When playing fingerstyle it is important to move the fingers from the knuckles (primarily) rather than the inner joints. Why? Several reasons. It causes the finger to move in towards the hand instead of up and away from the guitar. Moving in towards the hand (a motion similar to that of grabbing a baseball bat) results in better tone. Also the muscles that control the knuckles have greater independence than those that control the inner joints. In other words when you play with your middle finger your index finger is less likely to go with it. So what do the inner joints do? They keep the curvature of the finger consistent. Not rigidly, but more like the shock absorbers on your car allow for a free ride.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 10:54 am and is filed under Right Hand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Blog Home