Finger movement

[travelin travis]

I've decided to start practicing again to improve my technique and develop my ears more. I noticed that when I'm doing picking sequences, my pinky comes off of the fretboard 1/2" to 1" some times. What do you guys think? Is this going to give me problems when I get into pushing my max speed? I don't know if it's worth isolating and working on.

 

[travelin travis]

no one practices any more?

 

[David]

no one practices any more?

Nope. No one told you?

 

[travelin travis]

no, apparently i missed the meeting. i thought i was being cool by starting back but i guess i'm not hip to the trends.

 

[pikingrin]

One thing I have heard is to slow down your movements when practicing to the point where you can control it. It sucks, mine do the same thing but it helps to slow it down and really pay attention to the movements of all of your fingers, keep them whatever distance off of the fretboard when not being used. Another thing I have heard somewhere (probably here) is that practicing trills helps out a lot with your finger independance, specifically your pinky and ring fingers. That is my problem spot as well, hope this helped.

 

[travelin travis]

One thing I have heard is to slow down your movements when practicing to the point where you can control it. It sucks, mine do the same thing but it helps to slow it down and really pay attention to the movements of all of your fingers, keep them whatever distance off of the fretboard when not being used. Another thing I have heard somewhere (probably here) is that practicing trills helps out a lot with your finger independance, specifically your pinky and ring fingers. That is my problem spot as well, hope this helped.

I used to practice some finger independence exercises and got to where I could tame my pinky movement at slow speeds but when I'm playing or doing picking sequences, it likes to fly up. The trills you mentioned sound like the exercises I used to practice. I guess I should just watch some fast players and see if their pinkies stay close to the fretboard while playing.

And yes, those exercises are a bitch.

 

[Dogman]

I bought some drums a couple days ago. My amp is buried in some mess right now. Oh, I've never practiced. I'm a wheasel....

 

[travelin travis]

ok, that's all the crappy guitar videos i can stand to watch. i'm going to work on the finger independence exercises but i'm not going to worry about my pinky too much.

 

[travelin travis]

I bought some drums a couple days ago. My amp is buried in some mess right now. Oh, I've never practiced. I'm a wheasel....

how you liking the drums man? fun?

 

[pikingrin]

Yeah, to hell with the pinky "independance" if you ask me. If it's independant enough to fly away from the fretboard uncontrollably, it's golden.

Actually, I think I have seen some really good guitar players actually curl their pinky up when not in use, others let it soar out somewhere else above it all. Just depends on what you can make it do from there I guess.

 

[travelin travis]

Yeah, to hell with the pinky "independance" if you ask me. If it's independant enough to fly away from the fretboard uncontrollably, it's golden.

Actually, I think I have seen some really good guitar players actually curl their pinky up when not in use, others let it soar out somewhere else above it all. Just depends on what you can make it do from there I guess.

Yea, I just watched about ten really cheesy shred videos and those guys have some pretty wild pinky action too. I can do all the combinations of finger independence exercises using fingers 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4, and 3-4 pretty well using both hammer ons and pull offs. When I do the 1234/4321 chromatic exersices, my pinky usually hovers about 1/2" off the fretboard. If my pinky gives me any trouble when I start trying to push the speed, I'll just cut it off.

 

[XLR]

A few minutes of slow practice each day is really good for coaching the fingers to do what you want with efficient mechanical movements. But don't think about mechanics too much of the time.

my pinky comes off of the fretboard 1/2" to 1" some times

I don't see that as a problem, as long as when it's "hovering", it's not tensing up and hindering the freedom of movement of the other fingers.

 

[Dogman]

how you liking the drums man? fun?

Yeah, pretty fun so far. There's probably about 3 people that can play drums in my state, so I figure I might as well have some fun...

 

[travelin travis]

A few minutes of slow practice each day is really good for coaching the fingers to do what you want with efficient mechanical movements. But don't think about mechanics too much of the time.

I don't see that as a problem, as long as when it's "hovering", it's not tensing up and hindering the freedom of movement of the other fingers.

I used to do a chromatic exercise using the 1234 and 4321 fingering starting on the bottom and working to the top string, moving really slowly and focusing on keeping my fingers close to the fretboard. I guess it wouldn't hurt to work a few minutes of that into my practice routine again.

Yeah, pretty fun so far. There's probably about 3 people that can play drums in my state, so I figure I might as well have some fun...

I had a drum kit long ago. My problem was that I couldn't leave the things alone. My guitars got no attention and I thought my girl friend was going to murder me in my sleep. I would say "just thirty more minutes" and I be damned if she didn't time me and put her foot down when time was up.

 

[darrvid]

1/2" is what I've heard is the height to strive for, so if you only going as high as 1" I doubt this will cause too much of a road block in your playing (unless your going neoclassical style). I watch a lot of Frusciante, and Clapton and it seems your accuracy with the pinky is more important than keeping it right near the fretboard. Their pinkys fly up when doing some really fast licks with it, but they bring it back to the board so quickly and precisely it doesn't seem to matter too much.

Accuracy and relaxation is probably going to matter more if you're able to stay within an inch.

Edit: if you aren't already doing this, I would suggest extra slow practice to help tighten up transition times between notes. This will help fine tune the technique you have. (if you're not doing this, the basic idea is to play a fair amount slower than you are capable of doing, and really focusing on eliminating the 'noise' and space between each note. Essentialy prepare yourself mentally before you make the transition to make the fastest movement to the next note as possible, and of course keeping the hands coordinated. How long you then stay on that note is not of concern.)

 

[travelin travis]

1/2" is what I've heard is the height to strive for, so if you only going as high as 1" I doubt this will cause too much of a road block in your playing (unless your going neoclassical style). I watch a lot of Frusciante, and Clapton and it seems your accuracy with the pinky is more important than keeping it right near the fretboard. Their pinkys fly up when doing some really fast licks with it, but they bring it back to the board so quickly and precisely it doesn't seem to matter too much.

Accuracy and relaxation is probably going to matter more if you're able to stay within an inch.

Relaxing is what kills me when doing those finger independence exercises. I can feel just about every part of my body tense up (those exercises are dreadful!).

 

[darrvid]

sounds like you're familiar enough with those types of exercises, but if you think there's room for you to learn some practice techniques I've been suggesting 'Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar' by Troy Stetia. It's really helped me keep my focus throughout a practice session, and isn't just a book full of exercises. He goes into some depth to help you develop your ability to make personalized practice routines. The last chapter even covers ear training, although I can't comment on it's usefulness as I've only glanced through that area of the book.

 

[travelin travis]

sounds like you're familiar enough with those types of exercises, but if you think there's room for you to learn some practice techniques I've been suggesting 'Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar' by Troy Stetia. It's really helped me keep my focus throughout a practice session, and isn't just a book full of exercises. He goes into some depth to help you develop your ability to make personalized practice routines. The last chapter even covers ear training, although I can't comment on it's usefulness as I've only glanced through that area of the book.

That's where I learned all this stuff. I bought that book probably 7-8 years ago. Too bad for me that I didn't keep practicing that stuff. I ran on to a website, Justinguitar.com, a few days ago that has some really good info too on this kind of stuff. I'm trying to work out a daily 2 1/2 hour practice routine from info in the mentioned book and that website. Any ideas on how to divide my practice time up? At the moment I'm just evaluating things that I think I need to work on.

Btw, I was wrong. The dreadful exercises were the finger movement control exercises. Ahhhh! That stuff drives me insane.

My favorite part of that book was the section on ear training.

 

[pikingrin]

Relaxing is what kills me when doing those finger independence exercises. I can feel just about every part of my body tense up (those exercises are dreadful!).

Word... I can't get into the mindset for very long either. With that non-stop click...click...click... of the metronome....

You should try Steve Vai's 10hr. guitar workout, that shit is insane. I wish I had enough time to devote to that! Guess I gotta hurry up and become a guitar god so I can quit my day job...

 

[darrvid]

Any ideas on how to divide my practice time up? At the moment I'm just evaluating things that I think I need to work on.

You'd be able to answer that question better than anyone. Listen to artists you wish you could play like, and listen to the technique involved in a particular riff or portion of solo that really inspires you. Then use exercises to drill that technique.

Personally my routine looks like this:

When doing all exercises I use the metronome technique described in the "Right Hand" portion of speed mechanics. (start 20bpm lower than your max speed, jump up 2 notches, back down 1, etc.) I'll run though a few alternate picking exercises, and then finger independance (hammer ons/pull offs). This usually takes about an hour+. I'll then move onto learning a song with emphasis on rhythm. Currently I'm using Total Rock Guitar (also by Troy) for this purpose, along with the track Stadium Arcadium (by the Red Hot Chili Peppers) which I chose because its helping develop arpeggiation, and moving from strumming to picking chords without losing the rhythmic flow. Try not to pick just any song you'd like to learn. Pick one you like, but also because it highlights problem areas in your playing. I usually do this for about an hour. Then, I've usually regained enough focus to move back to drills. This time, ones I find hardest since I'm warmed up. For me this is trills, vibrato, and more finger independance. This tends to last about 45 mins since trills really wear my hand out. Finally I end it by putting on some music and jamming over top. I do this to remind myself that playing guitar isn't about technique drills, its about playing music and letting loose with emotion. I don't put any time constraints on how long I do this so it can be 10 mins or 2 hours.

That ran a bit long, but overall make sure to add variation in your practice to keep yourself from burning out; but make sure that everything you practice has some reason behind it (a james brown tune to help 16th note strums, trills to get some hendrix flavor, etc).

I think most important is to always allow time to just jam with some recordings. Just let loose and try to get what you're feeling expressed on the guitar. If you find yourself getting better at doing that, you'll know you're practicing the right stuff. If not, re-evaluate what you're practicing.


Edit: It sounds like this is something you understand, but it's important enough for me to say just in case (and for others reading). Reducing muscle tension is the number one skill to improve all areas of your playing. Make absolute certain that you include practice time at a speed where you have the ability to stay relaxed for the entire drill. Of course when you start pressing against your max speed you will tense up; but you must practice being loose, it won't happen on it's own.