I talk a lot about technique and the importance of good technique.
But how can you tell if your technique is bad and causing problems?
Well, here are a couple of things to look out for:
Your fretting is messy.
Messy fretting is something all guitarists experience when starting out, it’s an unavoidable part of the process.
But if it never really improves, it’s likely a sign of poor fretting technique.
Your Picking Is Messy
Messy picking, like messy fretting is an unavoidable part of the guitar playing process.
But if you never experience any significant improvement, it’s generally a sign of poor picking technique.
The Fingers of Your Fretting Hand Flail Around
When you watch great players, their fingers never move more than they need to.
If the fingers of your fretting hand flail around while you’re playing, this is a sign of poor fretting technique.
Your Picking Hand Flails Around
When you watch great players, their picking hand is very controlled. Your picking hand shouldn’t be flying all over the place.
I sometimes refer to this as “pecking” instead of picking because it looks like a chicken’s peak pecking wildly at the strings.
If your picking hand flies all over the place when playing, this is a sign of poor picking technique.
You Only Use Certain Fingers For Fretting
It’s best to utilise all your fingers when fretting, yes – that includes the little finger, too.
If you only use certain fingers for fretting, this can be a sign of poor fretting technique.
You Mainly Use Down Picks
When playing multiple notes on a single string, it’s important to alternate your pick strokes.
There are some cases where consecutive down picks are fine, for example; rhythm guitar, pinched harmonics or if you want to achieve a certain tone.
But if you’re using down picks all the time because you can’t play anything else, this is a sign of poor picking technique.