[X4StringDrive]

I've noticed in Kirks lessons, from what I can tell, that his wrist on the picking arm seems to be either straight or kinda like pressed towards the body of the guitar. Mine seems to arch away from the body, it feels ok but since I'm just starting is this something I should change and if I don't will it inhibit anything for me in the future?

[X4StringDrive]

heres what I'm talking about.

fpwrist.wmv

[allthumbs]

I tried it with my wrist bent as much as yours and felt a lot of strain in my forearm. Your going to have a bit more distance to cover for palm mutes with that arch. I can't say whether that will be something that is going to come back and bite you at a later date. How does it feel with your wrist at a more natural angle?

[X4StringDrive]

Originally Posted by allthumbs

I tried it with my wrist bent as much as yours and felt a lot of strain in my forearm. Your going to have a bit more distance to cover for palm mutes with that arch. I can't say whether that will be something that is going to come back and bite you at a later date. How does it feel with your wrist at a more natural angle?

a little awkward, but then thats why I'm asking, I would rather learn the right way then just make do cause it seems easier. Thanks for pointing out that muting problem, I haven't gotten that far yet, so maybe thats the answer right in front of me. Thanks Allthumbs once again.

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi X4SD.

It looks and sounds to me like you're doing OK. I think my forearm may be more horizontal than ours and my wrist bent down more, but a lot must depend on the length of the arm and size of the guitar etc., and how you're sitting. I play sitting, sitting with my legs crossed, standing, slouched on the sofa, on a stool ... all kinds of ways and each position forces me to adjust eveything, so I don't think there's any one way. I do know that you get a much better and more controlled attack if your picking fingers are as close to perpendicular to the strings as they can be.

Here's a little image of my wrist:

[X4StringDrive]

Thanks Kirk, I think I'll work on changing now before I regret it later. Nice tip on different positions, I always sit on the edge{because of arm rests} of my office chair, and never really thought about it that way.

One more n00b question if I may...what exactly does "attack" mean? is it the control of force applied or ???

[Kirk Lorange]

Chairs with arm rests are the bane of guitarists!

Attack: By that I mean the mechanical process of plucking a string. The straighter the fingertip comes down on the string, the better it's going to sound. A sideways attack will have a bit of scraping sound added to the ringing of the string as the finger nail moves sideways across the string. You also get more power and control from a nice perpendicular plucking action.

[X4StringDrive]

Thanks again Kirk, maybe in a week or two when my nails get a little longer, I'll be over the awkwardness of changing my position. Looks like I'm going to have to name my first born or first Cd after you and allthumbs.

[Lcjones]

Originally Posted by X4StringDrive

Thanks again Kirk, maybe in a week or two when my nails get a little longer, I'll be over the awkwardness of changing my position. Looks like I'm going to have to name my first born or first Cd after you and allthumbs.

Kirthumbs?













*******
Sorry. Couldn't resist.

[allthumbs]

Lothumbs or Allrange

[X4StringDrive]

lothumbs... sounds like his dad was a bass player.

[renieh]

I'm new to all this. My first post.
I simply removed the right side arm rest on my office chair and hey presto! Instant comfy playing chair. Also have a outdoor chair with a missing right arm rest. What a great site.

[allthumbs]

Originally Posted by renieh

I'm new to all this. My first post.
I simply removed the right side arm rest on my office chair and hey presto! Instant comfy playing chair. Also have a outdoor chair with a missing right arm rest. What a great site.

Brilliant

[Dewy]

Angle of the wrist will depend on several factors, comfort and effect will determine those.

Effect is the clarity needed to ring the tones out (no muting may require an adjusted position) or strike the notes as needed (sometimes I "hold" my hand up with unused fingers placed below the strings for additional support).

[carol m]

I've just caught up with this thread so I'm a bit late but wrist position is something I've been having problems with. It's not so much the finger angle to the strings but the angle that the thumb/nail strikes the strings. If I use a Kirk type angle which is how it feels 'right' for me, the fingers are perpendicular but you have to use the side of your thumb/nail and that is awkward and doesn't give a strong sound (that you often want in the base) and I don't want to use a thumbpick, even though that would probably fix the problem.

If I arch the wrist more (and push the forearm out a bit) the thumb/nail becomes more perpendicular to the strings and easier to use the nail, and the fingers are still reasonably perpendicular but I feel there is less control of the whole hand. Also, with a higher arch and the fact that the thumb and the ring finger are shorter than the other 2, if I tip the hand so the thumb strikes the string easily, the ring finger is further than the others from the strings which doesn't encourage even-ness and flow and that's what I need most (the 'beginner's' ploinky ploink haunts me - I tell myself that it's good that I can actually hear it, but getting rid of it is the challenge).

The other and related thing to think about is whether the thumb hits the string futher up the neck than the fingers which I think is the way that's recommended for classical (eg Segovia) This seems only reallly possible with a Kirk type wrist angle otherwise with a higher arch you have to tip (rotate)the wrist so far for the thumb to strike the strings that the ring finger is just too far away to easily hit any string? All suggestions welcome.

PS I probably just need to practice more