Here is another Friday 10-second tip for you to enjoy.
It’s all about:
Moving your fingers gracefully!
I was reminded of this the other day.
It was icy cold with frost outside.
After school, Archie wanted to play football in the garden.
…But the temperature was brutally cold.
So, he decided he wanted to play football in our front room.
There he was with a soft football, playing and stomping about noisily as 8-year-olds do.
Thud, thud, thud.
It was fun, but I said if we are playing indoors, he will need to be lighter on his feet.
More like a butterfly rather than a noisy giant from the BFG!
…And that’s how guitarists should be.
One thing that separates beginners from intermediates is the ability to gracefully move their fingers.
Beginners often slam their fingers on the fretboard with more effort than necessary.
…Using force rather than control.
Thud, thud, thud.
We all do it sometimes.
…But being aware of this is key, as improving it will help your chord changes, transitions, and any other fretting hand movements.
Sometimes we need a little more force than normal, but always try to move your fingers in a gentle, relaxed way.
You can take a simple scale, a riff, a melody, or a fragment of a song, and try this today.
As you play the piece…
Think about avoiding the “Death grip”, being relaxed, keeping the fingers close to the fretboard, and ensuring the non-playing fingers are relaxed and not ramrod straight and sticking out.
It requires the right mindset to work on this sort of stuff, but a few minutes of this here and there will positively affect everything you play.
Especially as you make it a good habit.
It’s one of those fundamentals that can always be worked on.
Do give this simple bit of advice some thought and application today.
It’s well worth it.
Right, I’m about to go and patch up the holes Archie left in the floorboards (kidding).
Enjoy your Friday and remember…
Be graceful!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. For more on this sort of stuff, all taught in a fingerpicking context, you might like to check out my Fingerstyle 101 book if you haven’t already.
Fingerstyle 101 – a step-by-step guide to beautiful fingerpicking guitar playing
P.P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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