Re: Addressing my weaknesses
I've been at this guitar playing game a long time and I've found one universal constant: The people who are the best at it are the ones that work at it the hardest.
Any fool can get the hand skills. Don't believe me? See for yourself. Go to Guitar Center on a Saturday.
One of the biggest traps an aspiring player can make is when they get some modest skills, and then start lensing everything they hear and trying to play through their own skills rather than extending the skill set they have. 99% of the frustrated players I meet have fallen into this trap.
Chuck
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
I suck at that (alternating strokes in an arpeggio) as well. Also, my vibrato is done more in a "trill" style as I never really learned it right. I can bend the snot outta the strings, I just can't do a vibrato that's worth a crap. Don't know why.
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
renderit
I suck at that (alternating strokes in an arpeggio) as well. Also, my vibrato is done more in a "trill" style as I never really learned it right. I can bend the snot outta the strings, I just can't do a vibrato that's worth a crap. Don't know why.
Make sure you're using your wrist and not your fingers to make the vibrato, and also learn to make sure your vibrato is in time with the music. Think "Mississippi Mississippi, etc.
No charge.
Chuck
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Offshore Angler
Make sure you're using your wrist and not your fingers to make the vibrato, and also learn to make sure your vibrato is in time with the music. Think "Mississippi Mississippi, etc.
No charge.
Chuck
Yeah, I know that from years of people telling me that! I can do the reverse (flop my thumb side BACK), just not the finger side up! I.e.: I can do it backwards very well! What do you mean "think Mississippi, Mississippi"? I'll try ANYTHING including standing in the front yard naked at midnight waving dirty socks over my head.
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
"Mississipi" is a technique form the Suzuki music instruction method. It's used to teach 16th note rhythms. Count out the beat, 1,2,3,4 and then change the numbers to Mississippi's, and you'll have your 16ths timing down.
On guitar, timing is everything and it's what separates great players from mediocre ones. Anybody can get the correct notes in sequence if timing isn't required. Most aspiring guitarists will push the beat during the meedley meedley parts and it sounds disconnected to the music. Even when on a total shred, you need to keep your timing. It's more subtle but just as important on vibrato, and to make a solo with delay perfectly fit you need to tap the tempo on the delay first. If not, your vibrato and delays get out of synch and you lose that "natural" sound.
Timing is everything.
Chuck
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
Thanks for that. I didn't understand. But I still can't get to the Mississippi portion of the lesson, much less the meedely meedeley part. I just feel like my wrist won't do it physically. I guess I need to reevaluate maybe how I'm holding the thang. Getting pretty discouraged. Played for years, always feel worthless when I get to that. But I can wiggle it like a violin which has taken it's place in my playing...
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
I think alternate picking arpeggios and vibrato are probably two of the most common difficulties us guitar players have to face.
They're easy to try and very hard to make right.
I myself still struggle to do both "perfectly".
Re: Addressing my weaknesses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
renderit
Thanks for that. I didn't understand. But I still can't get to the Mississippi portion of the lesson, much less the meedely meedeley part. I just feel like my wrist won't do it physically. I guess I need to reevaluate maybe how I'm holding the thang. Getting pretty discouraged. Played for years, always feel worthless when I get to that. But I can wiggle it like a violin which has taken it's place in my playing...
Don't bend your wrist, you twist it. Watch videos of B. B. King. he was the master. Vibrato is easy if your technique is correct. If it's wrong, you'll struggle.
You're not bending the string, you're just massaging it on the fret. If you can discern a pitch change of more than a few cents you've gone way to far. Vibrato's subtle. It's really as much about adding sustain as anything else.