Best way to hold the guitar

elekid

I've only been playing for a few days but I find that the middle and ring fingers of my left hand become sore and uncomfortable very quickly after only a short time playing.

I strum with my right hand and wrap my left hand palm-upwards around the neck of the guitar, with my left index finger on the green button, my left middle finger on the red button and my left ring finger on the yellow button. Am I doing something wrong with the way I'm holding it or are my fingers just rubbish?

I'm still only on easy mode too so I haven't even had to try to press blue or orange yet, so I can't imagine they are going to be any easier for me!

ShawnRaven

Your fingers are just rubbish. They will improve with practice. I would advise taking a break for about 10 mins every hour if you've never played before. You could suffer strain, and it's not the most comfortable thing to put up with.

I know... i suffered it earlier this year.
Good luck

VR!

Zapp Brannigan

I tend not to wrap my palm around the neck, its very sloppy guitar technique and I trained myself not to do it years ago. So for me, my thumb is routed firmly on the neck and it leaves my fingers free to fly about the neck, while I toss my head back and let my hair blow in the wind (from the fan I set up earlier) and just rock out...on hard

ShawnRaven

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

while I toss my head back and let my hair blow in the wind (from the fan I set up earlier) and just rock out...on hard

Hah, i thought i was the only poser in that game! Nah, i don't have the hair anymore, but i do tend to sway the sh*t out of the guitar as i adjust the strap until the guitar is nearly at my knees...

... then shape like hell
VR!

Makaveli

My biggest problem is my right hand not my left hand. My thumb cramps if there's a series of continuous notes like on Monkey Wrench (hard) and I have to use my index finger and strum up instead. Not the most ideal situation but I think it's because I broke my thumb and it never healed properly.

ShawnRaven

Makaveli wrote: »

My biggest problem is my right hand not my left hand. My thumb cramps if there's a series of continuous notes like on Monkey Wrench (hard) and I have to use my index finger and strum up instead. Not the most ideal situation but I think it's because I broke my thumb and it never healed properly.

Try to learn to time strumming up and down. It takes the pressure off your thumb completely. I had a similar issue with my thumb being dead after a series of consecutive notes. Heart's "Baracuda" on GHIII is a prime example of this.

VR!

Makaveli

If I strum up and down I just do it way too fast. I probably should learn to do it but it's a pain.

Smellyirishman

Makaveli wrote: »

If I strum up and down I just do it way too fast. I probably should learn to do it but it's a pain.

Definitly learn, there are times when it's much easier if your strumming up and down, but likewise, there are times when down-strumming alone is easier.

Don't "tap" the strum bar with your thumb and index, "grip" it as you would a plec between your thumb and index then just move this up and down resting the side of your hand on the guitar.

Makaveli

Yeah that's how I do it now, but I only ever use the technique when there's a cluster of notes.

miju

Smellyirishman wrote: »

Don't "tap" the strum bar with your thumb and index, "grip" it as you would a plec between your thumb and index then just move this up and down resting the side of your hand on the guitar.

lollers, i do exactly that though for a reason. I'm a lefty and so can put the whammy bar in a position and play the guitar where i'm kind of slapping the strum bar so im whammying at the same time.

also play the other way as well depending on the song

brianon

Was wondering about strumming. At the moment I just strum all down (or all up so I don't wear out the guitar). Should I change to the up/down method ?

bombjack2

Thinking of buying this game soon

If you can play tracks well on GH3, would that mean you could play the track on a real guitar? Or even something resembling the track?

ShawnRaven

brianon wrote: »

Was wondering about strumming. At the moment I just strum all down (or all up so I don't wear out the guitar). Should I change to the up/down method ?

I would definitely learn the up and down method, it's easier on both the guitar and your fingys

VR!

Zapp Brannigan

bombjack2 wrote: »

Thinking of buying this game soon

If you can play tracks well on GH3, would that mean you could play the track on a real guitar? Or even something resembling the track?

Nah it's a completely different kettle of picks (see what I did there..eh, eh?). I can play alot of the GH2 & 3 songs in real life note perfect but still can't get 100% in expert on any of them.

elekid

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Nah it's a completely different kettle of picks (see what I did there..eh, eh?). I can play alot of the GH2 & 3 songs in real life note perfect but still can't get 100% in expert on any of them.

So Guitar Hero is harder than playing a real guitar!?

miju

most definitely is harder than a real guitar IMO, though one excellent thing about GH is it really , REALLY helps the dexterity in your fingers which helps seriously build up some speed on real guitars

Zapp Brannigan

It's harder than guitar. On guitar you can find shortcuts around the neck. On GH you only have 5 fret buttons. Thats it.
That being said, if your a master at GH you are not necessarily going to be good at guitar, your fingers will be nice and dextrous for it though!

Rhyme

Another person here who only strums down... well, more of a click as my left thumb never leaves the strum bar. I suppose learning to strum both ways would be beneficial, must get around to it one of these day.

As for the keys, i've seen people delegating specific keys to fingers (index green for example) and not knowing why they can't top trickier passages. I've tended towards moving around the keys with any and all fingers... can get messy

ShawnRaven

miju wrote: »

most definitely is harder than a real guitar IMO, though one excellent thing about GH is it really , REALLY helps the dexterity in your fingers which helps seriously build up some speed on real guitars

And as a bassist, i must concur. It's improved my speed on that too
VR!

ShaneU

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

It's harder than guitar. On guitar you can find shortcuts around the neck. On GH you only have 5 fret buttons. Thats it.
That being said, if your a master at GH you are not necessarily going to be good at guitar, your fingers will be nice and dextrous for it though!

after playing guitar hero, I've decided to get a real guitar, i think i'll get this one
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2841367

ShawnRaven

Very fetching Shane, Maybe KT Tunstall or Avril Lavigne will let you join their band!
VR!

ShaneU

I was really hoping for Ashley tidsdale

thewing

Do you think using three fingers or four fingers is better?

GH3 is my guitar hero game, and I've just made the jump to medium(hey we all gotta start somewhere).

My housemate uses just the three fingers still, moving up and down.

I've been using 4 fingers(the baby for the blue button). Which is the better technique

I hear you on the strumming, I thought I'd arthritis in my hand last nite after Anarchy in the UK

Smellyirishman

4, without a doubt. Why waste a finger? 3 is better than 2 and 5 would be better than 4 right?

Yes it can be a little awkward to get that pinky moving but that shouldn't put you off, the buttons are big enough to ensure it's not too difficult. That said, during certain riffs or solos it is beneficial to shift your three fingers onto YellowBlueOrange for that extra bit of speed/control.

thewing

Yeah, think i'll have to master the 'slide' technique for the battle with slash

brianon

Managed to finish medium the other day. Tried hard (using four fingers) and managed to get 33% through the first song

Think I will go back to medium and try for 5 stars on more tracks.

Managed 100% on My Name Is Jonas though

Makaveli

I didn't move up to Hard in GH2 until I could 5 star all songs on medium with ease. If you do this you'll find the transition to hard easier. Getting used to the orange button can take quite a while. The increase in speed is also a bit daunting at the start.