The left-hand frame

The left hand has one job at this stage: hold a loose, consistent shape, and drop fingers onto the string from above. That shape is the frame — the same on every string, so the hand never has to re-form itself for the next note.

Where the hand goes

• The neck rests in the soft web between your thumb and first finger — lightly. Your palm does not touch the neck; there's a gap.
• The thumb sits on the side of the neck, roughly opposite your first or second finger, gently curved or straight — never pressing sideways.
• The base knuckles stay roughly parallel to the neck, not collapsed flat.
• The fingers arch over the string and come down onto it from the knuckles, like small hammers, landing on their tips near the nail. They stay curved and hovering close even when they're not playing — a finger that flies away has to travel all the way back.
• The wrist is straight, or turned gently in toward the neck. Never collapsed — bulging toward you — which jams the fingers and invites strain.

The squeeze test

A relaxed hand can lift and drop fingers quickly and land in tune. A gripping hand can't do either. Two checks:

• With a finger pressed down, can you wiggle your thumb freely? You should be able to.
• Can you tap the other fingers lightly on the string while one is playing? If they're rigid, you're clamping.

The usual mistake

• Squeezing the neck between thumb and first finger — the single biggest fault. It plays everything sharp and kills speed.
• Collapsing the wrist toward you.
• Flat fingers instead of landing on the tips.
• The thumb creeping too far under the neck, so the palm grips.