During a recent lesson I noticed my student intermittently looking at his picking hand directly before his fretting hand moved several frets to another position. He continually missed the second position.
Studying a bit what I do in a similar situation, I realized that I look directly at the new position moments before I move there. This gives my fretting hand a target.
If you were to watch me play an entire two-hour concert you would never see me even once look at my right (picking) hand. My picking-hand position is so secure and the motions so minimal that I never need to look at it. This, of course, is called fine motor movement.
Converserly, my left hand (fretting hand) is engaged in gross motor movement, often moving many inches to a new position. For this I look at the destination when I am about to move some distance.
Watch guitarists of most any style: Mostly they are looking (sometimes constantly!) at the fetting hand, expecting the picking hand to do its thing without eyeball attention. This is gross motor movement versus fine motor movement.
Music is much about anticipation: Your ear can hear the new notes/chord coming; your intellect is thinking the name (and position!) of the next chord/position; and your muscle memory (hopefully!) is primed and practiced for each move.
I can remember going to a piano lesson in my early teens, only to find the preceding student draped with a bed sheet from her shoulders over the top of the piano! The teacher (her mother!) was forcing her to learn to play without looking at her hands.
The teacher never subjected me to that treatment, but I got the point! Guitarists, I suggest you wean yourself from looking at your picking hand!
Mark Hanson. December, 2024 © Accent On Music, LLC