IV.

Basic Guitar Techniques

A. Overview

The techniques used to play pick-style (aka plectrum style) guitar are no where near as standardized as
those used to play classical guitar. There is no RIGHT way to do do this or that although there might be a right
way for YOU to do something.
Even a casual survey of just a handful of great guitar players will turn up a large number of variations in
their technical approaches to the guitar. These differences in technique as well as conceptual differences are
among the main forces behind what determines someone’s particular style and sound (aka their “voice”).
One guy’s thumb (fretting hand) will always be firmly rooted at the middle of the neck, as in proper classi-
cal technique, while another guy’s thumb will be hanging over the top. One guy will hold the pick with his
thumb and 1st finger only while another guy uses his thumb and his 1st 2 fingers. One guy uses lots of finger
stretches while another guy simply moves his hand whenever the necessity for a finger stretch presents itself.
If they all sound great then who is using the RIGHT method and who is WRONG?
Having said that, I still think that there are some general principles that we can look for to decide when a
particular technique is optimal or counterproductive. This general rule of thumb can be summarized as “econo-
my of effort and motion”, or using the least amount of effort and physical motion, as is possible, to accomplish
a particular task. This approach also has ramifications for the health of your hands, arms and the rest of your
body.
In my experience, technique is rarely improved upon until the player is at the point where a particular
sound is already being envisioned in the player’s mind. Technique arises simply as a means to achieve a sound
that has already been conceptualized. If the player’s present technique is not adequate to the task then he/she
will make the necessary adjustments and develop a new technique or improve upon one already understood.

B. Holding The Pick

In general, for most people, the most practical way to hold the pick is simply between the 1st finger and
the thumb. Some people are more comfortable with the flat of the pick being flush with the 1st finger’s upper
side. Some people are more comfortable with the flat of the pick held between the tips of the 1st finger and the
thumb. Pat Metheny, always the exception to many a rule, is the guy I mentioned above who holds the pick
between his thumb and his 1st 2 fingers. I can’t really say that Pat’s technique is wrong because he sounds so
freaking good but it is wrong for me and it is wrong for most people, I suspect.
In general, the picking motion should be done with the wrist as opposed to the whole forearm or just the
fingers. Once again, everyone is different on this but the majority of good players seem to be doing as I sug-
gest.
Some people claim that for the ultimate in speed and accuracy the wrist should always be free floating
with no fingers or the palm of the picking hand touching the guitar. I often practice this way but when it
comes time to play I will notice my 3 free fingers often making themselves comfortable by resting on my
pickguard. Again, everyone is different.
There are also reasons, as we shall see, to rest the extreme base of your thumb (palm side) lightly on the
strings to dampen sympathetic vibrations and open strings.
With regards to comping (i.e. chording), certain types of passages are best executed by striking the strings
with the pick only while other passages are better played by using the quasi-fingerstyle technique of pick +
fingers (i.e. the 3 available fingers on the picking hand are used as well as the pick to pluck the strings). I
believe that developing proficiency in both techniques is a wise course of action.
I will not be dealing with real finger style techniques or classical guitar techniques very much at all in
these pages although the odd voicing here and there might require some proficiency in this area.
Please have a look at the chapter entitled Open Position for an overview of the basic picking techniques,
alternate picking and economy picking.

13 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein
C. Fretting Hand: Placement Of The Fingers

In order to use economize your effort the following bit of information is important. Less pressure is
required to get a note to sound, without fret buzzing, if the fretting finger is placed immediately behind the
fret. If you place your finger too far away from the fret you will need to apply much more pressure to the
string in order to get a good sound. Always play as close to the fret as possible. Playing too far away from the
fret also increases the likelihood that you may press too hard and thereby pull the string sharp as your finger
tip approaches contact with the fret board.
In general, your finger’s joints should always be rounded when playing single note passages. Never flatten
any of your finger’s joints unless you are trying to fret two strings simultaneously.

A good way to start developing finger independence and strength is to practice putting all 4 fingers on the
fretboard at the same time, covering a 4 fret area.

For example:
On your 1st string put your 1st finger in the 1st fret. (This note is F natural, btw. It is written in guitar music
on the 5th line of the treble clef staff although it sounds an octave lower than written.)
Leave your first finger down and put your 2nd finger in the 2nd fret. (F#/G∫)
Leave both these fingers down and place your 3rd finger in the 3rd fret. (G)
Leave all 3 fingers down and place your 4th finger in the 4th fret. (G#/A∫)

You should now have all 4 fingers down at once.

Each finger should be immediately behind the fret.
The joints of all your fingers should be arched.
You should be relaxed and not pressing so hard as to cause discomfort.

Now practice taking one finger at a time off the fretboard while the others remain.
Now try taking 2 fingers off the fretboard while the others remain.
Now try 3 fingers then all 4.
Repeat with the other 5 strings.

Note: This is merely an independence exercise. This is not how you play the guitar.

When you are actually playing you should try not to lift your fingers any higher off the fretboard than they
really need to be for any particular task. Your fingers should always be poised above the notes that they are
about to play, always thinking ahead. Again, economy of effort is the guiding principle.

D String Dampening

When sounding notes that are the same pitch as an open string (or closely related to low partial numbers of
the overtone series of an open string) that open string itself will start vibrating sympathetically.

Try this:
With your amp on at a reasonable volume play the E at the 5th fret of your 2nd string. Be careful not to touch
any of the other strings with either of your hands. Quickly release the finger pressure so that it no longer
sounds.
You should notice that your both your open E strings as well as your open A string are ringing out. They are
vibrating sympathetically to the fretted E.
The same phenomenon will happen, for sure, whenever you play any of the following notes anywhere, in

14 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein
any octave, on the guitar: E, A, D, G, B.
Plus, there are other acts of nature that complicate things even more. Playing a note that is fretted one fret
above or below a node and then releasing the pressure to stop it vibrating will often cause the harmonic at that
node to sound.

Try this:
Play the F at the 6th string’s 13th fret and immediately release the pressure. You should notice the sound of the
12th fret harmonic E still ringing out.
It is often possible to set off a sympathetic vibration from many other situations.
Clearly, some sort of method for controlling all these unintended sounds, especially on an amplified guitar,
is required.
What follows is an outline of the way I dampen strings. Again, I’m sorry but, everyone is different. There
is no right way to do this. Most guitar method books don’t even mention this subject at all!

1. When I am fretting notes on the 6th string my fretting hand’s 1st finger will lightly touch all of the other
strings thus dampening them. Sometimes my 4th finger will accomplish the same task. Rarely, I will use one
of my other fingers for this.
2. When fretting a note on the 5th string I will partially overshoot that string with whatever finger I am fretting
with lightly touching my 6th string in order to prevent it from accidentally sounding. The other strings are
dampened via the same methods as I describe when fretting notes on the 6th string.
3. When fretting a note on the 4th string I will partially overshoot that string with whatever finger I am fretting
with lightly touching my 5th string in order to prevent it from accidentally sounding. The 3rd, 2nd and 1st
strings are dampened via the same methods as I describe when fretting notes on the 6th string. I dampen the
6th string by lightly touching it with the extreme base of my thumb (palm side) of my picking hand.
4. When fretting a note on the 3rd string I will partially overshoot that string with whatever finger I am fretting
with lightly touching my 4th string in order to prevent it from accidentally sounding. The 2nd and 1st strings
are dampened via the same methods as I described when fretting notes on the 6th string. I dampen the 6th and
5th strings by lightly touching them with the extreme base of my thumb (palm side) of my picking hand.
5. When fretting a note on the 2nd string I will partially overshoot that string with whatever finger I am fret-
ting with lightly touching my 3rd string in order to prevent it from accidentally sounding. The 1st string is
dampened via the same methods as I described when fretting notes on the 6th string. I dampen the 6th, 5th and
4th strings by lightly touching them with the extreme base of my thumb (palm side) of my picking hand.
6. When fretting a note on the 1st string I will partially overshoot that string with whatever finger I am fretting
with lightly touching my 2nd string in order to prevent it from accidentally sounding. I dampen the 6th, 5th,
4th and 3rd strings by lightly touching them with the extreme base of my thumb (palm side) of my picking
hand.

Classical guitar technique uses the plucking hand’s fingers (mostly) and palm (a little) for string dampen-
ing as well as the fretting hand’s fingers. Sometimes when using pick + fingers technique it is necessary to
dampen the strings with the 3 available fingers of the picking hand. Sometimes open strings must be damp-
ened with the fretting hand’s fingers. Every situation is different.
The general rule of thumb here is that you should be in control, or at least aware, of all the sounds coming
off of your guitar. In order for you to be able to do this you have to listen very closely to what you are playing
and be willing to not settle for inferior execution. Once you know how you want something to sound it is up to
you to develop the technique to be able to make it sound that way.
I like to compare this situation to the concept, in audio, of “signal to noise ratio”. The guitar, especially the
electric guitar, is pretty much impossible to control completely. This is especially true when improvising on
an electric guitar. There are simply too many variables. There is always some sound coming off the guitar that
was not directly intended by the player. At any one time, however, this can be minimized so that a listener will
only be aware of the sounds you intend them to notice.
On the other hand, part of the charm of the guitar is the way all these sympathetic vibrations sometimes
drone in the background complimenting the overtones of the chords or notes being played. As with all art it is
a sensitive balancing act we are involved with here.

15 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein
E. Fretting Hand: The Thumb

For most people, doing the above finger independence exercise will force them to place their thumb just
slightly above the centre of the back of the neck, with the thumb almost exactly behind the first finger. This is
the thumb position advocated in classical guitar technique and there is rarely any real reason to have your
thumb anywhere else in my opinion. In the upper positions the thumb is placed successively more and more
behind the first finger (i.e. towards the nut).
But once again, a survey of just a few great guitarists will show that this is highly variable. As I remember
it, I think Jim Hall and Mick Goodrick both keep their thumbs as I have described for the most part but Pat
Metheny and John Scofield’s thumbs are all over the place. Sometimes, occasionally moving your thumb away
from the centre of the neck and hanging it over the top for a while can serve to relieve some strain if it is
beginning to build up. (see below Fretting Hand: The Wrist)
There is never any real need for the fleshy part of the palm of your hand to be touching the back of the
neck. All pressure to the strings should be applied via the finger tips and the tip of your thumb.
Your thumb should always be relaxed with the small joint never bent inward.
When the fingers are removed from the fretboard the thumb tip should remain lightly touching the back of
the neck getting ready for the next passage.
Do not use your fretting hand to hold the guitar in place. The guitar should be held in place via the forearm
of your picking hand and your thigh and supplemented by a good, well placed, secure shoulder strap. When
seated, a footstool under the picking hand side foot is a good idea too. This is based loosely on classical guitar
technique where the guitar is held firmly in place by the posture of the player such that the hands are free to
do whatever they need to without having to secure the guitar’s position.

F. Fretting Hand: Finger Stretches

A very useful feature of the hands is the ability to stretch the fingers such that 2 fingers can span more than
2 frets. This is usually done between the fingers 1 and 2 and/or fingers 3 and 4. Stretches are done sometimes
between the inner 2 fingers also but for most players this is needed only on a rare occasion. In the lower posi-
tions of the fretboard these stretches are wider and more difficult to execute due to the wider spacing between
the frets. Finger stretches get easier the higher up the fretboard one gets.

Try this:
1. On the 6th string put your 1st finger in the 2nd fret.
2. Now put your remaining 3 fingers in the next 3 frets respectively. All 4 fingers should be down now across
frets 2, 3, 4 and 5.
3. Put your first finger in the 1st fret now while keeping the others still depressed.

This is a “1st finger stretch”. Finger stretches are pretty much impossible to execute unless your thumb is in
the position I have advocated earlier, especially if you are playing on one of the lower strings.

4. Put your 1st finger back in the 2nd fret now and stretch your 4th finger so that it frets the note B∫ in the 6th
fret.

This is a “4th finger stretch”. Ditto regarding the placement of the thumb.

5. See if you can do a 1st finger stretch and a 4th finger stretch simultaneously such that your fingers now
cover a 6 fret area.

16 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein
In second position (i.e. 1st finger normally plays in the 2nd fret - see below) this is “a bit of a stretch” but it
CAN be done and it should be practiced.
Notice how your 2nd and 3rd fingers remain poised over their assigned frets while the 1st and 4th fingers
stretch. When trying to execute a finger stretch it is wrong to move your whole hand down (or up) to the lower
(or higher) fret’s area. The fingers must stretch. The hand should not move. The thumb should not move either.

G. Fretting Hand: The Wrist (About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome)

Attempting to do these wide finger stretches in 2nd position where the frets are so widely spaced has prob-
ably resulted in your wrist becoming sharply bent away from the neck. This is necessary every once in a while
in the lower positions but care should be taken to minimize the wrist’s angle and the frequency of using these
sharp bends or else some rather nasty RSI’s (Repetitive Strain Injuries) can result, including Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome (CTS) and Tendonitis. Your wrist should never need to bend up, towards the neck, btw, although
sometimes you might want to do this just to relax your hand a bit.
CTS happens when the little tunnel of cartilage that directs the nerves from your forearm through to your
hand and fingers becomes compressed repetitively. This causes the conduction of the electrical impulses along
the nerves to suffer. The symptoms are tingling in the fingertips (as if your hand has gone to sleep, due to lack
of circulation) often accompanied by pain. The symptoms usually go away with a little rest or stretching but if
it becomes chronic it can easily ruin a career. What happens is that the muscles in the base of the thumb begin
to atrophy and once they are gone they don’t come back.

Be VERY careful to avoid over flexing your wrist joint too often when playing the guitar.

H. “Position Playing” On Single Strings

The finger placement exercises above have brought us to the concept of what is called “Position Playing”.
Position Playing is a technique whereby you limit yourself to a 6 fret area of the fingerboard and determine
fingerings for single note structures, like scales and arpeggios, based solely on your hand’s position.
The first finger independence exercise had you in what is called 1st Position (or Position I) (aka Open
Position). In 1st Position any notes that you need to play in the 1st fret are played with the 1st finger. Anything
in the 2nd fret is played with the 2nd finger. Anything in the 3rd fret is played by the 3rd finger. and anything
in the 4th fret is played by the 4th finger.
In Open Position the open strings are also available to play the notes that are not right under our 4 fingers,
if those notes are required. In the higher positions we don’t use any open strings, in this technique, generally
speaking. In all other positions besides Position I we use finger stretches instead to play the notes that are not
right under our 4 fingers.
The position’s number is determined by the fret that the 1st finger usually plays in. In the stretching exer-
cise you started out with your hand in Position II. When playing the F natural in the 1st fret you were cau-
tioned not to move your hand down to Position I but rather to stretch your 1st finger. It is a common mistake
to accidentally shift position when trying to do a finger stretch. If it helps, try thinking of the position number
as really being the fret number of the fret below your 2nd finger instead of the fret above your 1st finger. In
Position Playing technique, you are always anchored into the position by where your 2nd and 3rd fingers have
to play.
For example: When playing in Position II your 2nd finger should always be playing in the 3rd fret and
your 3rd finger should always be playing in the 4th fret. As soon as your 2nd finger plays a note in the 4th fret
you have shifted to Position III. Etc. Likewise, as soon as your 3rd finger has played a note in the 5th fret you
have shifted to Pos. III. Etc.
Using Position Playing Technique it becomes evident that a fingering for any scale or arpeggio type is pos-
sible without needing to move the hand. Example: All 12 major scales can be played in Position 5. The finger-
ing you come up with may not be the best fingering but it will be a do-able fingering nonetheless. Do-able
after the fingers have gotten used to this idea after a few years, that is!

17 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein
 Position playing is a wonderful tool but many novice players get hung up on it and overdo it’s usefulness
in their minds. It is not the “right” way to play. It is simply “a” way to get an automatic fingering based on
hand position alone. This is quite useful when sight reading because you can leave your eyes glued to the page
instead of glancing at the neck all the time. However after a piece is known a little better it is rare to find that
a fingering that stays in any one position for very long actually sounds any good. The musically expressive
stuff requires many position shifts and slides and hammer-ons etc. and things that simply can not be played in
any one position.
Practicing in position is also a great way to get your fingers to learn how to do things that they don’t really
want to do yet but that they ARE capable of. It is great for developing finger independence and strength.
Position playing can also be quite useful when looking for ways to join scales and arpeggios smoothly
when improvising because in any one position there is usually only one place where any particular pitch can
be fingered, and at most two places. It is interesting when you realize that you can solo over an entire tune all
in one position. It becomes apparent how the notes of one scale join up with the notes of the next scale
because they are all right in front you in the same area of the fretboard rather than all over the place. Again,
this is just an exercise. A limitation exercise. This is not “the right way” to play or to improvise.

18 © 1998 J. M. Goldstein