever chap


thats quite a clever exercise, I like it. cheers for posting it dude.

Cool mate. You can move it all over the neck and also play it on every string. It's a killer exercise. Be sure that you don't hurt yourself with it.

Classical Guitar really helped me a TON with finger independence. There are so many etudes where you are playing a partial chord with several fingers moving one or two fingers to create a moving melody line. Part of why I am always suggesting folks get a classical guitar in addition to their acoustic and electric and learn just a few bits on Classical. Not to mention the right hand picking work that is required which can also be applied in very interesting ways

But you have to remember that especially here in the states, classical guitar as an instrument is a bit more rare IMHO than finding that someone has an electric and one acoustic. That's quite common. Less common is finding someone with electric, acoustic and nylon string classical. Also, finding instruction for classical is a pinch harder than finding instruction for electric, acoustic, even banjo. The first classical instructor I ever ran across wasn't until college! There was certainly no classical guitar instruction in high school or my local music stores.


QUICK POLL:

WHO HAS A NYLON STRING/CLASSICAL GUITAR?

WHO HAS HAD ANY CLASSICAL GUITAR PERSONAL INSTRUCTION?

Todd

Can't agree more with you. I have a nylon guitar and these guitars are something very easy to find here. Even in houses where nobody plays music, you can find nylon guitar. I started to play on one of these guitars because my father had one from his teenager years.

Regarding instruction, I just did 2 years at the conservatory where the main instrument was classical guitar. From time to time I try to learn a new classical piece since it is a very good training and also it's very funny to play, at least for me.

We have really cool series here at the site:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonseries/Bach-Prelude/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...-7-part-1-to-6/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...nando-Sor-Op-9/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...rcassi-Studies/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...liani-Sonatina/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...V-997-Fantasia/

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[Blister]

Hey buddy - here ya go:

Thanks so much for the video response. It did help. My main problem with this exercise is ascending from low to high strings. For example, while playing the low E & keeping middle, ring & pinky on the E then change to the A with the index, my mid, ring & pinky (while on E) are touching the A muting the string. But I guess practice/repetition will fix this while using your thumb placement suggestion.

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[PosterBoy]

I think the ring finger and little finger share some tendons which is why it is hard to move them independantly.

This thread is very persuasive, I think I'll go back and add this exercise to my 'routine'

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Thanks so much for the video response. It did help. My main problem with this exercise is ascending from low to high strings. For example, while playing the low E & keeping middle, ring & pinky on the E then change to the A with the index, my mid, ring & pinky (while on E) are touching the A muting the string. But I guess practice/repetition will fix this while using your thumb placement suggestion.

Hehe, no problem mate - there's another thing to add to the equation - keep your fingertips as perpendicular as possible (without hitting the fretboard with your nails) to the fretboard In respect to what strings and when you want to mute, you can use the inner part of your finger by holding it less perpendicular than you would do it normally. There's also a fingertip muting technique for the strings which are above your lowest fretted string.

Another movie coming up

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[Blister]

Hehe, no problem mate - there's another thing to add to the equation - keep your fingertips as perpendicular as possible (without hitting the fretboard with your nails) to the fretboard In respect to what strings and when you want to mute, you can use the inner part of your finger by holding it less perpendicular than you would do it normally. There's also a fingertip muting technique for the strings which are above your lowest fretted string.

Another movie coming up

Yes, I think that's the beauty in this exercise. I guess it's easy to get lazy as long as the notes sound clear but it seems this exercise encourages good technique. I've been trying to keep my fingers perpendicular to the fretboard & of course, it helps make a clean clear sound but is difficult. This is why I'm enjoying this exercise. Practice will resolve. Muting the string when playing a note on the next string is tough since I am not supposed to remove my finger from the string. I realize I need to lift the last played string up just not remove my finger from the string so it's muted, which in this lesson only involves the pinky, a weak finger... meaning just another challenging part of the exercise.

My apologies Bleez, I had no intention of hijacking your thread!

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[bleez]

My apologies Bleez, I had no intention of hijacking your thread!

HA! not at all matey The whole thread has been really helpful.

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[Blister]

We have really cool series here at the site:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonseries/Bach-Prelude/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...-7-part-1-to-6/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...nando-Sor-Op-9/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...rcassi-Studies/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...liani-Sonatina/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonser...V-997-Fantasia/

This is a great list of lessons. I think everyone should be practicing a classical piece/lesson in their routine. I was doing it & let it slip which is why I appreciate your post.

I think the ring finger and little finger share some tendons which is why it is hard to move them independantly.

This thread is very persuasive, I think I'll go back and add this exercise to my 'routine'

Thanks PB, I was also hoping others were benefitting from this & just not posting on it.

HA! not at all matey The whole thread has been really helpful.

Thanks I knew you were working on it as well. I was getting worried I was monopolizing the thread. Obviously I have found the topic quite interesting.

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

This is a great list of lessons. I think everyone should be practicing a classical piece/lesson in their routine. I was doing it & let it slip which is why I appreciate your post.

I agree with you, I will start adding one of these to my Army's students routines.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Yes, I think that's the beauty in this exercise. I guess it's easy to get lazy as long as the notes sound clear but it seems this exercise encourages good technique. I've been trying to keep my fingers perpendicular to the fretboard & of course, it helps make a clean clear sound but is difficult. This is why I'm enjoying this exercise. Practice will resolve. Muting the string when playing a note on the next string is tough since I am not supposed to remove my finger from the string. I realize I need to lift the last played string up just not remove my finger from the string so it's muted, which in this lesson only involves the pinky, a weak finger... meaning just another challenging part of the exercise.

My apologies Bleez, I had no intention of hijacking your thread!

No way man I don't see this as hijacking and I am sure that neither does bleez We're gathering very useful info here! Check this one out:

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