Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Golf lesson for Guitar

#1

I am a lousy golfer - one who hits the ball off the shank or off the toe. I recently took a lesson and the coach told me to try to miss-hit the ball first off the toe and then off the shank. It worked - I started to hit better shots. I got to thinking about that philosophy for the guitar.

I press the strings on my Martin Dreadnaought WAAAAY too hard trying to avoid buzzing them. Borrowing the above teaching tool I set out to play a piece I knew well with the intent of causing every string to buzz from too light a touch. I was astounded at how little pressure it took. Now this is part of my warmup before practice.

For what it is worth…:wink:

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#2

This is great and several players I know do this regularly to reset their touch. Great advice!

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#3

I’d be one of them!

I find myself doing it as part of working on relaxation while learning anything new. I’m have a tendency to tense up & over play on new material…

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#4

Thats a great idea. I’ll give it a shot!

#5

I was encouraged to incorporate this, playing too hard then too lightly, into regular practice routine. I believe there are benefits as long as you don’t over-do the too hard practice straining yourself or breaking the instrument. Playing backup quietly with speed is a very big challenge. This may help with confidence and control.

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