Members Auggie Doggie Posted August 7, 2003 Members Posted August 7, 2003 Here's a painful little exercise I came up with that will help increase your 'proper' stretching abilities. Many players do their stretching exercises on a single string at a time, and push themselves to reach as many frets as possible. While there is some benefit to this, it can be misleading as well as develop some bad habits. Personally, if I don't force myself to stay on my fingertips as much as possible, I can stretch from the first fret to the eighth on any string. However, this 'fanning' of the fret hand is impractical. If I DO stay on my fingertips ('proper' technique) and keep my fingers arched, that reach is cut down to only the 6th fret. This exercise uses the 1st, 3rd, and 4th of the fret hand. Forcing yourself to stay on your fingertips and keeping your fingers arched above the fingerboard makes it much more difficult. Further, the exercise involves string skipping, which will stretch your fingers ACROSS the fingerboard as well as up-and-down the length of it, while increasing the accuracy required. It's broken into two sections; the first is in 12/8 time (essentially triplets in 4/4 in this case), and the second uses 16ths in 3/4 time. While the notes are the same, the difference in rhythm and 'feel' is considerable. Repeat each as much as desired...but make sure you are THOROUGHLY WARMED UP first; you could injure yourself if you aren't used to this type of stretching. You might be surprised how much easier 'normal' lines become after working on this for a few days. Just don't overdo it....if you feel pain, stop and rest. Last, since it uses an arpeggio (as opposed to being a mechanical chromatic exercise), it could actually be used in a musical setting. Have fun! *note, it's a .pdf file zipped up...you'll need the Adobe Reader to view it.
Members Auggie Doggie Posted August 8, 2003 Author Members Posted August 8, 2003 18 downloads so far....cool. Nobody with any feedback though. Seriously, the lack of feedback on these sorts of things keeps a LOT of people from contributing, and it also leaves those of us who DO post this sort of material wondering if any of it is helping anybody....and what we could/should address in future installments....etc.So, for those of you who have downloaded, what do ya think? Useful.....waste of your time....too hard....too easy...etc?? Inquiring minds want to know!
Members Qengho Posted August 8, 2003 Members Posted August 8, 2003 Originally posted by Auggie Doggie Nobody with any feedback though. fingers...hurt...too much...to type
Members chen kasher Posted August 8, 2003 Members Posted August 8, 2003 I like the exercise, very good warmup, however its not a good primary exercise and could cause serious injury if youre not already somewhat warmed up. I like it, but find it mildly impractical, especially the interval usage you put in. Who needs to reach from the root to the fifth on one string?
Members Auggie Doggie Posted August 8, 2003 Author Members Posted August 8, 2003 Originally posted by chen kasher I like the exercise, very good warmup, however its not a good primary exercise and could cause serious injury if youre not already somewhat warmed up. I like it, but find it mildly impractical, especially the interval usage you put in. Who needs to reach from the root to the fifth on one string? I stated that it's only to be done AFTER warming up...it is not intended as, nor should it be used as, a warmup exercise.The idea behind the exercise is to help increase one's fret hand reach and to help the very common problem of using the wrong muscles (as the result of poor playing position) for the 4th finger. Being able to maintain an arch in that finger as well as playing on the fingertip over that span makes it easier to use proper technique for more comfortable lines. It's part development exercise and part corrective. Its benefits may not be seen right away, but it does work.
Members chen kasher Posted August 8, 2003 Members Posted August 8, 2003 Originally posted by Auggie Doggie I stated that it's only to be done AFTER warming up...it is not intended as, nor should it be used as, a warmup exercise. The idea behind the exercise is to help increase one's fret hand reach and to help the very common problem of using the wrong muscles (as the result of poor playing position) for the 4th finger. Being able to maintain an arch in that finger as well as playing on the fingertip over that span makes it easier to use proper technique for more comfortable lines. It's part development exercise and part corrective. Its benefits may not be seen right away, but it does work. Idk, I just tried the old dokken solo for "in my dreams" which has george doing some crazy streches and I didnt find it that helpful but Ill keep working at it. Maybe Im already using the right muscles, ive been playing for 4 years.
Members Grinder63 Posted August 5, 2004 Members Posted August 5, 2004 Good exercise, thanks. Luckily, I have played for two hour before I found it here. I cant see the immediate benefit of it, but it is a lot more musical then most exercises I have, thus it is more enjoyable to practice. It would be great you could write more that are musical, instead of the usual chromatic babble I usually find in books. Regards.
Members SpoonyJank Posted August 6, 2004 Members Posted August 6, 2004 why dont diminished seventh chords have sevenths? is a diminished 7th an interval I don't know about? thats an honest question not smart-assed-ness. Major 6th = Diminished 7th?
Members Auggie Doggie Posted August 6, 2004 Author Members Posted August 6, 2004 Originally posted by SpoonyJank why dont diminished seventh chords have sevenths? is a diminished 7th an interval I don't know about? thats an honest question not smart-assed-ness.Major 6th = Diminished 7th? Enharmonically, they ARE the same, at least according to modern-day theory. To understand why it's called a 'diminished 7th' and not a 'diminished 6th', you have to understand that what we call a '6th chord' (of any variety) is quite different from a '6th chord' from classical theory. Back then, when you had a '6th chord', it referred to the interval from the bass note (which wasn't the root of the chord) to the next higher note in the chord. This comes from something called 'figured bass' (or thorough-bass), which has been out of general use for a very long time. German, Italian, French, and Neopolitan 6ths weren't represented by normal Algebraic notation (Roman numerals) as they weren't your normal 'functional' harmonies. The interval of a sixth from the bass is a necessary part of those structures, so it was included in the notation. So, while a C6 to us today means C-E-G-A, back then, that designation was used for something entirely different. So, when the dim7 chord was being named, calling it a '6th' of some kind was never an option. PLUS, in order to be (by definition) a 'chord', you must have a series of stacked thirds. For a 4-note chord, that means a root, a 3rd, and 5th, and a 7th. By calling it a dim7, you avoid the confusion of the 6th and still adhere to the stacked thirds (aka 'tertial') harmony.
Members Auggie Doggie Posted August 7, 2004 Author Members Posted August 7, 2004 BTW, how the hell did this thread reappear after a year's worth of hibernation?
Poparad Posted August 7, 2004 Posted August 7, 2004 Originally posted by SpoonyJank why dont diminished seventh chords have sevenths? is a diminished 7th an interval I don't know about? thats an honest question not smart-assed-ness.Major 6th = Diminished 7th? Yes. If you take a major interval and lower it a half step, it becomes minor. If you lower it another half step, it becomes diminished.Here's all 4 possibilities in a continuum: diminished -- minor -- major -- augmented While a diminished 7th chord does have a diminished triad in it, it has a diminished 7th above the root as well. So yes, a major 6th is enharmonically equal to a diminished 7th interval.
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