Practice to Decouple Left & Right Hand

[edt844]

Not sure if this title is clear enough. I notice that as I pluck harder with my RH, my LH uses more pressure for fretting.

Are there any exercises that allow us to consciously separate the right and left hands as to pressure or tension?

Ed T.

[Emre Hanli]

Why exactly does this bother you?

[edt844]

Originally Posted by Emre Hanli

Why exactly does this bother you?

It increases tension on the finger muscles in the forearm near the elbow and causes tension in my left elbow. I forgot to add that I am an old coot/geezer, so have to take precautions most younger people don't need to.

I could use the old guitar exercise which has me play notes while lessening the fretting hand tension until the string buzzes while I play the note from ppp to fff back to ppp. I could do the same exercise with scales.

Ed T.

[maxgrant]

Close your eyes, and imagine what note you are playing as you play it. Don't think about what you are doing mechanically.

Maybe do a lot of left-hand runs by itself while you let your right hand rest. fret notes without plucking them.

I do the closed-eyes thing and it seems the more I concentrate on that note I am playing, rather than how I am playing it, my hands almost automatically do what they need to do to achieve it. Now, I've been playing for over 25 years . . . I do not know how much of that can be learned right away and how much of it is almost a lifetime of muscle memory. But it is great for getting my hands to move without stress.

[Emre Hanli]

Now it makes sense. I tried to play and observe if this is happening with me too, and I think it does. But I'm not sure if it happens when I'm playing unconsciously as maxgrant advised.

I'd been through the carpal tunnel nightmare which had me off of my bass for more than one year. When I started playing again, I had a different posture and I'm careful with my right arm ever since. And that's not just when I'm playing. All the time, sleeping, opening doors etc. It also helps. Wish you luck with this.

[henry2513]

Here's a great exercise for that:

Gary Willis On Finger Pressure - YouTube

It's helped me tremendously

[edt844]

Originally Posted by henry2513

Here's a great exercise for that:

Gary Willis On Finger Pressure - YouTube

It's helped me tremendously

That's it. Thanks.

Ed T.