# Fretting Hand Problems Only In Certain Patterns **URL:** https://forum.troygrady.com/t/fretting-hand-problems-only-in-certain-patterns/100970 **Category:** Playing Technique **Created:** [October 14, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/fretting-hand-problems-only-in-certain-patterns/100970 "2026-10-14T23:09:47Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 23
### Author: ![Tom\_Gilroy](https://forum.troygrady.com/user_avatar/forum.troygrady.com/tom_gilroy/32/335_2.png) [@Tom\_Gilroy](https://forum.troygrady.com/u/Tom_Gilroy) #### Post date: [October 23, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/fretting-hand-problems-only-in-certain-patterns/100970/23 "2026-10-23T21:55:08Z")
> [@Biggness](#): > > @Tom_Gilroy I’d love to read any more information you have on any of this. It’s fascinating to me and I believe it could help me with an issue I have on ring + pinky interdependence, or at least how to work within and around my limitations. It’s all over the forum, really, but this all started with this post I made back in 2019 on Shawn Lane’s fretting: > [@Efficient Digital Cycles](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/efficient-digital-cycles/18608): > > I have been preparing a post about the left hand postures and fretting strategies I use in my playing, after reading through the following thread: That promised post is still in preparation, and I will present it when I’m satisfied with it. In preparing that post, I watched through several instructional videos and CTC interviews again. While re-watching Shawn Lane’s Power Licks for the first time in a while, I realized something about his fretting sequences that I felt was extremely interes… I have to mention, I was still very much in the early stages of discovery when I wrote this post. I have a much deeper understanding of the material now (more than 7 years later) in all aspects, including the underlying anatomy and physiology, the combinatorial optimisation principles, and the motor learning principles which allow us to actually train these skills. I also really want to come up with a different name for the Efficient Digital Cycle principle. It accurately described what I was trying to communicate, but the “EDC” initialism is a problem because the muscle extensor digitorum communis is important in understanding the anatomical/physiological side. I’ve been thinking of ODS for optimal digital sequence and ODC for optimal digital cycle, but I’m open to suggestions. I also wrote this article (much too big to be a post here) about fretting mechanics I observed in Eric Johnson’s playing. > [@Higher Landrons - Eric Johnson's Fretting Mechanics and Strategies](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/higher-landrons-eric-johnsons-fretting-mechanics-and-strategies/84328): > > When asked what the name of his song “High Landrons” means, Eric Johnson has replied that it is a metaphor for reaching a higher state of consciousness. People here will know me for my analysis on positioning and mechanics for the fretting hand, including efficiency concerns and optimisations. What people may not know, is that I began my conscious study of these topics as a teenager when I began analyzing Eric Johnson’s playing. I’d like to share an article I have written about Eric Johnson’s … These mechanics occur situationally in Eric’s playing, but they can be developed into a very powerful system. There’s a CTC course in the works about some fretting hand stuff. I kept quiet about it until Troy mentioned it here publicly, but it’s coming. It will be extensive, far more than what I’ve been able to share here, and quite radically different from conventional guitar pedagogy. As @AustinK mentions, I do offer lessons over Zoom upon request, and there’s plenty here that can vouch for my teaching and playing. Honestly though, the course is my current top priority, and I think it will be worth waiting for. It would take many weekly/biweekly lessons over Zoom to cover what’s planned (at least a few months of delivery), and the course will be better structured and much less expensive. The smart choice is to save yourself the money and buy the course when it comes. In the mean time, read my posts and comments here, and the EJ article I shared. I’ll answer questions if I have time. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.troygrady.com/t/fretting-hand-problems-only-in-certain-patterns/100970)._