Finger Picking, Left Hand Positioning and Re-positioning

Graham Greenbag

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I like fingerpicking and manage to push my way through fairly simple tunes with enough success to keep me interested. Reading standard notation and tab isn’t an issue but getting my left hand fingers in the correct place is, or rather it is once I’ve moved my hand away from the first three frets.

(Edit. As clarification I read standard notation for playing other instruments but on the Uke I can only finger pick tunes if I use tab.)

Some tab has me using frets 5 to 10 inclusive and that requires the left hand to be moved up the fret board, so either my hand goes up the fret board and hopefully lands in the correct place (some hope) or I take my eyes off of the music to position my hand (resulting in my place within the music then being lost and with it any idea about what the next notes are meant to be). Frets 1 to 3 inclusive now come automatically, and with Pima style on the right hand too, and frets 4 and 5 mostly seem to happen but beyond that fluidity and accuracy is lost. I’m seeking to get and develop that missing fluidity and accuracy higher up the fretboard, suggestions welcome.

Whilst I don’t recall anything on this topic before I’m sure that this is a simple problem that many others have faced in the past, please point me towards the solution. Thanks in anticipation.
 
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There’s a lot going on when reading music/tab AND trying to find one’s way around the unfamiliar areas higher up the neck, while also attempting to manipulate fingers into the correct shape. I work on the assumption that gaining speed and accuracy up the neck will come with time and practice (at least, that’s my hope :).

With respect to finding the next notes in the music after I have looked away from the music page...
I find it helpful if, right before my eyes leave the page, I consciously try to remember the approximate physical location on the page of where I am in the music (i.e. middle of the page, near the end of the second last line, etc.). It's like taking a visual snapshot. If I can remember to do that before I look away, I stand a much better chance of finding my way back to the right spot fairly quickly. Now I just need some sort of trick to help me remember to do that every time. :)

Jan D
 
Hi, Graham!

Any finger-style players see their left hand position in play in general (see the photos below). Watching, listening and thinking are most important things for left and practice.



James Taylor (above left) plays "Something in the way she moves" in YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfk9nvUni88
The highest position in this song is 0x4x3x (see the figure below). It is not too high but he watch his left hand. He very often see his left hand during his play in this YouTube video.



I am big fan of Masaaki Kishibe and I often go to his concerts. He sees his right hand as well as his left hand in usual and we can see it in this YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFwZ3DpVNms

Hence watching fret board is very important and natural.

The tips of big jumps on fret board are teleportation and slow (see the figures below). We need to move very quickly from the origin (photo left) to the location above the landing and make shapes (photo ceentre). After that we can grip the neck as if it were low position (photo right).

 
Many thanks to all who have replied so far, your contributions and efforts in responding are appreciated.

The ‘Teleportation’ term used by yahalele is at the core of my difficulties and I have watched some of the (long) video that he suggested. The artist in the video constantly has his hands in sight but does not read any music - I wish that I had the memory for that.

I have copied Bill’s notes below to capture them - if that’s not OK he’ll let me know. For his own reasons Bill normally deletes his posts after a short while and then his helpful comments can be lost.

At the moment and for the foreseeable future I must use tab to play tunes on the Ukulele. On other instruments I can use standard notation by itself but for the Uke tab is currently essential. At some later date, and as a separate issue, I’d like to be able to dispense with tab and read straight from standard notation, but one problem at a time.

Rapidly shifting up and down the neck (teleportation?), to intended anchor points on the fretboard, WHILST at the same time reading tab is at the centre of my current difficulties. I feel like I need an extra set of eyes, or something.





Apart from looking, just playing scales is going to train your fingers where to go. It is boring and repetitive, but will work out in the end.
Looking at a re-entrant GCEA fretboard with 12 frets the lowest notes are C/C# and the highest note is the high A. On a lot of pieces you need to use several positions and using the boring four fret scale shapes that are so popular wont be enough. So you need to think about a mode, not a scale. A mode is a scale which does not start at the root note. So you look at your fretboard map and first find the common four fret scale shape for the key of the music, then you extend it up to the high A and down to C or C#. So effectively you have a mode for every key which starts at C or C#. The names of the modes are quaint, but you do not need to worry about the names, worry about the notes you want to play, say them as you play them the first few times.
Then just before you play a new tune, you check out the key, and you run through the notes starting at C or C# and finishing at A. Where the notes happen more than once, you fret them all at once if you can. Then you are showing your fingers where to go when playing the tune.
Using the dots along the top of the fretboard is a great help in providing reference points so your fingers can find where to go. if your uke does not have them, cut up some masking tape dots or triangles and stick them on fret 3 5 7 and your choice of 9 or 10.
The combination of working on the scale/modes and the reference points may help a lot.
 
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You mention wishing you had a better memory for memorizing the music like James Taylor in the earlier video, and then that you need help figuring out how to read tab and move your fretting hand to where it needs to go.

The solution to this problem is, unfortunately, memory. Either memorizing the music, or, developing the muscle memory in your fretting hand to allow for only brief glances to confirm that your fingers went where you expected them to. Both are achieved, as others have said, with repeated and intentional practice.

My only advice is to practice at a speed where you can manage to look back and forth between music and fretting hand without losing the musicality of what you are doing. Once you can play the piece or difficult section without mistakes at this slow speed, then and only then should you try it at a slightly faster tempo, repeating until mastery at that speed is achieved. Rinse and repeat.

This may mean playing it waaaaay slower than is interesting to you to start out with, but is essential if you want to get to the point you’re describing of being able to play and fret with ease.
 
This applies to your musical score as well.

Another tip that my teacher gave me was to “look ahead” before actually moving your fretting hand. It seems like simple advise but is very helpful. I have watched many great classical guitar players on YouTube and they all appear to use this technique, they look ahead to the next position prior to moving the fretting hand :D
 
Another tip that my teacher gave me was to “look ahead” before actually moving your fretting hand. It seems like simple advise but is very helpful. I have watched many great classical guitar players on YouTube and they all appear to use this technique, they look ahead to the next position prior to moving the fretting hand :D

What about Mr. Tommy Emmanuel, who rarely looks at this hands or the guitar?
 
..... For Tommy, the guitar is just an extension of his body, it's a part of him & he's a part of it! :D

My suspicion is that that is the way forward, or at least one of the better ones. I was playing at a strum along session a few days back and thought about how these days I don’t normally need to look at the fret board to position my fingers for chords (they land on the correct frets and strings ‘by themselves) yet a few years back I regularly did look (it was ‘essential’). Incidentally, ‘cause it now seems relevant, the chords that I currently automatically use only use the first four frets.

Somehow, for finger picking, I now need to train my left hand to move from one intended anchor point to another intended point without input from my eyes. As an aside that left hand movement up the fretboard would have additional benefits too from being able to ‘automatically’ playing alternative chords higher up the fretboard.

That ‘body extension’ to automatically give precise movement up and down the fret board is a real challenge ........... I have some ‘training’ ideas forming in my mind but wonder what the better/proven ways forward are. :anyone:
 
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That ‘body extension’ to automatically give precise movement up and down the fret board is a real challenge ........... I have some ‘training’ ideas forming in my mind but wonder what the better/proven ways forward are. :anyone:

See my original reply. The only proven way is through intentional, slow practice until you are able to play accurately at the slow speed. Then increase tempo slightly and repeat.

There is not a “do this for 5 minutes every day and you’ll get it!” solution. If there were, we’d all be Jake Shimabukuro or Corey Fujimoto or Carlos Santana or...you get the idea. It will take time and no small amount of effort on your part. But, if you can dedicate yourself to the practice, it will eventually become easier and easier to play the way you want.
 
Greenbag, I do the following:
1. Set a metronome for a largo tempo (I like 52 bpm).
2. Select a "simple" physical act (start very simple, like playing parts of a scale on a single string).
3. Relax, adopt a good playing posture, and breathe evenly. Consistency and groundedness are important.
4. Place your left hand, palm down, on your knee. Be sure to relax your left shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc.
5. Count the beats 1 through 8. On beat 1, execute your selected physical act.
6. Return your left hand to your knee and allow it to relax.
7. Repeat every 8 beats. Be sure to monitor your breathing if you have yet to master that aspect of performance.

As you become comfortable, subtly increase the complexity (refine your technique, play in 16th notes rather than 8th notes, add another string to the mix, reduce the number of beats to 4, change up the right hand, etc.--tons of possibilities). Wear a blindfold while you practice if you don't wish to watch your hands. Practice very intetionally, being sure to listen carefully and really feel what's happening in your neck, shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, and fingers, and finger pads.
 
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Greenbag, I do the following:
1. Set a metronome for a largo tempo (I like 52 bpm).
2. Select a "simple" physical act (start very simple, like playing parts of a scale on a single string).
3. Relax, adopt a good playing posture, and breathe evenly. Consistency and groundedness are important.
4. Place your left hand, palm down, on your knee. Be sure to relax your left shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc.
5. Count the beats 1 through 8. On beat 1, execute your selected physical act.
6. Return your left hand to your knee and allow it to relax.
7. Repeat every 8 beats. Be sure to monitor your breathing if you have yet to master that aspect of performance.

As you become comfortable, subtly increase the complexity (refine your technique, play in 16th notes rather than 8th notes, add another string to the mix, change up the right hand, etc.--tons of possibilities). Wear a blindfold while you practice if you don't wish to watch your hands. Practice very intetionally, being sure to listen carefully and really feel what's happening in your neck, shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, and fingers, and finger pads.

bacchettadavid has a much better way of saying it! I bolded the part I feel is critical: practicing with intention.

It is what will allow you to hone in on what exactly is challenging to do correctly, and at the slower tempo, should be easier and less frustrating to be able to play accurately, trying to get each note to "sing" the way you want it to.
 
bacchettadavid has a much better way of saying it! I bolded the part I feel is critical: practicing with intention.

Intention is key. Practice forms habits; if you want to form conducive habits, you ought to be intentional about it. Listen critically. Continue to develop your ears and trust their judgment.

Some musicians keep a journal wherein they list short-term and long-term goals, track progress, and reflect upon their individual development. Keeping a musical journal can be time-consuming, but it gives you a document that can be used to develop and prescribe structured practices that target areas of weakness as well as reinforce or refine newly developing strengths.
 
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Some musicians keep a journal wherein they list short-term and long-term goals, track progress, and reflect upon their individual development. Keeping a musical journal can be time-consuming, but it gives you a document that can be used to develop and prescribe structured practices that target areas of weakness as well as reinforce or refine newly developing strengths.

I don’t know how this never occurred to me—it seems breathtakingly obvious now—but I am so doing this! Thanks for the idea!
 
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