Right Hand Stability for Classical Guitar

Lesson: Right Hand Stability, stopping the right from bouncing while playing. This is a Q&A via a YouTube commenter. A discussion and lesson about right hand stability for classical guitar. The question was regarding a “bouncing right hand” issue. I review some right hand technique and posture ideas and then talk specifically about how to stabilize the right hand.

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Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

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  1. Linked through to this from other lessons. Appreciate all your instruction, books, and sheet music. Thank you. I noted the movement of your right arm in the scales played and the hand moving toward the headstock as you progress up the scale. I was taught moving the elbow (as opposed to no or only hand movement) which results in the hand moving toward the bridge as I progress up a scale. Is the difference the ability to move the entire arm vs. starting to develop with limiting it to the forearm from the elbow?

  2. All of your work is first rate and informative and helpful. Thanks.
    How about a chat about fingernails for those who are pianists and guitarists…how to avoid the dreaded clicking on the keys while still being able to use them on the strings.

    • I once had the same Problem playing piano with fingernails. It was annoying and tedious. I remember that I trîed to solve the Problem by applying plasters. But that was not the solution. Later I read more about piano technique mainly in the internet and I learned that many pianists prefer to Play with less curved fingers, some of them with very flat fingers such as Vladimir Horowitz or Oscar Peterson. Today I Play with slightly curved fingers. I touch the keys more with my fingertips and hardly ever with my fingernails. In any case the fingernails are no Problem for me anymore playing the piano. Above all playing with less curved fingers had a positive impact on my technique.