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Posted by: FilipofCroatia Jun 7 2009, 09:22 PM

Hi GMC

Im concious that my left hand technique is 'wrong'.
When holding the guitar and attempting some medium-fast solo licks my hand pretty much grips the whole neck from thumb to index finger....

Is this advisable? For example im currently studying Pedja's lesson "Rock/Blues Solo in Eb" and the part near the end where x4 licks are repeated just prior to the exit lick happen, my thumb is hanging over the neck whereas Pedja's is merely sticking out over the top of the neck. Which must mean that im either not curving my wrist enough?

Is this something that i should worry about do you think?

I know people say there isnt a 'correct' way to play the guitar but i want to make as many proper adjustments before it gets difficult to unlearn bad habits

Thanks for ur help in advance
Filip

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Jun 7 2009, 09:31 PM

Filip I am glad you are working on my lesson !

General rule of the tumb is , when you are bending your thumb goes above and towards the strings down while your fingers push up. When you are playing regular things, your thumb should stay in the back of the guitar neck resting bellow the top of the neck (3/4 from bottom so to speak).

I hope this will help you with my lesson.

One extra super useful thing would be if you could post some video or picture of you doing wrong left hand position. That way it will be even easier to correct things.
Thanks !

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 7 2009, 09:45 PM

You've probably created a habit of playing with your thumb in that position, but I don't think it's a big problem. Try to rehearse with the thumb in that position that is suitable for playing without any strain or problems, and you will be OK. As always, a picture or video would help a lot in determining exactly what the problem is. cheers

Posted by: FilipofCroatia Jun 7 2009, 09:58 PM

Hi guys

Ive taken a couple of pics as well as i could trying to highlight the problem area

Ivan thats basically it - matter of habit.

Ive tried to exaggerate the problem somewhat for the pictures so you can see what im talking about.

thank you for your feedback, much appreciated




Oh yea, and another question lol

my pinky, when not in use - tends to stick out as in pics. Ive read somewhere that this is a sign of too much tension in the hand. All my fave guitarists pull the pinky back when not in use. Ivan does too, for example.

Any tips on how this can be sorted out if it may cause me problems in later playing

Thanks once again

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 7 2009, 11:36 PM

It's not tension, it's just a bad habit mate, and you need to get over it. This is not a big problem tho, just focus on putting the thumb behind the neck while practicing. The rest will come into place after a while. Don't try to "focus" or "push" the thumb backwards while playing, it doesn't work that way, you need to practice long enough the right way until the habit is gone. Cheers mate, and nice guitar!

Posted by: Muris Varajic Jun 8 2009, 12:08 AM

Position on picts is great for bends and powerful vibrato
but you might have some problems if you try to play 3nps shapes,
specially on lower strings, then wider stretches etc.
Move your thumb down and put your fist more "in front"
to gain better access for that kind of stuff.

Posted by: FilipofCroatia Jun 8 2009, 12:39 AM

Ivane: Thank you for being encouraging as always! I can remember how it was at the start when it came to basics like shifting chord patterns, it seemed impossible. Its just a matter of time and things will gradually come more naturally. I will certainly take your suggestions onboard and practice, practice, practice!

Murise: Indeedie - my hand is not always in that shape - the part of song i was querying involved bends as you mentioned Thank you for your kind advice bud

Filip

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 8 2009, 07:49 PM

Glad to help in any way man Just take it easy and as I said focus it while practicing, it should be OK, nothing to be overly concerned about. It will go away sooner than you think. Cheers mate

Posted by: Scott Gentzen Jun 9 2009, 02:32 PM

I'm no expert, obviously, but that's mostly how I play blues/rock rhythm stuff. ACDC and Zeppelin lately. Leverage for bends, but also I use the thumb to mute the 6th string and sometimes fret it (like the intro to Highwy to Hell).

Posted by: Vasilije Vukmirovic Jun 9 2009, 04:49 PM

From these pictures, it looks fine but...
If you use pinky, you mustn't keep thumb that way.
This is basically good posture for rock/blues!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jun 11 2009, 11:01 PM

You got a good posture, just try to keep the thumb behind the neck. Once you practice like that it will become your new habit... Of course you can always bring up the thumb for occasional 6th string muting/fretting or wide vibrato...

Posted by: FilipofCroatia Jun 11 2009, 11:08 PM

Thanks Bogdan

Since i made the post my thumb is a little more controlled and only wanders over the neck when im bending which is good

Next stop - establish a good wrist driven vibrato ..... ahhhh its hard! lol

Posted by: Azzaboi Jun 12 2009, 11:03 PM

For the vibrato, try press the side of the knuckle against the guitar, give a series of rapid small bends and releases by moving the wrist away from the neck and back towards it, much like turning a doorknob severnal times in a quick succession.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 13 2009, 12:41 AM

QUOTE (FilipofCroatia @ Jun 12 2009, 12:08 AM)