I know enough chords and notes to play a few songs, but i am having difficulty changing chords and i know why, but i don't know how to fix it.
When i raise my fingers off the neck it is moving away from me. i realized this when i noticed that to change chords smoothly i have to hold the neck back with my thumb. I know this is wrong, but i cannot seem to get the neck to be solid when i let go of it which would allow me to keep my thumb in the back of the neck. i am currently changing positions to find a way that i can finger the chords with minimal neck running.
I hope i have explained this well enough
thanks
Gunthur
Sit and play it in a chair. That'll work...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Sit and play it in a chair. That'll work...
Cat
This. Or you could try experimenting with strap placement, or the use of counterweights strategically placed on your guitar's body. Of if you're extremely adventurous, you could move the strap buttons (but I wouldn't recommend that.)
Tone is subjective.
Sounds to me like you're fighting the guitar.
There's going to be some natural balance point... whether you're seated or standing, playing with a strap or without, there will be some position where the guitar just sits still without your fretting hand on the neck at all. That's your starting point.
Once you've found that, see if you can fret chords without moving the neck from that position. If you can, great - problem solved. But if you can't, you'll need to see about adjusting the balance point.
Guitars are three dimensional, so you can adjust the X axis (let's say that's how close to your shoulder the neck is), the Y axis (how much the neck angles up towards your shoulder), and the Z axis (how much the face of the guitar is 'tipped' from vertical).
If the X axis puts the guitar too close to you (and that's what I'm guessing from your description), you're compensating by pushing the neck away from you. Raising the peghead may help. If the Y axis is too low - neck parallel to, or angling down towards the floor - you may be pushing to straighten out your wrist... which turns the guitar a bit. If it feels like the guitar is slippling toward your strumming hand's hip, that's what needs fixing. And if the Z axis is off, which is common if you're trying to see where your fingers are landing, that's going to mess with the other two dimensions.
As Cat said, sitting will help if you're not doing that already. But if you have to stand - as most of us do, at least when performing - get as wide a strap as you can; the extra friction on your shoulder will help it stay in the right place.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Thank you for the feed back. I have been sitting and i decided to stand and see how it goes and it was much worse. So, i have decided to find the right balance based on the Cartesian coordinate system that you explain and i have made some progress. I think the biggest issue is looking at the finger positions and tilting the z out of the proper line.
thanks again
Wide strap's a good point. Been on my duff at the board for too many years to have remembered! I need to be close enough to peck at the red button when I blow a take...which is often. :oops:
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Update:
Working much better, i changed positions and quit worrying about my thumb. I used my strap and i have overcome the running neck infliction. Thanks much.
