Finger movement

  • Thread starter Thread starter travelin travis
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pikingrin said:
Word... ;) I can't get into the mindset for very long either. With that non-stop click...click...click... of the metronome.... :mad:

You should try Steve Vai's 10hr. guitar workout, that shit is insane. I wish I had enough time to devote to that! Guess I gotta hurry up and become a guitar god so I can quit my day job... :D

10 hour workout................no thanks! :D that is insane.

i still have the first metronome i ever bought and i still want to break it every time i turn it on.
 
darrvid said:
You'd be able to answer that question better than anyone. Listen to artists you wish you could play like, and listen to the technique involved in a particular riff or portion of solo that really inspires you. Then use exercises to drill that technique.

Personally my routine looks like this:

When doing all exercises I use the metronome technique described in the "Right Hand" portion of speed mechanics. (start 20bpm lower than your max speed, jump up 2 notches, back down 1, etc.) I'll run though a few alternate picking exercises, and then finger independance (hammer ons/pull offs). This usually takes about an hour+. I'll then move onto learning a song with emphasis on rhythm. Currently I'm using Total Rock Guitar (also by Troy) for this purpose, along with the track Stadium Arcadium (by the Red Hot Chili Peppers) which I chose because its helping develop arpeggiation, and moving from strumming to picking chords without losing the rhythmic flow. Try not to pick just any song you'd like to learn. Pick one you like, but also because it highlights problem areas in your playing. I usually do this for about an hour. Then, I've usually regained enough focus to move back to drills. This time, ones I find hardest since I'm warmed up. For me this is trills, vibrato, and more finger independance. This tends to last about 45 mins since trills really wear my hand out. Finally I end it by putting on some music and jamming over top. I do this to remind myself that playing guitar isn't about technique drills, its about playing music and letting loose with emotion. I don't put any time constraints on how long I do this so it can be 10 mins or 2 hours.

That ran a bit long, but overall make sure to add variation in your practice to keep yourself from burning out; but make sure that everything you practice has some reason behind it (a james brown tune to help 16th note strums, trills to get some hendrix flavor, etc).

I think most important is to always allow time to just jam with some recordings. Just let loose and try to get what you're feeling expressed on the guitar. If you find yourself getting better at doing that, you'll know you're practicing the right stuff. If not, re-evaluate what you're practicing.


Edit: It sounds like this is something you understand, but it's important enough for me to say just in case (and for others reading). Reducing muscle tension is the number one skill to improve all areas of your playing. Make absolute certain that you include practice time at a speed where you have the ability to stay relaxed for the entire drill. Of course when you start pressing against your max speed you will tense up; but you must practice being loose, it won't happen on it's own.

Sounds like good advice to me. I think I quit practicing because of burn out.

If you haven't been to this site, check it out: http://www.guitarbt.com/index.php It's backing tracks for popular songs. The downloads are slow so you might want to use a download manager and start a bunch of them and forget them.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
If you haven't been to this site, check it out: http://www.guitarbt.com/index.php It's backing tracks for popular songs. The downloads are slow so you might want to use a download manager and start a bunch of them and forget them.


I havent been to that site. I'll have to check that out.

I just looked through justinguitar.com. Great suggestion; the section on transcribing is just what I've always wished I could find. I desperatly need to work on learning songs by ear, but it's so hard to learn without some sort of guidance. That section will be a great resource for me, thanks!
 
You probably need to exercises that strengthen the pinky. I find myself often getting lazy and playing lazy Ace Freeley Licks with three fingers. Chromatic exercises seem to fix it and open up ideas that were not there before. I go through spurts where I will practice 2 hours a day for a month and then hardly at all for a month. Too many other interests. Like Keyboard and recording and singing and oh yeah making a living too.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I used to practice some finger independence exercises and got to where I could tame my pinky movement at slow speeds but when I'm playing or doing picking sequences, it likes to fly up.


I have been fighting a similar battle with my pinky for the last few months. There is no short answer on how to fix it. Practice slow. When you can control your pinky movement slow, speed up a little. Keep increasing the speed slowly over time.

I can tell you this is a long term thing. I've noticed a lot of progress, but I still have a ways to go, and I've been at it for several months, now.

Any extra, unnecessary movement will cost you accuracy and speed. Watch any really fast players on any instrument, and the one thing they have in common is economy of motion.
 
thewanderer24 said:
I have been fighting a similar battle with my pinky for the last few months. There is no short answer on how to fix it. Practice slow. When you can control your pinky movement slow, speed up a little. Keep increasing the speed slowly over time.

I can tell you this is a long term thing. I've noticed a lot of progress, but I still have a ways to go, and I've been at it for several months, now.

Any extra, unnecessary movement will cost you accuracy and speed. Watch any really fast players on any instrument, and the one thing they have in common is economy of motion.

I watched a bunch of videos of some of the shredder guys last night and my pinky seems to be in as much control as anyone's from what I can tell. I'm still going to work in some exercises that concentrate in small movements but I'm not too worried about my pinky. I've been hacking away at some exercises over the last few days to figure out what I'll be using. My pinky feels like popeye right now. :p
 
Wtf

Dude, thats YOUR STYLE...embrace it because its yours. maybe you get into the Van Halen speed picking (watch a vid and see how he does it...that what im picturing from your explanation)
 
stratplayer64 said:
Dude, thats YOUR STYLE...embrace it because its yours. maybe you get into the Van Halen speed picking (watch a vid and see how he does it...that what im picturing from your explanation)

Honestly, I'm not really into the fast picking stuff at all. It's just something that I'd like to have on tap for the rare occasion that I need to use it. Know what I mean? In other words, if I could play all that shredding stuff, I wouldn't bother. I do run into road blocks some times where my fingers can't keep up with my intentions. :D That's where I'm looking to improve.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I noticed that when I'm doing picking sequences, my pinky comes off of the fretboard 1/2" to 1" some times. What do you guys think? Is this going to give me problems when I get into pushing my max speed?

No, but stopping to measure how far your pinky comes off the fretboard might.

In terms of maximum efficiency, I'd say it might make a difference. However, if you are playing that fast, your fingers have somewhere to be so they won't be so prone to loiter.
 
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