left hand fingering

[mirv]

Is this a problem ? I find my pinky locks when i finger the upper strings on my guitar: I have difficulty keeping midjoint curved and so its the joint to the the very tip of the finger which curves and allows me to touch the string . I feel this is because my finger muscles are not very developed and so I do not have control of it to be able to form a nice arch to the upper strings with a nice curve to the midjoint and not touch lower strings. Is this a common problem for beginners? Are there exercise techniques which will help me? I can compensate by moving my hand away from the fretboard but this is still a very awkward movement for me. :cry: :!:

[TheEvan]

Based on my own troubles with this phenomenon I would have to say that the problem is excessive tension. Though I have a very weak left hand due to an old saw injury (for instance, it is too weak to to use a nail clipper on my right hand nails!).

I've been struggling with this on the 3rd movement of La Catedral. here's what my teacher suggested, and it's beginning to work:

Put a cloth between the strings and soundboard to mute the strings. Now play the passages that give you trouble by placing your fingers on the strings but not pressing down at all. This will allow you to make all the shapes and placements with proper finger curvature, etc. Once you're fluent with this, remove the cloth and play the same passages. But don't try to fully fret the strings. Let it buzz all over the place, but retain your good hand & finger shapes. Maintian your position & maximum relation and gradually press the strings until you can play it mostly cleanly.

Well, it's working for me...

[keith]

a few things that may help:
1. stretching fingers. hey it helps with your back and everywhere else. you can stretch at work and on the fret board. :)
2. alternating fingers between 2nd and 5th strings. put your index finger (#1) on the 2nd string and your middle finger (#2) on the 5th string. then alternate: #1 to the 5th string, #2 to 2nd string. then use finger #2 and #3 (ring finger) then #3 and #4 (pinkie). this exercise will help develp strength and flexibility. once you are ok with the above, then try 2nd string and 6 string--and then try the two e strings.
3. check out pumping iron--thousands swear by it. 8)

4. now this is going to sound weird, but it actually works. several years ago on the t.v. show friends, pheobe was teaching joey how to play guitar. rather than say "make an e chord" she told him to make animals and such with his fingers (sort of like making hand shadows). although it sounds typically pheobe, there is some merit to it-- here goes:
i studied with a russian who taught me how to make chords and such by making a configuration with my fingers. this exercise, if you will, helped me to correct the pinkie fingertip from curving inward (if you have a callous on the outside of your pinkie you are doing this) and to reduce the tension in my hand.
it is amazing how easy it is to make barred chords using this method--try it: make a barred chord using fingers 2-5 and then lay down finger #1although he did not tell me to make animals and such, having the finger position preset before putting the fingers on the fret board helped in my early stages of learning the guitar.

my russian teacher has smaller hands than i yet could out reach me without any sweat. just goes to show what good technique can do. good luck.

[mirv]

Thanks TheEvan and Keith for replies. Your suggestions are very informative. The cloth under the strings provides some good tension that I can really work my finger and (why didn't I think of this !!) I can practice at all hours of the day without disturbing my elderly neighbor upstairs! I will get "Pumping Nylon" and make a lot of chord shapes whenever I can! Thank you both for your advice.
It all started when I noticed a very small barely perceptible scar on my finger , don't remember where I got it from, though I am sure its not what's screwing up my playing. For a time there I was worried I had a technique-bungling deformity of the pinky.