What????????

well I play with 4 fingers. And sometimes 3, 5, 2 and 1.

Have you guys ever heard of Freddie Gruber?

he's Neil Peart's (among others) drum teacher He's in the new Rush documentary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Gruber

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzDktOZ ... re=related

He seems to have some really cool ideas about motion, dance and where the music is.

is the music only in the fretted note? or in the entire motion of the hand and body?

Do dancers dance on the floor? or is the dance off the floor? To me the floor is boring.

When I struggle with a phrase I almost always realize that I'm laying on the floor with it.
When I get off the floor, get the music in my body and hands it grooves more. whether I'm playin red hot licks or the blues.

Just some thoughts. I think we can get caught up in the 3 or 4 finger thing. I think Greg's concepts are far beyond that. Do they deal with technique? sure, but it's more than that. I for one can apply his concepts into my playing as a 4 finger guy. can I do some things as well as with 3 fingers? probably not. But hey, we are all different and have to follow our own path.
I believe in keeping an open mind about musical ideas. Check out Freddie Gruber, check out Greg Howard, check out Steve Adelson, Check out Emmett Chapman, check out as much as you can.

Just some random thoughts

Thanks for the link, Brett.

and for the thoughts. I always say, "if you wants to groove you gots to move".

For anyone who is seriously interested in learning this instrument, in addition to reflective experimentation, composing, and learning how to play familiar music on it. I definitely recommend checking out all the resources available to you.

I only had Free Hands when I started, and Tony's work to listen to. Players who are starting out now have myriad resources. There are good things in all of them.

So if you don't have Steve's book, you should get it:

http://www.stick.com/instruction/books/stickology/



And check out Bobs DVDs, and Free Hands, too.

The more perspectives the better, especially when they are based on making real music.

I've thought about this a lot lately. I started on an SB8 and my initial instinct for right hand playing (without any exposure to any techniques at all) was to play with all four fingers. After attending a seminar with Greg I started changing to the three-finger method. Now after years of playing 3-fingered and moving on to a fifths tuned left hand I find I have three fingers so engrained that it is actually difficult to play the way I initially did with four fingers. I noticed this when working with one of Steve's videos and trying to emulate some of the fast right hand runs he does. So I guess my next right hand project is to basically reacquire the four finger technique but more importantly integrate it with the three-finger technique. Emmett's "7/8" article is a way in, I suspect.

Of course there are some things that I've never stopped using the pinky for, most often a root position minor triad on the lower frets. I find playing this form with three fingers to be a little unnatural, or at least not ergonomically ideal. I don't have small hands but this shape really causes a stretch that seems to be a little too much with three fingers.

I do completely agree with Greg's ideas on using large motions and more of the energy from the arm and the body instead of the fingers in a "typewriter" style. Then again Steve uses a style somewhat like that but I'll be darned if his lines aren't flowing and "un-typewriter" as can be.

Dave

Every piece of information about the Stick is of Infinite Value.
Emmett
Tony
Greg
Steve A
Bob C.
Pascal
Virna
Boris
Irene
Real People who make great contributions-I can't name them all-to a Fabulous technique-discovered by a Great Innovator
Learn from all
Michael

I find no hindrance in speed whatsoever when leaving out the pinky. Years ago when I first started out, I copped some right-hand Culbertson licks from the CD and had no trouble working them up to speed. Like the solo in "The Captain's Daughter" and a couple of others. I use Bob as an example here just because he's one of the fastest I've heard on the melody side, with regards to scalar licks and sequences. Jan Laurenz is a notch faster than Bob, and he uses 3 fingers for most of his right hand runs. Some of Emmett's licks on the Hands Across the Board video were pretty damn quick as well.

That's my experience too, as far as speed with the three finger method. I just meant that in trying to emulate some of Steve's line using four fingers I started to stumble because I've gotten three fingers so engrained.