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Like a guided meditation... nice.
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09-02-2011 04:16 AM
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Originally Posted by princeplanet
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I said this on an earlier thread a few weeks ago. I believe the best way to improve your fast playing is to check out as many different players as possible. They all play somewhat differently. They all have have different styles. You may stumble on somebody who's fast playing suites your style well and this can provide a lot of insight. So in summary, learn fast lines every day by many different players.
Last edited by Kman; 09-02-2011 at 12:11 PM.
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Originally Posted by Kman
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Originally Posted by Kojo27
Last edited by jazzgtrl4; 09-02-2011 at 02:43 PM.
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Originally Posted by JonnyPac
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Originally Posted by jazzgtrl4
When I'm doing the drunken picking, I begin VERY "drunk"... and let myself sober up gradually, very gradually. Nothing with the left hand at first - usually I pick the open second string, but that's just me. And the "pick-swing" changes from a fairly wide one ("drunken") to one with almost *no* wasted motion, while still in the drunken state. It's really alpha state; if you're familiar with meditation techniques, you know about that. Maintain just enough wakefulness to monitor and rid yourself of tension and keep the picking super soft.
Besides maintaining zero tension, the most crucial thing is to pick so lightly that the string barely sounds, if at all. "Brush" the string - that's how it feels to me. Don't worry about timing at all, nor about tone or volume. Just zero tension at any price. Once the tension is gone, it's surprising how easy it is to speed up, still picking softly. I worked up to playing a Troy Stetina exercise at 132, playing 4 notes per click, in this state of mind, and with this low-volume touch. The exercise was one of those single-string "surf" solos, where you pick open string 3 times, then 12th fret once, then open three times, 11th fret, open 3x, then 10th fret, etc. Good speed builders.
If you want some of these exercises, let me know. I'll try to communicate them better.
kj
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Whoever can play the fastest wins, and becomes king. When you are musical royalty, all must bow before you and say "long live the king". At this stage, you must own the most expensive gear possible, or the people in the kingdom will laugh behind your back.
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Speed is great, but my brain has a switch that shuts it off after it reaches critical mass. Once it's heard it's fill of notes, it doesn't want to hear any more. My advice is, you shouldn't use all your notes up in the first song. Save some for later...speed seems so much faster if you mix it in with some slow stuff. Musicians should play like they have to pay for every note.
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Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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Balance is key...threre's a difference in playing fast and saying something versus just playing fast.
And yeah, sometimes it's okay if all you're saying is "yeah, take that beeyatch!"
Sometimes.
I really don't see it as any more complex than that.
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Originally Posted by max chill
ALL BOW!!
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Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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Speed is great if it's handled with taste. If it's not it's just...well you know the term.
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I think there is a BIG difference between playing fast and shredding. Playing fast to me means being capable to play faster phrases with good sound, in time and with good articulation as they can come up in solos and/or actual written parts/heads. This is important for all instruments and it is unfortunate that guitar players can be labeled "shredders" for having good technique. For me, I don't want to ever have anything be presented to me that I cannot play due to lack of technical ability. That is why I practice and try to maintain my technical abilities.
Lately, I have simply been practicing playing scales. Nothing fancy or exotic. Nothing you don't probably already know. But I try to play them at a moderate tempo, up and down and I try to get as even a sound for EACH AND EVERY note as I possibly can. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to simply get a good, even, round tone/sound just going up and down a simple major scale. I've always been a "technical player" and it's been amazing me how much my overall sound and articulation has been improving by just simply doing this. It's also VERY important to make sure you are doing it with a completely relaxed picking arm. If your picking arm is getting tight or tense, you're doing it wrong and need to make sure it is relaxed. If it is getting tight while playing at home, it certainly will in a live playing situation.
I also don't think those 1 2 3 4 type picking exercises are very helpful since you hardly or almost never use them in a real life situation. Make the most of your practice time and practice technique with scales and arpeggios you are actually going to use in a performance situation.
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Originally Posted by davekain
I also don't think those 1 2 3 4 type picking exercises are very helpful since you hardly or almost never use them in a real life situation. Make the most of your practice time and practice technique with scales and arpeggios you are actually going to use in a performance situation.
kj
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Originally Posted by Kojo27
I'm talking about those exercises where you play 1st fret, 1st finger-2nd fret, 2nd finger and so on in various groups on several or all strings. They just seem like a wasted step in your practice routine since they are hardly applicable to musical situations.
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Originally Posted by davekain
The finger combinations are good for building sheer strength and flexibility, especially if you combine legato with them. There's one I mentioned just minutes ago in another thread that I've done almost every day of my musical life - got it from a Frederick Noad book. They have a place, imho. Don't spend an hour a day at it! Ha!
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Google "Buy a shred guitar" - or something similar. I got this:
If your into MELODIC HIGH TECH SHRED Guitar, BUY THIS CD ...
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Andy James Learn Shred Guitar in 6 Weeks: Week 1-6 6 DVD set
ww.licklibrary.com/.../andy-james-learn-shred-gu[/url]... - United Kingdom - CachedWelcome to the Shred Guitar in 6 Weeks guitar course. This course is designed to focus your practice...
On and on and on.
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Originally Posted by davekain
Examples of different "shredders":
Last edited by Astronomer; 09-04-2011 at 10:46 PM.
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Originally Posted by Astronomer
Don't get me wrong. I listened to ALL of the "shredders" mentioned here. I think we can all agree that technique, like anything else is used best in moderation.
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Originally Posted by davekain
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Originally Posted by Astronomer
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Ya know, I don't mind shredders when they are being musical. I have heard a good amount that is good, but more that is not. In a musical context, I respect it, but I am not a big fan of the heavy metal neo classical scene anymore simply because I don't dig being blown out of my seat with walls of sound and distortion.
On the flip side, I have seen and heard some of my hero's do this mindless exercise, apparently to please the crowds, in a very boring way especially for their talent. Frank Gambale, Shawn Lane, who are both hero's of mine, did a version of So What with Brett Garsed. I found the whole thing boring and uninspired. Great shredding though.
So in this respect, I agree with Dave's position. I like overall musicality.
You tell me, is this inspiring? Again great playing but of no musicality. It sounds like a jam track to me. IMHOLast edited by brwnhornet59; 09-04-2011 at 11:23 PM.
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I am surprised that I never saw him before. Dude has talent!!
Video: The Harmonic Minor Scale in Jazz
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