Subject: Technique for right hand relaxation Date: Thu, 25 Jul 96 21:03:12 GMT Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Houston Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar Sometime ago, a person posted that right hand relaxation is the key for improvement. I quite agree with that, but he didn't mention how to do it. I would like to know whether there is some specific technique / procedure to relax the right hand. In my case, I found that the culprit is mostly the left hand. Specifically, the thumb. Especially when the left hand chord is difficult, my thumb support is weak and other fingers are pressing the neck. This causes my right arm to press the guitar unknowingly with slightly more pressure. It is virtually unnoticable at the first time. But as I play, it sort of accumulates and finally I realize that my right hand is not really relaxed. So, I went through my left hand work again. This time, I tried to isolate my left hand. It required more power from my hand at first time. I wonder whether I was putting excessive force on my left hand, but in order to isolate my left hand, that was the minimum force I could give and still generate clear enough sound. Another problem was that since I am supporting the neck with the thumb when I change from one difficult chord from anther, my guitar becomes unstable during the short moment in between. I think that this requires lots of practice. Also, is there any left hand excersize to have more power ? IMHO, to be relaxed (for both left and right hand), good power from the left hand is indispensible. Any advices regarding this matter would be appreciated. Thanks. -- Woody Jin Subject: Re: Technique for right hand relaxation Date: 26 Jul 1996 17:53:01 GMT Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar ... deletia .... : I noticed that if I kept my right arm relaxed when I got to : an open note, the guitar would bobble a bit. "How can I keep the guitar from : bobbling," I wondered, "without squeezing it with my arm?" The simple act of : releasing a fretted note (with no other left-hand fingers down) caused a : slight movement of the guitar that I had never really noticed before. As long : as at least one finger was fretting somewhere on the guitar, the guitar : remained sufficiently stable. (These days, that observation has significant : implications for the fingerings I use.) : When the left hand isn't particularly busy, this slight movement of the guitar : is not a problem. It gets to be more of a problem as the left-hand movements : get faster and involve complete releases, and it's especially a problem toward : the first position, where the bobbling moment is most noticeable. : What to do about this? I'd like to know. Some facile prescriptions come to : mind--don't use more left-hand thumb pressure than necessary; learn to release : the thumb simultaneously with the complete release of the fingers so the neck : doesn't jiggle (oh, sure!); etc.--but.... : This effect, btw, is even more pronounced when using the A-Frame...which : reminds me of something interesting I saw on an old Segovia video, the one in : his Paris apartment. In one of the scenes he is playing with quite a bit of : physical expression--he's swaying with the music, leaning left and right, and : the guitar is moving with him. Suddenly there's a close-up shot during a : virtuosic passage, and the guitar is absolutely motionless. Frozen. My guess : is that the old pro used some kind of special brace for the guitar for this : scene. (Probably got the idea from Aguado, who knew everything about : virtuosity.) The effect is very obvious, and in no other full-view shot does : the guitar approach anything close to this degree of perfect motionlessness. : (Something to think about in the recording studio, eh wot?) I've been using a Dynarette cushion, a comma "," shaped pillow that rests between the left thigh and the guitar, to alleviate chronic back injury pain caused by a raised left leg. I've experienced the same exact problem. Later you mention always keeping one finger on the fretboard, this sounds very interesting, I'll try it. What I've been doing with the Dynarette lately for very fast pieces with many open string to barre chord transitions (Bach Courante in A major, from the Cello suite, Lauro's Venezuelan Waltz #4?), is something rather unorthodox my teacher told me not to do when I was first learning classical guitar (but had played guitar for 10 years). Later, I saw one of the Romeros (Pepe?) doing it on TV, I decided if one of the Romeros can do it, so can I! Anyway, I brace the top of the upper bout with my chin. This is not an ergonomically proper playing position, it requires a bit of hunching over - however, if the left foot is raised a little, and if the hips are rocked forward as far as possible, the rounding of the upper back can be largely eliminated, and the stability of this position is excellent! I would guess I can reduce the frequency of muffed notes due to left hand finger misplacement by at least 2x by doing this. I might go back to using a footrest for stability on the hardest pieces, but I hate to clutter the floor and carry one more thing to a gig. Regarding the Aguado tripod, I've never seen or used one - do they really dramatically increase guitar stability? Does anyone have one, or an equivalent device? Thanks, Keith Erskine Subject: Re: Technique for right hand relaxation Date: Sat, 27 Jul 1996 18:46:20 GMT Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar You got that right, John. I have yet to see _anything_ by any of the latter day saints of guitar virtuosity which Aguado has not discussed in one way or another. >Regarding the Aguado tripod, I've never seen or used one - do they >really dramatically increase guitar stability? Does anyone have one, >or an equivalent device? >Thanks, >Keith Erskine No one had seen an actual Aguado Tripod. All existing samples seem to have vanished down the drain of guitar history. All we have is the very detailed technical drawings of the thin in Aguado's Nuevo Metodo of 1843. Based on these, and on Aguado's verbal discussions of the device, I built a quasi-replica which I demonstrated at the ASTA guitar conference in Lubbock, TX in 1979. It was ugly and cumbersome (made out of parts of a drum set), but provided the same functionality of the original. It proved that Aguado was right. The device fixes the guitar in the same stable situation as the piano. One does not need to hold it any more, enabling the performer to devote 100% of his or her energy to _playing_ the instrument, not to _holding it. A more detailed replica was built by a Swedish fellow whose name escapes me. It looked better than mine and much more authentic looking. Then there is the Lind-Stativ, a device based on Aguado's principles but in a totally different design. It allows the player to play standing up. I have one of these set up in my studio, with a guitar made by Hascal Haile fixed to it. Been there since about 1982. Excellent device to use for testing out pieces in a hurry, then if the phone rings, you just walk away from it. All of these devices require the drilling a hole into the heel of the guitar, and as Aguado had it, also a hole where the strap-button is situated. Now, would you drill a hole or two into your $25,000 Fleta? That all depends if you value the instrument more than you value your own body. It cost me, after insurance coverege, $28,000 (in 1977) to pay for three operations on my neck, to relieve a condition of pinched nerve cause by 25 years of playing the guitar with a footstool while looking at the left hand. In today's dollars, I could buy at least two Fletas for that money. Matanya Ophee Editions Orphée, Inc., Subject: Re: Technique for right hand relaxation Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 22:53:14 GMT Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar >>You got that right, John. I have yet to see _anything_ by any of the >>latter day saints of guitar virtuosity which Aguado has not discussed >>in one way or another. >Did Aguado ever discuss sympathetic and opposed motion in arpeggios, or >the importance of placing the finger joints of the right hand in >mid-range. Or the importance of coordinated finger joint movement in the >right hand, i.e. flexing the knuckle joint and the middle joint at the >same time in free stroke? In one way or another, he certainly did. But don't take _my_ word for it. You can now read the entire pedagogical output of Dionisio Aguado in facsimile reproductions of the first edition. Published by Chanterelle and available from Guitar Solo. I suggest you read it. When you have done so, assuming you have the capacity of understanding _anything_ not written by Aaron Shearer, ask me these questions again. In the meantime, as I said to you before, Adios. Matanya Ophee Editions Orphée, Inc., Subject: Re: Technique for right hand relaxation Date: 26 Jul 1996 19:12:00 GMT From: robinson Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar I have had much difficulty with left and right hand tension (particularly the left). Though I haven't had the opportunity, I feel a teacher would help here. So in this absence, I try many things to have the hand relax. First, I make sure my position is correct (holding the guitar properly). Away from the guitar I do simple finger exercises (moving each digit independent from the others) and focus on not having any tension in my hands; i.e., relaxing the hand as I do the exercise. At first I was quite surprized and disappointed how tense my hands were even with these simple exercises. While moving one finger the others were completely stiff; after only a few minutes, my hand became tired. When I play, I do exercises and scales on the fretboard, focusing on using just enough pressure to fret the string and relaxing the hands. One exercise I read in this group was as your doing scales, etc., to fret the strings with just enough pressure so that they buzz; it is a most difficult exercise to do with any speed and consistency. I have progressed so that there is less tension and in the rare instance none. When I play during one of these rare times, I have speed, tone, acuracy :) During these times I try to determine what is different; so far no luck, I can't seem to just play without tension. Two other things come to mind (these were suggested to me by a guitar player friend of my brothers): close your eyes and listen to the music as you play (i.e., play without thinking about your hands), and if you feel tension in your hands, stop, strech your hands, neck, arms, back, etc., then RELAX (take some deep breaths, whatever) and resume playing. As I said these have helped. I would like to see a good discussion on this topic in this group. What have others done to solve this problem? Gary