Right hand Technique...reasonable goals.

[gnr2391]

Hey y'all,

 

So my left hand has never had problems with speed, but my right hand always has and I am deciding to finally set things right because the right hand needs is where most of the dynamics is controlled and articulation to a huge part. So, I certainly need to make sure I develop a right hand that can always be comfortable in any situation whether a faster jazz solo ( I would like to play Martino fast...I can live without playing McLoughlin fast), or some sixteenth note kind of funk scratch thing. So, if I work with the metronome on some exercises starting tomorrow at 100 bpm...what would be a reasonable goal in two weeks? Would 110 bpm be or I should aim for 120? I really don't want to rush something like this and I want to hear your opinions on what some reasonable goals are. Thanks a bunch!

[1001gear]

A reasonable goal would be after two weeks you are comfortable hobbling along as slow and steadily as possible and willing to make a 5 yr trek toward true chops. Srsly.

Short answer anyway.

[Krank'N]

Its good to have lofty goals but you need to assess your current abilities to get to the next level. Get a second opinion from another guitarist in real life! One part of achieving picking speed is "economy ". Use as little force or motion as possible to get the job done. Have you ever heard anyone comment that Pete Townsend was a fast picker!?? If you can get the job done with your wrist then dont use your forearm. If you can get it done with a thumbroll then dont use your wrist. In reality a player will transition between these methods and it becomes sub-conscious. Another important point is "consistency". Learn to float your hand in same position (unless your moving the arm for dynamics or harmonic variance). Also learn to use your pinky and ring fingers to ride the pup ring or body when doing thumbrolls and other short motions. 120 bpm isnt very fast when alternate picking so you should get there easily. Good luck

[mosiddiqi]

I agree with Krank'N..excellent advice!

 

Apart from that, I'm more and more convinced that speed is actually an ears/brain thing rather than being able to move your fingers fast..the two are connected. Your fingers will do what your brain/ears tells them to do. If you hear fast and clean, you'll play fast and clean. It the fast lines are coming from your ears/brain, rather than patterns that you've learned parrot fashion (which can be cool too!), they'll have the added benefit of sounding more musical.

 

Hal Galpers vids on this have been hugely inspirational for me. I can't post links from work, but do check 'em out

[jeremy_green]

I agree with Mo - Galper is bang on the money with that. What you actually hear is a critical part of the process... sounds crazy and kind of hippy-ish but the more I work at it the more I see he is right.

 

Mo - I posted these vids on my blog:

http://sixstringobsession.blogspot.com/2011/07/hal-galper-damn-these-videos-are-great.html

 

To the OP - I think setting short term goals is cool... but I don't think you should get a number in your mind. Failure to hit it can be very frustrating. Just set about the desire to practice it and do so in earnest. Gains WILL come with practice so whether that takes a day, a week, a month, it is what it is. From my experience growth is not measured for me in weeks... more months and years. There really is no set point when it clicks... more just one day ... for no explicable reason I can execute?? It's odd.

 

So my advice is take solace in the fact that you are working on it. That means you will get it. I heard a great saying yesterday that applies to all areas of life. "The harder you work - the luckier you will be".

 

The key to it is doing the hours.

[mosiddiqi]

I'll just add that whilst I'm not a "super fast" player, my speed improved HUGELY when I STOPPED WORKING ON IT. I spent time with a metronome doing all the exercises I was supposed to do and didn't really get anywhere. I decided I just didn't have it in me to play fast and instead concentrated on song writing, gigging, playing with as many different and good musicians that would let me join in!. I just played and played a lot...no drills, just playing and writing a lot. I felt my overall musicianship improved in this period, my sense of rhythm, knowing when not to play etc....and I suspect that because my "musical brain" was sharper, I suddenly found speed not that big a deal. I could play as fast (clean) as I wanted. ..which was as fast (clean) as I could hear. Which is why I think Galper is right.

 

Naturally, YMMV, and doing the drills religiously might be what does it for you. For me, I needed to improve my all round game and then executing things faster just became more natural.

[jonfinn]

One thing I've learned from hanging around with players with killer technique: The key is to practice what you want to be able to do. A LOT!

To answer your question about reasonable goals, I don't think a target metronome setting is a reasonable goal. Allow me to explain: If you practice drills to reach a certain metronome setting, it means you can play THAT drill at that tempo. It doesn't mean you can play EVERYTHING at that tempo. I learned that lesson the hard way yikes!

Having said that, reaching a goal you've set is never bad.

These days what I do is write or learn songs I can't play, then develop the technique I need by writing a short exercise that challenges the thing I can't do.

Here's an exercise I wrote a few days ago. If you can play this at 180 bpm with no mistakes, you're officially my hero!
(PS I can't play it yet)

[polishpaul]

Thanks Jon! Got that one down. Got any more please?

 

 

(In my dreams......)

[BydoEmpire]

I've been working on my technique a lot lately, after basically ignoring it for 20 years, so here's my 2c based on the last few months. If you look at a dozen amazing guitar players, you can find a dozen unique ways of holding the pick. Right hand technique is very personal, imho, and there isn't one "right way" because everyone's body is different (including your ears). There might be one right way for you however. There are a few general truths to right hand technique: 1) don't heavily anchor your hand on the bridge, 2) don't pick using arm motion, pick from the wrist and 3) you have to be relaxed. Outside of that, I would say spend time exploring what works for you. It doesn't sound very helpful, I know. The key is to spend time focusing on the notes coming out and how your wrist feels, not on how you hold the pick and your wrist. Your body will figure that out for itself. As long as the notes coming out are clean and articulate, and your wrist and arm aren't cramping up you're on the right track.

 

I think there is a lot to be gained from practicing exercises with a metronome, especially if you're not already a monster player. You can isolate problems faster. For example, do you have problems with outside picking, string skipping patterns? That's easier to identify with an exercise than if you're playing an actual piece of music, and then you can work on that. Remember, the goal of an exercise is not to be able to play the exercise. It's to learn what the exercise is trying to teach you. It doesn't matter if you can play the exercise at 180bpm, it matters if you can take what the exercise taught you and apply it to actual music.

 

Regarding setting goals, I would say the metronome is not a particularly useful tool for setting 'speed' goals. It is a useful tool for helping you be able to understand what certain patterns of notes feel like. What do 8th notes at 120bpm feel like? What do quintuplets feel like? It's not about "I can play this at 120bpm" it's "I hear 16th notes, I know what they sound like, and I can play them because I've practiced." That's what the metronome is for, imho. The metronome is also critical for keeping you honest in your practice. A lot of people swear by the drum loop rather than the metronome, and there's a lot of validity in that, but I've found myself overreliant on the kick & snare so I had a hard time playing in time without them. For me, the simplicity of the metronome helps.

 

I think a good goal would be to pick a solo that's just out of reach of your current ability, and then aim to be able to play it perfectly at tempo. Maybe also pick a long term goal of a solo that's your dream one - way beyond your current skills, and over time you'll find yourself getting closer and closer.

 

 

Hal Galpers vids on this have been hugely inspirational for me. I can't post links from work, but do check 'em out

 

Here are the Galper videos (which are amazing, by the way):

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2729458-Interesting-Find-!-!

[oordeel]

Bydo,

Good post, we've been talking about this for quite a while!


**** one day, i'll put up a vid of doing a worthy cover of For the love of god! one day ....

[benzem]

One thing I've learned from hanging around with players with killer technique: The key is to practice what you want to be able to do. A LOT! To answer your question about reasonable goals, I don't think a target metronome setting is a reasonable goal. Allow me to explain: If you practice drills to reach a certain metronome setting, it means you can play THAT drill at that tempo. It doesn't mean you can play EVERYTHING at that tempo. I learned that lesson the hard way yikes! Having said that, reaching a goal you've set is never bad. These days what I do is write or learn songs I can't play, then develop the technique I need by writing a short exercise that challenges the thing I can't do. Here's an exercise I wrote a few days ago. If you can play this at 180 bpm with no mistakes, you're officially my hero! (PS I can't play it yet)

I actually was able to play the first bar at that speed. So I just stopped there since I obviously could play the entire thing at that tempo.

[jeremy_green]

 

A lot of people swear by the drum loop rather than the metronome, and there's a lot of validity in that, but I've found myself overreliant on the kick & snare so I had a hard time playing in time without them. For me, the simplicity of the metronome helps.

 

 

Great post Bydo.

 

To the above I would say that is cool.... until you play with a drummer with a sick sense of time... who WON'T always give you a predictable snare kick pattern. If I counted on those being where I expected them to be all the time I'd be screwed. If you are working on timing the metronome is king IMO.

 

Drummers use one?? um hello!

[dvuksanovich]

Also remember that there's a difference between just hanging on by your fingernails at a given metronome setting and effortlessness at a given metronome setting. You do need to push the upper bound of what you're capable of but you also need to dial it back at times and really nail it at a slightly slower speed. This combination of "push it, then control it" can help a lot as you work on your technique.

[kooter82]

Best advice I got was from Jeff Loomis of Nevermore himself.

 

And it was along the lines of this:

"First, use a metronome and start playing everything slow. I'm sure it sounds redundant and as long as you've been playing I'm sure you know but I cannot emphasize that enough. And I mean slow, so slow that each note rings out in perfection and you make no mistakes. And build speed that way. Secondly and almost most importantly, to me, is to get your breathing down; consistent and natural. You should be able to play everything you attempt with an even breath. Never hold in your breath to attempt to play a fast run. If you're not totally relaxed you will have a hard time executing hard runs you are attempting because your entire body is tense. Lose all muscle tension. After all you are playing guitar and having fun, right?"

 

 

-Ever since he told me that, I've en-grained (THE BREATHING PART) that in my playing and holy hell, what a vast difference. I ALWAYS used to play so tense. Let it go, let it go and let the notes flow!