How many years have you been playing?

jazzislander · #1 12-15-2011, 02:36 AM

Hi, I'm starting this thread because technique has been a big problem for me. Speed, accuracy, picking, legato, phrasing, time. I've done a lot of thinking and work in this field but my technique still sucks. A lot. So this morning I woke up realizing that I've been playing electric guitar for 3 years. Before that I was about 4 years kind of singer-songwriter type with acoustic guitar, so I wasn't really practicing, just playing "beautiful" chords and making up songs. So MAYBE it's just that I haven't played enough yet...

So I ask You. How many years have you been playing the guitar and when did you feel that your technique didn't "get in the way" anymore?

Maybe to clarify what do I mean about technique, then it's for example scale. Simply major scale. 16ths notes at 100bpm is the maximum level to me. Simple jazz comp dup-daa, dup-daa, I just can't hit the one accurately. I can hear it if I listen to recording after, not when I'm playing.

AlsoRan · #2 12-15-2011, 07:33 AM

Great question! I always wondered how close I was to getting to that "minimum" technical abilitiy required to be able to play some of the faster stuff proficiently.

I have been playing for five years, although the last couple of years my practice time has dwindled noticeably. I can play the major/minor scale using the 5 Musician's Institute recommended fingerings at around 120 beats per minute max before it starts to really fall apart.

I have noticed that I can get up around 145 bpm in short flurries.

When I do my right hand picking exercise single open strings, I can pick pick 16th notes at 208 bpm when fully warmed-up - and that is with accenting the "1" (which gets really hard for me as the metronome setting rises).

I am limited a little by fingers that I have broken/dislocated and especially by this darn pinky finger is much shorter than my ring finger. I have had to really work to keep it from throwing off my timing and playing dead notes. I have to vigilantly do exercises for that little finger!

That's my 2 cents on the subject.

JakeAcci · #3 12-15-2011, 09:59 AM

Measure yourself in vocabulary more so than scales! As was discussed in the other thread, focus on the lines you want to play more so than sheer 'techincal' ability.

Also, there are so many ways to speed up a scale. Strict alternate picking in position is, in my opinion, slowest but most accessible and accurate. You can also economy pick, use slurs, or change fingerings in the left hand to make the picking more symmetrical in various ways.

Oh, and to answer your question, I have been playing guitar about fifteen years. I was a jazz dabbler before about six years ago when I got more serious about jazz, and have been fairly dedicated but did some other music for a few years. So it's kind of like fifteen years playing guitar, four years serious jazz study, and maybe nine or ten years of sort of disorganized goofing around, some of which was jazz related. Feeling more comfortable, for me, came when I started working on my time and rhythms more. That made me feel a lot more confident and in control playing, rather than scale speed.

mr. beaumont · #4 12-15-2011, 11:30 AM

Yeah, I never paid any attention to how fast I could play a scale...it's all about application and knowledge for me...I need to know where the notes of that scale live, but playing them up and down in order? Never had the time...I needed to focus on tunes...

I'v been playing 21 years, jazz for about 15, jazz exclusively for the past 10.

I feel in the last few years I've become "competent" in jazz. Another 15 or so and I might not be half bad.

fep · #5 12-15-2011, 11:38 AM

I played for 10 years, then didn't play for about ten years, and have been playing again for 8 years. I'm still somewhere between a beginner and intermediate jazz guitarist, imo.

My 16th note scales break up around 115 to 120 bpm. I seldom practice scales.

bigdaddyguitar · #6 12-15-2011, 02:08 PM

Been playing 40 years . First thirty in cover bands , five or six in a blues band , and the last five playing jazz . As Mr.B said , "I never really paid any attention about how fast I could play a scale" . It's not about technique . It's about making music and playing in the groove . Maybe I'll get good some day . Don't know . But I'm sure having fun doing it .

pierre richard · #7 12-15-2011, 02:32 PM

like bigdaddy said..."it's not about technique but playing tunes and getting into the feel of jazz thats important"...it has never been a speed race for me..

I have been playing for 54 years !!!....the last 40 concentrating on jazz only...but do on occasion set it with friends and play "classic rock" and "classic country"...

and now and then I get my classical guitar out and play classicial tunes from 1600-1800...

and play jazz in the Charlie Byrd style...

time on the instrument...pierre

Tom Karol · #8 12-15-2011, 02:40 PM

I've been playing for 51 years, and I feel like I'm just now starting to get the hang of it. But I've been feeling like that for at least the last 20 years or so; I hope the feeling continues!

wizard3739 · #9 12-15-2011, 02:46 PM

I started playing as a teenager about 1950 and played old standards in small groups working my way through engineering college. After attending G.i.T. in 1977-1978, I worked in clubs around L.a. for a couple of years until I went back to Tucson, Az for a good engineering job. I've started playing about mid-2004, and more seriously since 2006. Prior ro 2002, my guitar was in the closet most of the time from 1980 to 2004. The reality is, I started seriously studying and practising in 2002 and I started getting back into playing with a jazz trio in 2004. I guess I could claim my playing experience is about 10 years and my interest, passion, study, analysis, transcription, etc..., of jazz and jazz guitar is more like about 60 years. My technique is not as good as I would like it to be and Arthritis has slowed me down quite a bit, but the years of listening have built my "ear" to the extent that I am comfortable with playing almost all the old standards and after reading a lead sheet, I can get by with almost any song I can read.

wiz

bigdaddyguitar · #10 12-15-2011, 02:56 PM

I know what you mean , Mr. Karol . And that's one damn good feeling .

Kman · #11 12-15-2011, 03:08 PM

Don't get too hung up on technique and scales. After three years you shouldn't expect much. Just keep working at it and enjoy.

I've been playing for thirty years and became comfortable with my technique after about 15 years. There is also a talent factor to consider. A guy who has only played ten years can be way beyond someone who has played for 50 years based on their talent level, so time spent is just one factor.

jazzislander · #12 12-15-2011, 03:46 PM

Thanks for all the answers. To me it's also "not about the technique", but as I said in the first post, the lack of technique just gets in my way. Not just speed. Even at slow tempos, hitting the one is, how to say, unsure.

AlsoRan, could you give some examples how did you work on rhythm and time?

AlsoRan · #13 12-15-2011, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzislander

Thanks for all the answers. To me it's also "not about the technique", but as I said in the first post, the lack of technique just gets in my way. Not just speed. Even at slow tempos, hitting the one is, how to say, unsure.

AlsoRan, could you give some examples how did you work on rhythm and time?

My friend, I am hesitant to give you any advice because I am still a newbie at Jazz and may steer you wrong. But risking that, and I am sure one of our esteemed forum members will correct me, I will say that I always used a metronome or a drum machine. And with the metronome, I would try to start out with the beat playing 4 beats per measure and then would cut the clicks in half until it clicked only once per measure. Of course you would have to modify this approach for time signatures in other time signatures.

For what it's worth, I played classical piano for almost 4 years as a youth, and this was what my teacher taught me to do. Who would know I would be using this method some 30 years later when I picked up the guitar.

We'll see what the forum has to say on the matter.

bigdaddyguitar · #14 12-16-2011, 07:58 AM

It's not how many years you've been playing , it's how many hours you put in .

jazzislander · #15 12-16-2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdaddyguitar

It's not how many years you've been playing , it's how many hours you put in .

not always. in my case, I believe that playing 2 hours a day for 8 years makes you more familiar with playing technique than playing 8 hours a day for 2 years. Because I know what it feels like if you have played 8 hours almost every day for 2 years just to "get your stuff together" as soon as possible and then a "hobby guitarist" who plays on weekends and parties comes and kicks your ass when playing simple blues.

AlsoRan · #16 12-16-2011, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzislander

not always. in my case, I believe that playing 2 hours a day for 8 years makes you more familiar with playing technique than playing 8 hours a day for 2 years. Because I know what it feels like if you have played 8 hours almost every day for 2 years just to "get your stuff together" as soon as possible and then a "hobby guitarist" who plays on weekends and parties comes and kicks your ass when playing simple blues.

Don't forget to consider the important point of "HOW" you practice. The greatest thing I have learned from coming to the Jazz Guitar Forum is HOW to practice and what goals I need to reach to be able to get to where I ultimately want to be in Jazz guitar. It has allowed me to maximize my limited time.