Building speed and precision (again)

[Floyd.lt]

Is it better to leave the fast playing alone, play only slow and concentrate on accuracy ? Or work my speed up with the metronome?
IMHO playing slow should help me play fast ;) Right? But will it really enhance my technique? Maybe, I will just get used to playing slow and I won't get any further...
I kinda don't want to do both.. I want to concentrate on one major thing at a time. So are those 27 day SLOW playing regiments worth a try? Or I should stick to the good old metronome? My piano teacher once said: "When you can play it slow - you can play it fast".

Cheers

[Kap'n]

Why is speed so important?

[Cogs]

I want speed, but only to make my mid-tempo playing to be smooth & effortless. Ok, & maybe for a teeny bit of flash
Just like a baseball player swings a cluster of bats just before he gets on deck, you want to learn to play scales & chord changes fast so that when it comes time to play them at regular tempo you can do so w/ease & accuracy.
A metronome is a great tool for this.

[Floyd.lt]

Speed isn't important, but your technique shouldn't limit your creativity.

[Offshore Angler]

The best thing is just to practice. Really. But with speed the best advice I can give is to practice your fast stuff clean and not rely on gain or distortion as a crutch.

[Kap'n]

Yep.

I find just playing improves my dexterity about on par with my note choices, although I'm sure others would say my dexterity is improving quicker.

Playing acoustic, an unplugged electric, or clean electric helps you execute notes cleanly. You can ramp up the tempo slightly, and eventually, you'll have all the real speed that you need.

[Los7]

Is playing the same as practicing? I play everyday, probably for about an hour a day on average. I just dont seem to get any better, and i aint done for about a year. The only thing i do tho, is play over other songs. So how do i "practice" not just "play"

[hudpucker]

Lots of good advice given above. Practice playing cleanly and evenly. Minimize unnecessary finger movement. You're trying to build some 'muscle memory.' Pay attention to alternating down and upstrokes--especially while skipping strings.

And don't be phased if you never wind up being a 'fast' player. The misconception is that anyone can be fast if you practice enough. Some people are just 'wired' differently; some are fast naturally and some will never be especially fleet. Keep in mind though that although speed is a great tool to have in the box it's only one tool.

[Kap'n]

Is playing the same as practicing? I play everyday, probably for about an hour a day on average. I just dont seem to get any better, and i aint done for about a year. The only thing i do tho, is play over other songs. So how do i "practice" not just "play"

That's one aspect.

Another is to play unaccompanied songs.

If you have a looper, you can do both. Lay down a funky rhythm - learn what makes a funky rhythm; play different inversions/voicings over it - learn how they mesh, and how to play counter rhythms - the two interlocking parts bit.

Then solo over it. Don't be afraid to try 'notes that aren't part of the box.' Ditch the box, play horizontally.




Now, if I'd only take my own advice more often.

[Cogs]

So how do i "practice" not just "play"

Find something on record or video that you don't know how to do, & then figure out how to do it.

[Larson]

I like to play over backing tracks.

Just search youtube for "backing track" and you will find LOTS of backing tracks to solo over. If your a big blues fan (which I am), you will find lots of blues backing tracks.

[Kap'n]

Backing tracks don't teach you how to be a musician.

They teach you how to play notes over backing tracks.

Think of the guy playing a part the backing track. If it's a good one, he's creating an atmosphere for you to hopefully be creative.

Now try playing his part.

Being a musician isn't about being a jerkoff over a bunch of sidemen. It's about creating music.

[boobtube21]

Lots of good advice given above. Practice playing cleanly and evenly. Minimize unnecessary finger movement. You're trying to build some 'muscle memory.' Pay attention to alternating down and upstrokes--especially while skipping strings.

And don't be phased if you never wind up being a 'fast' player. The misconception is that anyone can be fast if you practice enough. Some people are just 'wired' differently; some are fast naturally and some will never be especially fleet. Keep in mind though that although speed is a great tool to have in the box it's only one tool.

What he said.

[Cogs]

I just was listening to Jazz Is Dead playing Help On The Way/Slipknot!/Franklin's Tower & Jimmy Herring jost blows me away; He's fast, & outside!
I'll probably never be able to play like that but that's cool. I'd rather have his touch & knowledge of the fretboard, anyway. Speed is fun, but you can usually tell when it's an end in itself to a player. And that becomes boring in a hurry.

[Cygnus X1]

Both.
I live in two worlds.
I love really old blues...Delta no less. Son House, Robert Johnson,
the real old rocker-rollers. And it affects my style in the slide, emotional way the guitar finishes the sentences I start. Speed only makes a stuttering voice in that place.
But I'm also a player of early heavy metal. Same idea, to me, but
on a different scale. Uli Jon Roth, Blackmore, Iommi, Randy Rhoads...etc. Speed is built in. And I have to constantly stay on top of my practice to get there.
One doesn't compliment the other, but I do think knowing how the
song is effected by the Delta style helped me in the heavy metal, much more than any speed taught me how to "speak" what I want to say.

[Floyd.lt]

Hum.. All the guitar masturbation these days, the speed and other wanking - just sounds like a guitar exercise (or even worse). The thing is that technique isn't music. And for the most part, all the long, fast runs are only scales going up and down.

People often depreciate good players just for their "slow" playing (think of David Gilmour).
I was starting to like Yngwie Malmsteen, but then I noticed that there's no melody. Really. Why put 30 notes in a beat when you need one?

The bad thing is.. All those "he plays better than whatever" ratings and stuff.. makes me feel a weaker guitar player (and I don't think I'm the only one). And people are starting to have negative thoughts: "I will never play like him", "it's too hard" and so on.

Here's and example of GOOD guitar playing, not fast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLarYtjkPRA

Ok. Enough with the whining

Some tips i discovered while enjoying my guitar:
It's best to practice without the amplifier. If you can't play it - your amp won't help.
Playing without effects and distortion is better for practicing. Most of the effects and even distortion "hides" some of the mistakes you make.
It's best NOT to rush things. You can play something bad a 100 times, but what makes you think that the 101st will be good?

Let's share some more tips

Ah.. One more. The most overlooked thing of them all. The pick. When playing a solo or something really emotional (not emo) people tend to move the hand more than it should move. Try to move the pick as little as possible and keep the hand steady (no juggling).

[curtisstetka]

Here's a tip: With the left hand, use as little pressure as possible to make the notes sound cleanly. Anything more is wasted and will fatigue your hand quicker. It also slows down transitions.

I'd rather listen to a slow, clean guitarist than one who sounds like a chainsaw.

[Cygnus X1]

All true.
Even the "metal" guys I like aren't really all that fast.
VH is sloppy. Iommi is selective. Uli is bluesy. Schenker is melodic...
And I won't even go into Jazz.
That's a goal that I'm not even close to!

[Los7]

i think i should spend more time in this part of the forum, rather than the pickup, strat, amps section. need to learn new stuff.
So i took on board some of what you guys have said. My aim now is to practice an hour a day, not just play. I like what 71818 said about finding something i dont know how to do and learn it. So i turned to Justin Sandercoe on youtube (great little tuition person) and have taken on the arpeggio section. Its called jazzing up your blues. Now i love some jazz but others not so much. Its the slower sort of jazzy blues i'm after (Minnie The Moocher)<---awesome) i watched The Blues Brothers last night and the version at the end of that with cab calloway singing is awesome, the trumpet at the beginning gave me goose bumps when that came in with that old trumpet sound. I would like to add here that i have no idea where i'm going with this post, and am sorry for hijacking floyd.it's thread.
So i'm learning the A7, D7, E7 arpeggio (dominent 7th something. I have no idea what it means but it sounds nice)
This is one of the songs i would like to know whats going on when it comes to the scale. Am i right in thinking he is using a G7 and C7 arpeggio, mixed with the minor pent scale. Its all a bit confusing at the minute, trying to take it all in.

[refin]

Why is speed so important?

+1000

Playing guitar should be looked upon like acting---there are times that you are called upon to do fast talking parts,but for the most part it's slower stuff with FEELING and SUBSTANCE.
Guitar Hero is starting the old "fast-is-better" mentality,which I thought was left behind in the '80s.
Most people who play fast all the time do so because they can't phrase.......only show-off.
Soloing is only a small part of guitar playing,but gets the most accolades!

KAP'N ALSO WROTE:
"Backing tracks don't teach you how to be a musician.

They teach you how to play notes over backing tracks.

Think of the guy playing a part the backing track. If it's a good one, he's creating an atmosphere for you to hopefully be creative.

Now try playing his part.

Being a musician isn't about being a jerkoff over a bunch of sidemen. It's about creating music."


Kap'n,were we seperated at birth?

[demioblue]

Think of the guy playing a part the backing track. If it's a good one, he's creating an atmosphere for you to hopefully be creative.

Like those lounge tracks Toobalicious was posting in the Jamzone? Those were a bitch to do... But extremely satisfying... I've only manage to do on nicely.

[CJ Neel]

Practicing is playing scales. Alternate picking. Finger picking. Play clean so you can hear your mistakes. Use a metronome or a beat box. And Hud has it dead on, some people aren't wired to play fast. Just do the best you can.

From another thread, but it applies here as well:

You want to know how to get there? Put down the guitar and sing or whistle some lines over the chord progression. Think melodically and put aside the "licks". Licks are for practicing and ice cream cones. Then pick up the guitar and play the stuff you were singing or whistling. You want to play melodies, you know, music...

[Offshore Angler]

Exactly. Even when most players aren't doing scales they are just pulling from a stored catalog of licks they know. Composition is a skill that needs to be nutured.

But, musicianship is more than being able to compose good phrases. Reading off a sheet, and being able to interpret the music is just as much musicianship as composing. Many a virtuoso has a chart in front of him or her when playing.

If, for example, you want to get into a good music conservatory you'll have to read a chart and audition as part of your entrance exam. You will be judged on your reading and interpretive skills, as well as mechanics.

I think sometimes we view musicianship through a very narrow window here, since this is a mostly electric guitar player's forum. I think for many, the standard used to judge is how well somebody can perform in a tradtional rock or blues band, since that is the aspiration of many, if not most, players here.

That thinking is fine, but we need to be cognizant that there is a whole 'nuther level of musicianship above that. It's a very exclusive regime that requires discipline, practive, and study that most people just don't have the time, money, or motivation to pursue.

I started in music as a jazz trumpet player. In my mid-twenties I realized I did not have the resources or ambition to pursue it to a real virtuoso level, and picked up guitar to play in a more casual approach and still be able to enjoy making music.

[NeoFauve]

Speed isn't important, but your technique shouldn't limit your creativity.

Once 100 people have some basic handle on playing, they may find 100 ways to get better and 100 different definitions of "better" or "technique."

Speed can be little more than training your fingers land here and there.

Creativity is more along the lines of playing what you actually hear or think, or even playing like who you are. Technique won't cause creativity.
Having some kind of concept of what your creativity is can actually help you develop techniques.
I don't mean develop in the "I'm getting better and better and better..." sense.

[Franklin]

I just was listening to Jazz Is Dead playing Help On The Way/Slipknot!/Franklin's Tower & Jimmy Herring jost blows me away; He's fast, & outside!
I'll probably never be able to play like that but that's cool. I'd rather have his touch & knowledge of the fretboard, anyway. Speed is fun, but you can usually tell when it's an end in itself to a player. And that becomes boring in a hurry.

+1
I'm for clean over fast and flashy!
When I practice, it's usually just learning new tunes. Other than that I've pretty much practice mapping the fret board with different chord forms, triads and arpeggios. I really need to get back to the basics. That's why I'm a sloppy player. I've got to bust out the metronome and do some slower finger exercises and scales.

[melody]

Don't be afraid to try 'notes that aren't part of the box.' Ditch the box, play horizontally.




Now, if I'd only take my own advice more often.

Me too Kap... Great read feller's lot's of good advice! So what loopers ya all using?

[ES350]

Howard also used to say ' If you make mistakes while you're practicing, you are practicing mistakes'...so slow down the metronome to what you can handle and play it clean. A good concise musical statement is more valuable and memorable than a gratituous, ill-placed display of idiomatic technique...be a musician, not a guitar player.

[Kap'n]

So what loopers ya all using?

I have a current issue Jam Man. I can store loops, but I never do.

Maybe if I come across something really cool, I could dump it to computer, and use it to write something.

There's a first time for everything.