Greetings all,
Managed to drag myself away from the guitar.......Was wondering if anyone could help with this...I've been practising the baseball grip along with normal barre chords but have found the baseball style slightly awkward when playing further up the neck. My wrist kind of ends up facing up and it just doesnt feel right and so i dont know if this is normal or not. I also tend to pull off my index finger off the high E string occasionally....Is there any particular technique that anyone has to learning this or is it a case of just persevere!?
Many thanks
Baseball grip??
If you mean hold the neck the same as you would a baseball bat, this is always incorrect. There should always be a space between your palm and the neck. When you hold a baseball bat your palm touches the bat.
What you probably mean is wrapping your thumb over the top of the neck as opposed to keeping the thumb on the backside of the neck. If you ask a Classical guitar instructor, they would tell you the thumb should always stay behind the neck, the thumb should never wrap over the top. Ask a Rock or Blues guitarist and they will tell you to wrap the thumb over, this assists with string bends.
Truth is, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. When you wrap your thumb over the top of the neck you lose a lot of reach. But when you want to bend a string, it does help to wrap the thumb over (but you can bend with the thumb behind the neck).
I think it is good to use both methods. Keeping the thumb behind the neck will give you far greater reach, especially reaching the bass strings or long stretches. If you bend strings, wrap the thumb over for support.
So practice both methods and use what is best for the given situation. You said it feels uncomfortable to use this baseball grip high on the fingerboard. Well, don't do that. :D This is a time to move the thumb behind the neck.
But either way, your palm should not be touching the neck, there should always be a space between.
Here is a player bending a string up high on the fingerboard. The thumb is extended slightly over the top of the neck for support and strength. But the palm is clearly seperated from the neck.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Thank you very much for the advice...sorry for the delay in replying been away for a few days......i'm trying to use both methods as i suppose its a useful skill/tool to have in the bag just in case you need it. Was'nt too sure however to persevere with this thumb over the top technique....seeing as im getting a few aches in my wrist though, i'll think i'll give it a rest for a while.......thanks again..
