Newton's Second Law: Force = Mass x Acceleration

Playing Technique
#1

I suspect that relative hand/arm mass relates importantly to effective picking technique. A large, massive picking hand/arm is going to be applied differently than a smaller/less massive hand/arm because of how relative Mass interacts with Force and Acceleration. There may even be certain techniques that work more effectively to correspond with your relative hand/arm mass.

F = ma is Newton’s second law of physics. Whatever Force you produce with a pick stroke will result in part from the Mass applied. Different Masses (hands/arms) can produce the same amount of Force depending on the picking technique.

The Force applied in each pick stroke relates as well to Newton’s Third Law: for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object A - i.e., the force applied by the pick is repelled by the force applied by the string.

Overcoming the repelling force of the string will be approached differently according to available relative hand/arm mass.

This hypothesis reduces to this proposition: certain picking techniques are increasingly negative to achieving “effective results” relative to hand/arm mass. Conversely, certain picking techniques are increasingly positive to achieving “effective results” relative to hand/arm mass.

By way of a concrete example, maybe there is an advantage in having a massive hand/arm for pushing through the string, while there is a disadvantage when the string is freed in space (depending on the slant used)? What is required to compensate for the disadvantage? Likewise, there may be advantages to having a less massive hand/arm mass but also disadvantages that require compensatory technique(s).

Let’s not confuse any of this with hand size, which is a different subject.

1 Like
#2

So far we haven’t seen any evidence that differences in body size, weight, geometry, or even strength help or hinder different kinds of picking motion. I know it seems reasonable that there should be some correlation somewhere! But in actual practice, most of the time when players have trouble with something, it’s because they’re just not doing it right. That’s the practical answer.

We may very well discover a picking motion that requires certain physical attributes that only some people have, in order to be done well. Or attributes that make some people better at them than other people. Maybe hyperpicking will turn out to be that way. I can’t do it, for example - but I also have put no time into trying to figure out how. And when I try, I usually succeed, even if it takes a while!

My best guess at this moment is that even if differences exist, their effects are small enough to be negligible compared to the difference between a knowledgable/trained player and an untrained one.

1 Like
#3

Hand mass is easily compensated for by force applied by the muscles. Since there’s rarely any question about whether a player is strong enough to be physically able to pick with whatever force they want, it’s largely just a question of calibrating force applied with feel and tone. You do this automatically when you play. You only have one picking hand, so you don’t really have to think about it or adjust for anything. Let feel and tone be your guide on the simple stuff and your body will usually figure out the details.

1 Like
#4

Since our arm/hand/finger muscles have far more power than it’s needed to pluck a string I don’t think there are some differences. It’s just ‘control systen’ that we should develop, so it’s about brain and innervation… I start to think that my ability to play fast tremolo without any previous practice could be related with the fact that I used to like to train with dumbbels and to make pullups back in the days. Physical exercises not just builds muscles (especially in my case :slight_smile:) but enhance innervation as well.

#5

It would make sense. I keep reading that when you start weight training that even if you aim for “aesthetics”, you should always start with “pure” strength training. It’s in order for the body to learn how to recruit the muscles you already have and create the nervous connections you need to recruit them efficiently. Maybe “noob gains” are related to that…

But I’m not sure, so I ask for some kind of confirmation there.

1 Like
#6

I’m not sure that I did this one right, but if your string has 20# of tension, is 25" long, and you pluck it 6" from the bridge, then the amount of “work” that you do to expand it 5mm should be around 20mJ. The kinetic energy of a one pound hand at 1mph is around 40mJ. So, it seems that the string actually does soak up a reasonable amount of energy to be displaced. But 5mm is a big displacement, if somebody hits it only 3mm this drops to only 7mJ, and then if you’re like me with only around 10# of tension, it’s around 4mJ, not so much compared to the hand. So, I suppose that this makes sense with common practice, people tune flat, hit the strings at an angle with a modest displacement, many barely scraping the string at all.

I’m increasingly thinking that the whole “trick” is to be able to launch (start) the hand rapidly in alternate directions.

(For the nerds, it looked to me like a string acts like a spring with a spring constant of k = T(1/a + 1/b), where b=6" and a=19" (to sum to 25). The work would be T = (1/2) k x^2, where x=5mm. If there is a mistake please tell me.)

#7

There is a lot to explore here besides hand/arm mass in terms of accounting for relational forces.

Objectively, there are such variables as: string gauge and tension; and, pick material, shape, thickness.

There are also “subjective factors”, i.e., how the picking experience “feels”.

Maybe a ham-handed robust player using 12 gauge strings and a 2mm beveled pick would have a comparable subjective “feel” compared with a gracile player using 9’s and a thinner pick.

Slightly off topic, I have also wondered about pick size. I have relatively thin fingers and the Jazz III’s just feel right compared to standard size picks. The Jazz III’s seem to “sit” better.

The bottom line is the objective, measurable differences in sizes, mass, materials, etc., still have to interact with our individual subjective/objective perceptual and cognitive systems. Everyone has to find their own “sweet spot” in terms of maximizing performance.

#8

Thats not how human mechanics works IMHO. If you want to teach someone how to walk you could explain him a lot about angles and forces, muscle tension and so on. However the only way here is a trial and error way. Same is true for any physical actuvity. Though knowing some background could improve you technique… or could not.