Bokyung Byun - Ask me Anything about Guitar Technique!
Welcoming Bokyung Byun to answer YOUR questions right here in the community! Being the WINNER of the 2021 GFA Competition AND the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, we are excited to have her right here in our community giving you her insights on all things on strings!
Check out some of here Productions right here!
How to Participate
- Ask your questions right here until August 5th!
- Bokyung will answer questions from August 8th-12th!
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What practice technique would you suggest for successfully playing with flow (legato) chords that are to be played up and down the fretboard is pieces such as Carcassi Etude No. 1 Op 60 - measures 29-37. I have challenges with correctly planting guide fingers and then applying remaining notes in a manner that stays in tempo and maintains tone. Thank you.
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Stephen Holland
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Bo Byun
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Stephen Holland Many thanks ... so helpful...
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Hello,
I am 53, I have been playing a good intermediate level since many years but I am no longer progressing. Do you think it is possible to improve my technique to go to an other level, and what will be your advice for. Thank you very much.
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GALAIS Olivier Hi there! I know that feeling of being stuck at the same level for a while... First of all, hang in there! I would like to suggest that you select a bit more challenging piece to work on; it can be challenging technically but also musically. Also, I find it with my students that if there is a performance goal, the students tend to progress at a faster pace. Try setting up a performance opportunity for yourself like playing for friends and family with pieces that you feel are plateauing. I hope this helps!
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Bo Byun Thank you very much for all your answers !
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Hello Bokyung and thank you very much for answering our questions. I have a small hand. How can I comfortably make the barre of measure 10 and following and make all the notes sound good? I have to pull finger 1 (barre) far to the left to get the 1st string to sound when finger 4 is on the 6th string. How can I work these positions?
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Beatriz Hi Beatriz! Would you mind sharing a short clip of your left hand playing the excerpt? I would love to see what's troubling your hand so that I can give you more specific advice!
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Bo Byun Hello Bo Byun. I would love to, but I can't play, I'm injured! I am sorry! I'll try to explain it: Basically, it's very difficult for me to keep finger 1 with the barre to keep the B sharp on the first string while with finger 4 I play the D on the sixth string. For me it is very uncomfortable to pull finger 1 to the left and 4 to the right, I almost don't get there (I think because of the small size of my hand)
Thank you very much for answering!! -
Beatriz Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear about your injury. I hope you recover soon!
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Bo Byun Thank you very much!! You are wonderful and you have helped me a lot! As soon as I recover I will do the exercise.
Millions of thanks!!
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Hi, and congrats for the good work! My question is: how do you track the learning process of a technique, for example, (a) time it takes to develop and (b) the slowest speed it is necessary to perform in a concert. Thank you and have a good time! Giuseppe.
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giuseppegalante Hi there! I usually keep a note of metronome numbers that I'm currently working on (e.g. quarter = 100, 105, 110, 113, 116, 119...etc). I raise the speed little by little everyday to achieve the goal speed. If my goal speed is for example 150, I practice to a number a bit above it like 160 or 165 so that when you have to perform it at 150m it will feel very comfortable and not rushed. I hope this helps!
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Hi Bokyung
I have difficulty with my left hand finger placement precision—buzzing from touch adjacent strings, muted notes . Can you suggest practice exercises or approaches to playing pieces that may improve my precision?
Thank you
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Takato Umeda
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Bo Byun I love your answers!
I don't know if I can ask you how to avoid the tension that occurs when you try to point finger 4 (as you say) and the finger is not used to pointing. Thank you so much!!! -
Beatriz I think it's okay to have some healthy tension while you are pressing the string down. When you shift up to the next fret that's when you should completely relax the fingers so that they are ready for the next "tension" spot. :)
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Bo Byun Ohhh! That's very interesting! Thank you so much!!
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Bo Byun I was wondering how you can remove the extra stress that comes from changing something you're not used to, like putting finger tip 4 when you've never done it before. Sorry, I didn't explain myself well before and sorry for asking so much.
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Beatriz I hope I'm understanding the question correctly - is your 4th finger getting tense from pressing on the tip? I think that's part of having it learn the correct posture and gaining strength in the finger muscle so it's natural! It's like how one's arms might shake when doing pushups if that's the person's first time ever doing pushups. I hope this makes sense!
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Bo Byun Yes! makes sense!! Many, many thanks!!!
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Hi Bokyung
Thank you for your suggestion. I tried drawing lines on my finger tips, but it is difficult for me to place my fingers on the strings in the same configuration for the different note combinations, e.g., chords. I noticed that my fingers need to be from perpendicular to 40 degrees from perpendicular to the fret board for the fingers to clear the adjacent strings. This angle variation means I need to vary the position of the contact point on the finger tips. This is because with my finger perpendicular to the fret board my nail restricts how much the flesh away from the nail can press down on the string, so the string needs to be closer to the nail to fret well. I have been experimenting with plucking the adjacent strings as I practice to give me feedback on my finger placement. It seems to help my muscle memory for finger placement for different chords.
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For a student that began with free stroke, at what point is it best to switch to using rest stroke (most of the time)?
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Brian Hi Brian! I think having proficiency in both free and rest strokes is very important so I'd like to introduce students to both techniques as soon as the students gain proficiency in both left and right hands (e.g. the students know the fretboard of the first position very well and are able to play arpeggio patterns.)
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