Bad Habbits

One b. :D Habit.

I'm not so sure you'll pick up bad habits self teaching yourself but if you have any, an instructor may observe and point them out. Specifically, picking technique and how you place your fingers on the fret board or just posture in general, to name a few.

There are so many to choose from...

Neck angle. Posture. Grip on the pick. Picking arm motion. Fretting thumb position.... everybody has their own quirks.

There's a couple things to realize: first, everybody's built differently, so you'll see some fine players who use bad techniques because they work with their physiques. Second, there's a reason the 'right' way came about for each technique, and the principles need to be understood (not duplicated, but understood) before you mess with the approach... so if you emulate a grip like the one Hendrix used, you'd better have hands similar to his in finger length - otherwise you'll just be messing up your ability to progress.

I started guitar lessons just before Christmas after playing for 18 years (ish) on and off, (not seriously though) and its just starting to pay off.
My bad habits of not using alternate picking and using correct finger positions on the fret board are finally wearing off.

I used to just play jingley jangley chord stuff for fun but never really progressed. Know I feel far more confident and 'on a road to somewhere'

As a beginner my advice would be to make sure you get these two fundamental techniques correct as it will save you time in the long run.

Good Luck

Note to self: Must make my avatar smaller.

I have another question. I am double jointed in my fingers (and in my toes but im sure no one cares) meaning, with the exception of my pinky and thumb, I can only stretch them straight out so far befor they lock up and bend inwards at my finger tips. I can't really explain how it looks but that's basically it. I was wondering did anyone have similar problems while playing the guitar?

I have another question. I am double jointed in my fingers (and in my toes but im sure no one cares) meaning, with the exception of my pinky and thumb, I can only stretch them straight out so far befor they lock up and bend inwards at my finger tips. I can't really explain how it looks but that's basically it. I was wondering did anyone have similar problems while playing the guitar?

The best way to approach this issue would be to ensure that you only use your fingertips to fret a single note. This rule should apply to all 4 fingers of the fretting hand. There are a few exceptions like barring a chord and using your ring finger to fret 3 strings at once.

So whatever demons you might be having with your fretting fingers, work through to the goal.

Initially i thought that this post was about 'Hobbits' from LOTR :lol:

Ok ..so to the topic.Well bad habits?

Plenty.They come when you overlook them delibrately.Never be afraid to teach yourself , but never swallow bad playing.Fall flat on your nose and then rise up like a phoenix.

If the above was too flowery , let me state in simple terms - Do what is right and don't do what isn't ? Simple , is it ?Not for me , not for anyone , but possible.

Best of luck ,

Rahul

I've been playing for 4 years and I'm starting to get fast in the blues scene. However I have two bad habbits I need help with:

1
alternate picking, ok you probably will tell me to go see a professional.

2
when i hit other strings while alternating strings, they'll vibrate and its annoying cause then its harder to hear the treble strings. Or if I bend an 8 on the high E string to a ten high E the G string will vibrate as my bend comes back to the 8:

--8b10r8-------
-----------------
------------0 < ---damn it :)

im not sure how to keep those notes from going off while bending and switching string from e to b to g then back to b, the string vibrate.

I hope you can help pros.

bryan

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