Any tips for playing with a lighter touch?

Beexter

I am pretty sure that my left hand is fretting notes and chords much harder than it needs to. Not only does this seem to accelerate fret wear but I'm sure it will limit my aim to improve my speeds for faster licks and solos. 

Does anyone have any practice tips or suggestions as to how I can learn to play with a lighter touch. I've never had a lesson in my life and have been playing for about 30 years. I get by but am pretty sure I can still improve..could it be as simple as adjusting my left hand position, guitar height or something else? I'd welcome any pointers.

Jalapeno

Thicker pick, conversley, but it does make you pick more softly, which in turn reduces the fretting hand's death grip. 

Make sure thumb is in the middle of the back of the neck  - good way to get arthritis otherwise.

Roland

Justin Sandercoe has a lesson on this. It includes gradually reducing pressure, whilst picking the note, until the onset of fret buzz

hassleham

Buy a guitar with a scalloped board and then everything will sound shit until you learn to be gentle!

On a serious note (lol).. What gauge strings are you using?

Beexter

hassleham said:

On a serious note (lol).. What gauge strings are you using?

Currently 9 - 42's. Have tried various brands but keep coming back to Ernie Balls.

steamabacus

I would say play in front of a decent sized mirror and look at your posture. Tension in the shoulders, clamping the left elbow against the body, twisting the wrist unnecessarily are all surprisingly common. If you can relax everything and get a more natural, balanced  relationship between the muscles down the entire fretting arm, you will be able to learn to relax the fingers more while still maintaining enough pressure.

I feel the need to squeeze too hard with the hand/fingers to fret a note cleanly invariably starts with an excess of tension or an unatural/twisted posture further up the arm. I see so many people playing with an 'elbow clamped to the body' posture which causes the wrist to twist - lift that elbow away from the body, get a bit of air under the armpit and the wrist automatically is in a much more relaxed, confortable (and, I'd say, healthy) position.

stratman3142

I'd go along with steamabacus about posture and being relaxed. 
Maybe it's more about feeling relaxed with the left hand and the right pressure will follow.
Also, finding the right thumb position for what you're playing and being comfortable in seamlessly moving from a thumb over the neck to a thumb at the back of the neck position.

hassleham

I would recommend stringing a guitar with 11s and doing a load of practice on that. It should train you to feel the difference in tension between light and heavy strings and how much pressure you actually need to use, and help you to relax and not press too hard when you go back to playing 9s.

The main riff of message in a bottle is a good exercise to try and play whilst keeping your left hand really relaxed. If you can play the whole song without your hand hurting then you are on the right track.

TheMarlin

I play with a soft touch, despite being a heavy handed, clumsy bear.  Play with 11's on well set up guitar with low action

andyoz

stratman3142 said:

Also, finding the right thumb position for what you're playing and being comfortable in seamlessly moving from a thumb over the neck to a thumb at the back of the neck position.

I came to electric after playing acoustic for a few years.  I had the same issues as you and ended up giving in and getting some lessons.  I think these things cabn be too hard to sort yourself as it's a combination of things.

The thumb position is so important and was a revelation for me..with an electric you can have your thumb in positions that just wouldn't work on an acoustic.  A clever teacher would give you exercises that bloody hurt UNLESS you are using the right pressure.  I now realise that's what my teacher did with me (as part of other stuff he was teaching me) and I remember practising one day and thought.... this bloody hurts too much and learnt to relax.

mike_l

I found working on strict alternate picking and pushing speed as much as I can made both fretting and picking lighter.
This, as far as I can work out, came about by the pick moving less, and being more controlled when it did connect with the string, and the fretting hand having to move quicker, so more gently pressing the strings.

Once I get round to really nailing my legato, I'm certain I'll start off heavy handed, and get gentler as I progress.

Maybe get a shredder-style book of exercises, there's plenty, and work through it, not necessarily for the musical style, just to focus on the left and right hands.

AliGorie

Assuming u have a good setup, place the first 'pad' of u'r thumb in the center of the neck - (two thirds round will also work especially if u've got long fingers).
Start with one open string steadily picking up / down and 'flick' notes back to open - up the neck on that string so u'r JUST applying enough pressure to 'make' the note. Extent this to other strings.
hope this makes sense
good luck.

andyoz

hassleham said:

The main riff of message in a bottle is a good exercise to try and play whilst keeping your left hand really relaxed. If you can play the whole song without your hand hurting then you are on the right track.

That riff is a good reference point!

andyoz

...