Thanks Greg for this video packed with essential information.

And a big "bonjour" from Switzerland.

Olivier

Great video, Greg.

Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

--Mike

Christmas just came early...
Greg, this is 100% outstanding. Thanks very much!
Karma

A good video, but:

It would be great to have a tab diagram showing in addition to the chord data. Beginners in particular will find it difficult to distinguish which frets some fingers are addressing...

Big thanks for this, Greg !
Yes, it is very revealing indeed - so much so that I am going to have to watch it many more times and analyse it... My first broad impressions are of the way in which your left arm moves ( I now see what you mean about that much more clearly ), what your left thumb is doing and how relaxed your left shoulder seems to be. I'll have to watch it once through again (at least...) for detailed analysis of each of those aspects specifically, in turn... then see if I can do them myself, then think about what it is you're actually playing... really most informative and thanks very much indeed !
That camera angle is particularly good for conveying the info.
And, I agree with Eric that this video should get maximum exposure and reach as many players as possible - especially useful for new players, I would think.

Hi everyone, Many thanks for all the kind comments and feedback.

My intent is to provide "conceptual explanations" of how the various aspects of Stick playing work for me, rather than "technique lessons". So I don't think I'll be putting any kind of tab in them, maybe just better closeups. I'm not really satisfied with the look of the vertical shot on the right side of the screen (in general), but for this video it showed the thumb so it was helpful, I think.

In the future I will definitely be working on more specific lesson videos (probably as part of an instructional DVD) that will have a slower pace, with tabs, etc.

Now to Derek's post:



The way I approach The Stick is very different from the way an experienced guitarist might. I think I see lots of resonances between my approach and Emmett's Free Hands book, which was my only guide when first learning to play, but that might just be my own ambition speaking. Emmett was a guitarist, but his discovery of this method revolutionized his approach to making music. In that sense, I think it's so much broader in scope than the idea of simply fretting like you always have, and then just doing the same thing with the right hand. There is an essential quality to playing by tapping that's really different, and I consider it my mission to discover and reveal what that essential quality is.

Call it "Stickness" if you like.

The whole idea of supporting the different hand angles with arm movement, keeping the hand open, and taking advantage of the musical opportunities this will present is really the key. Position-oriented, typing-style fretting is not a substantial part of how I play, so I prefer to think about hand movements rather than fingering sequences. The method isn't called "Free Fingers", after all...

Lastly, to Eric's suggestion, I certainly didn't make this video just to illuminate this subject, it's really about the "whole package" of left hand accompaniment works in the inverted 5ths tuning. So I'll start another thread for this video having to do primarily with the tuning, but I think it's far from the last word on the subject of the Empty Hand, so please keep your thoughts on this subject coming.

Here's the video again, in case you missed it on page 2:



RSS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TZi0qKzKCM

Well, here's a few : I've had the chance to watch the vid a few more times (including once with the sound actually turned down so I could concentrate purely on watching the arm and hand movements and not be distracted by the awesome playing and sound) - in the same way that a a hurdler seeking to improve his stride or a pitcher seeking to improve his stance and therefore performance might watch another sporstman - and the following now strike me, primarily :
1) Your left thumb and where it rests, it's not the tip of the thumb resting against the bevelled edge of the Stick and it occasionally moves almost behind the board - so the angle of the wrist is less acute - of course it varies according to what you're playing, though.
2) The degree to which your left arm moves and pivots at the elbow - I've been mentally plotting the elbow's positions as I watch and it really does move in a kind of line, sometimes going higher and lower than I would have expected prior to watching the video.
3) That the l/h fingers are pointing towards the headstock quite often and that they are by no means flat, with a distinct arch to them such as a pianist might have even though the wrist is pretty straight. And the pressure from them on the strings seems very light yet still firm... it might not be called "Free Fingers" but yours seem pretty free - and fast -to me.
4) That the angle between the back of your l/h and the top of your left forearm is not flat at 180 degrees, there is an angle to it, (although it's much straighter than other players I've seen) enabling the fingers to bend, which gives them string clearance and they don't brush the melody strings at all as they reach for the furthest bass strings.
5) That the whole process is entirely fluid - I don't see any stress there...
From watching and checking myself when I'm playing, it seems that I'm not as far off the mark as I'd worried I might be. ( I guess that for a lot of players this is all just an unconscious process but my CTS causes me to consider the minutiae of it all. )
Anyway, the video has certainly cleared up a few points for me, it's much easier for me to understand than the written word on a subject such as this, which can depend on semantics and be open to misinterpretation.
(For the rest, and what you're actually playing, I guess I just need to practise... )
Many, many thanks again !

The inside of my thumb contacts the corner where the bevel meets the back of the instrument, but if your thumb is longer then mine it might work better to have it a little further behind. Here's a photo of my thumb showing the contact point:



Since my hand is constantly in motion (more on this below) I've been rubbing the inside of my thumb in that spot for over 25 years. It's the only callus I cave from Stick playing, though I co notice a little less sensitivity in my fingertips when I practice a lot.



I just make sure that my arm is "following" the hand. the shapes of the intervals in question on the board dictate how high or low the arm goes.


This angle is really helpful for playing the major chord shape, especially up near the nut. If you let your hand open up in this way, then your don't have to stretch your fingers out, or do any drastic bending.

I definitely think of my fingers as "hammer-heads" rather than as individual hammers. They are extensions of the hand, rather than "individual operators"


If you let your hand stay relaxed, as in this picture,:


you can keep your thumb in more or less the same place relative to your other fingers. So the hand is "open" but not stretched out. Not stretching is just as much a part of being fluid as avoiding too much finger-bending. My hands are always moving up and down the board, even when playing small intervals like half-steps. That movement is the driving force behind the music for me, not a "typing" style of finger-motion.

I'll be addressing some of these things in a future video on "basic technique elements"

Thanks for the comments!

Hi John,

There's a new thread, specifically about this video, with an example of a tab diagram.
Would this kind of diagram work for you?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3518&start=10

Hi Greg...

Yes that looks very good. I assume that image is cropped from a larger one and that the chord name would also be visible in the final version.

The video has such potential, I am sure that including a diagram (that matches your fingering) with each chord name will push it over the top.

Though I do respect the extra effort required.

John