i notice when i am running scales and doing finger exercises after i strike the note my fingers lift off the neck over an inch. If i would keep my fingers hovering closer to the strings after i hit the note i would gain speed but it is really hard to break the habit of lifting my finger off after the note. Does anyone else have this kind of hard to break habit with their playing? i keep focusing on it so i can gain speed but as soon as i stop focusing i go right back to my fingers lifting back. how can i break this bad habit?

everybody goes through that. keep doing what your doing.
practice practice practice, thats the only way.

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Speed is over-rated anyway. Put some soul into it and nobody will notice you're playing slower.

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I notice that when I run scales etc. I have a my little finger has a tendency to lift waaaay higher (no it doesnt do that when I drink beverages )
J

_________________
I can't find the Crossroads, my GPS must be broke....


2001 Fender Highway One, 2004 Fender SE Ash, 2011 Fender 200 SCE '99 Washburn WR120Pro, Amps: Fender Stage 160, Vox Valvetronix 30, Peavey 212 400 watt, Ibanez 50 watt Toneblaster

This is contrary to 'text book' fretting but it works for me.

I shall presume that you fret with your left hand:

Casually pick up a pen (or pencil) with your left hand. Casually turn your hand so that you are holding the pen with the palm of your left hand now facing you. Notice how your thumb and fingers grip the pen. This is your hand's natural, comfortable fretting position angle. Consider that you need(ed) very little finger/thumb pressure to pick up and securely hold that pen nor did you have to pre-position your hand/digits to do it. Moreover, as you turned your hand over, your thumb and fingers instinctively 'knew' what to do. Adopt this same positioning to your fretting and you'll realize that your fingers will gently lift off the fret, staying close to the fingerboard instead of them spasmodically jumping high and away from the board, inevitably 'tripping' over each other for their next move. You'll also find you can play faster too.

In spite of the "Planted Thumb Rule", my thumb is constantly shifting whenever I'm playing and I'll even bet that this happens with the majority of guitarists. I do not consider my "Pen Philosophy" a bad habit inasmuch as it enhances my playing abilities. Some rules are meant to be broken.

As always, the above is merely IMO where YMMV.

_________________
You dig?

I agree with Screamin' Armadillo,speed is much over rated and too many people waste much needed practice time on speed excercises when they should be concentrating more on expression and putting some soul into their playing.I used to be very,very fast yet I could slow down and play soulfully but since I've been afflicted with this neuro-muscular condition my hands I've lost any modicum of speed I had and basically had to redevelop my whole playing style.I now concentrate on what's important and that's trying to convey through my fingers what I'm feeling inside.Playing fast can be impressive but as a car repair center commercial once said"First you get good-then you get fast."

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I noticed only recently that I hold pick between index and thumb but other fingers remain extended while I hit the strings. All those years I've never paid attention. The last few weeks I've reviewed lots of concert footage and most seem to make a fist (notably Hendrix and also bending his wrist). I tried to close my hand but old habits are hard to break and I dont know if there's a benefit.

Speed is over rated... phrasing is much more important. That being said the lighter your touch the faster you will get. I was always caught up in the showmanship of various guitar players as they went thru their facial contortions and their cardio exercises. When I actually tried to play the way I perceived them to be playing I found that it was a huge waste of energy and did more to hinder my playing than help it. Not to mention various scratches dents and dings in my instrument. It was all for the show and it makes for great entertainment but it was faked and they were actually very light on their fingers. Of course there are exceptions to this. Also your pick hand is as much a part of the perception of speed as the fretting hand. Double and triple picking the same note in a scale, legato techniques all add to the perception of speed. Bottom line relax and keep practicing... you'll get there.

_________________
I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

The way you are playing now is better. It lends itself to a more relaxed and accurate technique. You will use your little and ring finger subconsciously as a guide to help you locate the strings, as well as, help muting other strings. You can also use them for finger/pick combination picking.

Making a fist is not wrong but it has no definite advantage. I remember seeing a lot of this in the eighties when people were shredding with distortion all the time. It helps to lock the wrist and thumb so they could speed pick from the forearm. In turn this angles the pick in a way that causes vertical string vibration, but at blazing speed with distortion that is not a problem.

I had a problem with my little finger on my fretting hand hiding under the fretboard all the time. To retrain it I put a slide on it every time I played for a couple of months. That was 20+ years ago and it has not done it once.

_________________
My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.

I had the same problem zenbone, what help me alot was changing my right hand technique. Rather than single sting picking I started strumming across all the strings. This has many benefits; you'll have a thicker tone, it's easier to get into the groove of a song and if you don't mute the strings it sounds like a mess! Go to steviesnacks.com and look in the free lessons for a lesson called "The Rake". After watching the lesson two good songs to try it on are ZZ Top's "Waiting For the Bus" and "Jesus Left Chicago". Changing you right hand technique will force you to modify your left hand technique.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

I used to have that problem when I first started off and sometimes it still comes back but what I do is just practice slower or put your finger on a fret and hold it there while strumming and maybe move to a fret below it to while your at it and go up and down only removing your bottom finger that is how I usually break the habit when it comes!