Technical Tip #2: The Distal Joint

I find myself focusing a lot lately on a real flaw in many people's techniques. It has to do with the left hand distal joint. This is the joint closest to the fingertip. It often must BEND, in order to do what is required. And many students do NOT bend it as they should. This is especially true of the 1st finger, and the 4th finger.



A lot of times, this joint does not want to bend, but must be made to when doing finger drills, scales, and other exercises. It is very important, for instance, to make sure this joint is bent on the first finger while doing a C chord.



For those using the Foundation Exercises in "The Principles", be warned about this: the exercises involving the left hand, (All Aboard, The Crutch with Heavy and Floating Arm) should all have the distal joints BENT, directing the force and weight of the arm down to the string, thereby enabling you to play with minimum effort. Make sure you LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND COMPARE IT TO YOUR OWN FINGERS!



I am trying to shout at you, because most of the time, when I check my own private students, they are missing this in their at-home practice, and the only way I can get them to pay attention to it is to SCREAM!



(Excuse me while I take a deep breath and calm down.)



So start examining your distal joints as you play and practice. If you work with it, it will become more and more flexible, and will be another move forward in your ability as a guitarist.

Technical Tip #1: Pivot Fingers

The concept of Pivot Fingers is of immediate use even to beginners, and needs to be kept in mind constantly while practicing. It simply means that if a finger is already down on a note, and is needed in the same place either right away or shortly, DON'T TAKE IT OFF THAT NOTE.

Examples:

an Em chord to a B7. Do the Em with fingers 2 and 3, and leave 2 down while switching.

a C chord to an Em, leave 2 down and place 1 on the other note.

a C chord to a first position full F bar chord. Leave 3 down and pivot around it as you place the other fingers.

Always look for opportunities to use pivot fingers. You will find them in chord changes, scale passages, slur passages, all over. Every time you find one, you have just made that passage easier, and improved your overall technique. Sometimes, I find one I have never noticed before, maybe in something I have been playing for years and years. I am always glad I found it, but I feel pretty dumb for not noticing it before!

How to Make Guitar Chords

Learning to make guitar chords on your own without expert guidance can be hard. Many people have given up the desire to play the guitar as they failed to learn how to construct chords.

It can be a good idea to learn to play chords by taking lessons from a qualified instructor. However, not all of us can afford a personal instructor and are lost trying to learn by ourselves. There is the option of purchasing an online guitar course that comes with an audio and visual guide giving step-by-step instructions.

If you know the right techniques, it can be fun making guitar chords as it is quite easy if you know the major scales and the right formulas. Most basic chords comprise of three scale notes and are referred to as triads. There are basically four triads that are commonly used. The major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.

Major

If you wish to play a guitar cord initially you can write down the key. If you want a D major chord, the major scale will be as follows when written down D E F# G A B C#

You have to use the 1st, 3rd and 5th note to get the D major chord which is D, F# and A.

Similarly if you wish to play the B major chord...

B C# D# E F# G# A#

The 1st, 3rd and 5th notes which are B, D# and F# give you the B Major chord. You can play using any note of a chord as long as all notes are used. The formula is 1-3-5.

Minor

When the 3rd note in a major chord is flattened the chord is termed as the minor chord. The chord is played as 1st note, flattened 3rd note and then the 5th note...

C D E F G A B

The c minor chord goes as C, flattened E (Eb) and G. The formula is 1-b3-5.

Augmented

In augmented triads the 1st note, 3rd note and a sharp 5th note is used. The formula is 1-3-#5.

Diminished

In diminished triads the 3rd and the 5th notes are flattened. The formula is 1-b3-b5.

When you understand these simple formulas and apply them, you find that making chords on the guitar is rather simple and enjoyable. It is not necessary to memorize them by just their shapes. Instead if you understand the formula you will begin to construct chords without much of a fuss.

How to Choose a Guitar

So you have decided you would like to learn to play the guitar, but are completely lost about what kind of guitar to get, where to find music that you can play, what style of music you would like to play, and just in general, where to start. Well do not worry, it is common to feel this way when you are first learning to play guitar, and with a little help, is not nearly as daunting as it first seems. In this article, I would like to help you to choose your first guitar. This is an important step, and should be taken into very careful consideration.

When choosing your first guitar, you will want to focus on the larger guitar manufacturers such as Fender, Ibanez, and Gibson. But don’t think that just because these are big names in the guitar industry, you will be paying an arm and a leg, this is not the case. Each of these brands will have beginner models of their guitars that are perfect for the new guitarist, often times coming in great little packages that include a bag, guitar tuner, picks, and a strap. Your best bet is to head to the local music store and ask them what kind of beginner guitars they have, and if they have any beginner packages as I mentioned above.

There are a few things you don’t want to do when choosing your first guitar. You don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on your first guitar. Not only will you not have the ability to truly utilize your nice new guitar, but you will not know how to take good care of the guitar, such as tuning properly, changing strings when needed, and just keeping it in nice shape. If you were learning to ride a motorcycle, you wouldnt go out and buy a Harley Davidson for your first bike would you? One beginner mistake and you might end up laying the bike down, and feeling rather embarrassed. Instead you would buy an old used bike for a few hundred to learn and gain experience on. Then eventually upgrade to a much nicer bike. My advice is to take the same approach with your first guitar. Choose a nice beginner guitar, and once you feel like you are ready for an upgrade, go for it. One more thing that you really should not do is buy one of the cheap $20 guitars off of E-bay. I have personally made that mistake, and the guitar was a piece of junk. I would recommend budgeting up to $200 for your first guitar, but no more.

I hope that this article helps you to choose a great beginner guitar to learn with. It really is a great feeling to learn and play your favorite tunes. Just remember that for your first guitar, you do not need the rolls Royce of guitars, whether it be an electric or an acoustic. You will just want a quality guitar that has a good sound and feel. Good luck and have fun!