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Not a fan of palm muting then?
Originally Posted by jdaguitar2
(Sorry, couldn't resist....)
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05-20-2012 11:42 AM
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You know, that's a composite picture, and I wanted to cut off the right-hand pic. On the left-hand side, the right hand on the left there. : ) Originally Posted by fep
But I didn't.
The guy in the picture is *making* it look horribly stiff - he even LOOKS tensed up. If you can imagine that hand going totally relaxed, but still gripping the pick that way -- then this is the best position I've tried. I worked on pick technique for YEARS and never got the hang of it. Since I started playing mostly from the elbow, *totally relaxed* -- everything has fallen in place for me.
Probably just another testament to how the right hand really is a bit different for us all. I couldn't use the Benson grip if my life depended on it. I can't post a finger, can't rest my wrist -- this position almost won by default.
I do want to mention how ironic it seems to me that *all* the books I have on right-hand technique, the ones that "lay down the law" -- all of them (half a dozen?) say, "Float - no resting anything on the guitar. Your pivot point is where your arm touches the guitar. Hold the pick on the side of your knuckle - not on the fingertip." For many years I eschewed this, for so many great players were eschewing it, too. I held the pick between thumb and fingertip and allowed my pinky to "drag" along the pick guard, just as a reference. Got nowhere. Changed my pick grip to side-of-knuckle -- huge improvement. Six months ago started floating - WHOA! That's it! (for me.)
Books and teachers who espouse (strongly) not resting:
Ivor Maraints (Perfect Pick Technique)
Leon White (Styles for the Studio)
Ben Clark (see fiddle tune post earlier)
Van Manakas (my biggest influence - teaches at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music, jazz guitar chair-thing.)
Jamie Andreas (On Correct Practicing for Guitar - or close to that, great book)
Vincent Bredice (Jazz Guitar Workshop - Mel Bay)
Bill Bay (Building Right Hand Technique )
Many more. What does this mean? I don't know. Most great players post. Go figure. But it sure worked for me. I think the trick is in learning to let your arm hang there, while harboring NO tension. It's a strange feeling. Once you get going, it's almost as if you know you're making the notes happen, but it really feels like your arm and hand are just floating. As if you're detached and watching it all happen from a different place. (Am I a New Age shoe-in?)
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Page 60 and 61 scale and eighth notes.
TLT, Impressive.
FEP, Smooth.
You two are both sounding really good.
Here's my feeble attempt at scale and eighths. Too many errors to count and not where I'd like it to be, but I'm getting so far behind just due to lack of time for practice, I thought if I could post anything it might be motivation to keep moving, albeit slowly at this time. This is much, much different than open stings.
https://www.box.com/s/e445590f6fe1a0004095
https://www.box.com/s/9e0128fe36819212329aLast edited by oldhead; 06-13-2012 at 09:25 PM.
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Bravo, oldhead, these pages are really tricky, but you've broken the back of them. Now that you've learned these notes, to help you consolidate them, and if you don't have the practice time for the following pages (which verge on the insanely difficult), you could go back through any of the material and play in the new position, or you could open a realbook and play tunes here. You have some new notes now at the top which will undoubtedly hep for the high passages.
As an aside: I've spent a lot of time with these 8th note exercises which roam up and down and put a chromatic passing note in, seemingly at random. I don't yet improvise on guitar, but I do on piano. What I discover is, when I improvise, I am more likely to squeeze a chromatic passing note in a scalar passage. Strange, eh? (And I've not practised a similar exercise on piano).
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Thanks, TLT. It felt good to play/practice/record a little bit. To say the following pages (verge on the insanely difficult) is really an understatement to me. It's not like I can just sit down and read through these exercises. I put a huge amount of time into practice up to this point - time which I don't have now. I think my plan of attack is going to be to try and work on the single-note exercises in an effort to keep going and not stop. I can see the chord exercises and etudes are going to require more time than I can devote to them at this time. I'll try to work on them as time permits, as I know they are an important aspect of this journey.
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Bravo, good job on this. Other than a couple of hiccups, you have good time and good note execution. Originally Posted by oldhead
I think that's a good approach. Originally Posted by oldhead
Cheers
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I need some help getting started with Chord Etude 1. It would great if anyone could show me the fret/notes for the first measure. Not sure if I should have open notes or not.
Thanks, Andrewjz
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Here's the thread!
I'll see about getting it indexed as the other are, don't know why it got missed.
Anyway, Tommo, if you read through here you'll find we talked about technique a lot, and the added strains of getting into 2nd position.
It really is very strange to hear myself from all that time ago! Mostly, I miss Ginger.Last edited by ten left thumbs; 08-04-2013 at 07:01 AM.
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Cheers, Laura (that's your name I think). Already read some of the posts and learned that most of you had the same problems at first. I'll practice staying in position and doing the stretches, I'm sure it will pay in the future. Originally Posted by ten left thumbs
Here's the thread! I'll see about getting it indexed as the other are, don't know why it got missed.
Anyway, Tommo, if you read through here you'll find we talked about technique a lot, and the added strains of getting into 2nd position.
It really is very strange to hear myself from all that time ago! Mostly, I miss Ginger.
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Yes, I'm Laura. To say that I struggled is an understatement, but it did make me a better player.
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I'm making progress - slowly but surely. A couple of months ago I wouldn't have been able to turn those dots into music, now I am!
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I've been at it on a daily basis for at least half an hour each day. I really don't understand how other newbies would be able to pull an entire lesson like this in a week (+review!)
Stuff is getting really powerful here and I can feel the thoroughness building up as I'm halfway now.
Now, looks like each exercise has it's own new thing going. It really took me ages to connect the notes I see on paper to other frets on different strings. Eighth-note study I found to be a little less hard than the rest. But man, that arpeggio study and its crazy, crazy picking patterns. Wow.
Last edited by Langs; 06-15-2014 at 04:38 PM.
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Good for you Langs, that looks and sounds good. This book is hard, hard, hard all the way through. No longer sure that the schedule we followed would be suitable for genuine newbies, and neither am I sure that the book is good for genuine newbies. Supplemented with loads and loads of other materials it is great. Yes, the picking for arps is hard. Looks like you're doing it well.
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Thank you for the encouragement, TLT. And thanks for listening. Not easy to listen to someone playing at 44Bpm for 8 minutes straight almost!
Did you supplement with similar type of material as AMMfG? I must say this book is my eat-your-greens part of guitar. The other stuff is rock and metal. Originally Posted by ten left thumbs
The picking in the arpeggio's does have few mistakes in them, but honestly I couldn't pinpoint them without falling asleep
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Hi Langs, yes I used similar. Suzuki method volume 1, while it's intended for classical guitar, is great, and I took it as my job to play the tunes in all possible positions. MM1 got recycled a lot as I played the easier tunes in different positions. But mostly I've been spending my time with Mel Bay grades 1 and 2, as well as the grade 1 free stuff online.
There again, I like to eat a lot of greens.
pg 61 line 1 bar 1, check out the note on beat 4.
pg 61, 8th note study line 3 bar 2, the 4th quaver, I think you played a Bb.
line 4, bars 2-3, I think there's an extra note there somewhere
I confess I didn't listen to the 8th note repeat. Once was sufficiently exciting.
Arps sounded good.
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Thanks for the feedback on the arps.
You now also raised the bar of going about my self critique. I really appreciate that, eventhough I realise I shouldn't be feeding off of your efforts like that.
pg 61 line 1 bar 1, check out the note on beat 4.
I played an e where it was supposed to be d.
looks like there’s a C played where it should be a dpg 61 line 1 bar 1, check out the note on beat 4.
Yes and even 1st bar, 5th and 6th quaver, no G that’s going to G# eitherpg 61, 8th note study line 3 bar 2, the 4th quaver, I think you played a Bb.
I think I added a D# where I actually should have started descending using the Cline 4, bars 2-3, I think there's an extra note there somewhere
Then here's some stuff I found I could add:
2nd repeat of p60 5th measure beat 3, the d note was flabbed. I found that this is independence between 3rd finger and pink needing work.
During the measures 9-12 on both iterations there's both late and early notes. This has to do with my picking. I'm using a dunlop standar tortex 1.14. Edges are not rounded so this pick challenges me even more to make picking sound good and even. Sometimes my pick is literally stuck at a string for a little bit.
I'm almost through the chord etude. I changed my approach to doing every measure 10x, then entire lines 10x each. Takes more time, but I feel like it's coming through more thoroughly this way. I also upped my amount of review material, that's why everything is taking quite long.
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It is, but at the same time I'm enjoying it more than other pieces. It's starting to get easier for the course to write out musical etudes I guess.
Now I'm recording every attempt at it. The first attempt where I can focus my attention through it twice will get posted.
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Alright, I've been practicing this Chord Etude like my life depended on it. It's been a frustrating and rewarding journey. Today I finally made a recording that I deem "acceptable".
https://app.box.com/s/1lyt0x7a8ee8e3hpvo8o
I'm just happy I made it through with only one or two mistakes. Gonna keep reviewing to connect those chords!
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I don't know what guitar you're using, or which (if any) effects, but I do like the sound of that :-) Originally Posted by thetruewheel
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Originally Posted by thetruewheel
Beautiful, man - just really good playing. Congrats on payoffs of hard honest work. Play that about twice or three times a week for a while, then once every two weeks for a while, then once a month - and you'll have a flawless piece of pretty music to play for yourself or others, for the rest of your life. These Leavitt pieces, even the very early ones, are gems. Solo in F is on par with any piece of music, imo.
Like Michael said, what guitar is that? Sounds hollow, or semi-hollow? I'd bet on hollow-body something, playedthrough a good amp, but no clue about effects. : )
kj
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Thanks everybody! Kojo, you're correct - the guitar is a hollow body. Epi Joe Pass Emperor II, played through an iPad with the "Cool Jazz" amp setting, with some tremolo on top. Glad you like it! It plays like a dream
I've definitely noticed after getting through this piece, I'm not happy anymore with my old recordings of First & Second Solo. I hardly held the notes at all! Gotta revisit those.
And now, onto more Leavitt...currently stumped at the Ballad...
- derek
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Hey truewheel,
That was Really Good. Such a steep climb this one. I can relate to it being a tipping point. Even played poorly like my version below, it's kindof musical. I makes me want to refine early material as well.
Also very happy to hear hat affordable guitars and can sound pretty much as great as stuff that is a lot more expense. As long as it's blind
Here's my version
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"The Rest Stroke" is the thing regarding "this book" and "strumming chords." IMHO. I could already do it somewhat - in fiddle-tune playing it crops up a bit, but I had to work at getting it going in chord melody, chord etudes, the kind of stuff Leavitt presents, and especially, in the Adrian Ingram 25 Graded Pieces; and in Masters of the Plectrum Guitar, etc. -- it's THE KEY. // There's more work yet to go for me!
When we master the thing (being able to strum, but to STOP on any string desired, with exactly the amount of force desired - I think we can have a hope of playing this kind of stuff, as it all depends on rest stroke, and strum control. You're right: it's not easy at first! Hours and hours, weeks, months, till we don't think about it any more. This is somebody playing the Galbraith arrangement of Sentimental Mood:
https://app.box.com/s/v4dun7ubsxgtxktk5br5
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I got Etude nr 5 recorded a little bit
Guitars are a lot of times way off the beat. If I wasn't planning on getting to the next a little quicker I would have fixed it already.
BTW, Awesome guitar, michael!
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Reading Studies
Omfg, I SUCK
p64 I manage to get a few notes played:
EDIT: Here's the link to the soundcloud track without the [SOUNDCLOUD] tags that don't work for some reason:Last edited by Langs; 10-05-2014 at 03:52 AM.
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