GUITAR BOARD

> Hi all,
>
> Whos double jointed ... and what effect does it have on the way you
> hold down chords ... especially those with any sort of barre in them?

> I can see no reason why greater flexibility would hinder ones
>ability to play the guitar

> On Thu, 1 May 2008 12:04:18 +0100, Jon Boyes wrote:
>
> > I can see no reason why greater flexibility would hinder ones
> >ability to play the guitar
>
> Thanks Jon ... but I teach enough people to know Im not imaging it.
> Its not the *ability* to have more range of motion which is the
> issue. Its the *inability* to hold certain shapes easily and the
> tendency to bend their joints in the wrong direction.

>I am not suggesting you are imagining a technical problem in some of
>your students Steve, but rather that you are wrong about its cause. I
>would guess the hypermobility is coincidental.

>Guitar is not mentioned in that study but fingering on a violin, as Im
>sure you would agree, is even harder.

> On Thu, 1 May 2008 14:44:50 +0100, Jon Boyes wrote:
>>I am not suggesting you are imagining a technical problem in some of
>>your students Steve, but rather that you are wrong about its cause. I
>>would guess the hypermobility is coincidental.
>
> Thanks Jon. Right now Ive got 3 kids who seem to be double jointed.
> All struggle a little more than they ought. Its not stopped any of
> them learning. It just takes a little more time and effort to get
> stuff under their belt. Once they get past these initial stages I have
> no doubt that their flexibility will be an asset.
>
> As of now they are progressing well but not as well as I think they
> ought. My experience of the correlation of this issue with double
> jointedness could be coincidence, but I doubt it. It could well be
> the way I teach them or some other technical aspect that we need to
> adapted to their individual physical make-up ... hence the request for
> help and advice.
>
> There must be more than a few people here who have taught double
> jointed kids. Im keen to know whether they noticed anything similar
> and if so what they did to help their kids make good progress. This
> will help me understand whether it is simply a coincidence and / or
> what I might do to help my students.
>
>
>>Guitar is not mentioned in that study but fingering on a violin, as Im
>>sure you would agree, is even harder.
>
> Absolutely. I cant play a violin for toffee. But I attribute that to
> the very different set of hand and finger positions which seem to be
> required..
>
>
> Also, Im talking about kids who are still kids. Theres not a huge
> amount of dexterity involved in playing a C major open chord ... but
> you do need to be able to press the strings with your finger tips and
> bend the last knuckle on your fingers by the appropriate amount. Its
> this simple stuff which has seemed to be more difficult for them ...

> I have quite a few kids I teach who are double jointed and almost
> without exception they seem to find it twice as hard to get to grips
> with barre chords.
>
> If anyone has experience or advice Id appreciate it.

> Try getting them to grip a broom handle..