Anatomy of Guitar Playing

12/16/2020

This image was meant to show a couple of things: First, not the thumb on top of the neck, a la a right-handed Jimi Hendrix. If the neck was in classical position, the headstock would be close to the ear, and playing with the thumb on top of the neck would make no sense at all. But lowering the neck, it makes playing with the thumb on top a lot more feasible.

Also, note the tilt of the guitar, so that the bottom is farther away from the body. This also helps with the thumb on top, but also makes it easier for the picking hand to come around. However, you'll note that there isn't anything holding up the guitar. for someone with just the right amount of a beer-belly, that would support the guitar perfectly, but otherwise, you might consider adding a guitar support to your guitar to thicken the body just the right amount of the guitar sits forward just how you want it to. Co-writer Dustin Silva carves out his own from a foam pad.

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12/15/2020

This image shows the , or the topmost vertebrae that holds up the head. The joint between this vertebrae and the skull is called the -occipital joint, the C0-C1 joint or the AO joint. The joint itself is almost exactly between your ear lobes.

It is very important to be are of because it is the center of the head
#1 This joint is where the head moves from, and as such it is critical in any spinal movement
#2 It is the center of gravity of the head when at balance, and as such is a critical place to know about when moving well.
#3 It is chock full of sensors, so it is one of the 'loudest' points in your body.

12/14/2020

This image shows the , or the topmost vertebrae that holds up the head. The joint between this vertebrae and the skull is called the -occipital joint, the C0-C1 joint or the AO joint. The joint itself is almost exactly between your ear lobes.

It is very important to be are of because it is the center of the head
#1 This joint is where the head moves from, and as such it is critical in any spinal movement
#2 It is the center of gravity of the head when at balance, and as such is a critical place to know about when moving well.
#3 It is chock full of sensors, so it is one of the 'loudest' points in your body.

09/30/2020

Here's another image of the thumb on top where you can see how the arm bones work together. The thumb creates a kind of pivot point on the top of the neck, allowing the pinky and ring finger more range of motion to easily reach all the strings. This also provides extra power for bending.

09/28/2020

09/24/2020

This is the companion to yesterday's post showing the collapsed knuckle. This is the same image but without a collapsed knuckle. Here the energy generated flows through the finger bone and effectively into the string. Check out our book Anatomy of Guitar Playing for more info! (https://amzn.to/3mniFVW)

09/24/2020

You'll almost never want to collapse your knuckle like this. not only does it put a lot of strain on your knuckle, all of that energy causing the strain is power that isn't being used to push down the string! Pretty much always a lose-lose.

09/16/2020

This is another view of the last image, without the bones highlighted. It is also from our book, Anatomy of Guitar Playing (https://amzn.to/3mniFVW) One important element of how the arm works is the precision side vs the power side of the arm. One of the things that makes this G Major chord so easy is how the pinky and ring fingers work together and the index and middle fingers work together. The center pillar of support for the arm flows through the pinky and ring, and this can serve as a base while the index and ring finger, supported by the radius, float can around - e.g. to the D, Cadd9, etc.... think Wonderwall by Oasis. Also note the thumb on top in this image.

09/15/2020

This is another one of my favorite images from Anatomy of Guitar Playing. (https://amzn.to/3mniFVW) One important element of how the arm works is the precision side vs the power side of the arm. One of the thigns that makes this G Major chord so easy is how the pinky and ring fingers work together and the index and middle fingers work together. The center pillar of support for the arm flows through the pinky and ring, and this can serve as a base while the index and ring finger, supported by the radius, float can around - e.g. to the D, Cadd9, etc.... think Wonderwall by Oasis. Also note the thumb on top in this image.

09/07/2020

This image shows a during . Note the downward pressure from the thumb into the pick, pushing it down through the string.