Gordon @sairfingers like you I followed the post to here and I am glad I did.
I was wondering yesterday after practice why my finger tips were hurting they donāt normally. I am working on finger style patterns and a song, so each picked note has to stand out, you can get away with it when strumming but not finger picking. Having just had go I realised I was pressing down way more than I need to. Thank Brian @brianlarsen
Michael
1 Like
I think this is spot-on!!! Thank you Lieven for your post, I really struggle to keep from pressing too hard & notice that it changes pitch of my notes sometimes. 
Tod
1 Like
Tha AHAs are rolling in 
1 Like
Brian @brianlarsen , hope all is ok with your better half! Your alluding to gardening resulting in jail time reminded me of an old Marilyn Monroe movie:
Itās a fun watch!!!
(No guitars thoughā¦ 
)
Tod
1 Like
That water is well under the bridge and in the great big blue by now 
I like old movies and will bookmark that for afternoons between lunch and nap 
Cheers mate!
1 Like
Very interesting thread. Apologies for the length, but I think this is an absolutely crucial topic. In my opinion, whether you touch the fretboard at certain times or not, is incidental. People have all sorts of different ā topsā on their fingers; some thin, some fat and fleshy. As long as your finger placement is pretty close to the frets, ( where possible) youāre generally OK.
The important point is tension. Pressing the string just enough to sound a clear note, no more. Leave the dynamics etc to your picking hand.
Now, Iām no expert. Iām just speaking from my experience; but I have delved into this topic in some depth. Several months ago, I incorporated tension control as a specific daily focus item, as part of an alt picking/ hand synch course Iāve been doing. I knew I had way too much tension - better than it was - but, as my playing was getting better, its influence was becoming more obvious. And because I was now focusing on it to expose it, the amount of tension became glaringly obvious. Most noticeably on faster lead runs, faster chord changes, more intricate movements in general. But, it āinfestedā all my playing. Sometimes a bit of tension is required - for bends ,vibrato etc - but it also remained in my fingers after required, building cumulatively.
Iāll not bore anyone with my practice regime ( plenty of content online for resolving tension issues), but the upshot is my playing, most noticeably on faster, trickier sections, has significantly improved. I actually physically feel much ālighterā when I play guitar now, compared to say, 6 months ago. I am now also starting to feel a sense of āseparationā between the fretting and picking hand when playing dynamically, in the sense my fretting hand stays relatively relaxed, as my picking hand plays louder/ more dynamically as the song requires. So the hands are in synch timing-wise, but not tension-wise. Game changer right there. Also, because I play alot of blues stuff, I feel Iām better able to release the required tension needed for bending, vibrato etc, rather than it staying in my hand, and building up. Much more ongoing work to do for sure, and certainly none of the above is perfect 100% of the time, but the difference in 6 months or so is enormous from my perspective.
I would guess that 99% of people on this forum are playing with too much tension.
Cheers, Shane
8 Likes
Guilty as charged!
I totally agree and try to spend some time in practice just feeling and listening to a fretted note, finding the right pressure and placement. Especially with cords. Complicated white more than one finger at a time. I am not at all where Shane is at this, but I think it is valuable to start early and often with feeling tension and touch.
1 Like
Pressing too hard is a learner skill you develop early.
Soft fingers and not being able to place them correctly means you compensate with a death grip. Esp if you start on an acoustic.
It does take effort to get past that
2 Likes
Great explanation @sclay. Iām just at the point of having enough command of the instrument that I donāt have to think so much about the individual chords and notes and can listen to the sound. Just recently Iāve been working to cure the death grip problem. My fretting hand still āthinksā that when I play faster or louder I have to crush the fretboard. Iāve found that playing simple progressions at varying speeds and dynamics with my eyes closed helps me focus on lessening the tension and keeps things on pitch.
2 Likes
Good luck with the ādeath gripā issue. Its a very worthwhile focus thatāll change your playing.
I donāt think anyone escapes having this problem in the early years. Its just a neoro-physcological quirk I reckon. I think it just varies by degree person to person.
Itās like the fretting hand sees the picking hand get all fast and loud and aggressive, and says āHell yeah, Iāll have a bit of that!ā 
.
Cheers, Shane
2 Likes
Hey Shane - Feel free to bore me with this. I know itās something I need to work on but I havenāt really incorporated it into my daily practice yet. Any pointers for exercises that worked for you?
3 Likes
Yep, Iām interested, too.
Sounds like Shane should host a club!
1 Like
Surely, you are over-prescribing here Dr. 
.
Cheers, Shane
1 Like
Iāll second that motion.
Did someone mention fret size?
3 Likes
Haha, you mentioned the scallops 
Very interesting article, all you ever wanted to know about guitar frets.
I donāt understand, though, why tall frets are easier to push the string onto. That would seem to depend only on the distance from the string to the top of the fret (i.e. the action), which can be set to anything for any kind of fret. Right?
Hey Paul,
No worries. Glad I can offer something back, as youāre advice/playing has provided me with a few great ideas.
Re; Tension control etc
My main group of practice items are based on 3 types of sequences;
- Single string-single note
- Single string-multiple note
- Multiple string-multiple note
The 2 variables here are;
a. Tempo
b. Dynamics
So, itās all based on the various permutations of the above.
I usually play either 16th note rhythms, or 8th note triplet rhythms, over 4 bars, but you can mix it up if you like. Iāve fairly closely followed the course exercises.
So, for example, in its most basic form, ie 1.single note-single string, it is only the picking hand initially that is being worked on.
So here, the 2 main exercises would be 1a and 1b.
So, over 4 bars of 16th notes, Iāll play for example;
5 beats (20 notes) @ slower tempo,
8 beats (32 notes)@ increased tempo,
3 beats, (12 notes) @ slower tempo
(Making the changes mid bar seems to help the process in many exercises of this type. Probably because youāre working āagainstā the rhythm on the change).
You can do similar with playing louder/ softer ie dynamics 1b.
The aim here is to maintain a relaxed picking hand, whatever itās doing tempo-wise or dynamic-wise. So reducing tension buildup when speeding up or playing louder/ accented. Then its time to introduce the fretting hand to mess it all up 
.
Once you move to 2. and onwards, the fretting hand comes into play as well. Similar 4 bar sequences, using 16ths, 8th triplets etc.
Eg. 2b. One exercise is a 4 note chromatic sequence on one string. Play the 4 notes, one for each finger, but increasing/ decreasing loudness over the 4 bars ( in a similar pattern as the above example), while maintaining tension-free fretting, and tension-free picking hand. Use pick depth to increase volume, not additional force or tension.
Another exercise is to work on speed variations while maintaining relaxed fretting. Many permutations here on one string.
So these types of exercises are about separating the picking and fretting hand tension-wise, so the fretting hand stops associating tempo/ dynamic changes with any need to tense up, or grip tighter.
For multiple string exercises, most are 6-10 notes max. Usually Iāll use a musical phrase, arpeggio, or a scale sequence etc. So, I might play, say, the B Major pentatonic scale across a couple of positions, or an F7 arpeggio shape, or a simple repeating blues lick etc.
So for example 3b, Iāll play, say, 9 notes from the B Major pentatonic at a steady tempo, 8th note triplets, over 4 bars, alternating between lower/ higher volumes, while maintaining a soft touch with the fretting hand. So, Iām focusing on the feel of my fretting hand.
When doing any of these exercises Iām concentrating on one aspect on each runthrough, depending on where Iām at/ what Iām working on. Eg, relaxed fretting hand, no tension in arms/ shoulders, note clarity, relaxed picking motion, consistent pick grip etc. More than one at a time, and your laser focus is gone. This is key I believe.
Aside: The same basic sequences 1,2,3 above can be used with many other variables other than tempo and dynamics. Its all about changing the focus to those other aspects, to work on them. Eg. Alternate/ economy/ hybrid picking, hand synchronisation, fretting/ picking hand positioning, muting etc. Iāve found itās a great basic framework for all types of technique practice.
In addition to the above regime, another type of exercise I do may sound a bit stupid at first, but its backed by solid principles. I think Justin mentions it in one if his lessons somewhere. Iām convinced it has produced significant change.
Iāll play a well known scale sequence or simple lick, fairly steady pace, and barely touching the string; muted really. Then, on each iteration, Iāll slowly increase the pressure until I eventually get clear notes. So Iāll go from muted to clear in about 4 quick runthroughs. It has to be a sequence that I donāt have to think about at all. All my focus has to be on the feel, and the sound. So, basically telling my brain, over and over, āyou only need to press this much to get clear notes, in a relaxed mannerā. Remember and Chillā.
Another is to play a sequence that has a few bends and vibrato, where some natural tension is required; then play another following sequence without the bends, and just visualise/feel the tension release back to relaxed mode. Basically, telling my brain,
āsometimes I need you to provide some required tension, but when no longer required, let it go man, let it goā.
Iām finding this ārequired tension/ tension releaseā scenario challenging at times, and can clearly notice it sometimes when it happens in a piece Iām working on. As I play alot of blues stuff, where bends, vibrato etc are very commonplace, Iām keen to get on top of this asap.
If the above sounds like alot of work, it isnāt really, once you get your basic drills down. Select 2-3 to do over a week. Then change it up. It then becomes a habit that you apply outside of the drills, to songs that you play, which is the whole point. Iāve overcome more than a few seemingly impossible lead runs in recent months, by applying these principles. I used to think that they were just too hard. I found, mostly, the major cause was excessive tension. (Except some Gary Moore stuff. Some of that IS just too hard and fast). 
Just some philosophical points, some, in part, gleaned from those far superior. For me, much of these endeavours are really all about the mind; using laser focus, and retraining the mind to depart from its natural/ instinctive tendencies. Itās the laser focus that is the key I believe. Some of it may sound too simplistic. But, while the mind is an intricate and complex phenomena, capable of many lofty things, it can also be quite primitive, gullible, and highly malleable in many ways. It sometimes needs to be told in very direct, very specific, simple terms; often slowly and repeatedly.
Cheers, Shane
7 Likes
Thanks Shane - thatās really helpful, and sounds like a solid set of exercises to work on.
The idea of using pick depth rather than more force to increase volume is very interesting.
Iād like to add something like this into my routine. Iāve been trying to reduce tension when playing, but without much structure, and this sounds like a good framework to build something with. How much time have you spent each day on this?
1 Like