The Follow-Through

I have mentioned that the follow-through should be minimized if economy of movement is to be achieved. However this only applies to what I consider the basic right hand stroke, one which is optimized for relaxation.

The follow-through principle is based on the premise that the finger should still be actively playing after it has plucked the string. To state it in another way, it presupposes that the finger is still in the motion of plucking after it has already plucked the string.

To me, the follow-through is totally unnecessary, the very act of plucking should be the moment of release. In other words, the finger should relax the same instant the finger plucks the string. And the moment of release is also the beginning of the rebound, the finger should be moving back to reposition itself for the next stroke as soon as the plucking motion is accomplished. Any follow-through in the finger will just unnecessarily retard the finger.

To reiterate, the above describes what I consider the optimal stroke. It produces a clean sound with a strong attack. Most importantly, it is extremely efficient. However it is by no means the only stroke available. I advocate using a variety of strokes to produce different tone colors. For melodic passages where a smooth mellow sound with a minimal attack is desired, the follow-through is very much a part of the stroke. Since speed is usually not a factor in these type of passages, the added effort and time involved in performing the follow-through has a negligible effect.