The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm finding that I keep relaxing my right hand so I'm striking the strings with my middle finger at an angle instead of my finger being straight up and down.

I also find that my right wrist gets sore after 10 minutes or so.


Any thoughts on how to correct this?

Not sure what you mean by your middle finger being at an angle instead of being straight up and down. Can you post some pictures showing what you mean by each? Also, how long have you been playing, and how long do you play each day? Muscle fatigue happens; but you will build endurance with repetition and time.

I'm striking the string with the side of my finger instead of the tip. I just don't know if I'm doing something wrong or just getting lazy. I don't know if I change how I'm sitting, if that will help.

I'm learning how to play.

David,
I am sure others will give You the same answer.
If the end result is good and You feel comfortable with it, then You are doing it right.
The late Jeff Newman instructed students to strike the strings with the side of the pick in one of His teaching dvd's,I believe it was "The Right Hand Alpha"
I could'nt really get it to work for Me.
If You look at some clips of J.D.Maness You will see His hand is "Claw"like,
The best way is the best way.
Best regards
Billy

Well, I guess I'll keep working on it and let my hand decide how to do it.

Thanks

David: I agree with Billy. The best right hand position is the one that you are comfortable with.

At the risk of starting a war of "tuning wars" proportions, I will say there are two primary categories of players; those that play with a flat right hand, like JayDee Maness, and those that play with a rounded hand, like Buddy Emmons. The flat handers are often pick-blockers. The rounded handers are often palm blockers. These are gross generalization; there are undoubtedly many exceptions.

There are some great steel players from both schools, so do what feels best for you. But don't decide until you have given each a fair try.

I suggest you look carefully at facebook videos of various players. JayDee is a great example of a phenomenal player who has a flat right hand. I just looked at a couple Tommy White videos and his rounded hand is very evident, as is his stellar playing.

You should adjust/bend your picks (assuming you use them) to accommodate the hand position you are using. If you play with a rounded hand (like I do) you will strike the strings with the fingers a bit to the side. I bend my picks a little to the side so that I'm striking the string with the face of the pick and not the edge.

Generally, your sitting position should not have much influence on your right hand, unless something is really off. Most of all, find a good height for your stool. Don't hesitate to experiment until you find the right height. The height and position of your volume pedal, and the height of the pedals, and even your shoes/boots can affect your comfort while you are playing. Experiment!!

No two people are exactly alike so no-one can really tell you what's best for you. It takes a lot of trial and error to get comfortable at the steel and develop a strong right hand, but the rewards are worth the effort.

joe wright has a good dvd course for right hand technique building. It's helped me tremendously. I've tailored it to suite myself.

I found out early on in my steel playing that if the instrument was too high, and level, my wrists would start hurting after a short period of playing.

I now have the back legs of my steel 1 1/2" longer than the front legs, this makes the instrument tilt forwards, and is far more comfortable to play.

I also sit quite high at the steel, so that my picking arm is approximately horizontal.