Switching Of Hand Positions

[blankstare77]

I've noticed in pieces where I'm struggling to shift so much! Can you give me pointers on how to decide when to shift or anything?

Many Thanks.

[DemoEtc]

Rule of thumb is try to shift right before a downbeat or other strong beat. And try to shift only to another position which has a 'cluster' of your next series of notes located conveniently around the note you've shifted to.

[blankstare77]

So I've simply got to look ahead, huh.

Part of my problem is also that I try to do a major scale but I didn't know it was minor. For me, that's a huge difference in hand position!

[DemoEtc]

Yes, pretty much. Like since you mentioned scales, say you're playing from the low string across the fretboard and wind up on the high string, and say you want to go to the next note higher. You could just slide your hand up to reach that note (a shift), and then for the next note you'd have to shift again.

Instead, you find that first 'next-higher' note but up a ways on a lower string, and now you got the rest of strings to play across till you have to shift again. Shifts are more of convience factor, going from one 'clump' of notes to the next clump.

The major/minor scale thing; you'll get an ear for it after awhile, and also recognize the little patterns.

[BillMason]

Originally Posted by blankstare77

Part of my problem is also that I try to do a major scale but I didn't know it was minor. For me, that's a huge difference in hand position!

I don't know if you've had any lessons or instruction before, so if what I say below is not new to you, please excuse, I'm not trying to talk down.

There are three main hand positions in which you can play a major scale without shifting position.

One starts on your middle finger, where your middle finger plays the root, your pinky the second, your index the third, and so on, ending with your pinky playing the octave.

A second position start with your index playing the root, and your pinky stretching to play the third on the same string, with your index playing the fourth, and your ring finger playing the octave. Note that for a minor scale in this position, you don't have to stretch to reach the third or flat six. For a major, it's usually best to shift towards the bridge with your middle finger to play the second, then drop back to play the fourth with your index, then shift forwards again to play the fifth with your middle finger again. Then you don't use your ring finger as much - the ring finger has difficulty moving independently from the middle or pinky fingers. Then again, maybe that habit is just mine, stemming back from when I first learned how to play on double bass, and then moved to electric. See what you think.

The third starts with your pinky playing the root on the E string, and your index playing the second on the next string down, ending with your index playing the octave on the G string.

You need to practice all of them, because knowing them can help you achieve economy of wrist movement - using one versus another will set you up to either scale up the neck, down the neck, or across the neck to change chords - and help you make chord changes with less thought to where you need to go.

Knowing all of them well will also help your fingers learn the neck, in "muscle memory," and a side benefit of this is that you can more easily recognize by sight what chord a guitar player is using, or what chord voicing they're using if you already know the chord changes.

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by blankstare77

I've noticed in pieces where I'm struggling to shift so much! Can you give me pointers on how to decide when to shift or anything?

It's like sightreading music you have to look ahead and plan. When sightreading before you play you look and the music and look for where the bulk of the notes lay and high or low parts you will have to shift to and decide best position to play to reduce number of shifts.

If playing and you find yourself shifting a lot you have to do the same thing while playing. Can I play this line in another position and reduce my shifts. Things to consider is it really a shift or just a thumb pivot. try to pivot when possible since it makes it easy to get back without thinking. I don't know how many scale finger patterns you know, but if only a couple then learn a couple more. Some fingering patterns are a stretch, but once used to them they make covering a lot of neck easier.

The main thing is learning to use the bass in your head so you move around in relation to where you are without looking at your neck. That is how upright players work. Uprights have a long neck with no dots or fret lines nothing. They move around by keeping track of where they were and then think the new position they are in.

For myself what helped me was starting to practice scales in two octaves and scales from lowest to highest possible note on the neck. You have to shift around to play mult-octave scales so you get used to shifting, quickly knowing where your are at for next few notes, and thinking ahead to where you have to shift to for next few notes. It also teaches you to know your scales as small pieces not fingering patterns in one position. Last practice sightreading music that had a few high or low notes. It helps at learning to move without looking by using bass in your head, so you don't have to take your eyes off the music.