Hi Kai: So this may be a question with 2 parts.....after a long time I am finally feeling comfortable with my playing position. Right leg over left. I use a Murata guitar support I modified so that it only elevates the guitar maybe 1” off my right thigh. My left hand feels so less stressed and more relaxed. Right hand has never been much of a problem. I had never been able to be comfortable just resting the guitar on my right leg. And I just had my frets leveled and crowned, so playing is a lot easier. I did need to raise the action at the bridge a small amount. Anyway, I noticed on your video for Solea that your pull offs/slurs, your fingers pull straight off. My slurs are always pulling off at an angle. A former teacher mentioned to pull off straight. I understand that everyone’s anatomy is different, but are there any suggestions you might have that might encourage pulling straight off the string? Is it related to my position maybe? I think it might be related but thought that I would ask. Thanks in advance....
Hey Jonathan - When you say straight do you mean straight down, or straight out (away)? In general I try to always pull down when I slur, though it may look like straight out sometimes if I don't move too much. I like to just think of plucking the string with my left hand to get at the motion I'm talking about. Does that make sense? Either way - let me know which you mean and I'll be able to better answer you.
Cheers,
Kai
Yes straight down
It could be your position, for sure, but I'd need to see how you hold the guitar and all that (feel free to upload a video and I'll take a look), but the bigger question is whether you're having trouble getting the sound you want with your pull-offs. If it works and sounds good then don't even sweat it, but if you're having trouble actually producing the sound you want or if it's creating tension in your left hand then you definitely want to take a look.
Cheers,
-k
Will post a video in a day or two. Thanks