Strumming hand placement

When playing my acoustic, I always tend to rest the palm of my hand on the bridge instead of playing over the sound hole. Any suggestions for breaking this bad habit?

Originally Posted by: dandy4911When playing my acoustic, I always tend to rest the palm of my hand on the bridge instead of playing over the sound hole. Any suggestions for breaking this bad habit?

Where does your hand typically go when you strum?

I typically strum over the sound hole. It is only when I pick individual notes I tend to rest my hand on the bridge. Thanks.

Originally Posted by: dandy4911I typically strum over the sound hole. It is only when I pick individual notes I tend to rest my hand on the bridge. Thanks.

That's definitely something you should get out of the habit of doing, and unfortunately, there's no silver bullet.

I remember I used to hook my fourth finger underneath the high E string, which is something I also stopped doing after awhile, but otherwise, I think you've just got to be intentional about placing your hand over the soundhole.

Anybody else have thoughts on this one?

I think you need to learn how to use the hole to get different tones from the guitar as you pick or strum. For example play an open D. Now strum before the hole, slowly move back across the hole and past it. You should be able to hear suttle differences in tone. Those suttle differences become huge when you get more advanced at strumming and picking.

I used to have the same. In my case, it got fixed when I bought a Stratocaster (from their Squire line, which are not that expensive) and started practicing with it, because I was determined to follow the Blues track on this website.

You see, the Strat has three pick-ups and not much space (for a newbie's eyes) between them, and since I was used to playing my accoustic pretty much anywhere around the hole, I wasn't that precise with my pick at first. I kept sticking it too far inside in between the strings and if I didn't play in a specific place, I would hit the pickups with the pick every time, it made me mad. The electric sounds just fine with much more subtle moves and slowly the Strat has more or less forced me to play at the right spot.

Anyway, when I pick up the acoustic now while watching tv or laying in bed, I just play correctly over the hole, just like that. Hope that helps. Good luck with your issue!