Right hand finger stance

[Ulrich Sinn]

I noticed some players have the right hand fingers curled almost to a fist when playing.

Does that have to do with pick/palm blocking?
Any rules/guidelines to that?

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

I was always taught to place the right hand on top of the strings in a relaxed and comfortable manner.
The automatic curl to your fingers does offer a number of 'advantages'.......IMHO.

[Richard Sinkler]

My little finger is always tucked under, but it serves no purpose other that being out of the way and making my hand more comfortable. Everyone is different.



EDIT: I meant to say my ring finger.

[Dave Grafe]

Looking through photographs from a recent show it is clear that my hand position varies depending on what I am doing with the instrument and what the associated blocking needs are.

Picks on thumb and three fingers, primarily pick blocking, but the little finger helps clean up any messiness in the top strings and strikes most harmonics, thus it is sometimes extended and sometimes tucked.

I can't say that I'm doing anything "right" or "wrong" but only that this is what it looks like this month and that it seems to work well enough for this month's needs.

[Alan Bidmade]

Check Jeff Newman's 'Right Hand Alpha' course - he'll tell you how to do it right. Not easy to make the change if you've been playing a while and have adopted bad habits, but curable with some application and dedicated practice. No miracle cures - just daily practice and suddenly what seems awkward and clumsy begins to feel a little more natural. Improves tone, too.

[Curt Trisko]

Looking through photographs from a recent show it is clear that my hand position varies depending on what I am doing with the instrument and what the associated blocking needs are.

What Dave said makes a lot of sense to me. What Alan says brings up a question I always have: it's not easy to tell which techniques need to be strictly adhered to and which ones need to be allowed to change to accommodate the needs of the particular song.

[Richard Sinkler]

Check Jeff Newman's 'Right Hand Alpha' course - he'll tell you how to do it right.

There is no right or wrong way. If it works for you, it's right. If it doesn't work for you, it's wrong. If Jeff's way was the only way, why do you see so many players with different hand positions?

[Ken Campbell]

I think, and I'm no expert, that as you learn to play your hands will find the way they need to play. Who taught the Big E. Who taught Admiral Byrd?

My 2 cents. Seat time = comfort, speed and tone.

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

He was largely SELF TAUGHT......invested hundreds of hours in researching the instrument, the tunings he was using and then practicing all that was required to perfect the technique and sounds he desired.
His original 'teacher' was a local music store owner there in Lima, Ohio.
He was driven by a musical curiosity and an uncontrollable desired to learn to play the instrument. The measure of his success is reflected in the many records, albums and sessions on which he participated, good enough to learn him a good living.

[Dave Grafe]

...and for goodness sakes don't take me for an expert, either, my blocking leaves a great deal to be desired...

[Curt Trisko]

Getting back to the topic of why a person chooses any given right hand technique; this is my guess. Aside from personal comfort, I think Dave is right that it mostly has to do with your preferred blocking technique. A closed fist is associated with pick blocking and outstretched fingers are associated with palm blocking.

I also find that stretching out at least your pinky puts my hand in a better position to swipe at the strings instead of just pluck them. I think this produces a more pleasant tone and brings out the sound of the string vibrating.

[Ian Rae]

As a beginner, I'm finding all this really useful. I started out on the front neck using a mixture of pick blocking and pinky-straight-out palm blocking and as I seemed to be doing ok I started investigating the C6 and discovered that the straight little finger collides with the front neck! So I've changed to a curled hand on both which will take some getting used to but it's not too late for me to relearn.

One thing is certain - hands vary greatly in shape and size and each is unique; so I don't see how there can ever be a "right" way.

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

With many years of playing steel guitar, both pedal and non=pedal, it's only been during the past year or two, that so much energy has been devoted to hashing and/or rehashing the topics of CABINET DROP and STRING BLOCKING here on the SGF.

Is all of this a NEWLY DISCOVERED CONCERN here on the SGF or has this been floating around out there among the top session players or, to only a privileged few of the players in the country?


Just curious...........

[Christopher Woitach]

Meaning no disrespect to all of those who have played steel for years without thinking about their right hand blocking, but I know, at least for standard guitar, the various right hand techniques have been, and continue to be, a huge topic of discussion. In my opinion, this makes a lot of sense - the right hand makes the initial sound on any guitar, usually.

Perhaps, since steel is a much younger instrument, it's just now coming around to being discussed. I applaud this, personally

[Christopher Woitach]

I should also mention that as far as I can tell, Maurice Anderson was concerned with, and discussed at length, right hand technique his entire career, which was very long, indeed.

[Mike Wheeler]

Don't kid yourselves. No one magically knew how to pick this thing we love. Every top pro wrestled with right hand technique just like we do. What gets the best tone, what works best for fast picking, what lessens/eliminates muscle strain, Which picks work best, where's the best place to pick a string, etc., etc., etc.

I would never tell a beginner to just do whatever "feels" best, or that there's no right or wrong. That leaves the impression that anything goes, and it doesn't. And I don't mean to say that any particular teacher's instructions are the "only" way. There are many good ways to approach picking a steel guitar, BUT.....how on earth can a beginner make informed choices?? He can't! He has no background to draw from.

This technique stuff takes a lot of work...just like everything else in life...before the benefits start to show. Picking is where the physical sound begins (aside from the mental aspects). It takes a bit of muscle development and coordination to pick well.

I would advise anyone to first study what the many masters of the steel guitar have developed already. Watch them play, mimic their techniques, study their courses. Soak up what they do. This gives one knowledge from which to draw informed conclusions.

Then, once that's done, adjust things to your own liking. Guys like the Big E, Jeff N., Joe W., Paul F., Tommy W., etc., didn't start by reinventing the wheel. They learned for the masters before them, then took that knowledge and used it to their own advantage to develop their own style....all the while practicing their butts off!

One can't begin navigating the vast expanse of steel techniques without a map. So study as many sources as you can. Learn them, each one, then with that knowledge you will be better able to make informed choices as to how you can best utilize what they've taught you, and develop YOUR own unique style.
THAT is how you find out "what works best for you".

[Don Griffiths]

I've been wanting to ask this same question. Thanks especially Richard Sinkler and Dave Grafe for posting the pics of your current technique after years of experience. Worth a thousand words to me, especially considering I rarely get to see any one play live and up close.

[Scott Duckworth]

I can remember 30 years ago, when I first tried steel, if you "pick blocked" it was a sin. Most said palm block or you can't play.

Sure am glad things changed!

[Roger Francis]

Mike Wheeler, my thoughts exactly, glad you typed all that for me too! With all the technology we have today with the internet to see all our pros play all we have to do is show up for class pay attention and put in our seat time. Wish it would have been available when i started playing back in the 70s, i could have avoided a lot of bad habits and learned a lot.

[Mike Wheeler]

That's when I started too, Roger. No internet, or simple way of communicating with other steel players...except by phone, or in-person meetings. I jumped right into the deep end bought a single neck MSA Universal steel. I didn't even have a set of finger picks!! Talk about being over one's head!! But the sound...oh my GOd, the beautiful sounds it produced....it was all I wanted to do, just play and play and play.

I spent hour after hour studying Winnie's book and all the pictures in it. That was all I had to go by for the first couple years.

Nowadays it's a piece of cake to study just about anything one wants, just by viewing YouTube or reading the volumes of writings available...not to mention a very large amount of instruction courses. Just an incredible array of resources are available these days.

Kinda makes me wish I was a youngster again. The learning curve wouldn't be nearly as steep as it was back then.

[Roger Francis]

Amen mike, i stated same way, shobud maverick no picks and shared an amp and winnie winston

[John De Maille]

I remember going to my first Jeff Newman seminar in 75' or 76', and he just about smashed my right hand with a ruler, when, he saw how I was picking. He literally harangued me about it. But, after coming from years of finger picking the six string guitar, I was set in a physical right hand technique. I tried and tried to play the way he was instructing, but, just couldn't get my hand to change over to the new style. I was, as it turned out, pick blocking all the time and unknowingly palm blocking along with it. Little did I know, that, it was the best of both ways. He heard me play a couple of years later after I was regaling him about how his efforts taught me to play and he said, " I didn't teach you to play like that. You have your own natural talent and developed your own style. I only enlightened you about the correct way to find things. And, I'm glad I didn't break your fingers". So, there are many ways to play this instrument, not just one way, but, getting the building blocks laid first is extremely important. It's funny, every time I sit behind my steel, I think of Jeff. I wish he was still here, I miss him. He was such a character and a great teacher, who, helped us all to learn.

[Richard Sinkler]

Yeah. I got a couple of good whacks from Jeff.

[John Scanlon]

Asked a similar question a few years ago and got several responses, here: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... t=#1597171

[Christopher Woitach]

Well, I must say that Ray's question has been well and truly answered, at least...

2014, and blocking has been a subject of great concern since at least 1974 (and I suspect more like 1920)

Not new stuff....