The Fix for Flailing Fingers, a tip from Uncle Ben Eller

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Uncle Ben? Oh yeah... the rice...
So many uncles... Uncle Tom, Uncle Leo, Uncle Sam, Uncle Nancy... Even Bob's your Uncle!

So, why are we calling him uncle? And more importantly, why does he call himself uncle?
Is he the uncle of someone important? (Shades of Jimmy Carter's brother Billy...)

Of course I would never complain if Johnny Winter was my uncle. Or Uncle Chuck...
You know, I always admired Aunt Jemima. She had a friendly smile. And Aunt Bea... named after insects, I reckon...

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Holding the plectrum like Mel Bay... has been good to me...
I even removed my pick-guard to break the habit of using it as a finger-rest.

You know, as the Irish say, you have to take the cock out of the wrist, otherwise you'll get all tensed-up. Just look at page three of Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method. He never splayed out his fingers like he got an electric shock. No show-off stuff for him. This allowed me to rotate the wrist freely to gain picking speed and also to more easily switch from single-notes to chords when playing chord melody. Just like those ballerina dancers who spin faster when they bring in all their parts. That always proved difficult for Mae West.

But then, as an avocational musician, I don't shred for a living. Smells too much like a near-work experience for an old retired guy like me. Don't want to break out in a sweat...