Bracing pinky or hand on top of the guitar while playing
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:22 am
In earlier posts on the Chet forum re. "A Young Chet "Picker," the following comments were made by Rande Dager
4) I noticed that he never braced his pinky on the guitar during the alternating thumb-bass parts. I've seen many people not brace their pinky during portions of a finger style arrangement but would usually place it on the guitar during the alternating thumb portions and then remove it for the other parts. This guy kept it off the guitar the entire time!
Richard Smith once explained to me that the other fingers move more freely when the fingers are all suspended. It makes sense but very difficult to do for someone like me who has always depended upon bracing the pinky for stability. Of course, I'm only talking about during the portion of the song that Paul Yandell despised being referred to as the "Boom-Chick" portion!
With a follow-up comment by "Hendrik"
"You told me about point 4 Rande. After you shared this story, I tried to tuck my anchored pinky when not playing "boom chick". I just can't do it, it feels 'amputated'. Even when I play Reed stuff, like banjo rolls, I'm most of the time achoring my pinky"
Given the forum has been pretty darn silent lately, I thought I'd add my $.02 to the discussion. And again, being a fast typist, this could be a long one...sorry.
I started playing fingerstyle in earnest about 1970 using Happy Traum and Stefan Grossman folk and blues tab books (buying lps to match the tabs).
And, like many (most?), I played with my picking hand (my right hand) ring and pinky fingers *firmly* planted on the top of the guitar on the pick guard. As such, I only played with my T, I, & M fingers. I played that way until the late 90s until I was taught how to get my hand off the top of the guitar and free up my right hand to include the ring finger when playing (like Chet did).
And its interesting to note that the person who taught me was Leo Kottke. While sitting and talking with him about some of his tunes and the tabs that myself and other Tab Pigs had done for his music, he handed me his guitar for me to play one.
After I started playing, he stopped me and said, "Uh...you know, you really should get your hand off the top of the guitar and also learn to play with your ring finger." He then said, "I started like you but learned how to break the habit of planting my hand on the top." He then showed me the following:
Take your picking hand ring finger and *lightly* place it on the 1st string. Place the ring finger on the string much like you would put your middle finger on it right before playing it. Except do it with your hand *off* the top of the guitar. At first plant it there and find approximately the same level of support you get by planting it on the top of the guitar. And yes, some overall hand adjustments will be needed.
At first, just start slowly playing the other 5 strings (2 through 6). Different finger picking patterns in E and A and chords/patterns that *don't* require using the first string. And note, the pinky just floats out beside the ring finger that's touching the 1st string. And make no mistake, playing with a muted bass by resting the upper part of your hand to mute the 6th to 4th strings helps but the same technique works if not playing a muted bass.
In short, the concept being that having your hand *totally* free over the strings (like a classical player) is hard to do because you're used to having the hand "supported" by planting the fingers on the top of the guitar (or pickguard). By placing the ring finger on the top and/or side of the 1st string, you can slowly develop that same feel of "support" you had when the top of the guitar was providing the support.
Then, after X amount of time, you can start to add in the first string by picking it with the ring finger. Of course this means you have to release the pressure of it being rested (or supported) by the first string to do so. Once you play the first string, you can then go back and rest it on the string. Now, clearly there's initially a tendency to mute the first string after you pick it when you rest the ring finger back on it. But after awhile you'll be able to hold off while the 1st string note rings out.
Another way to look at it is that placing your hand on top of the guitar is a way to give yourself a "point of reference" while you play the strings with the T, I, and M fingers. That same "point of reference" comes into play when you take your hand *off* the top of the guitar and simply put the ring finger on the 1st string.
All the above may sound complicated, by I played for about 30 years with my hand firmly planted on the top of the guitar. And I've got a Martin HD-35 I bought new in 83 that is almost mint, except for the wear on the pickguard where I put my right hand when playing. But again, in about '98 Kottke showed me the above technique and, while it took some time to get the feel of, I'm been playing that way now for over 20 years.
Jim Jarrell
DeLand, FL
www.tabpigs.org
4) I noticed that he never braced his pinky on the guitar during the alternating thumb-bass parts. I've seen many people not brace their pinky during portions of a finger style arrangement but would usually place it on the guitar during the alternating thumb portions and then remove it for the other parts. This guy kept it off the guitar the entire time!
Richard Smith once explained to me that the other fingers move more freely when the fingers are all suspended. It makes sense but very difficult to do for someone like me who has always depended upon bracing the pinky for stability. Of course, I'm only talking about during the portion of the song that Paul Yandell despised being referred to as the "Boom-Chick" portion!
With a follow-up comment by "Hendrik"
"You told me about point 4 Rande. After you shared this story, I tried to tuck my anchored pinky when not playing "boom chick". I just can't do it, it feels 'amputated'. Even when I play Reed stuff, like banjo rolls, I'm most of the time achoring my pinky"
Given the forum has been pretty darn silent lately, I thought I'd add my $.02 to the discussion. And again, being a fast typist, this could be a long one...sorry.
I started playing fingerstyle in earnest about 1970 using Happy Traum and Stefan Grossman folk and blues tab books (buying lps to match the tabs).
And, like many (most?), I played with my picking hand (my right hand) ring and pinky fingers *firmly* planted on the top of the guitar on the pick guard. As such, I only played with my T, I, & M fingers. I played that way until the late 90s until I was taught how to get my hand off the top of the guitar and free up my right hand to include the ring finger when playing (like Chet did).
And its interesting to note that the person who taught me was Leo Kottke. While sitting and talking with him about some of his tunes and the tabs that myself and other Tab Pigs had done for his music, he handed me his guitar for me to play one.
After I started playing, he stopped me and said, "Uh...you know, you really should get your hand off the top of the guitar and also learn to play with your ring finger." He then said, "I started like you but learned how to break the habit of planting my hand on the top." He then showed me the following:
Take your picking hand ring finger and *lightly* place it on the 1st string. Place the ring finger on the string much like you would put your middle finger on it right before playing it. Except do it with your hand *off* the top of the guitar. At first plant it there and find approximately the same level of support you get by planting it on the top of the guitar. And yes, some overall hand adjustments will be needed.
At first, just start slowly playing the other 5 strings (2 through 6). Different finger picking patterns in E and A and chords/patterns that *don't* require using the first string. And note, the pinky just floats out beside the ring finger that's touching the 1st string. And make no mistake, playing with a muted bass by resting the upper part of your hand to mute the 6th to 4th strings helps but the same technique works if not playing a muted bass.
In short, the concept being that having your hand *totally* free over the strings (like a classical player) is hard to do because you're used to having the hand "supported" by planting the fingers on the top of the guitar (or pickguard). By placing the ring finger on the top and/or side of the 1st string, you can slowly develop that same feel of "support" you had when the top of the guitar was providing the support.
Then, after X amount of time, you can start to add in the first string by picking it with the ring finger. Of course this means you have to release the pressure of it being rested (or supported) by the first string to do so. Once you play the first string, you can then go back and rest it on the string. Now, clearly there's initially a tendency to mute the first string after you pick it when you rest the ring finger back on it. But after awhile you'll be able to hold off while the 1st string note rings out.
Another way to look at it is that placing your hand on top of the guitar is a way to give yourself a "point of reference" while you play the strings with the T, I, and M fingers. That same "point of reference" comes into play when you take your hand *off* the top of the guitar and simply put the ring finger on the 1st string.
All the above may sound complicated, by I played for about 30 years with my hand firmly planted on the top of the guitar. And I've got a Martin HD-35 I bought new in 83 that is almost mint, except for the wear on the pickguard where I put my right hand when playing. But again, in about '98 Kottke showed me the above technique and, while it took some time to get the feel of, I'm been playing that way now for over 20 years.
Jim Jarrell
DeLand, FL
www.tabpigs.org