is it okay to look at my hands when playing?

I'm going through modern gutar method (berklee) and when playing chords i often miss - either with left or right hand.

Is it okay to look at my hands when playing? Or should i learn to play without looking at my hands from the very beginning?

If it stops you hitting bum notes, look wherever you need to!!

I like to look at foxy chicks. Playing or not.

The only problem is that you can lose your place on the page when you look down.

You should be looking at girls when you're playing or did you forget why you started playing guitar in the first place?

I think you're asking the wrong question. What do you gain, long term, from looking at your hands? Mostly just the need to look at your hands when making routine movements.

However in some cases when it's a very strange or unusual move or shift, looking at your hands for a sec may be much more efficient then practicing something over and over that you are not likely to do again.

If you are looking at your hands, you are generally worried about mechanics, not thinking about making music. It only slows you down and distracts you.

It doesn't much matter. i've seen great players that watch their hands all the time to terrible players that never looked once. I've developed kind of a peripheral vision from performing for many years and don't meed to stare at the damn thing, but at the same time not afraid to look when I have to.

Yes, it's okay to look at your hands when you play. No question about it. Want proof? Here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_oaqMjZZFc

I'd say as a beginner, that not only makes sense, but probably helps. When you get comfortable enough with the chords and the movements, you'll probably not have to look at your hands so much(but if you do, it's ok)

Seems a strange question?, is there a right or a wrong here? You just do what you are comfortable with, and whatever helps you play better. I honestly dont think there is a right or wrong here

eventually you'll know where to go, on some moves a glance might be all that's needed to maintain your bearings...

With some big position shifts I think it's entirely OK to look at your hands.

If it's causing you trouble in following your score, one thing you can do is arrange your playing position so that your music and your fretting hand are close to being within the same eyeline. Violinists in orchestras often arrange things so that they can see their music, their fingers and the conductor with minimal eye movement.

Yes. It's also okay to trace under the words on a page when reading.

Do whatever works for you. Worrying about what other people think about your methods is a sure fire way to stunt your progress.

As a beginner guitar player (less than 3 yrs)I definately have to watch my fretting hand while I play. My biggest problem now is I play mostly while sitting down with the guitar angled so I can see the fretboard. When I stand and use a strap, I have difficulty because I can't see the individual strings on the fret's.

I'm hoping as I get more familiar and better ,I'll be able to stand to play. My goal is to play at a local jam night. I'm close but I've never played in front of any one yet. I've seen other guy's sitting while playing so I plan on trying that first. I just hate to make a Fool out of myself. Although , It's not like I havent played the Fool before....just not with a guitar.

My advice to students is, try and practice not looking.
It's a link in the circuit that you don't need.
However, I agree, look if you need to look.
Look up one of my favorites, Snooks Eaglin.

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After over 40 years of playing, I still have to look sometimes.

I had a piano teacher that would slap your knuckles with a ruler if you looked at your hands.

I'm not exactly Mr. Stage Presence, as I keep my eyes on the fingerboard whenever I solo. Just as I pre-hear what I am going to play, I also pre-visualize it. I use strings and their size and tautness for color, so I will often make some pretty far-reaching shifts or snaky moves.

A local guitarist has a cable show where he takes requests over a speaker-phone. He talks and plays at the same time, as if the two activities are unrelated. His field of vision is off in the distance, too. His playing is mechanically proficient, but noodly to the nth degree. He doesn't act like he is into it at all.

Bill Graham described Mike Bloomfield's guitar playing like holding a baby in his arms. It really is like that.

Someone said that Bill Wyman positioned himself onstage for maximum eye contact with the girls. If you read his book, Stone Alone, you'll see that this paid off a thousand-fold.

Yes, it's okay to look at your hands when you play. No question about it. Want proof? Here ya go!

Yep for sure - but there is a whole formal sitting position there that makes looking at the fingerboard more ergonomic - and allows any charts or sheet music to be in the eyeline too. If you are standing or sitting without a leg rest or footstool, then you do need to watch that you dont get into the habit of keeping your neck bent down all of the time. Not good - and will discourage eye contact.

I have been guilty of keeping my eyes closed a lot of the time - but it makes sense that you keep them open and maintain an eyeline with the rest of the band.

In the end its experience - playing jazz I can keep my eyes closed while playing - unless Im reading (where you get used to keeping eyes on the music and trusting your hands) or maybe the occasional glance for a tricky position change; and know by the way the music is going when to look around or try and catch someones eye.

Seems a strange question?, is there a right or a wrong here? You just do what you are comfortable with, and whatever helps you play better. I honestly dont think there is a right or wrong here

Of course there is a right or wrong - this is the internet!

http://i.imgur.com/yRVPd.png

I had a piano teacher that would slap your knuckles with a ruler if you looked at your hands.


.....maybe poking our eyes out would have been more effective


use your ear!

Answering my own question - i just got to exercises with eight notes and looking on my left hand is no longer an option - have to go back to earlier exercises and practise with things i was missing without observing the fretboard.

Cool... that sounds good.

Ask your self this: Do my hands want to be looked at?

I look at my hands when I think it will help me play better.

The rest of the time, I look at the pretty girls.

You should look.Other wise how could you watch your hands play what you're thinking and feeling ? While you look at the fretboard and listen to the band .
I get there are other points of view , applications.Depending on the circumstances ,I highly recommend looking at your hands and fretboard. So you can see what you're doing. Makes sense to me.

I was going to say, "of course you can." But then I saw you play classical. I know nothing about that and don't want to give you bum advice.

BTW sometimes I play in the dark to se if I can. What I find is I still rely on little glances to orient myself.

Are you wearing an expensive pinky ring that might get stolen if you don't keep an I on it?

Heck yes it's all right to look at your hands. Just don't stare at them all night long and miss the chicks.

And if you lose you place on the page as one poster expressed a concern about I'd say just stop reading charts. Unless you're playing some intricate jazz or planning on becoming a studio musician you won't need more than a good pair of ears and maybe some tab to figure out what to play.

Take a look at Mick Taylor playing with the Stones in '72 - looks at his hands the whole time but sounds incredible.

Had a band manager once tell us that looking at our hands was unprofessional- that the superstars never did it. Yet, when I look at the Van Halens, Claptons, and even Segovia, and they all look at their hands. Oh well, he was the same guy who had to choose between managing my band, or a band that called themselves Creed. He made the wrong choice...

I've been playing so long (since 1968) I don't need to look at my hands, I just know where I am.

But if you haven't been playing that long, I encourage you to do whatever makes you comfortable and allows you to play things right. If you feel more comfortable, look at your hands while you play. One day, it will suddenly dawn on you that you're not even paying attention to your hands and you're still playing things right. But it takes time to get like that.

And another thing I like to pass along as a tribal elder is, don't worry about speed on a new piece, even if it's a fast song. Slow it down to however slow it takes for you to play it right. Speed will come naturally with time. It's sort of like the hand thing, it will inevitably happen.

And practice. I still play the guitar 8-12 hours per day on a heavy day. I play 2-6 hours on my light days. It's been 44 years, and I still love it!

Rick

Had a band manager once tell us that looking at our hands was unprofessional- that the superstars never did it. Yet, when I look at the Van Halens, Claptons, and even Segovia, and they all look at their hands. Oh well, he was the same guy who had to choose between managing my band, or a band that called themselves Creed. He made the wrong choice...

AWESOME Post!!! :lol:

When i first started about 15 years ago, played sitting down for years as a bedroom player. Then about 3 years ago I started playing casually in a band, took about 1 month to partially get over not sitting down and not being able to see the fret board to about a year to be equally proficient....

As my guitar playing has improved significantly the past year I found myself having to look down for more complicated arpegios, string skipping etc.

It feels wrong and that I am cheating now but in reality (or at least to me) it is far better to look down and get a point of reference (which for me is mostly what seems to help) than to completely blow a line or progression..

So my advice would be, Try not to, but if you need to look - Look and then look away as soon as you feel comfortable....eventually when you know the passage or progression well enough looking becomes less required....especially if you make an effort to drag your eyes away again....which is hard....

Good luck.