On Sun, Aug 26, 2001 at 11:47:09PM -0000, Justin wrote:
Hi I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about
economizing my left hand fingering.I lift my fingers
too high from the fretboard and I loose speed. Can
anyone help???
Robert Fripp had some good advice on this in Guitar Player, many years
ago... he said don't *lift* your fingers... *release* them. The resting
position for your fretting fingers should not be on the strings, but
rather slightly above them. To fret a note, you press the finger down to
the fingerboard. To release, you don't lift your finger... you simply let
go, and it springs back to its natural position above the fingerboard.
It takes some practice, but it's worth trying! It gets rid of a LOT of
wasted effort, and reduces strain on your hand.
-dave
