Always enjoy your posts and links, Brian. I'd recommend your David Pots link for beginners to medium level players. I think muted strings and sore fingers are a contributing factor to people giving up the instrument and saying its too hard. When people are self taught, or learn from their mates, it's not uncommon to learn bad habits. I remember a friend who was learning flamenco from a master saying that in Spain a guitar teacher would often hold a lit cigar close to the wrist of his students to force them to have perfect form of their hands and use their fingers, not their wrists. You can hide bad form in a sing along situation, but it will limit your growth if you are playing fingerstyle, jazz, classical and other styles, especially when playing and shifting around complex chords.
Couldn't agree with you more. I remember early on I had bad picking hand habits, and had to really force myself to get alternate picking down. Later on in life, when I was at school for guitar, one of my teachers taped my fingers together to get a point across.
I don't know if I commented on it the other day, but that post you had about the beehive was wild. Every summer I battle bees and wasps, and other assorted bugs. 😆
Always enjoy your posts and links, Brian. I'd recommend your David Pots link for beginners to medium level players. I think muted strings and sore fingers are a contributing factor to people giving up the instrument and saying its too hard. When people are self taught, or learn from their mates, it's not uncommon to learn bad habits. I remember a friend who was learning flamenco from a master saying that in Spain a guitar teacher would often hold a lit cigar close to the wrist of his students to force them to have perfect form of their hands and use their fingers, not their wrists. You can hide bad form in a sing along situation, but it will limit your growth if you are playing fingerstyle, jazz, classical and other styles, especially when playing and shifting around complex chords.
Couldn't agree with you more. I remember early on I had bad picking hand habits, and had to really force myself to get alternate picking down. Later on in life, when I was at school for guitar, one of my teachers taped my fingers together to get a point across.
I don't know if I commented on it the other day, but that post you had about the beehive was wild. Every summer I battle bees and wasps, and other assorted bugs. 😆