We’re not done with preparations just yet! Today we’ll start tackling wrists and hands.
I am by no means an expert in this area, so what I can offer is really just what I’ve experienced, and the advice that has helped me. I’m not sure how the personal technique I’m developing will perform when we attempt more technically-demanding pieces, but I’ll stick to conventional wisdom in this post. Please feel free to correct me in the comments section, or to defer to someone more experienced.
On the Left
Keep your elbow and wrist tucked in towards your body (similar to the correct arm positions when holding a violin, if that’s an instrument you’re familiar with), and loosely rest your thumb behind the guitar neck. Your thumb should be able to glide unencumbered along the back of the neck as you play. Some practitioners advocate that the thumb should ideally be kept relaxed and away from the back of the neck (unless the notes or chords call for firm thumb pressure or involvement: squeezing the back of the neck to facilitate a tighter grip, or pressing down strings at the superior aspect of the fretboard).
I’ve found that the ‘loose thumb’ approach is certainly possible, and indeed makes moving along the fretboard frictionless. I have to make a conscious effort, though, because it’s not how I would instinctively approach playing. It’s also unclear whether the fleshy mound under the thumb (the thenar eminence) or the bony prominence at the base of the forefinger (the second metacarpal head) may be used to exert pressure against the back of the guitar’s neck, or whether all the force should come from pulling the elbow backwards. I’m guessing that the left shoulder should stay relaxed, though, so perhaps it’s not the latter. If anyone knows for sure, please enlighten us!
The rest of your fingers should stay curled around towards and close to the strings, keeping all the finger joints bent in a relaxed manner, even when no strings are being depressed. At least when playing a classical guitar, get the palmar line of the metacarpal heads to run parallel to the fretboard so that the base of your little finger is not further away from the strings than that of your forefinger. You can achieve this by an exaggerated supination (imagine twisting your wrist to scoop up a handful of cotton balls). To press down (‘fret’) individual strings, use the tips of your fingers, keeping the finger joints properly bent so that the fingertips descend onto the string near-vertically. This enables firm pressure, and prevents interference of each finger with adjacent strings.
The fingertip position on the fretboard when playing a particular note should be closer to the metal fret bar proximal to your body (the ‘higher’ – pitch-wise – fret bar). Press the string onto the wood of the fret, rather than directly onto the metal fret bar. It helps to keep the nails of your fretting hand trimmed so that they don’t interfere with your ability to depress the strings.
You want to be in control when you are fretting, but you also want to be comfortable, so that you don’t globally tense up your fretting hand (or left arm).
In the next half of this tutorial: the right hand.
P.S. Song of the day: Hands Clean by Alanis Morissette (Soundcloud acoustic version here; not available in S.A.)
If you liked Hands Clean, please consider helping to support Acoustic Notes by getting it here
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