12 Bar Blues...erm...blues!!

Hi

I am going through the fundamentals. I got through Fundamentals 1 ok, no bother. Fundamentals 2 going well also...but, I get to 12 Bar Blues, and it looks like something that can be easily picked up. BUT...my hand is cramping seriously!!!
I am playing an acoustic, and I notice that the natural position for my thumb is behind the neck, whereas the instructors thumb easily pops up over the neck. The only way I can do this is if my first finger barres the 4th, 5th & 6th string (2nd fret) in order to play the E note on the 3rd string, but I am not sure if this is technically correct. I dont want to start developing bad habits.

Some advice or tips would be much appreciated.

practice practice. Watch how the videos fromn the instructors and how therey finger ther fretboard. Watching andf copying what I see helps me a lot. Also to help the cramping, type in the search bar spider fingers or look for Lisa Mccormick lessons and look for spider fingers excercises. This will lmber up your fingerws at the beginnning of a practice. m Trust me I have been playing only a short time and I have short fingers and small hands already a step against me.
Also 12 bar blues has backing tracks for lessons 4 and 5 this will help you after taking the lessons the AAAA DD AA E e A A backing trtacks really help.

Hi Froggy

Thanks for the advice. I have being doing some warm-ups now which I hadnt been doing before and also I am not rushing it like I had been doing, so a big improvement has occured. Im confident that I can move on from the lesson in a few days now. I guess the lesson learned is to take my time, its very easy to try jump ahead too fast!!

Thanks again.

Yeah sounds like me it is easy to do, However do the chord magic by Lisa McCormick when your ready it will really open your eyes to how it all works together.

Have you got a link to that? Im doing the spider fingers at the moment, is that the same thing?

I would go to Instructors tab Lisa McCormick and her lessons I haven't figured out how to send specific links but go to her lessons and you'll find it.

Hi Froggy

Thanks for that, I found it ok. While Im at it and instead of opening another thread, you may be able to help with another minor (but seriously niggly) problem I have.
The stretch between my second finger and ring finger is too narrow. I can position my index and second finger correctly just behind the appropiate frets, but my ring finger only stretches to the middle of the fret available to it. Depsite that, my pinky can stretch to the correct position behind the fret.

Im doing spider fingers for warm-ups, but I cant get the ring finger to stretch far enough. I hope this makes sense!

There are some other my some other instrructores i have been looking at I will let you know when I find any that do real weell for me and my smal hands. I will put you on my buddy list and we can share

Originally Posted by: froggy62There are some other my some other instrructores i have been looking at I will let you know when I find any that do real weell for me and my smal hands. I will put you on my buddy list and we can share

Excellent, I will do likewise.

Originally Posted by: Igcuimhne81Hi

my hand is cramping seriously!!!
I am playing an acoustic, and I notice that the natural position for my thumb is behind the neck, whereas the instructors thumb easily pops up over the neck. The only way I can do this is if my first finger barres the 4th, 5th & 6th string (2nd fret) in order to play the E note on the 3rd string, but I am not sure if this is technically correct. I dont want to start developing bad habits.

Some advice or tips would be much appreciated.

Every person is different, so you have to be the best judge on what works best for you, but BE CAREFUL. If you put too much pressure on your thumb with it directly behind the fretboard, you can strain the ligament, and then have your guitar playing put on hold while it heals.

A good exercise is to try fretting individual notes on the guitar without having your thumb behind the fretboard at all, just have it lifted off the back of the fretboard in the air. You should be able to lightly apply enough pressure to make your notes sound cleanly. This gives you a really clear idea of how little pressure is actually needed to fret a note.

Once you get that down, place your thumb behind the fretboard so its comfortable, but also use it lightly to anchor & stabilize your fretting hand. Not as a "clamp" to clamp down forcibly on the strings. Keep your hand relaxed and tension free. If your hand is cramping during playing, stop playing for a while.

A great many "pro" players use the thumb wrap-around technique, it just tends to make bending notes easier, and for some people its just more comfortable. But in the end its really just what works for you, just make sure that you're not straining your hand as you play. This will lead to things like carpal tunnel syndrome. I'd recommend trying the wrap-around technique just for a little bit at a time, with one or two chords. It will feel very awkward at first, but after a bit of practice, you'll probably get a good idea as to whether or not its going to work for you. I switched over to the thumb-wrap technique for all the reasons I stated above. It was a bit awkward at first, but now seems more natural and certainly keeps the strain off my hand. But I freely slide my thumb behind the fretboard when I need to. The real key is just not unnecessarily putting too much pressure on the fretboard.

Good Luck!

Thanks Slipin i will give that a go

Hey there mate,

Make sure you dont over do it and just like going to the gym, have plenty of warm up, I would not shred the guitar at 2000bpm until I have warmed up.

Rob

Originally Posted by: GuitarteacherukHey there mate,

Make sure you dont over do it and just like going to the gym, have plenty of warm up, I would not shred the guitar at 2000bpm until I have warmed up.

Rob

I agree with him

Thanks folks

But maybe the topic has gone off track a bit. The problem I have (which is diminishing due to finger stretching exercises) is that in the 12 bar blues F2 course.
What I notice is that the instructor is able to leave his thumb peeking over the top of the neck when playing the D string. I find this impossible when keeping my index on the D string 2nd fret and trying to hit the D string 4th fret with my ring finger - I hope this makes sense!!

I can get around it by bending my index finger and placing my thumb behind the neck for support, but shortly afterwards it starts to cramp. What I really need to know is my finger positioning a bad habit? Or is it simply an alternative way that needs practice?

Thanks everyone for the contributions...much appreciated!

Originally Posted by: Igcuimhne81What I notice is that the instructor is able to leave his thumb peeking over the top of the neck when playing the D string. I find this impossible when keeping my index on the D string 2nd fret and trying to hit the D string 4th fret with my ring finger - I hope this makes sense!![/quote]
It does make sense. But, you don't have to & shouldn't play it that way anyway. :)

I do that sometimes in the videos as a result of trying to keep my guitar neck parallel to the camera viewpoint for the benefit of the student.

But normally I keep the neck tilted up for more efficient posture. And that lends itself to keeping my thumb behind the neck where it ought to be for normal playing!

The only time you should have your thumb hanging out on top of the neck is when it can help you play certain notes or chords as they happen. Then you should return to normal thumb behind the neck position.

One such place to use your thumb on top of the neck is when you bend strings. This happens often in blues tunes. So, I have a tendency to put my thumb up there anytime I am playing anything remotely bluesy. :p
[QUOTE=Igcuimhne81]What I really need to know is my finger positioning a bad habit? Or is it simply an alternative way that needs practice?

Keep your opposable thumb behind the neck to provide pressure that opposes your fingers. Unless & until it hinders your ability to play some technique that requires hanging your thumb up on the neck (for example, string bending).

Hope this helps. Please ask more if necessary to clarify anything. In the future, please know that you can ask me questions directly in my instructor forum:

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=36

Best of success. :)

Thank you Christopher

That is a great help. I have been making good progress with this lesson but was concerned that I was developing a bad habit. This is what I call an excellent service!

Regards
Igcuimhne81