FFcP making me crazy

[cumin]

I started paying attention to my flying fingers, especially my pinky, on descending scale passages. I had been doing FFCP (everything but the fourths and leading tones), almost OK, keeping my fingers down on ascending passages on a single course of strings. My fingers could stay within about an inch and a half of the frets at all times, ascending and descending, usually less than three quarters of an inch.

But I cannot keep my fingers down on ascending passages when I cross to the next course of strings. I just tied again, clipping along at about 40 beats per minute, starting with my ring finger on C on the fourth string; I get to the middle finger on F on the third string, and I can't move my ring finger up to the third string without moving either my pinky or middle finger. And that is the easiest FFCP position to hold my fingers stationary across two courses of strings.

So, when people say, "don't move a finger off a string until you need to", does that mean that the fingers should *really* stay on the frets even when moving across to the next course of strings? I guess if someone tells me so, I will keep working on it as best I can. How is it possible?

[Ted Eschliman]

John, you're timing is perfect. This is the topic of my article in this month's mandolinsessions.com (http://www.mandolinsessions.com/dec05/jazz.html).

Hold the strings on the strings at all time? Hardly 100%, but it's a nice mental picture, a nice target. Don't be discouraged; there's really more of a "pivot" than an anchor when crossing strings. (Maybe a "rocking" or rolling of the fingertip.) Also this takes a lot of time and discipline, so be patient. Even if you're practicing it right, it should still take months, but along the way, you'll start noticing new strengths in other aspects of your playing.

Hang in there!

[glauber]

Go slow... i've been doing those exercises for almost a year now, and i've only done the first 2.

[fiddle5]

Yeah... what he said. If you can't do it properly when its slow, you will never do it right when its fast. Perfection comes first ... then speed. It does not work in the reverse order.


mike