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Author
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Topic: Reverse Slants, Thumbnail?
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Dan Sawyer
Member From: Studio City, California, USA
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posted 13 November 2004 11:39 AM
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When you do reverse slants, do you control the end of the bar with your thumbnail, or do you use the fleshy part of the thumb? |
Ron Whitfield
Member From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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posted 13 November 2004 12:40 PM
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It helps a lot to have an indent at the bottom end of your bar, in which to slip the tip of your thumb when about to start the turn which will put the end of the bar at the fleshy part of the thumb.As taught by Jerry Byrd, all slanting is done with only finger dexterity, while keeping the hands straight. No fair turning the hand/wrist in the direction you want the bar to go. Do yourself a favor and start building that dexterity early. How you hold the bar straight will determine how you manage slants. The goal is for maximum effect with minimum of movement. Of course, the #1 rule, "In music, there are no rules". |
Ray Montee
Member From: Portland, OR, USA
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posted 13 November 2004 02:15 PM
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Ron's advice is "GOOD".Some of us have found that a SHORTER BAR gives us the ability to make those forward and backward slants much easier. Often, those using the ten string bar will find it more difficult to make accurate slants in either direction unless they've practiced the art for an extended period of time. REMEMBER! When slanting the bar and using two strings or more, ACCURACY of BAR PLACEMENT is essential otherwise it is going to sound horrible..........worse than finger nails on a chalk board. Jerry Byrd, most likely, is one of the most accurate "slanters" of all times. |
Jeff Strouse
Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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posted 13 November 2004 03:05 PM
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The key is getting that thumb in there and pushing out, for a quick, controlled movement, so the bar will get to the proper position fast enough. I notice that I tend to put the tip (or the nail I guess) of my thumb in the recessed end of the bar. That's why I love the Dunlop 919 bar, which Jerry designed the way he did for many reasons. It's a perfect size...not too long, not too short; not to light, not too heavy. |
Michael Johnstone
Member From: Sylmar,Ca. USA
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posted 13 November 2004 03:46 PM
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Instead of pushing the bottom end of the bar out with your thumb to initiate a reverse slant,I find that pushing straight down with the fleshy pad right where the index finger meets the hand at a point on the bar just left of top dead center will pop the bottom end of the bar out towards the right and you can catch it with the thumb. Make sure the tip of your index finger is hooked slightly to the right of top dead center so you don't lose control of the tip of the bar. When you're done,you just tuck the end back in with your thumb.With this technique,you won't have too much difficulty with any kind of bar butt - concave,flat or even the double ended bullit type.
To my mind,bar slanting is divided into 2 skill sets:
1. Getting in and out of slants with dexterity and confidance.
2. Memorizing the different angles throughout the fingerboard.
The only way to get there is many many hours of stone cold practice.
-MJ- |
Travis Bernhardt
Member From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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posted 13 November 2004 04:25 PM
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If there's an indent in the back, then I bend my thumb back into the indent and kick the bar out with my thumb (nail) until the bar is angled correctly, at which point I'll be using the fleshy part of the thumb. I can't see how one could use the thumbnail the whole way through the process. On my Twister bar, with a bullet at each end, it's all flesh. -Travis |
Dan Sawyer
Member From: Studio City, California, USA
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posted 15 November 2004 12:07 AM
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Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'm going to try all your ideas. |
Jeff Au Hoy
Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i
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posted 15 November 2004 12:44 AM
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quote:
That's why I love the Dunlop 919 bar, which Jerry designed the way he did for many reasons. It's a perfect size...not too long, not too short; not to light, not too heavy.
...not necessarily--there are many different hand/finger sizes. I use the fleshy part of the thumb for reverse slants. |
Michael Johnstone
Member From: Sylmar,Ca. USA
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posted 15 November 2004 07:45 AM
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I love Jerry to death and I figure anything he says has mucho merit but I tried one of those bars and it's just too small in diameter,too short and too light for me. You can't get the control,the reach or the smoothness on radical slants - especally on reintrant tunings where you have to span 8 strings and 2 frets.Also,I find you have to push down a little more to get the tone and sustain I like to hear and that equals unnecessesary extra effort.The last thing I need is an energy crises in my left hand on non-pedal.It wouldn't be too bad on a 22" six string lap w/straight C6 but on my Stringmaster I still prefer a regular 10 string BJS bar.I'll keep my JB bar tho and when my 4 year old daughter starts playing steel pretty soon now it'll be perfect for her.
-MJ- |
Bob Hickish
Member From: Port Ludlow, Washington, USA
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posted 15 November 2004 08:42 AM
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Dan
The revers slant is - IMO - a individual stile that just requires lots of practice - there has be some discussion on the bar it self , I have found this to be very true ! that is ! to find the one that fits you , what I did is take a 10 string bar and have it machined to a length that fits the String
master and also had it drilled out to lighten it up .Being one of the OLD guys I found that the heavy bar would heart my wrist after a few hours of playing - it still hearts but a lot easier to do a 4 hour gig
BH |
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