Actually wrong -- Is your wrist angled to pick parallel to the strings - [Things guitarists should know about their body]

Hello!
My name is Takuto Fujioka, guitarist in an acoustic unit called BABY BABY and an occupational therapist.
Thank you for always reading!

Today I was reminded of something I experienced when I was a beginner, so I would like to write an article about it.

One day, I suddenly decided to practice finger picking.
I forgot where I read it, but it was written in an article about right hand posture when fingerpicking. "Hold your fingers parallel to the strings."

There was an example like this.
As a beginner, I practiced with the form as I was told.
However, it's kind of hard to play.... I started wondering, "Is everyone grinning-and-bearing-it and playing with this form?", but in the end the fingerpicking practice didn't last. (The reason I didn't continue practicing was because of my lack of patience. Lol)

And one more story. When I was a student, there was an older bass player who taught me how to play using my fingers.
"Hold your fingers parallel to the strings!"

I was taught with this kind of attitude.

I play the guitar, but when I was a student I sometimes played the bass, so I practiced as I was taught for a while.
However, it was kind of hard to play.... I thought again, "Is everyone grinning-and-bearing-it and playing with this form?", but in the end, the practice of playing with fingers did not last. (2nd time)

When I was taught these things for the first time, I obediently said, "Oh, I see! My fingers have to be parallel to the strings!" Probably this way of playing provides better tone! I think it started from that point of view. But, however! Now that I have learned about the structure of the body, and I wonder if it isn’t the wrong way to play, placing a burden on the body.

Yes, the introduction was long, but this time I would like to talk about "angling your wrist to pick parallel to the strings".

In fact, I sometimes see people who are playing like above.
The style that you feel is easy to play is the best. But I just want to say this....
"It's the wrong way to play and use your body."

If you are playing classical music, you may learn the playing form, but if you are self-taught, you may not always pay attention to form.
However, when it comes to how to use the wrist, I think it is an inseparable problem not only for guitarists but also for players of any musical instruments played with the hands. If you learn one thing here, I think that playing will be easier and give you more freedom! (^^)

First of all, "angling the wrist to pick parallel to the strings" means to turn the wrist toward the little finger in order to match the direction of the fingers to the strings.
This movement is called "wrist flexor carpi ulnaris" in kinematic terms.
(Flexor carpi ulnaris is bending the wrist toward the little finger, and conversely bending the wrist toward the thumb is called "wrist flexion".)

Looking back at the first image, both have their wrists bent toward the little finger.

The action of "playing an instrument" requires very delicate joint and muscle work and sensory integration.
However, when a movement such as flexor carpi ulnaris occurs, the bone called the carpal bone is pressed against the radius, and the wrist is fixed into position and stabilized. Simply put, the bones on the wrist collide with each other and the joints are fixed in place.

When the joints are fixed in place, it is effective for sawing, for example, when doing hard work, but it is unsuitable and unnecessary for playing musical instruments that do not require strong force.
Imagine playing with your arm in a cast. It's definitely hard to play. But that's actually happening in the body!

In addition, the muscles work to move and fix the wrist joint in position, so the muscles that are not directly needed for playing are in a state of constant strain. This makes it easier to get tired, and above all, the joints are fixed in place, which limits the freedom of movement.
(To put it another way, the problem is that you are "consciously positioning the wrist in a fixed position more than necessary", so wrist flexor carpi ulnaris and wrist flexion are not necessary and incorrect movements.)

The question is, "What should I do ?!"
I don't think you need to be too concerned about the picking angle, but I think there are people who want the strings and picking to be parallel as much as possible when pursuing tone. The quest for timbre is very important, isn't it?

Then what do you do? Please use your whole body well!
Instead of making an angle with just the wrist, I think that by devising a position that uses the entire arm or changing the position of the instrument, you can bring the strings and picking to a position that is almost parallel without putting a burden on the wrist.

I tried to hold the guitar at a slightly higher position and raised the head side to make an angle.
This is how you hold a classical guitar! That attitude was a reasonable attitude, considering the structure of the human body and the characteristics of musical instruments.
The fingers are not perfectly parallel, but I think they are closer to parallel than they were at the beginning.

The bass was angled by moving the shoulder joints to close the sides and raising the head side.
Looking at the orientation of the wrist, I think that it is a more natural and comfortable posture than the first image.

If you pay too much attention to only one point, picking, you may focus only on the area around your hands. But if you do so, you will end up taking an unnatural and unreasonable posture that is burdensome to your body. To play an instrument, you should be aware that every part of the whole body including the instrument are all connected (゜ ∀ ゜).
I think the best thing is to find a comfortable and stable form. If you look at how you play objectively, you will discover various things about yourself!

Thank you for staying with me until the end!