srshea -> RE: Minimising finger movement (Feb. 22 2010 14:26:07)
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I don’t really have any actual advice to offer on the matter, just a couple obvious type observations. A while back I prematurely hit a wall with arpeggios and it was pointed out to me that there was some exaggerated range of motion in my technique. In the interest of getting a full, strong sound I was kind of yanking each finger up into my palm with each stroke. I slowed way down and retrained that technique, focusing on a short stroke and stop with each finger. I was bummed about having to step back and start over, but it actually didn’t take long to get accustomed to this new and improved approach. So, your fix might be as simple and unglamorous as just slowing down for a while and concentrating on doing all these techniques with minimal movement. Another thing I tinkered around with was the angle at which I plucked the string. At either extreme you can pluck out, away from the guitar, or you can pluck up, parallel to the strings. I had never really put much thought into finding the best and most efficient balance between those two extremes and had always done “whatever”. Fiddling around with that angle and trying to find the best mix of power/tone and minimal muscular effort was instructive and another step toward getting my technique cleaned up. I don’t know how you feel about visualization type stuff but I have one thing I like to do in this area. When you see video of a lot of the top guys playing arpeggio you tend to see an unmoving hand, poised calmly over the strings while the fingers go wheedly wheedly like a centipede’s legs. Barely any movement, but full, rich sound and sharp, precise strokes. When I practice arpeggio I try to keep that image in mind…
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