This works great especially for me because I have always had difficulty with proper bar handling due to an old shop injury that has left me with some movement limitations in my left had fingers. Previously, I tried gluing different attachments to bars to help with gripping the bar, as well as tried various bar shapes and sizes. This tape trick works the best out of anything I tried.
After I sit at my guitar and play for a minute or two to get the bar exactly in the position I want, I just put the strip of medical tape (3M Micropore tape - 1" width) over the tip of the index finger and it keeps the bar in the ideal place all the time. I notice all steel player keep the index finger anchored in exactly the same place that they like all the time when playing (except when picking the bar up off the strings or doing slants), so the tape does not interfere with anything.
I just wanted to share this in case any other steelers have difficulty with bar handling due to injuries, arthritis, or just general ham-fistedness and lack of the super-fine touch required for great intonation.
The tape helps me to relax my left hand more and play more fluidly, also allowing me to play longer without hand fatigue or cramps...Also, hammer-ons are way easier!
I'm very happy I came up with this idea...I have a few boxes of 3M medical tape that I was using to secure my finger picks, but since I have stopped using picks I can get more use out of this tape to improve my bar-handling.
I'm also very curious what skilled pickers without any intonation or bar-handling problems would experience when trying this...If anything, you'll find the hammer-ons much easier with this.
Here's a picture of my BJS Bar (12-string 1") secured to my finger with the tape:
Here's a picture of my MONSTER bar secured with tape (The MONSTER bar could also work for self-defense purposes
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