HOW TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A BOUNCING RIGHT HAND

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HOW TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A BOUNCING RIGHT HAND

By Douglas Niedt

Copyright Douglas Niedt. All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reprinted, but please be considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.

How do I keep my right hand from bouncing?

A bouncing right hand is a serious issue for classical guitarists. It can cause you to miss the strings, produce extreme tension in the right hand and arm, and make it difficult to achieve a good tone. This problem can occur when playing free strokes with the fingers, thumb, or both.

OVERVIEW: Preventing Right-Hand Bouncing When Playing with the Fingers

1. Palm Position: A common cause of right-hand bouncing is having the palm too close to the soundboard. When the palm is too low, it forces the middle and tip joints of the fingers to bend excessively, causing the fingers to pluck outward rather than across the strings, which leads to hand bouncing. It can also cause the wrist and arm to become overly engaged in plucking, which increases bouncing. To prevent this, keep your palm elevated above the soundboard, allowing the fingers to extend with a slight bend (20 to 40 degrees) at the middle joint while keeping the tip joints straight.
2. Upper Knuckle Position: Another factor contributing to hand bouncing is the position of the upper knuckle (the main knuckle) of the plucking finger. Keep the right hand angled forward (towards the floor) so that the upper knuckle is only one or two strings behind the string you are plucking. For example, if you are plucking the 2nd string with your index finger, the upper knuckle should be above the 3rd or 4th string. If the hand leans too far back, the upper knuckle may be positioned over the 5th or 6th string, causing the finger to pluck upward or outward, which leads to bouncing.
3. Plucking Technique: Avoid plucking from underneath the string (i.e., do not “hook” the string). Instead, focus on plucking across the string. See the “Basic Exercise” described below. It is also crucial to release the tension in the finger immediately after plucking, allowing the finger to return to its starting position. Do not keep the finger curled or tucked into the hand after plucking.

OVERVIEW: Preventing Right-Hand Bouncing When Playing with the Thumb (Free Stroke)

The thumb can contribute to right-hand bouncing, especially when its movement is not properly controlled.

1. Thumb Movement: Move the thumb using its rear joint only. Engaging the wrist to assist with the thumb stroke will cause the hand to bounce.
2. Plucking Direction: Ensure the thumb plucks across the string, not from underneath it.
3. Palm Position: Keeping the palm elevated above the soundboard helps the thumb pluck across the string. When alternating the thumb with a finger (as in the opening section of Leyenda), this elevated position also helps maintain the correct position of the upper knuckle of the plucking finger, one or two strings behind the string being plucked.

OVERVIEW—Preventing Right-Hand Bouncing When Plucking with Both the Thumb and Fingers Simultaneously

In pieces where the thumb and fingers pluck together (such as the famous Bourrée from Bach’s BWV 996), preventing right-hand bouncing becomes more challenging. Both the thumb and fingers can contribute to the problem, but applying the same techniques can help fix it.

1. Focus on the Right Hand Only: Practice with the right hand alone on open strings so you can concentrate fully on the right hand’s movements.
2. Practice Extremely Slowly: Start at a slow enough speed to ensure that you can make the correct finger or thumb movements without bouncing. Gradually increase your speed by ear over a period of days or weeks. Avoid using a metronome at this stage.
3. Avoid Planting Any Unused Fingers: I do not recommend planting unused fingers or the thumb to steady the hand. Typically, once the planted fingers are removed from the strings, the hand starts bouncing again. Therefore, it’s better to develop correct finger and thumb movements without relying on planting.
4. Be Patient: Fixing a bouncing hand is difficult, especially if you have been playing this way for a long time. It can take months of careful practice to overcome this issue.

WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR AN OVERVIEW ON HOW TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A BOUNCING RIGHT HAND!

A Basic Exercise to train the individual fingers:

Position the “a” finger in front of the 1st string, “m” in front of the 2nd string, and “i” in front of the 3rd string. This is the basic positioning of the fingers to play many arpeggios.

Pluck the 3rd string with “i.” Follow through and keep the finger above the 4th string. Observe how high above the 4th string the “i” finger is hovering. It should be no more than one centimeter above the 4th string.

If you have difficulty keeping the “i” finger less than a centimeter above the 4th string, try this:

1. Intentionally drag the “i” finger across the 3rd, 4th, and 5th strings. Hold the finger in position after it stops between the 5th and 6th strings. It will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. That is good.
2. Next, intentionally drag the “i” finger across only the 3rd and 4th strings. Hold the finger in position after it stops between the 4th and 5th strings. It will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. Again, this is good.
3. Next, drag the “i” finger across only the 3rd string. It will be a very short stroke. When it stops, hold the finger in position. It should be hovering less than a centimeter above the 4th string. That is how you should always pluck the strings with the fingers free stroke.
4. Finally, drag across the 3rd string with “i,” but instead of stopping and holding it above the 4th string, release the tension in the finger and allow gravity to immediately pull the finger back in front of the 3rd string, ready to play again. When I say “in front of the 3rd string,” I mean between the 2nd and 3rd strings. This finger stroke is the “pluck-release” or “pluck-return” free stroke.

Dragging the finger across the strings is a crucial concept. It helps prevent hand bouncing by teaching the finger to play across the strings rather than plucking from underneath and pulling up or out.

Next steps to master playing with the fingers across the strings:

1. Keeping the “a” finger in front of the 1st string, “m” in front of the 2nd string, and “i” in front of the 3rd string, practice the same procedure with “m” and finally with “a.”
2. Then, try playing “a,” “m,” “i,”— “a,” “m,” “i,”— “a,” “m,” “i,”—etc. But you must play slowly enough to observe that each finger always remains no more than one centimeter above the strings.
3. Practice various finger combinations that occur in the pieces you play.

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO PRACTICE WITH THE FINGERS TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A COUNCING RIGHT HAND!

A Basic Exercise to train the thumb:

Position the “a” finger in front of the 1st string, “m” in front of the 2nd string, and “i” in front of the 3rd string. This is the basic positioning of the fingers to play many arpeggios.

Pluck the 6th string with the thumb (“p”). Follow through and keep the thumb above the 5th string. Observe how high above the 5th string the thumb is hovering. It should be no more than one centimeter above the 5th string.

If you have difficulty keeping the thumb less than a centimeter above the 5th string, try this:

1. Intentionally drag the thumb across the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings. After it stops between the 2nd and 3rd strings, hold the thumb in position. It will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. That is good.
2. Next, intentionally drag the thumb across only the 6th and 5th strings. Hold the thumb in position after it stops between the 3rd and 4th strings. It will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. Again, this is good.
3. Next, drag the thumb across only the 6th string. It will be a very short stroke. Hold the thumb in position. It should be hovering less than a centimeter above the 5th string. That is how you should always pluck the strings with the thumb free stroke.
4. Finally, drag across the 6th string with the thumb, but instead of stopping and holding it above the 5th string, return the thumb to its position behind the 6th string, ready to play again. This is the “pluck-return” thumb free stroke.

Dragging the thumb across the strings is a crucial concept. It helps prevent hand bouncing by teaching the thumb to play across the strings rather than plucking from underneath and pulling up or out.

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO PRACTICE THE THUMB TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A BOUNCING RIGHT HAND!

A Basic Exercise to play with the fingers and thumb simultaneously:

Set the index finger on the 1st string and the thumb on the 6th string.

Pluck the 1st and 6th strings simultaneously. Follow through and keep the index finger above the 2nd string and the thumb above the 5th string. Observe how high above the 2nd string the index finger is and how high above the 5th string the thumb is hovering. Both should be no more than one centimeter above their strings.

If you have difficulty keeping the index finger or thumb less than a centimeter above the 2nd and 5th strings, try this:

1. Play the index finger and thumb simultaneously, but rather than plucking, intentionally drag the index finger across the 1st and 2nd strings and the thumb across the 6th and 5th strings. Hold both in position after the index finger stops between the 2nd and 3rd strings and the thumb stops between the 4th and 5th strings. They will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. That is good.
2. Next, intentionally drag the index finger across only the 1st string and the thumb across only the 6rd string. Both strokes will be very short. After the index finger stops between the 2nd and 3rd strings and the thumb stops between the 3rd and 4th strings, hold them in position. They will be hovering less than a centimeter above the strings. Again, this is good. That is how you should always pluck the strings with the thumb and finger or fingers simultaneously with free stroke.
3. Finally, drag the index finger across only the 1st string and the thumb across only the 6th string, but instead of stopping and holding them above the strings, return the thumb to its position behind the 6th string and the index finger to its position in front of the 1st string, ready to play again. This movement is the “pluck-return” thumb and finger free stroke.

Dragging the thumb and finger across the strings is a crucial concept. It helps prevent hand bouncing by teaching the thumb and finger to play across the strings rather than plucking from underneath and pulling up or out.

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO PRACTICE WITH THE THUMB AND FINGERS SIMULTANEOUSLY TO PREVENT, FIX, OR CURE A BOUNCING RIGHT HAND!

Next steps to master playing the thumb simultaneously with the fingers:

Use the same practice procedure of dragging the thumb and fingers across the strings and practice all combinations of playing the fingers and thumb simultaneously. Start by focusing on combinations of outer strings:

• thumb with “i” (6th and 1st string)
• thumb with “m” (6th and 1st string)
• thumb with “a” (6th and 1st string)
• thumb with “ma” (6th, 2nd, and 1st strings)
• thumb with “im” (6th, 2nd, and 1st strings)
• thumb with “ia” (6th, 3rd, and 1st strings)
• thumb with “ima” (6th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings)

Once you are comfortable with those combinations, practice on other combinations of inner strings.

Finally, practice various finger combinations that occur in the pieces you play.