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So I've been practising this song for 3 ish days and trying to use classical position, but i found after practising this song my forearm area (fretting hand) started to feel sore/ hurt a bit. Is my posture or classical position lacking in any way? Any tips will help. Perhaps my fretting hand was too tensed up?
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10-24-2024 05:01 PM
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Wrist looks OK
Perhaps you are using to much pressure
Neck doesn’t seem inclined enough, it should be around 45degrees, whereas yours seems about 30 degrees. You should use a foot stool or a knee rest to get it to that angle (not sure if you are using one.)
Hope that helps! Classical posture can be problematic if half-done.
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+1
Originally Posted by Christian Miller
I might actually try using a strap to get the guitar in a nice comfortable (classical) position. That's what I used to do when I played electric (and still would now if I played it.)
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Thanks for the reply ! So i should try to bring my guitar more up in general? I feel like I am inclining it as much as I can but I'll try and do a update. I'm unsure which position to really do right now tbh.
Edit: Im using a stack of books i believe to bring my left foot up in this I believe
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Your posture looks OK to me.
Something that's given me pain from time to time is getting obsessed with a thing and repeating it over and over to try to go faster. It focusses stress on the exact same tendons and muscles in exactly the same way.
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I think this is precisely it for me. It's way above my level so i have to take it slow and be relaxed when it comes to playing. Tension isn't good in the arms i suppose.
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Adjustable foot stools are fairly inexpensive. Originally Posted by magmaro
OTOH I’d recommend a guitar support cushion like the dynarette, but more expensive
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Or could try using a strap.... Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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The most obvious thing apart from all posture questions (I second Christian's suggestion -- a cushion more expensive than dynarette -- use Thomann's sort "Price: high to low" option to quicker find s/th) is that you need to work on your right hand damping technique urgently to get that aggressiveness of the original (constructive criticism, not to bad what you already have). Originally Posted by magmaro
As you can see James is using an almost classical posture.
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I find the correct position hard to achieve with just a strap myself. Perhaps it depends on the guitar - if your guitar has any neck dive it won’t stay in that position when standing. (or maybe I haven’t adjusted my strap right haha) Originally Posted by James W
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Although many here despise him I will watch the Rick Beato video regarding this classic track that Youtube's bots just offered me.
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Maybe the "gunslinger carry" (shorter strap only on right shoulder) will work. I love it. But I do not want to achieve classical posture anyway. Use a broad strap for it. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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Despise is a strong word.
I mean it’s not Reddit.
For myself, I quite like some Beato’s stuff especially the interviews. A lot of his stuff… let’s just say it’s not for me. I would say he’s a generalist rather than someone with specific knowledge of any particular area (except maybe rock/pop guitar and audio engineering?), which makes him perfect for a wide audience. He’s not going to ever do any research otoh.
He also has some very obvious blind spots, but he’s only human.
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I mean the OP was specifically about that. Not about Beato, not about ‘gunslinger carry’ not about how to play Pastor of Muppets. Originally Posted by Bop Head
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Does anyone here listen to this sort of stuff? I know of Metallica but hadn't heard much of their material. I do like a bit of heavy rock but the saturated distortion seems a bit much. I suppose that's the point of it. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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The classical position puts demands on your fretting arm that you've mostly likely never encountered. Arm raised into the air, hand employed in activities of dexterity and strength, all the time remaining fluid yet exerting constant activity and pressure between thumb and fingers.
All the time, your attention is on your hands, the adrenaline and mental focus is on your hands and the fatigue signals of your upper and forearm are very likely being bypassed.
Do you stretch before you practice? Rotation exercises (windmill, and "swimming" type stretches, gently pulling the arm in front of you and holding it 10 seconds in repetitions, etc. Yoga type arm and upper body stretches, deep breathing spine twists to eliminate upper body tension), these increase blood flow, open up the muscles, increase awareness of breathing, centre your body and get oxygenated blood to your arms. I was plagued with arm fatigue and Ben Monder shared his stretching routine with me. It was a game changer. I stretch during practice sessions, take regular breaks and increase body awareness of my playing in general at all times.
The neck of a steel string guitar is also a longer extension too. On a jazz box (I play a 15") I rest the guitar on my left leg. It brings my body to an untwisted front facing position. On a double cutaway (long necked high fret access steel), I rest on the right leg so I have access to the fretboard right in front of me.
I use a leg rest (I use a Performaxe made in Italy) but something that doesn't raise the guitar too high, so my reach is not too extended; that's the reason I use a smaller bodied instrument though I love 17", they tend to put the neck close to the edge of optimum reach for me. I avoid them when possible. Remember that classic classical position is evolved from a small bodied guitar with a 12 fret join and any steel guitar puts that same area of the fingerboard WAY off to the left and up.
Even with all these precautions, I do sometimes feel fatigue, but I have learned to stretch after playing too.
I will note that I don't sit in chairs that stretch my lower back (chairs and couches I sink into) because that pulling of lower back muscles does have an effect on the ulnar nerve. It's also why I don't use a strap myself; the pressure where a concentrated downward weight of a strap crosses the collar area is a nerve that runs to the arm. Ulnar nerve damage can result in arm tingling all the way down, and worse. For a while I used one of those double straps with wide material across both arms, and now I sit.
These are just my own solutions and please don't take these as recommendations. Each body is different. Just ideas that I found work for me. Be mindful and take any aches seriously. Down time due to injury is serious. Damage is something you want to avoid at any cost.
Good luck
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I grew up with that stuff. Early Metallica has a great energy to it, punk meets Sabbath. Originally Posted by Irishmuso
I have to say bands like Avenged Sevenfold that my students often insist on playing at me sounds like that stuff with much better chops.
Don't listen to it much these days. I think a lot of interest in that song specifically was revived by Stranger Things. It's a really fun riff to teach.
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+1 Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Also the Megadeath album Beato mentions in his quartet of classic thrash records is great as well as the Anthrax one. Slayer's Reign In Blood is a classic anyway. All these albums feature great distorted guitar tones.
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Megadeth were musically very on it, but the vocals were always a bit of acquired taste haha. Rust in Peace rocks though. Originally Posted by Bop Head
Slayer, of course. I don't really know much Anthrax tbh.
Probably the one I revisit most these days is Chaos AD, Sepultura. Roots is of course a classic. I love Igor's drumming so much, metal with a samba swing! Kisser's a really underrated guitar player as well.
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Also early Maiden (up to and including Power Slave) REALLY stands up IMO.
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Yeah, the New Wave of Brit metal. Regarding thrash I also liked Celtic Frost from Switzerland. And I have to admit that I was a huge Helloween fan. Which was a bit like Maiden with a sugar coating in retrospect. Yet Keeper Of The Seven Keys is still a great opus. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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I think that'd be the Yamaha DX7 Originally Posted by Bop Head
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Master of Puppets can make an interesting CG etude!
Same girl playing it on a plank:
Note the difference in neck angle.
Indeed. I find that it's good to Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
- be very conscious about your thumb position; should be opposite the middle finger or even a bit further back
- be very conscious too about minimising the finger/thumb clamping pressure; try to use the weight of your left arm (and use the weight of your right arm to keep the instrument stable). Might not be easy with a plank!
- thin necks (as on e-guitars) are a sure way to get fretting hand issues esp. when you play with a lot of (clamping) pressure.
- be conscious too about unnecessary tension in your shoulders and pectoral muscles.
+++ on the sitting support: use a height-adjustable piano stool or a straight chair of appropriate height, possibly with a wedge-shaped cushion that tilts you forward ever so slightly. Also prefer a support under the guitar rather than one under your foot; having both feet flat on the ground and the upper legs more or less horizontal is much healthier. If you do use a stool, try also turning it arounc 180° to what's common so the back is higher. And still keep both feet flat on their respective supports!
NB: I can't play long with my legs crossed like in the 2nd video above but I guess everyone is different in that aspect. Still not the best for your lower back, IMHO.
I haven't yet been able to see where it runs in the shoulder but I'm sadly familiar with the sensation in my fingers after my cramped shoulder-blade-area muscle episode earlier this year.why I don't use a strap myself; the pressure where a concentrated downward weight of a strap crosses the collar area is a nerve that runs to the arm.
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That reminds me...
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Where else would you get such an on-the-money post? Love it Originally Posted by RJVB
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