Palm Blocking

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 22 Apr 2015 6:39 pm

I have a left hand injury which required me to modify a slide so I can "hold it.

I'm basically relearning with the new slide.

I cannot block the strings behind the bar as is normally done.

I can hopefully achieve the same results palm blocking.

I play a squareneck reso, any tips or videos palm blocking playing a reso would be appreciated

thank you

Tim

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 23 Apr 2015 6:16 am

Jeff Newman's idea on palm blocking is to approach the strings with a "karate chop", then curl the hand like you might be holding an egg and this will put your hand in a good position for palm blocking.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 23 Apr 2015 6:18 am

double post

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Apr 2015 8:10 am

What kind of bar are you using, Tim?

I don't think palm blocking alone is going to give you the desired results. Pick blocking in conjunction with palm blocking might do it.

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 23 Apr 2015 11:46 am

Is there any way of finding out what Billy Hew Len did? He was the guy, remember, who didn't have a left hand. One of the best players of all time.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 23 Apr 2015 11:52 am

My pic of Billy, if this helps.

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 23 Apr 2015 12:13 pm

Hi Mike

Ron Tipton modified one of his slides with set screws so I could attach the wood top that I made to it

thanks

Mike Neer wrote:What kind of bar are you using, Tim?

I don't think palm blocking alone is going to give you the desired results. Pick blocking in conjunction with palm blocking might do it.

Paul DiMaggio · Post by **Paul DiMaggio** » 23 Apr 2015 1:15 pm

Billy Hew Len. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrSq1rOoL4

Paul DiMaggio · Post by **Paul DiMaggio** » 23 Apr 2015 1:23 pm

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Apr 2015 1:31 pm

My next question can you attach a piece of rubber, like a pink eraser to the back of the bar? You might be able to use that to help tame those harmonics. Just a thought.

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 23 Apr 2015 1:41 pm

Mike

not sure I could glue an eraser to metal

David Knutson · Post by **David Knutson** » 23 Apr 2015 2:38 pm

Perhaps a piece of heavy felt or something similar dragging behind the bar would achieve the right amount of damping. There is always a way!

David Knutson · Post by **David Knutson** » 23 Apr 2015 2:42 pm

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Apr 2015 3:36 pm

Perhaps you could attach it to the wood. I was also thinking thick felt.

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 23 Apr 2015 4:02 pm

Tim, good luck with your search for answers. Some good ideas above. I am sure you will overcome.
I do a YouTube demo on the right hand if it is off any help to you.

https://www.youtube.com/user/steelinroy

All the best

Roy

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 23 Apr 2015 4:40 pm

Hi Roy,
I'll take a look at your video

thanks

I am going to call a old friend of mine who use to teach and see when he has a break from gigging and see if he can help me figure out something that will work for me

Adam Nero · Post by **Adam Nero** » 25 Apr 2015 3:46 am

Mike Neer wrote:My next question can you attach a piece of rubber, like a pink eraser to the back of the bar? You might be able to use that to help tame those harmonics. Just a thought.

Had a similar thiught -- I don't think any amount of blocking will accomplish what the behind-the-bar dampening does. Getting something heavyish to drag behind the bar is the solution I think. Dobro people will do more tilting than steelers so the material should be somewhat firm, and able to hit anywhere between 1 and 6 strings at a time.

Sounds like a challenging but worthwhile project. Good luck!

Hal Braun · Post by **Hal Braun** » 30 Apr 2015 5:05 am

I was looking at your picture, and was wondering if instead of mounting the wood block on top, you could mount it on the side? It looks like you could use the same "pinch" grip and let the meat of your palm drag on the string as a damper..

Just a thought?

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 30 Apr 2015 5:23 am

Hi Hal
that's a great idea!

I met with my local guy(teacher) and he had a few suggestions..

I'm actually working on a new prototype where I can "hold" it like a regular slide

since ring and pinky finger have a mind of their own, I'm binding them together with a Velcro loop to keep them in place.
my index finger is not operative. so I'm looking at a way to bind it to my middle finger, to keep it out of the way

I'm planning on drilling thru to fit Velcro the slide to hold the middle and index finger to the top of the slide.

probably hard to imagine without pics.

i'll post pics when I get to it this weekend

Hal Braun wrote:I was looking at your picture, and was wondering if instead of mounting the wood block on top, you could mount it on the side? It looks like you could use the same "pinch" grip and let the meat of your palm drag on the string as a damper..

Just a thought?

Hal Braun · Post by **Hal Braun** » 30 Apr 2015 5:47 am

Please forgive my poor artistic skills, but I was thinking about your velcro mention (great idea).. and if you mounted a little "shelf" on the backside of the bar, you could attach the velcro loops to that (getting a slot through that solid bar is going to be painful)

This would tie your unworking fingers together and connect them to the bar.. and you could adjust the length of the "shelf" to either be longer and help in muting.. or, shorter and use the palm as you used to.

Either way, a piece of cutting board material would probably work, and two screw holes drilled through the neck of the bar would not be as hard to accomplish.

You are of course welcome to toss the whole idea if it seems too outlandish

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 30 Apr 2015 9:43 am

Hi Hal
wow thanks for putting this together!

If my design doesn't work, I will definitely look at building something along your drawing

thank you

Tim

Hal Braun wrote:Please forgive my poor artistic skills, but I was thinking about your velcro mention (great idea).. and if you mounted a little "shelf" on the backside of the bar, you could attach the velcro loops to that (getting a slot through that solid bar is going to be painful)

This would tie your unworking fingers together and connect them to the bar.. and you could adjust the length of the "shelf" to either be longer and help in muting.. or, shorter and use the palm as you used to.

Either way, a piece of cutting board material would probably work, and two screw holes drilled through the neck of the bar would not be as hard to accomplish.

You are of course welcome to toss the whole idea if it seems too outlandish

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 30 Apr 2015 12:51 pm

Double post

Tim McKane · Post by **Tim McKane** » 1 May 2015 3:12 pm

so my new design did not work..

I uses Velcro attached to a different slide for my index finger and middle,, my fingers doesn't have the strength to use it this way

the way I currently hold it in the pic above gives me the best control and strength

I believe Mike and others mentioned attaching felt

I cut a finger off an old glove and taped it to the wood.. I tried it briefly and It seems to mute the strings, and I think I will go some kind of heavy fabric ..

I'll post pics when I'm done

thanks for all the help

Tim

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 12 May 2015 3:38 pm

Tim I sent you a Forum message that may be of interest to you.
I have a 97 year old Dobro student who has severe arthritis in his left hand. He was able to overcome and continues to enjoy playing his guitar for our sessions. I would put pics of his bar and his left hand "grip" (which may be of help???) but they would take too much space here.
Let me hear from you by personal email if you wish.

Roy

Kekoa Blanchet · Post by **Kekoa Blanchet** » 13 May 2015 1:51 am

Does your playing style incorporate open strings? If it doesn't, then the damper doesn't need to move with the bar -- you could just weave a heavy felt strip or piece of rubber tubing between the strings next to the nut.

But from your original post, I see that you play a reso rather than electric guitar. So I'm guessing that you might play a lot of open strings after all, and the above suggestion might not work for you. Still, I thought I'd mention it just in case.