I've been thinking a lot about relaxation recently, partly because my tennis elbow is finally on the mend and I don't want it to happen again, but mostly because I'm finding that my usual methods of moving around the fretboard, i.e. take a deep breath and go for it! are not working too well any more.
Here is what the De Visee sounded like after a couple of weeks practice... I thought I was making progress in keeping the lines connected, but when it got to the shifts, not so much. So I asked my guitar teacher, Zane Forshee:
Me> "What are the most important things to concentrate on to get those shifts smooth and connected?
Zane> Hi Julie (AKA Creamburmese)! It’s an honor to visit and share my thoughts with your readers. With regard to left hand shifting, I’ve put together a short video (well, it’s about 12 minutes, so not “internet short”) where I demonstrate the main points to consider.
I find (both as a player and as a teacher) that it helps if I organize my thoughts about technique into categories. With shifting on the guitar, there are, to me, three possible movements:
· Horizontal: towards the body or the head of the guitar on a string(s).
· Vertical: stays within a position but moves from the lower strings to the higher (6th string up to 1st) or vice versa.
· Combination: Brings a change of position (shifting up or down the neck) with a change of register giving a diagonal path for the hand to travel.
Breaking that down a bit further, we get into the elements of the shift:
· Targeting: Identify where you are going before you shift, and focus your eyes on that particular fret/string (i.e. aim for your target). Whatever you do, don’t watch your fingers—they have no idea what they’re doing! You are the boss, so lead them to their collective destination.
· Setup/Launch: Prepare the left hand to move. This means having proper left hand position (which could be a whole post in itself!) The main points to watch for are to keep your fingers on their fingertips and avoid hitting any adjacent strings with your left hand fingers.
· Shift/Elbow: Once you know where you’re going (targeting) and your hand is ready to shift (set up) you’re ready to go, but don’t forget to lead with your elbow! I’m underlining this because it’s that important. The elbow leads the charge and the hand follows the arm–try it out! It makes a huge difference.
· Landing: This is all about left hand finger placement. Avoid blindly “grabbing” at your target. Instead, think about placing the fingers once you arrive. The analogy that helps me is to imagine setting a plate of food down on a table. There’s a sense of grace in this act (well, at least I like to think that there is) that sets the whole tone of the meal. That moment of placement allows the guest an opportunity to appreciate the meal before they begin. Your hand and the music want the same thing—a moment of grace before moving on to the next step within the piece. If you tense up, you’ll inadvertently accent the note and the melodic line will become disjointed (to continue with our metaphor, you slammed the plate down on the table!)
One thing I will also mention: you should be configuring your hand for the next position as you shift—yep, you’re multitasking—it’s happening everywhere, why not with your guitar, too? This allows you to arrive prepared and ready to execute the next passage.
With these ideas in mind, let’s zoom in a bit closer to details that can really help improve your consistency and confidence with left hand shifts:
· Guide Shift: This is taking advantage of a finger that is already on a string as part of your setup and is used, on that same string, in a new position on the neck. You can see several examples of this in the video. This is an incredibly helpful tool to use in your playing and will boost your accuracy. Say goodbye to the “leap of faith” (where you take all your fingers off the strings and hope for the best) and say hello to the guide shift.
· Sequential Shift: This is a biggie! As in life, you can’t do everything at once. You can try but often you end up with a whole lot of “not so great” (or downright awful). The same can be said for shifting. Guitarists often find themselves having to making substantial changes to their left hand configuration from one position to the next. Here’s an opportunity to explore the sequence of fingers needed for moving between figures within a piece. Do you really need to have all the fingers down at once in the next position, or is there an opportunity to place them one at a time? By studying your score (you do look at the music when you practice, right?) you can determine with incredible precision the order in which notes are needed and when—work smarter, not harder.
· Open Strings: This is the fluent guitarist’s secret weapon: we’re always looking to find an open string when we need to change positions. This creates a sense of legato for our musical gesture and allows just enough time to get to our next destination. Think of it as taking an airline flight with a connection, and upon arrival discovering that your next flight is only a few steps away—you’d have time to get that much needed cup of coffee from the kiosk in the corner and take a moment to look out the window, too. So, get that sheet music back out and look for those open strings!
Hope this is of some help. This is a big topic, and while I can’t touch on every detail in a single post, I do hope this information is helpful. If you have questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello, you can reach me at my website, find me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Good luck, GO SLOW, and practice with a purpose!
Zane
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