Trouble playing fast!

[fep]

Thank you Fep!

That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for

/Laurits

Reg, is a poster on this forum that uses the Benson picking technique and he's posted a lot of videos. Here's one where you can see his right hand real well. Notice the reverse bend in his thumb, like Benson; and how relaxed his right hand stays, like Benson. And he has written that the edge of the pick closer to the bridge hits the string first on the down stroke and the edge closer to the neck hits the string on the up stroke, also like Benson (not his words but that is what he described).

The video is at post #62 on this thread:

https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/other...-thread-3.html

[Dimension]

Keep your wrist loose and play from your wrist and elbow. Keep your pick on an angle and "slice" through your strings. Also don't alternate pick all the time, especially when moving between strings. Sweep picking can help especially when you only play one note on a string then move to the next. It helps to slow down and analyze every picking motion you're making and to correct it if you're doing something wrong. It can also help to take small little pieces of a scale and play them up and down for a few minutes as fast as you can. Even just 3-4 notes. I think it gets your brain used to the idea of playing that fast. I've heard of runners tying themselves to a car that goes slightly faster than they think they can run. Same idea.

Hope some of that helps. Of course none of this will make up for several hours of practice a day.

[jckoto3]

I haven't read this yet in this thread, so here's some advice that I really think you should take to heart:

Learn to play slow.

I really mean that. Learn to play slowly well, even in up-tempo tunes, pick out the important pitches, and play them well.

Hear me out for a minute -- There is a comfortable range of tempo where every musician can play well. I won't tell you what it is, because it depends on the musician, but it is a range, and not just some upper-limit. There is a bottom to the comfortable range as well, and this is important to understand!!

Imagine riding a bicycle in a race -- Most people think that being able to pedal fast and make the turns is what is important to winning a bike race, but that is not the case. What is important is knowing how to control the bike -- the speed is only important if one can handle the bike well. The best cyclists can stand indefinitely without going anywhere because they know how to handle the bike. In other words, the best cyclists know how to ride so slow that they can stand-still!! They know how to balance.

Many skilled musicians can't restrain themselves enough to play slow, but I promise you, if you learn to play slow in addition to whatever you are doing now, you will become a better player. However, you must always remain aware of tension, at all times. If you ever feel tension, it is time to either let it go if you can, or stop playing. Better to just become aware of it for now..

There is a limit to playing slowly just as there is a limit to playing fast!! Can you play the melody to your favorite tune where a quarter-note = 12 bpm? Try it!

What happens when you start to embellish these super-slow tunes?

Can you do this while remaining relaxed and still playing in tempo?