Guitars and small epiphanies

[Cornflake]

I made a discovery recently. It suddenly dawned on me that my left hand does not have to hold the guitar in a death grip. I may be way behind most people here in this regard, but it was remarkable to me.

I realized that my right hand wasn't attacking hard enough, while my left seemed bent on squeezing every bit of life out of a chicken's neck. On a properly set-up guitar--a major qualifier, I suspect--I could ease off on the left hand pressure quite a bit. I learned to play on guitars with actions that were too high and I think that's where I developed the death-grip habit.

The benefits were immediate. I could play a lot faster, for one thing. My left hand has always been the drag in that regard. Playing faster hasn't been one of my ambitions but still, it was something.

Any other old dogs still learning new tricks?

[SteveO]

CornFlake~ I started using my little foot stool again
Even when I'm stand I find it pleasantly surprising to my back alignment....
I'm not hunching over as much as I used to....

[majorminor]

<Epihone>

[Deleted]

I thought Epiphones were guitars! Oh oh.... you're talking about ep-if-ah-kneez! Well I've learned that my guitar sounds much better when it's properly tuned and in the capable hands of someone who can play it.

[Cornflake]

You can tune these things?

[paulschlimm]

Flake,

I find I suffer from the opposite of death grip. I'll call it "dearth grip." Makes my barre chords all muted and fuzzy. Someday I'll take the guitar to a pro for a look-see and set up, but until then I'm content to hack away and still have fun.

Paul

[Doug]

Paul, a setup will make your playing a lot more fun.

My epithany is that it's a good thing I'm an entertainer and not a guitar player. Kidding aside, it's the knowing that just cause I nailed it this time doesn't mean I have it.

And I have this love/hate thing with jazz chords.

[Deleted]

Doug I have had the same problem. I think it was a big contribution to my hand cramps.
I still am concsious of doing it..I am trying to correct it. It comes down to years of bad technique on my part.

[timfarney]

"I realized that my right hand wasn't attacking hard enough, while my left seemed bent on squeezing every bit of life out of a chicken's neck."

It's a really common problem, 'flake. I forget are you a finger-picker or a plectrum guy? No matter. To me, the right hand is tricky. Keeping it loose seems to aid speed, picking with enough force is critical to tone and dynamics. It's a balancing act. I played in a circle of guys a couple of months ago who were...I'm guessing they hadn't played a lot in a few years. They were all very tentative, as if their instruments were made of crystal and they were afraid to play with any force. As a result, this roomful of big, beautiful guitars all sounded small and weak. You gotta get those strings moving...

Tim

[billhammond]

Tim's attack is positively devastating. He gets his guitar-investment dollar out of every single strum. He could wipe out the L.A. Guitar Quartet with a casual brush of his right hand.

When I heard him play his first chord on the evening we met, I told him to turn his amp down.

[Doug]

They were all very tentative, as if their instruments were made of crystal and they were afraid to play with any force. As a result, this roomful of big, beautiful guitars all sounded small and weak. You gotta get those strings moving...

I find I do that playing in new situations, new jam, new gig etc.
I notice people doing that when they play my D-28 and if there ever was a guitar that needed a strong attack it's a 70s D-28 with the heavy bridge plate. When you get it going it's one of the loudest and nicest guitars ever played, but if you are tenetive with it it's just muddy. But boy when you get that top dancing people move out of the front row.

[timfarney]

billhammond said:

Tim's attack is positively devastating. He gets his guitar-investment dollar out of every single strum. He could wipe out the L.A. Guitar Quartet with a casual brush of his right hand.

When I heard him play his first chord on the evening we met, I told him to turn his amp down.

Bill exaggerates for effect, but there's probably some truth in it. It comes from two things -- I was weaned on a mid-60s J-200, which needs a hard attack at least as badly as Doug's 70s D-28, and my guitar playing grew around my singing, which is LOUD. A country rock band I was in in the 70s got reviewed in a regional music rag and they said I sounded like I came from the days before PA systems. I'm not sure that was a compliment.

I have to consciously back down in small settings and when playing with others.

Tim

[Doug]

Tim, that was backed down?

My D-28 is a hold over from when I played with out PA, and I also sang loud.

Now days I play a different style and I sing a lot softer (which has made me sing better. Remember better is a reletive term I do sing better than a stuck pig.)

I have the D-28 out now on the wall stand and I even played it for an hour the other day. Damn it's loud. But an hour of playing standing up is all I could take. And I can't play Dreds sitting.

[Tamarack]

I too have a problem with a left had death grip and too-light attack with my right hand. Part of the left hand situation is my bony fingers that don't play barre chords cleanly without careful attention to positioning of the finger on the fret.

Noodling around on an electric has help with lightening up the death grip and more robust attack. When playing unplugged late at night I can beat on it as hard as I please without waking up the family.

[paulschlimm]

late at night I can beat on it as hard as I please without waking up the family

Good lord man! Do we need to know that??

Paul

[andrewg]

A friend wondered why his guitar went out of tune as soon as he began playing. It was simply a combination of tall frets, light strings and a heavy left hand pushing the strings sharp.
A lot of practise and the increased hand strength which comes from that soon cured the problem.

[timfarney]

dougheard said:

Tim, that was backed down?

My D-28 is a hold over from when I played with out PA, and I also sang loud.

Now days I play a different style and I sing a lot softer (which has made me sing better. Remember better is a reletive term I do sing better than a stuck pig.)

I have the D-28 out now on the wall stand and I even played it for an hour the other day. Damn it's loud. But an hour of playing standing up is all I could take. And I can't play Dreds sitting.

Yeah...that was my "indoors voice." Sorry about that. I have the opposite of your experience -- I have a lot more control, and better range, when I'm moving some serious air from down deep. So if I'm going to get any dynamics at all, even the soft stuff needs to have some pretty serious juice behind it. Or so I have convinced myself. I do some tunes that are sung pretty softly, I can do it. Sort of. Honest.

Tim