How To Play Guitar: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide, 2015 Edition by Brown Ben

Author:Brown, Ben [Brown, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: More Than Guitar Publications
Published: 2014-02-16T16:00:00+00:00

Try this to get good positioning:

Give a thumbs up with your left hand.

Now put that thumb, still pointing straight up, on the back of your guitar neck behind the seventh fret.

Hold your thumb there while opening your fingers.

Rotate your palm so that your fingers point up the same way your thumb is, but in front of the fret board.

Spread your fingers so that each one is on its own fret. Curl your fingers so that only your fingertips are touching the strings.

This is your starting point. You will need to move away from it to play some chords, but it should be in this position every time you play melodically.

The rest of your left arm should be relaxed, your wrist bent, your elbow swinging free. Don’t lean your elbow on your leg or tuck it into your side.

Your fingertips need to press in the sweet spot; close to the fret but not on it, with enough pressure to stop all vibration of the string from there to the headstock while permitting full resonance from the fret to the bridge.

I know; it sounds really complicated, just like throwing a ball and driving a car. That’s because it’s the same sort of activity; fiendishly complicated when you analyze it, but in actuality it’s mostly done unconsciously. You don’t perform all the complicated trigonometry that would be required to track the arc of a thrown object, you just pull back your arm and let fly.

Guitar is the same. Put your hand in the position described, then adjust it until it sounds right. Start slowly. I can’t emphasize this enough. So much frustration comes from trying to play too fast at first. Take your time with anything you’re learning; no tempo at first, just walk through the notes listening to the tone and adjusting your hand to make it better.

Does the note sound dead? Make sure your finger is as close to the fret as possible.

Does the note sound weak and jangly? You might be on top of the fret.

This will become easier with consistent practice and eventually become automatic, like controlling the speed of a car with the pedal.

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