I play guitar and piano, and I’ve had injuries from over use. I believe technique is the answer in all instruments. The more notes you play, the better your technique has to get. Great lesson and advice!
Now i know why the bass feels more natural to me even though I spend all my time playing guitar. I 100% use my big knuckles on both hands, but with guitar, I'm trying to be precise with using my small knuckles. Great video, thanks!
Thankyou, i watched this, grabbed the guitar and gave it a go, simply being aware of the knuckles i was using, instantly improved not only my playing stamina, but cleaned up and improved string targeting. If you are struggling or getting sore hands, just put this conept into your mindset when playing and it should help....now to show the wife the difference so i can go shopping for a new Martin :P
Excellent lesson! Even with the overabundance of guitar instruction on UA-cam these days, this is a critical element in technique that is rarely, if ever, discussed. I was incredibly fortunate to have had a fingerstyle guitar teacher 25 years ago drill into me that distinction between big and small knuckle movements. If I hadn't learned it then, I probably wouldn't still be playing because my progress would've been so limited.
The brachioradialis is one of the largest muscles in the forearm, and its role is to flex the forearm at the elbow. The brachioradialis mainly comprises fast-twitch muscle fibers.
I never heard of this before and I never thought about this by myself. Looks like another eye-opener for me! My own obeservation is: Many other channels talk about the right thump position and I think if the thump and hand is in a good position you make this "great" movement automatically, but no one ever mentioned the slow and fast muscle twitch.
One thing to add. Assist those arm muscles, by holding the guitar in such a way as to not bend the wrists greatly. This helps those connecting ligaments. On the picking hand the wrist should be approximately equal to the 1st knuckle. Fretting hand is a bit of a challenge but reducing any of the bend is a good thing. Takes practice to break old habits.
True! I've come up with a picking pattern that allows you to cross the string twice going down and twice going up. I call it Pendulum Picking. It's a two joint movement pattern. As you pick down, you simultaneously move your elbow backwards allowing you to attack the string again on the path down. Reverse the movement and you hit the string again 2 times on the way up. This will reduce the work you have to do by 50%. No one else seems to be using this. I call it Pendulum Picking because that is the path the tip of the pick travels in.
I'm learning Collide by Howie Day, and getting frustrated not being able to strum 16th notes smoothly, until the UA-cam algo popped this gem into my sights. Thank you! As soon as I switched from holding the pic and strumming with my fingers, to strumming using a forearm pronation motion, everything felt more effortless and the pic no longer got stuck in the strings as a bonus.
I feel a lot of teaching is good for players, that's how you learn. But nothing is better than practicing & more practicing. I learned before there was the internet & the only way I got good was commitment & practicing. With someone showing you you probably can speed up your skill of playing your guitar.
Actually your “big (MCP) knuckle” is flexed by your intrinsic (hand) muscles, specifically the volar interossei. The PIP (middle) knuckle is flexed by the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle, and the DIP (last) joint by the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) muscle. Both of these are extrinsic (forearm) muscles.
I have spinal foraminal stenosis and my back is so painful most days,anyway? Guitar playing really hurts my left hand when fretting scales/arpeggios but chords it's fine maybey cause I'm relaxed I dont no! But u make so much sence love ur videos man?? So much physics involved in guitar
This Is the best lesson ever. this was exactly my issue, now i feel that i can reach High speed. Before this video i was Always hitting a f* Speed barrier! Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
I've had very few guitar lessons, but I got a good one from Robert Fripp (big name drop here...). Picking stroke can comes from the forearm/elbow, not wrist flicking....Yep. Also he put me onto some classical pieces....flat picked....larger muscles are more stable and can handle the requirements of rhythms....
Yeah, years ago when I was starting seeing a girl, we went to her friend’s place and her friend straight out asked about our sex life. My new girlfriend responded, “He’s a guitarist and he’s very sensual and good with his fingers.”
It's not just a matter of technique, it's also important to lock in with you bandmates and find the right groove to give a great performance. So don't spend all your time practicing your solos.
Then maybe you can remind me why I spent so much time training to flex only the second knuckle of my fingers after attending one of your workshops ? That's quite confusing.
Interesting. My left hand fingers sort of naturally form a hook and I flex at the joint that attaches the finger to the hand. It's my right hand picking when I move from one string to another that is a real speed bump.
Yes. Everyone's fingers curl. He's talking about using the middle knuckles as the henge and not the big fist knuckles. He showed you examples. Keep your fingers bent. Yes. But use your big knuckles as the henge
You might want to hear what Paul Gilbert said about a young Brain Carrol (Buckethead), that he had a fast twitch, and that hasn’t seemed to have slowed him down! 😉
Pick up a bass for a few months. the strength you need to push down the strings will have to come from your forearm because your fast twitch muscles will likely not be strong enough to play for a long time.
is this a reason why I find it hard to play a normal electric guitar? I only can practice in a high action guitar so maybe I use the wrong muscle because I'm used to playing with more force edit: just finished watching the video. everything makes sense. very well said. this concept is very helpful in improving guitar skills
If you want to play like EVH you are going to have to learn his style & abilities. Same with Angus Young & so on. For me I don't want to play or sound like anybody else, that ship has sailed. I can't do hammer on any more so I just play what I can. But there nothing wrong getting tips & lessons from teachers.
is it just me, or are you over-complicating something that can be explained in 60 seconds? You're not wrong, but you're right in way more words than were required. I didn't know what "fast twitch muscle" was, so I stuck around until the end, only to find that you were in fact presenting one of the most basic guitar technique tips
WTF, I was pro for many years, then motorcycle crash nerve damage. It don't matter how you play your guitar if it sounds good you are doing it right. don't let anyone tell you how to play your guitar if your killing it. I don't care how you play your guitar if it sounds killer & you are entertaining yourself & people. You got it. THERE NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO PLAY.
True. But I doubt someone who's not having trouble playing is going to be watching videos like this. This video is great advice for those looking for a way to get their playing under control. I once had an instructor who said to imagine your finger is a clothes hanger hook that you're just hanging on the guitar neck using only gravity. With that advice, I realized how little pressure was really needed to fret a note. This lesson explains even better why these minimal movements are most efficient. You can play many things with inefficient technique, and even more if you're a prodigy. But if you're an average Joe who wants to play advanced material, detailed precision technique analysis is always helpful.
Exactly. That's why I quit learning anything about the guitar after I'd learned A, D, E and the 1st position pentatonic scale. Cuz, I mean, I'm entertaining myself so what's the point if learning more? Smh
Fast twitch muscle ?? I ' ve never heard that word and i really have no clue what you mean . I followed the whole vid but really i dont understand a thing .. very frustrating 😅
Just because your muscles are either tensed up or not, that has zero bearing whatsoever on whether you are using fast twitch or slow twitch muscles. If you are playing fast in any way, that requires fast twitch muscles, even if you are playing relaxed. Changing from one picking direction to the other repeatedly is by definition a fast twitch task.
As less than 10% of people have enough fast twitch muscle fibres to be able to sprint it stands to reason that over 90% of guitarists will not be able to shred at light speed regardless of how much they practice. This video is wildly inaccurate at best.
I am conservatory trained guitarist, exercise physiologist, and motor learning specialist. with 40 years experience. Sir...your explanation is gratuitous assertion. Total horsesht. Do your homework
@@jmorrisey79 I was hoping to get somebody triggered. I appreciate the compliment. Not here to educate you, just to pss u off enough hoping you might think.
Beautiful theory but you don't show how to do it on your beautiful guitar. So this is of no use to me. Theory is easy to understand but execution is something completely different.
I play guitar and piano, and I’ve had injuries from over use. I believe technique is the answer in all instruments. The more notes you play, the better your technique has to get. Great lesson and advice!
Excellent video. Have watched thousands of guitar videos and tutorials over the last 3 years and never heard this described before. Thank you!
Now i know why the bass feels more natural to me even though I spend all my time playing guitar. I 100% use my big knuckles on both hands, but with guitar, I'm trying to be precise with using my small knuckles. Great video, thanks!
you're my goat fr my technique has improved more in two days watching your videos than the entire preceding year. legend!
Happy to help!
Thankyou, i watched this, grabbed the guitar and gave it a go, simply being aware of the knuckles i was using, instantly improved not only my playing stamina, but cleaned up and improved string targeting. If you are struggling or getting sore hands, just put this conept into your mindset when playing and it should help....now to show the wife the difference so i can go shopping for a new Martin :P
Great comment.
Wow! I can really feel the difference in my forearm. Now I just have to apply it. Thanks
Happy to help!
awesome stuff here max, super super interesting
I agree with you. Classical guitarists if they using proper technique already do this.
Excellent lesson! Even with the overabundance of guitar instruction on UA-cam these days, this is a critical element in technique that is rarely, if ever, discussed. I was incredibly fortunate to have had a fingerstyle guitar teacher 25 years ago drill into me that distinction between big and small knuckle movements. If I hadn't learned it then, I probably wouldn't still be playing because my progress would've been so limited.
The brachioradialis is one of the largest muscles in the forearm, and its role is to flex the forearm at the elbow. The brachioradialis mainly comprises fast-twitch muscle fibers.
This is one of my current problems. Thanks for awesome analyse👏👍
I never heard of this before and I never thought about this by myself. Looks like another eye-opener for me! My own obeservation is: Many other channels talk about the right thump position and I think if the thump and hand is in a good position you make this "great" movement automatically, but no one ever mentioned the slow and fast muscle twitch.
Thanks, I wish I knew this technique 7+ years ago when I started learning guitar!😁
Happy to help!
One thing to add. Assist those arm muscles, by holding the guitar in such a way as to not bend the wrists greatly. This helps those connecting ligaments. On the picking hand the wrist should be approximately equal to the 1st knuckle. Fretting hand is a bit of a challenge but reducing any of the bend is a good thing. Takes practice to break old habits.
Thanks for pointing this out... i am conscious of it now.
True!
I've come up with a picking pattern that allows you to cross the string twice going down and twice going up. I call it Pendulum Picking.
It's a two joint movement pattern. As you pick down, you simultaneously move your elbow backwards allowing you to attack the string again on the path down.
Reverse the movement and you hit the string again 2 times on the way up. This will reduce the work you have to do by 50%.
No one else seems to be using this. I call it Pendulum Picking because that is the path the tip of the pick travels in.
I'm learning Collide by Howie Day, and getting frustrated not being able to strum 16th notes smoothly, until the UA-cam algo popped this gem into my sights. Thank you! As soon as I switched from holding the pic and strumming with my fingers, to strumming using a forearm pronation motion, everything felt more effortless and the pic no longer got stuck in the strings as a bonus.
I feel a lot of teaching is good for players, that's how you learn. But nothing is better than practicing & more practicing. I learned before there was the internet & the only way I got good was commitment & practicing. With someone showing you you probably can speed up your skill of playing your guitar.
Actually your “big (MCP) knuckle” is flexed by your intrinsic (hand) muscles, specifically the volar interossei. The PIP (middle) knuckle is flexed by the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle, and the DIP (last) joint by the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) muscle. Both of these are extrinsic (forearm) muscles.
so the vid is wrong?
@@NikosKatsikanis it seems so
@@williamstewart8881 ill have to do my own research
@@NikosKatsikanisalways a good thing.
I have spinal foraminal stenosis and my back is so painful most days,anyway? Guitar playing really hurts my left hand when fretting scales/arpeggios but chords it's fine maybey cause I'm relaxed I dont no!
But u make so much sence love ur videos man?? So much physics involved in guitar
This Is the best lesson ever. this was exactly my issue, now i feel that i can reach High speed. Before this video i was Always hitting a f* Speed barrier! Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Great to hear!
Pretty cool lesson, what you say does make sense. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I've had very few guitar lessons, but I got a good one from Robert Fripp (big name drop here...). Picking stroke can comes from the forearm/elbow, not wrist flicking....Yep. Also he put me onto some classical pieces....flat picked....larger muscles are more stable and can handle the requirements of rhythms....
Okay thanks !
Now I understand Geddy Lee’s right hand technique for bass …
I don't understand what he is talking about 😢. Now I understand better. Thank you!!!😊.❤.❤❤
I had to check. Yes Im past the curly days i've just noticed. Very informative thanks. Love the guild acoustic...
Fascinating lesson - thanks Max!
thanks, my girl's gonna be really happy now
Yeah, years ago when I was starting seeing a girl, we went to her friend’s place and her friend straight out asked about our sex life. My new girlfriend responded, “He’s a guitarist and he’s very sensual and good with his fingers.”
It's not just a matter of technique, it's also important to lock in with you bandmates and find the right groove to give a great performance. So don't spend all your time practicing your solos.
@@emulgatorx 🤣🤣🤣 alright I'll work harder with the orchestra
That explains a lot, thanks!
No problem!
Thanks a lot , what about pull off specially by ring finger ?
What is fast twitch muscle
First time I've heard this! 🙏
Then maybe you can remind me why I spent so much time training to flex only the second knuckle of my fingers after attending one of your workshops ? That's quite confusing.
Because that helps two things: ability to control each knuckle individually as well as increasing your tendon flexibility.
Great advice!!
Your new and shorter hairstyle makes you now resemble Dan Fogelberg!
I am struggling to believe this but I will try it
Great video
Is that a Sebago Double Trouble amp?
Yes!!!! You’re the first person I’ve ever heard from that even knew the company!
Interesting. My left hand fingers sort of naturally form a hook and I flex at the joint that attaches the finger to the hand. It's my right hand picking when I move from one string to another that is a real speed bump.
Yes. Everyone's fingers curl. He's talking about using the middle knuckles as the henge and not the big fist knuckles. He showed you examples. Keep your fingers bent. Yes. But use your big knuckles as the henge
Thank you
You might want to hear what Paul Gilbert said about a young Brain Carrol (Buckethead), that he had a fast twitch, and that hasn’t seemed to have slowed him down! 😉
This is rubbish. Your fast twitch and slow twitch muscles move at the same time. You cannot decide which ones you are going to use.
This is wrong. Tetanic contractions via summation happen because fibers contract in order of force output (type I > type IIa > type IIb).
Pick up a bass for a few months. the strength you need to push down the strings will have to come from your forearm because your fast twitch muscles will likely not be strong enough to play for a long time.
Didn’t know Rick Grimes from Walking Dead played guitar
I thought the same thing wow!
Lol😂
GUILD rules !
Very helpful. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. You earned a sub!!
Awesome, thank you!
is this a reason why I find it hard to play a normal electric guitar? I only can practice in a high action guitar so maybe I use the wrong muscle because I'm used to playing with more force
edit:
just finished watching the video. everything makes sense. very well said. this concept is very helpful in improving guitar skills
GOLD
Thanks!
No problem!
If you want to play like EVH you are going to have to learn his style & abilities. Same with Angus Young & so on. For me I don't want to play or sound like anybody else, that ship has sailed. I can't do hammer on any more so I just play what I can. But there nothing wrong getting tips & lessons from teachers.
Yeah, that's a major issue i have. Stayinf related
is it just me, or are you over-complicating something that can be explained in 60 seconds? You're not wrong, but you're right in way more words than were required. I didn't know what "fast twitch muscle" was, so I stuck around until the end, only to find that you were in fact presenting one of the most basic guitar technique tips
WTF, I was pro for many years, then motorcycle crash nerve damage. It don't matter how you play your guitar if it sounds good you are doing it right. don't let anyone tell you how to play your guitar if your killing it. I don't care how you play your guitar if it sounds killer & you are entertaining yourself & people. You got it. THERE NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO PLAY.
True. But I doubt someone who's not having trouble playing is going to be watching videos like this. This video is great advice for those looking for a way to get their playing under control. I once had an instructor who said to imagine your finger is a clothes hanger hook that you're just hanging on the guitar neck using only gravity. With that advice, I realized how little pressure was really needed to fret a note. This lesson explains even better why these minimal movements are most efficient. You can play many things with inefficient technique, and even more if you're a prodigy. But if you're an average Joe who wants to play advanced material, detailed precision technique analysis is always helpful.
The wrong way to play is the one that isn't working for us hence why we're watching the video.
Word. In fact, if you are unable to emulate your guitar heroes its often a good thing. Finding your own sauce is the real prize.
Exactly. That's why I quit learning anything about the guitar after I'd learned A, D, E and the 1st position pentatonic scale. Cuz, I mean, I'm entertaining myself so what's the point if learning more?
Smh
Fast twitch muscle ?? I ' ve never heard that word and i really have no clue what you mean . I followed the whole vid but really i dont understand a thing .. very frustrating 😅
Is it because I don’t practise? It is, isn’t it.
😂😂😂
No. Actually the less you practice, the more you give room for your genius to unfold by itself!
Try to look into new gear, that should fix it.
@@leonardomarquesbellini That’s what I’ve been doing :)
Anatomy 101, there are no muscles in the fingers
I never said there were.
Just because your muscles are either tensed up or not, that has zero bearing whatsoever on whether you are using fast twitch or slow twitch muscles. If you are playing fast in any way, that requires fast twitch muscles, even if you are playing relaxed. Changing from one picking direction to the other repeatedly is by definition a fast twitch task.
This doesn’t contradict anything I said.
have a sub
nice
Thanks
As less than 10% of people have enough fast twitch muscle fibres to be able to sprint it stands to reason that over 90% of guitarists will not be able to shred at light speed regardless of how much they practice. This video is wildly inaccurate at best.
This isn’t how genetics and environmental development works at all.
@@MaxRichMusic Yes it is.
This is something that I seem to forget every once in awhile.
Good stuff!
One of the most useless vids in a while.
Total nonsense.
The best way to get better is to buy a 5000$ guitar, I’m Tim Henson btw
Bruh earned mah respect alrrr
I am conservatory trained guitarist, exercise physiologist, and motor learning specialist.
with 40 years experience.
Sir...your explanation is gratuitous assertion. Total horsesht. Do your homework
Hahaa please elaborate.. this does come across as 🐮 💩
@@jmorrisey79 I was hoping to get somebody triggered. I appreciate the compliment. Not here to educate you,
just to pss u off enough hoping you might think.
@@sixstringerati I was actually telling you to lay it on the the dude who made the video. You missed what I was saying completely bud
@@jmorrisey79 Thx no problem. He needs to figure it for himself
@@sixstringeratiwell that’s bs.
If you’re going to make a claim back it up or stfu
So relaxation = speed?
Noooooo why did you cut your hair mate ? 😂😂😂,to hard to sleep when is hot ,I know
Beautiful theory but you don't show how to do it on your beautiful guitar. So this is of no use to me.
Theory is easy to understand but execution is something completely different.