Collapsing Tip Joint
Many of you fingerstyle, especially nylon string, guitarists may not think much about the tip joint of your right hand. I was reminded of this during a lesson the other day and thought it good to bring to your attention.
There are three joints on the hand. Without using scientific terms we will call them the knuckle joint, middle joint, and the tip joint. Obviously the knuckle joint sits on top of the hand and the tip joint is closest to the nail of the finger. I’ll let you figure out where the middle joint lies.
When playing free strokes on the guitar with your fingers (index, middle, and anular) it is unlikely that you will collapse any of the three joints. However, when using a rest stroke (resting the finger on the adjacent string after firing) many guitarists collapse the tip joint. Why try to avoid this? Let’s take an example from nature. We have all heard stories of someone having to grab a switch from the backyard to . . . I’ll let you finish that sentence. A switch is flimsy. Now compare that with a hard stick or branch. If you hit both against a wall at seperate times, then you will notice that the flimsy flexible switch has a delay in contact. The firm stick makes immediate contact. Therefore, when playing a rest stroke with a flimsy or flexible tip joint, your contact and execution will be delayed. With a firm joint the execution of the stroke and the sound is immediate.
It may take some time to develop a strong tip joint, but it is well worth the effort. As a matter of fact, I cannot even demonstrate a flexible firing of a tip joint because my hands have built up the habit so deeply. Your tone and speed will improve as well.
