Welcome to PlayingTheGuitar.info. This is a new site with grand visions and plenty more in the pipeline. For now you'll find an exhaustive examination of how we contact our instrument. We use terms such as technique, posture, positions etc all to describe how we physically connect with that piece of wood. The section on Contacting the Guitar is the most exhaustive resource on the internet on this subject. Enjoy.
Well I'm finally sitting down with that beer (thanks to Paul and Suzanne) and figured it's about time I got started on the blog. When I mention to guitar players that I've got this site and try to explain what it's about I'm nearly always met with one of two responses. The first is the technique fascist who automatically assumes that I'll back him or her up in the ongoing war against the "unbelievers" and then there's the unbelievers themselves who assume that I'm about to start preaching to them about "correct" technique.
How does he do it? This iconic shot of Jimmy Page doesn't tell us how he plays like he does, but it does tell us a few other things. Imagine yourself grabbing that Les Paul, slinging it down near your knees somewhere and rocking back like this. Now take it off and see if you can still sway as far. Of course you can't, it's obvious that the weight at the front is balancing the weight at the back.
Ask yourself as you strap your guitar on:
Relaxation exercises tend to be classified as either mental or physical. Mental relaxation techniques generally involve visualisation and are commonly used in therapeutical situations and even many spiritual traditions.
Musicians tend to spend enough time in their heads so I prefer physical exercises such as this one. Importantly for the rest of the program it begins the process of focusing on specific areas of your body.
Apart from contributing to the position of the hand the primary function of the wrist that has relevance for us is its role in adjusting the tension in the extrinsic muscles of the hand. The wrist flexors and extensors described previously insert onto the carpal bones, parallel to these the extrinsic hand muscles cross the wrist and continue onto the fingers.
The shoulder positions the hand in space and demonstrates a wider and more varied range of movements than any other structure. Movement at three joints and a mobile base in the scapula allows the arm to move through it's full range.
The clavicle moves forward and backward, up and down, and rotates on it's own axis. Rotation accommodates scapula movement at the outer ranges of abduction while the larger movements position the shoulder at the lateral end of the pectoral girdle.