"Ergonomic" Hand Positions on 8-String Guitar (how not to hurt yourself)
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
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0:00 - The Question
0:31 - Ergonomics of Playing
1:12 - Guitar Playing is like Yoga
3:07 - 6-String vs. 8-String
6:13 - Summary
6:44 - Book Recommendation
7:15 - Share your story - Hudba
This is exactly what I've needed for months now! i have small hands with short fingers and would find myself in very uncomfortable spots. This gave me the guidelines to adjust! Thanks!
Hell yeah! Happy to help :) Thanks for letting me know
Guy who made the comment here, thanks! This is essentially exactly what I was looking for. Some good stuff to think about, and a recommendation if I want to dig deeper.
I'm a largely """self taught""" player, insofar as that's true in the age of the internet, so I have an inconsistent level of knowledge in a lot of areas. The idea of actively paying attention to elbow position seems, in hindsight, obvious, but also pretty eye opening. I was aware of it doing what it did, but most of my awareness of "trying to minimize tension" was focused on wrist and finger position.
Makes me think maybe I should bite the bullet and finally look into classical guitar. Been putting it off, because I'm actually a bassist who's always wanted to get a seven string bass, but there seems to be even less info on extended range basses than extended range guitars.
Yes, thank you for your comment! I was happy to talk about this in a video for you. Super interesting stuff.
I feel you though that everything is obvious in hindsight and it's unbelievable the years some of us spend hurting ourselves in our playing.
If some classical is what you want to do, that's awesome! It won't necessarily teach good technique though. Just be aware that you'll have to be mindful of your body with whatever instrument you end up playing. Best of luck though if you do end up trying some classical!
I've seen some of your videos and I think your teaching is excellent, really clear, useful and never too demonstrative. Regarding ergonomics and the left hand position, this is just my opinion and my oersonal experience, the inclined fret principle found on the Ibanez Q series is an interesting option. More guitars should be built with this feature, combined with a lightweight multiscale - 26.5 and 27.5 for example - this will help to reduce left hand tensions.
hey man have been loving all the 8 string content, could you do a review on your abasi? currently have a strandberg boden 8 and I wanna hear opinions on other high end 8 strings. could you talk about the purchasing process, price etc? could you also sound demos on all p/u selections available? anyways thanks keep up the good work
Definitely could put a little review together, for sure. I try to make this channel primarily about lessons and advice rather than gear, but if it would be useful for people, sure!
I don't have an 8-string yet, but I was specifically considering a Strandberg, because of the ergonomic benefits. I had a chance to play a Strandberg 8-string, and compared to the others I had tried, it was lighter and more comfortable to fret (especially for me, as I have pretty small hands). And I think part of it was the neck. Not only did it encourage better thumb positioning, but it wasn't as thick. Instead of being a wide C shaped neck, it's a trapezoid, which has less material on the back of the neck, so that my hand didn't have to stretch as far to get around the neck.
YMMV, but I found it interesting. Though it does seem like comfortable playing positions can be achieved with any 8-string, if you take the time to learn how to do them.
I've always been interested in the Strandberg 8-strings as well! I think if I bought one now in my life, I would go for one of those before an Abasi because of the price difference and availability.
The Abasi neck has some similar design considerations though as the neck gets flatter as you go higher. It's also a very thin neck as you mentioned about the Strandberg which, imo, requires less strain on the hand to keep the grips.
So yes, you can definitely get good positioning on any guitar, but it sure helps when the guitar makers are trying to help you achieve that goal!
Working on a computer and typing all day and playing guitar plus some occasional PC gaming, my wrists and forearm extensor muscles can get pretty shot
I find compression helps (tennis wrist bands, compression gloves)
I feel like I have a decent overall technique where I don’t feel much strain, but I need to warm up (I never do)
And that thumbnail 😚👌🏻
I'm in a similar boat! Always sitting for guitar and work and games really does a number on the body. Gotta be proactive about integrating movement and stretching into the day, especially as we get older. Thanks for the tip about compression though!
I had a little bit of fun with the thumbnail, haha
I picked up that book. It seems like no matter what I do, I have pain in my wrist and back of hand.. i feel like I definitely play with too much tension, but I am at least pretty conscious of keeping a straight wrist as I do have some classical guitar training. I never really have wrist pain when I play classical or 6 string guitars. I don't think I have wrist pain when I play bass either, so I don't know if it's the scale length. I do have an RGMS8, which has the neutral fret on the 12th which as I understand it is pretty different from most fanned fret 8 strings. I truly don't know, but I really want to get this under control before I stop being able to play the guitar entirely. It's frustrating and kind of scary honestly.
Wow, thank you for sharing! I hope the book can at least offer some insights or new avenues of thinking. It can absolutely be scary to have a lot of pain when playing, affecting other parts of your life, and threatening to end you guitar career. If you want another set of eyes on your playing, I would happy to chat a bit and do a 20 minute consult to see if there is anything I can offer. Just shoot me an email at admin@eightmetalstrings.com
Best of luck!
@@eightmetalstrings Much thanks!
bro you make me want an 8 string so bad lol. (ive been playing 6 for like 20 years). Do you think one of the lower cost ibanez or jackson 8 strings will scratch that itch? or are the pickups too bad?
If you can, check the Cort KX508 Multiscale 2, it has everything you should have on a 8 string (including Fishmans) without the premium price.
20 year club! Woot! lol. I always recommend going to a local guitar shop and trying some 8-strings out before you buy if you have that available to you. I know even L&McQ (the chain music store here in Canada even has some now).
Look for all the things you would look for in a good 6-string. 2 extra strings is no excuse for shoddy build quality or corners being cut. Try it out on some good amps to test the pickups, check the frets, neck, electronics, etc.
Beyond that, maybe some others can comment here about their experiences with other models. I haven't had the ability to really play more than my Abasi so don't have much to compare with as of yet.
Good luck! I'm honoured to be an inspiration to pick up this instrument for you!
I need to use my middle finger to play the first fret of my 8th string. Reaching my index up there consistently hurts after several notes. I’ve got short forearms though.
Oh interesting! I would be very interested in watching your playing position to see if I could suggest anything but I assume you've already tried lots of solutions. Thanks for sharing!