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Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
Right hand practice tool?
Hey there guys, with my right i finger having a problem playing arppegio and picado, and starting a new job (which is REALLY relaxed) on monday, I thought I could use a tool to practice my right hand/right i finger during work hours (without dragging a guitar to work)..
I came across http://www.guitarmule.com/ is there anything else similar? i saw a thread with Stephen Hill making a small practice tool for Saint Paco, but that would be a luthier made tool which I could suspect would cost a pretty penny for us mortals.
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I use a Reinaldo Rivero finger trainer. It also has as short neck with a few frets and also an extension tap plate to practise golpes. Slightly larger to carry than the one you found but still convenient. Here's a shop in the states which sell it
I use a Reinaldo Rivero finger trainer. It also has as short neck with a few frets and also an extension tap plate to practise golpes. Slightly larger to carry than the one you found but still convenient. Here's a shop in the states which sell it
..can't quite remember which online store I bought mine from though....
Cheers
I always find the descriptions for these things amusing..."Practice anywhere, on a bus or at work"...if people saw me with that thing in public they probably would think I'd just escaped from some asylum.. Not to mention that they cannot really be that portable if they are true to scale.
I like the simplicity of the Guitar Mule. I wish the optional tap plate were a little more substantial, though. I had another training device with a similar flip-out tap plate, and it was a little flimsy and annoying.
I also wonder about the height of the strings off the "soundboard". I had a Le Technique, and the string height was fairly high. It threw me off when trying to rest my thumb against the upper edge of the "soundboard" for picado.
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to britguy)
quote:
Can you use the frets to play the left hand fingering also?
It's a bit awkward to hold and finger the frets.... I find I have to practice left hand and right hand seperately because you can't really hold it properly and use both hands. I normally hold it with my right hand whilst practising slurs / hammer ons with fretting hand...and then switch to holding it with my left and practising rasguedo etc with my right.....the whole contraption is a little awkward but useful when travelling so you can at least give your hands some exercise.
Since buying it I've got myself a soloEtte travel guitar...now that is good...lot larger of course and a bit pricy...but a great bit of kit.
quote:
probably would think I'd just escaped from some asylum.
I was using the finger trainer in an airport lounge recently...and yes I did get a few strange looks ...but actually most people just ignore you
Posts: 143
Joined: Jan. 23 2005
From: New York, New York
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to edguerin)
quote:
I bought the authentical flamenco version, aka as guitar-mute a few years ago. I stopped using it after a very short while
I'd give it away for free ...
I've had that one, too. I wasn't impressed, either. The strings are a mile off the "soundboard", which puts your hand in an un-natural position for golpes. Also, the tuners are poor quality. After a while, they completely stopped holding tension.
Posts: 2879
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I made myself one of these... And I.used I bit of electrical wire as a bridge to keep the strings mute..unlike the annoying noise in the video...or is that just the.dudes voice?...ill post some pics when im at home...if I've still got the thing.
Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to edguerin)
quote:
ORIGINAL: edguerin
I bought the authentical flamenco version, aka as guitar-mute a few years ago. I stopped using it after a very short while
I'd give it away for free ...
hey mate. can i buy it off u? due to my right i finger problm, I need to have something with strings to push against, the problem doesn't occur without strings.
Below is a post made by Ricardo a few years back.......
quote:
The guy who invented that like 11 years ago, is one of my best friends.
He made one for me that has a plastic plate going through it so I could do golpes. It was fun to use in the car to figure our rhythms and stuff, but I got a speeding ticket so I stopped using it. When the cop pulled me over I hid the thing under the seat.
Yup... Why not practice guitar technique on a guitar?
And a guitar sounds much better as well..
Because if you scroll up and read my original post again, it's for a new job. I'm sure my new boss won't be too impressed if I rock up on my new job with a guitar, and practiced during work hours.
I always find the descriptions for these things amusing..."Practice anywhere, on a bus or at work"...if people saw me with that thing in public they probably would think I'd just escaped from some asylum.. Not to mention that they cannot really be that portable if they are true to scale.
acctually that reminds me of a story of when i was using this to practice at work... used to work at a internet cafe...involved alot of sitting down , downloading crap, looking at porn, allocating people computers, etc..
so id bring this along to keep busy...one day i was using it when this lady walked in..i was practicing rasqueados.. I didnt see her at first but she seemed puzzled..
She: " What are you doing ?"
Me: "Practicing guitar"
She: "OHh" ( i could see pitty in her eyes all the sudden) in a condescending tone and while leaning forward as to seem non judgmental she asks "And.....what are you playing now? "
Me
Edit
quote:
These things have nothing to do with a real guitar. They are just dead strings and you´ll end up with a dead technique. Waste of time and money
I disagree, this things are great supplement for the times when you cant have a real guitar, thats all, just for the times a real guitar is not an option (obviously if you can get the tension as close as possible to your guitar its a bonus) ...but they great for warming up your right hand if you in a car or flying to a gig or because u driving there and its far in the country u don't have time to warm up and have to setup quickly and go straight on....believe me...better this than none at all...
they great for practicing the mechanics of arpegio, rasqueado, picado etc...anything to do with the right hand...the mechanics of it, thats all..one can effectively practice rasqueado, picado, arrpegio with muted strings on guitar and many do at times so why not with this ? not only is this not a waste of time but id go so far the other way and say its gold ...a great idea...for those times u cant fit a guitar in the backseat of a car on long drive to a gig..
hehehe no but thats another story ..happened to another guitarist with the exact same device ( he passed it on to me)... while driving...imagine you cant see the device from the side only the shoulder moving in a questionable way .... a guy actually followed him into the petrol station and with a smirk on his face said..." you know...i could see what you were doing "
RE: Right hand practice tool? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I practice on my knee if Iam on public transports and on table edges if somewhere else..
This worked for me when I had to play double bass live within less than a month and had no double bass to practice on. All I played was guitar with a pick so I had no strenght on my right hand fingers.. Playing against my knee bones helped me to develop strenght, stamina and an even stroke on both i and m.
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Not to mention that they cannot really be that portable if they are true to scale.
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