Hey all:
I had a question regarding the second and fourth fingers. I was playing a g maj scale and am having problems between the e & f#? I don't seem to have this problem too much else where? Any ssuggestions?
If the river was whiskey and I was a duck, I would swim to the bottom and never come up. (Traditional Lyric)
G Major Scale
E |-------------------------------------------5--7--8------|
B |----------------------------------5--7--8---------------|
G |-------------------------4--5--7------------------------|
D |----------------4--5--7---------------------------------|
A |----------5--7------------------------------------------|
E |-5--7--8------------------------------------------------|
I play it - (E)1-3-4, (A)1-3, (D)1-2-4, (G)1-2-4, (B)1-3-4 (e)1-3-4.
I'm guessing you're playing in open position, where F# is the only fourth finger note. Your second finger isn't really a problem - it's playing the B on the fifth string, and if you go two octaves it's also got the A on the third string and the F# on the first string in addition to the E... so it's getting used to the 2-4 movement that's causing you trouble.
You can do a couple of things: first, drill that 2-4 combination
---------------------2-4-
-----------------2-4-----
-------------2-4---------
---------2-4-------------
-----2-4-----------------
-2-4---------------------
Next, you can get used to using the fourth finger for other notes. The B note on the open second string is also found on the 4th fret of the 3rd string, so you can play the scale like this:
--------------------------0-2-3-
---------------------1-3--------
---------------0-2-4------------
---------0-2-4------------------
---0-2-3------------------------
-3------------------------------
If I'm misunderstanding your trouble, just say so and I'll come up with some other drills :)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Code:
--------------------------0-2-3-
---------------------1-3--------
---------------0-2-4------------
---------0-2-4------------------
---0-2-3------------------------
-3------------------------------
It is weird, the G Maj scale from the open position is the only 2-4 combo I am having problems with...I have been doing the 2-4 up and down the neck, just seems like a weird area for me. It might be that I am not turning my hand enough and attacking at too much of an angle?
If the river was whiskey and I was a duck, I would swim to the bottom and never come up. (Traditional Lyric)
I noticed something weird. When I relax my hand and turn the back of my hand to the ground, my pinky natrually turns towards my ring finger and like a 45 degree angle. Of course when my fingers are curled and not relaxed straight. Is this fro weak muscles or what? It seems this curl causees my pinky to fret with side of my finger instead of the tip.
If the river was whiskey and I was a duck, I would swim to the bottom and never come up. (Traditional Lyric)
I can't really speculate on your angle of attack, since I can't see you play. If you know a teacher in your area, you might want to have him/her watch you do the scale and see if there's something that needs correction in your technique.
The curl in the little finger... well, when I look at the callouses on my fretting hand, the one on the pinky covers both the tip and the side. It's the only one that wraps around. Thinking about that, there's certain chord forms (like open B7) that just about guarantee that the pinky won't fret dead on the tip... but when I fret a G, I pretty much hit the same note on the same string straight on. I guess it's related to how crowded my fingers are - fingerings like diminished chords that bunch 'em together work the side of my pinky a bit more than the tip. I'm probably never leaning more than 20 degrees, though, so if you're curling it at 45 or so, I'd try to straighten it out with some exercises... stretching exercises, and paying attention to wrist rotation - you might be twisting your hand to compensate for a weak finger.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
I will ask my teacher next lesson. Thanks for the advice.
If the river was whiskey and I was a duck, I would swim to the bottom and never come up. (Traditional Lyric)
