whoops!

i think i've committed a common error beginners do... i've been learning to play the guitar for a couple of months now... i'm having fun and all, but i did'nt pay attention to my left hand's positioning on the neck and fretboard

i just watched one of Benoit's lessons where he shows that the 'classical position' for the left hand is important to develop versatility and a stable, effective fingering mechanism

now, i'm not exactly a physically weak person. nor do i have a low tolerance for pain

but my wrist is bugging the crap out of me everytime i stay in that position for more than a few minutes. a very muscular pain

i'm assuming this is something i should ignore, and wait for muscle memory (so to speak) to kick in. is that the right thing to do?

any tips on the learning process? (my left hand goes back to it's usual freestyling self by instinct more than i'd like)

thanks guys. love the videos and the lessons!

Ummm..

For classical guitars, where the neck is much wider than electric guitars and western-style acoustics, it is important to have your thumb right underneath the fretboard. I can't see the specific lesson you are talking about but I assume he is instructing to have your thumb on the back of the fretboard, in the middle of the neck. This is so that you can reach all the strings correctly and maintain a proper position of your fingers when playing a "classical" guitar. This rule doesn't apply to playing an electric guitar in my opinion.

pain isnt normal. there is some thing wrong with your machinic in playing.

first do you have a strap?? second where is is set? looking cool by having you guitar swung very low is a lot lees important than having it in the right place to learn. are you bending your wrist?? you left wrist (or the fret hand) should be straight as possible. if your bending it too much it will hurt. if you sit down while you practice you still need a strap. that way the lower bout of the body can go between your legs and the neck will be at a higher angle to make playing easier.

of couse the instructors here can give you better advice and tutroials than i can but just relax and take your time in learning things the right way.

@ light487

from what i've read so far, it seems that general opinion is that the classical position for the left hand is more effective for both electric and acoustic

i'm not definitive about that, but it seems that way : )

Originally Posted by: BrokenJerapain isnt normal. there is some thing wrong with your machinic in playing.

first do you have a strap?? second where is is set? looking cool by having you guitar swung very low is a lot lees important than having it in the right place to learn. are you bending your wrist?? you left wrist (or the fret hand) should be straight as possible. if your bending it too much it will hurt. if you sit down while you practice you still need a strap. that way the lower bout of the body can go between your legs and the neck will be at a higher angle to make playing easier.

of couse the instructors here can give you better advice and tutroials than i can but just relax and take your time in learning things the right way.

i have a strap. i have no interest in adopting a macho stance while playing the guitar (i went to violin school for 12 years, so the lack of a hardass image has never been a problem ; ) )

i sit down when i practice, i have an Ibanez SZ320MH that i place on my left thigh. i use a strap to ensure the plane of the guitar is vertical to the floor

YES i am bending my wrist. i had no clue it should be as straight as possible. sounds like effective advice : ) will try that and keep you posted

and yup, i will relax. i will take my time. i will learn this fine instrument

i dont know if this helps but for me its alot easier if the angle of the neck is not paralle(i cant not speel right today) to the the floor. i play with my angle around 30 to 45 dregress (i know misspelled) and i push my left elbow away from my body.

the most important thing is the find where you are most comfortable and where your not getting pain.

Originally Posted by: BrokenJerai dont know if this helps but for me its alot easier if the angle of the neck is not paralle(i cant not speel right today) to the the floor. i play with my angle around 30 to 45 dregress (i know misspelled) and i push my left elbow away from my body.

the most important thing is the find where you are most comfortable and where your not getting pain.

This is how I was taught. No matter while sitting with the guitar resting on the right leg or left leg, or in between your legs, the neck should be approximately at a 45 deg. angle from the floor. Your wrist should be perpendicular to the neck as much as possible bending your elbow and pressing the thumb at the center of the back of the neck. And this may look a little strange, but when using a strap (which you should do whether standing or sitting), the position of the guitar should not change. On me that makes the guitar ride pretty high. Not the coolest stance.

Why should you always use a strap? The strap helps to maintain that 45 deg. angle, keeps the guitar in position whether standing or sitting, allows more freedom of playing (you’re not constantly, using your left hand to reposition the guitar), and it prevents damage to guitar from the guitar turning or slipping off your knee, etc.

As for the pain, I have pain in my wrist when trying a new cord. Pain is not good. I stretch my fingers and try to keep my wrist as straight as possible. If you are having pain, put up with it for a few minutes, but then stop and don’t try those chords again until the next day. This gives time for those wrist muscles and the mechanics to settle and heal. Do the same thing the next day and so on and so on. You may have to wait a couple of days to try the chords again. You will find, you will be able to play those chords correctly and longer without pain and eventually all the time without thought or pain. Do not over do it!

This method works for me. I had a left wrist injury as a child (an ice skating accident, not from guitar playing), so it takes me a while to get some chords down. Like I said, this works for me, but some professional guitarist may have some better methods.

I never took lessons for 16 years.. and the only lessons I have taken since then are from this site.. so I may be just using bad habits.. but..

If my thumb was on the back of the neck, I wouldn't be able to play even a 1/3 of the chords I currently play, the way I like to play them. :) When I look at all the famous guitarists who play electric playing.. hardly any of them are holding the guitar with a classical left-hand grip.. Whether it is more efficient or not, I don't really know..

There are times when I move to my thumb to over lap the neck. When I am playing an odd chord or just want to deaden the 6th string. I may lay my thumb along the bottom edge of the neck at times, but most of the time it is just below the center of back of the neck.

I had a few lessons when I was 16 or so. I quit because I thought it was a waste of time. The instructor played well, but he was a lousey teacher.

I will soon be 59 and I recently took 3 lessons and quit again. The instuctor knew his stuff, but moved too fast for this old man to keep up. He looks at his students as if they were all going to be professional guitarists. I don't have the time to dedicate to that. I can play, but I don't know much theory or play at a level that I would say is "Good".

I write lyrics and produce a tune to go along with them. It would take a better musician than I to embellish and make my songs a success. That is why I just sell my songs. I do not have any desire to be a performer.

I guess if it's comfortable, you can hold your guitar anyway you want. I think the way I mentioned is the standard way as far as standard goes!

thanks for all your input : )

@light487... i know exactly what you mean. i've grown fairly used to the way i play as well, especially when it comes to bends and vibrato. i'll bet the classical method is'nt as effective for blues-style wailing

but i think i will learn it the 'hard' way first, and pepper it with a little 'easy', and hopefully that'll work for me : )

thanks again, all. glad i cleared this up early on

Originally Posted by: looneytunesI will soon be 59 and I recently took 3 lessons and quit again. The instuctor knew his stuff, but moved too fast for this old man to keep up. He looks at his students as if they were all going to be professional guitarists. I don't have the time to dedicate to that.

i know what you mean! i knew a few violin teachers who would teach complex runs over the entire fingerboard with intonation in the space of 30 minutes

and then expect you to practice the same thing over and over for a week

learning music seems to be a little like college. the teachers rarely spoonfeed. and 90% of the legwork is upto the student