By Mike Roberts
Last time we established good posture and placement for the right hand. I used the word “troublesome” to describe right hand technique, and I meant it. It’s hard, and there are many elements to learn and remember. Hence, we take it slow.
In this column we’ll discuss some of the finer points of right hand technique, but make sure you feel comfortable with your right hand posture (and overall posture) first. Why? Every time you do something new, there’s less room in your brain to think about the old stuff. When you practice the old stuff until it becomes automatic, a part of your muscle memory, you don’t need to worry about it so much. You can focus on the new stuff, and forge ahead into the fingerstyle universe with confidence. Sure, the techniques you know will step out of line from time to time, but you’ll be that much better prepared to whip them back into shape.
Think of your guitar playing as a house: the stronger the foundation, the stronger the structure. Build it the right way now, and soon you’ll be spending your time enjoying it and entertaining your friends with it. Take pride in your craftsmanship: practice well!
I left you last time with an E minor pattern (and opening to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”), but I left a fundamental question unanswered: how do you play a note? What goes into a fingerstroke? There’s more to it than whacking the string with your fingertip or nail, my friend.
Motion of the finger
Remember, the top knuckle joint of each finger hovers over the string that finger is playing. We also want to pivot from that top knuckle joint. The other joints will flex as well, but the more of the whole finger we can get into the stroke, the more power and volume we have available.
The top of the hand should be completely still. The common blunder here is to pop the hand up with every note, which gives you poor tone and slow recovery for the next note. It should be like sitting on a dock, swinging your legs over the water. Your hand is the dock, providing solid, unwavering support. Watch the greats play, and you’ll notice right away how their hands hardly seem to move. With economy of motion come greater agility, better tone, and more power.
The three elements of a fingerstroke
As Scott Tennant says in his great classical guitar technique book, Pumping Nylon (highly recommended), there are three main elements to a fingerstroke: planting, pressure, and release. Planting establishes your control over the string. Exerting pressure determines the amount of power you give to the stroke. Releasing the string sets it in motion. Being mindful of these three steps will give you optimal tone, volume, and control over each note.
Let’s practice coordinating these three steps with each individual finger. Remember to keep each top knuckle joint over the string that finger is playing. Also, you might want to rest your thumb on the Low E string for added stability when you’re plucking with the fingers. This can help to maintain a good hand position. I do this any time the thumb isn’t active, but it’s up to you. Whatever you do, don’t anchor any fingers other than the thumb.
Go slow. Really listen to each note, and really fee all three components of each stroke in your fingers. Stay relaxed. As you get comfortable with the three steps, feel them merge into one, strong motion. All three steps should always be present, but they should flow into one another with total freedom. A well-oiled machine.
Play around with different strings. Bring the three steps into your rendering of “Nothing Else Matters.” Getting the hang of it?
Let’s try alternating two fingers now. Same principles, just move smoothly from one finger to the next, like a seesaw. When one finger plays a note, the other rests and moves into position for the next note. Finger alternation is a central fingerstyle technique, so be sure to get nice and comfortable with it.
Free Stroke and Rest Stroke
These are the two basic types of stroke. The most typical stroke, and what you’ve probably been doing so far, is free stroke. As the name suggests, your finger moves freely through the string, and glides over the strings below it (remember, this means pitch-wise, toward the fatter strings). It’s essential that you keep those top knuckle joints positioned over the strings they’re playing; otherwise you’ll have trouble gliding over the lower strings. Also, aim for the heel of your hand as you follow through, and move from that top knuckle joint as much as you can. If you have good hand posture, there should be plenty of room underneath your hand for the follow-through.
With a rest stroke, your finger plucks a string, then comes to rest on the next lowest string—like being caught by a safety net. For this stroke, you’ll need to lean your hand back a bit, so that your top knuckle joints are one or two strings lower than the strings those fingers are playing. This creates an angle of motion which will drive your finger into the next lowest string, rather than gliding over it as in a free stroke. The three afore-mentioned elements of a fingerstroke still apply.
So what’s the difference between free and rest stroke? With a rest stroke, the angle of motion allows you to get more leverage, and therefore more volume. The disadvantage is that having to hop off your “safety net” tends to increase the recovery time, so in general you can’t play as fast as with a free stroke. In summary:
Free stroke: more speed, less volume
Rest stroke: more volume, less speed
Really great players can blur these distinctions, but for most of us, these conventions hold true.
Now try exercises 1 and 2 with rest strokes.
About the metronome
Do you have one of these? If not, you need one. A metronome is a little device which keeps a steady beat for you. It’s a practicing guitar player’s single most important piece of gear other than the guitar. Practicing with a metronome will help you acquire a good sense of time, polish your technique, and keep track of your speed. I urge you to practice with it always. It’s easy: just turn it on, adjust it to the tempo (i.e., the speed) you want, and play along with it. You can get them in any music store, and they’re pretty cheap; you don’t need one of the fancy $100 models. I do recommend getting one with a volume control, though (and most of them have one).
Whenever I want you to practice with a metronome, I’ll put a tempo marking for you to use as a starting place. You don’t have to use the metronome right away. First get comfortable with the exercise, then fire up the metronome and concentrate on matching the beat. For now, don’t worry about getting faster; just make sure the tempo is comfortable for you and work on your technique. Later, we’ll talk about getting some speed going.
What to Practice for next time:
1) Remember your good right hand and body posture.
2) Practice the three parts of a fingerstroke one finger at a time, with both free stroke and rest stroke.
3) Expand to two-finger alternation on a single string.
4) Incorporate the three elements into the E minor/Metallica pattern.
5) Buy a metronome and use it!
Next Time: The Mighty Arpeggio: More Right Hand Patterns
See you then,
Mike
www.hotmike.com
Contact Mike: [email protected]
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