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Post by Phil on Feb 9, 2020 11:01:42 GMT -6
This week I worked a little on speed. I was playing with another guitarist and he wanted to play a song much faster than we'd been playing it (taking it from 120 to 150 BPMs). I couldn't play my composed solo at that speed. I kept stumbling and worse, I kept getting out of time. He said I need to simplify the solo. I didn't have the technical ability to play it at that speed. I decided to take another approach. My target speed was 150 BPM. I got comfortable with 130-140 after playing it about 10 times. I pushed the metronome to 150 and stayed there a while. Then I pushed it to 160. It was sloppy, but I kept repeating it until it was less sloppy. Then I went to 170. The wheels fell off the cart, but I kept trying to repeat it at that speed. I got closer and closer to playing it with each attempt. This took about 45 minutes. I also want to point out that I isolated the problem areas and focused on them. That was on day 1. On day 2 I went right to 150. It was easier but I was still tensing up, not relaxed, and making flubs. I again went to 160 and then stayed at 170 for quite a while. With each attempt it became a little more doable. On day 3 I did the same thing. On day 4 we got together and I said, "Let's try that song at 150 BPM." He laughed and said, "OK, we'll try it." Well, 150 BPMs was now a comfortable tempo. After we played it he said somewhat surprised, "How'd you do that in such a short time." Here's my take on this. You can't get faster by practicing slowly. Practicing slowly gives you accuracy and a lot of other absolutely essential things, but it doesn't give you speed. If you want to play faster you have to practice playing faster. Give this a try. Push yourself way beyond your target speed. It'll be sloppy and horrible, but do it. When you go back down to your target speed it will be much easier to play.
BTW, I'm not by any means talking about Malmsteen type speed here. I'm just talking about playing something faster than you're currently capable of playing it.
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Post by cunningr on Feb 9, 2020 13:32:38 GMT -6
Nice post Phil. Well were working on Playin With My Friends Robert Cray solos, not doing to well lots of bending with vibrator. Then broke a string so I now have a set of. .010 on my strat, tweaked the neck relief. Anyway will be working on the solo for section one.
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Post by Phil on Feb 9, 2020 14:45:23 GMT -6
Rich, you need to get that damn vibrator fixed. How are you going to play with your friends without a vibrator? 
Looks like it's just you and me today.  |
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Post by grampalerxst on Feb 9, 2020 16:16:44 GMT -6
Very much a standard week for me. I keep tweaking the guitar parts for the project I'm working with my SIL. I'm probably trying his patience. EG still coming along.
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Post by bluesbruce on Feb 9, 2020 18:48:40 GMT -6
Nice tip about speed, Phil. Also good one about Rich and his damn vibrator (again!). Sorry to be late to the game - having to work this weekend. Think I worked on that blues rhythm book by Keith Wyatt some every day (except yesterday - didn't get home til late). I also noticed something very interesting (at least to me): I had quite a bit of lingering body soreness from going to the gym, so I decided I'd take a week off... well, I found that I played the guitar a lot more when I didn't go to the gym in the morning. Got me to thinking that whenever I seem to get more faithful exercising, I seem to get to playing guitar less! Now it doesn't seem this is an either/or kind of thing, or that it's "there's only so many hours in the day" thing; rather it seems if I get more interested in fitness, it's almost like I get less interested in music. Puzzling. Anyway, even dug out my BYCU book - thought maybe it'd be a good way to get back into playing. To my dismay, I found that the CD in the book is broken in two! Well, fortunately, I pretty much know all of the tunes by heart!
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Post by Phil on Feb 9, 2020 21:45:49 GMT -6
Nice tip about speed, Phil. Also good one about Rich and his damn vibrator (again!). Sorry to be late to the game - having to work this weekend. Think I worked on that blues rhythm book by Keith Wyatt some every day (except yesterday - didn't get home til late). I also noticed something very interesting (at least to me): I had quite a bit of lingering body soreness from going to the gym, so I decided I'd take a week off... well, I found that I played the guitar a lot more when I didn't go to the gym in the morning. Got me to thinking that whenever I seem to get more faithful exercising, I seem to get to playing guitar less! Now it doesn't seem this is an either/or kind of thing, or that it's "there's only so many hours in the day" thing; rather it seems if I get more interested in fitness, it's almost like I get less interested in music. Puzzling. Anyway, even dug out my BYCU book - thought maybe it'd be a good way to get back into playing. To my dismay, I found that the CD in the book is broken in two! Well, fortunately, I pretty much know all of the tunes by heart! Believe it or not, a several years ago I noticed that when I was seriously involved in going to the gym I let the guitar slide and vice versa. I thought I was the only one this happened to. I agree that it has nothing to do with time. There's no good explanation for this. I've encountered people who were exercise fanatics and practiced guitar regularly. Maybe we just can't focus on these 2 things at the same time.
Anyway, I need to break out of this pattern because I know I need to get back to exercising regularly. It's probably 90% half mental (as Yogi Berra would put it). 
PS. If you need mp3s for BYCU send me a PM.
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Post by cunningr on Feb 9, 2020 23:45:46 GMT -6
Rich, you need to get that damn vibrator fixed. How are you going to play with your friends without a vibrator?
Looks like it's just you and me today. Damn auto correct! But I am multi talented, when I do play. |
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Post by jack1982 on Feb 10, 2020 6:52:13 GMT -6
I was busy shoveling snow yesterday lol. Kind of a standard week for me, still working on switching between major and minor while noodling over jam tracks. A good variety of tracks - rockin' blues, slow blues, shuffle etc. - really helps. Same with keys, I tend to stay in the same general area of the fretboard, so for instance, in A vs. E, you need to get familiar with different boxes. Ah well, another couple of months and maybe I'll have made some progress  Working on that "Modern Blues Soloing" class, so many ideas it's just mind boggling. A good place to add some "outside" stuff is the last bar before the chord change, so for instance bar 4 before you go to the IV chord. One idea is, if you're in A and playing the A major pentatonic over the I chord, play the G major 7 arpeggio (which is contained within the A mixolydian mode) in bar 4 and end on the D note at the beginning of bar 5; it gives it a bit of an "outside" sound but of course it fits. That's idea #1 out of maybe 100 lol. If I take the time to add all these ideas to my jamming and actually "internalize" them, I should be done about the time astronauts land on Mars. I also got a bit into working out - and managed to gain two pounds in the process. I think it's better to keep the workouts very light (with my broken down old body I don't have much choice about that), and it's just something you do, but not a major hobby. Guitar playing is the major hobby |
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Post by bluesbruce on Feb 10, 2020 7:21:53 GMT -6
Phil, thanks for the MP3 offer. I need to get out my old laptop, see if I might have them on there, if not I'll PM you and take you up on that offer. I bet I got BYCU like 12-15 years ago... no telling how many computers I've been through since then! Jack, I'm not talking some major, all consuming fitness program here - maybe 30 minutes alternating walking/jogging on the dreadmill or maybe part of that time on the elliptical or stationary cycle, then some days of simple compound lifts (squats, dead lifts, bench press, overhead press, rows) using dumbells. Maybe throw in a few core exercises. I lift so little weight, it's embarrassing to go to the rack area at the gym... I know the importance of maintaining some strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and flexibility as we age. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one with this seemingly ridiculous "one or the other" thing with exercise vs guitar. This realization just really hit me this past week when I made the conscious decision to take a week off of exercise. It took about 4-5 days for all the excess soreness to ease up, and this morning I intended to go back to the gym, but then got all snuggled up in bed with my wife and thought: "to hell if I'm getting out of bed to go work out!" I also noticed that during the week off from the gym, I was right back to the several alcoholic beverages every evening routine, which I'd been doing so much better with. Well, I've just got to find the correct balance in my life: more guitar, some exercise, less alcohol... then if I could just eliminate all the time spent working!
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Post by cunningr on Feb 10, 2020 15:52:07 GMT -6
Phil, thanks for the MP3 offer. I need to get out my old laptop, see if I might have them on there, if not I'll PM you and take you up on that offer. I bet I got BYCU like 12-15 years ago... no telling how many computers I've been through since then! Jack, I'm not talking some major, all consuming fitness program here - maybe 30 minutes alternating walking/jogging on the dreadmill or maybe part of that time on the elliptical or stationary cycle, then some days of simple compound lifts (squats, dead lifts, bench press, overhead press, rows) using dumbells. Maybe throw in a few core exercises. I lift so little weight, it's embarrassing to go to the rack area at the gym... I know the importance of maintaining some strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and flexibility as we age. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one with this seemingly ridiculous "one or the other" thing with exercise vs guitar. This realization just really hit me this past week when I made the conscious decision to take a week off of exercise. It took about 4-5 days for all the excess soreness to ease up, and this morning I intended to go back to the gym, but then got all snuggled up in bed with my wife and thought: "to hell if I'm getting out of bed to go work out!" I also noticed that during the week off from the gym, I was right back to the several alcoholic beverages every evening routine, which I'd been doing so much better with. Well, I've just got to find the correct balance in my life: more guitar, some exercise, less alcohol... then if I could just eliminate all the time spent working! Ah since its low impact treadmill walking strap on your guitar! Lol. I highly discourage less alcohol! My wife and I walk 2.5 mild in 45 minutes 4 or 5 times a week. |
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Post by jack1982 on Feb 10, 2020 16:53:27 GMT -6
I should probably double-check my calculations on this, but I'm almost certain that if you drink beer while walking on the treadmill, calories consumed minus calories burned nets out to zero. I'm pretty much doing the same thing as you Bruce, warm-up on the treadmill followed by compound exercises. I alternate between two workouts, workout A is bench press, squats, seated cable rows, dumbbell lateral raises and single leg weighted calf raises. (okay those last two aren't compounds). Workout B is incline dumbbell presses, deadlift, some sort of overhead press, lat pulldowns and these things called "face pulls" which are for the rotator cuffs and lower traps. I switch switch between them M-W-F. Should probably do some ab work too lol. |
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Post by bluesbruce on Feb 10, 2020 17:27:39 GMT -6
Rich, I like the way you think... except for that vibrator thing on your geetar  Jack, how do those calculations work out for maybe some Glen Dronach or maybe some Knob Creek cask strength? I'm not much of a beer drinker anymore (man, college was a LONG time ago!), but I do love me a nice sherried scotch and some bourbon... I was thinking that the overhead presses were giving me some Monkey Shoulder, but then I realized that I was just gettin' that from the liquor store... No, seriously, glad to hear you guys are keeping up some physical activity AND keeping after the guitar. That's what I need to do...BOTH of those. |
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Post by cunningr on Feb 10, 2020 23:50:49 GMT -6
Rich, I like the way you think... except for that vibrator thing on your geetar Jack, how do those calculations work out for maybe some Glen Dronach or maybe some Knob Creek cask strength? I'm not much of a beer drinker anymore (man, college was a LONG time ago!), but I do love me a nice sherried scotch and some bourbon... I was thinking that the overhead presses were giving me some Monkey Shoulder, but then I realized that I was just gettin' that from the liquor store... No, seriously, glad to hear you guys are keeping up some physical activity AND keeping after the guitar. That's what I need to do...BOTH of those. I am not much a beer drinker either, but on the weekend I enjoy a nice bourbon, or cognac, or irish whiskey. My son bought me a set of rocks for Christmas. Found a Jack Daniels Sinatra Select That is fantastic and bit expensive, but delicious. Lol guitar side final got a call from that drummer, I can finally kick out a mean shuffle in time, and rock and roll, however cant switch to well from rythmn to lead. He had another guy was suppose to come instructor that plays keyboard and guitar. The other guy came couldn't play blues for crap but wasn't bad guitarist. |
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Post by grampalerxst on Feb 14, 2020 5:07:43 GMT -6
Give this a try. Push yourself way beyond your target speed. It'll be sloppy and horrible, but do it. When you go back down to your target speed it will be much easier to play.
BTW, I'm not by any means talking about Malmsteen type speed here. I'm just talking about playing something faster than you're currently capable of playing it.
Meant to comment on this sooner, but time has a way of slipping away. As I've been working my way through bringing the intro to Electric gypsy up to speed I've been working at a range of tempos each day, starting slow enough that it's comfortable and I can think about each note/movement, then working up to a tempo that's a little faster than I "should" be trying it at. I've found the latter to be pretty important because it points to areas where I need to pay more attention at the slower tempos, plus it acquaints me with how it feels to play where I'm headed with it, if that makes sense. But so far I'm still below full tempo with it. Currently I'm working from 65% and 90% each day.
On the project I'm working with my SIL, inspired by your observations) I've started practicing a little bit every day at one notch higher on my metronome than the piece's tempo (132bpm versus 127bpm target). That's not as drastic as the jump you made, but the song's got a lot of flat-picked arpeggio-type stuff (I have a frustrating habit of "composing" things that require technique well beyond my present playing level) and it feels like a pretty big jump. I'll try to remember to report back in a week or two if I find it efficacious.
Although I didn't grab it with the quote, I agree with something else you said--that to play at higher tempos you need to play at higher tempos. One of the traps I fall into is we are often encouraged to play things at slower tempos until we get them "perfect" then inch up achieving perfection at all the interim tempos up to the target. The problem is in what is meant by "perfect". I can make a mistake at any tempo so the good little student in me tends to be averse to cranking up the metronome knowing that if I play something ten times at a given slow tempo I'm laible to screw it up at least once. My strategy to push the tempo a little every day beyond where I "should" be practicing is an attempt to break out of that.
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Post by grampalerxst on Feb 14, 2020 5:21:24 GMT -6
Think I worked on that blues rhythm book by Keith Wyatt some every day (except yesterday - didn't get home til late). In hindsight that book was very important for me. I made it part way through Chapter 7 before I got distracted. I invested a lot of time learning to imitate his LH muting and accents in the early chapters. And between it and the first few BRYCU studies focused on spread/boogie rhythms I built up a lot of strength in my fretting hand. I should probably go back and review it, and finish working through chapter 7 and beyond. |
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Post by Phil on Feb 14, 2020 9:50:37 GMT -6
Meant to comment on this sooner, but time has a way of slipping away. As I've been working my way through bringing the intro to Electric gypsy up to speed I've been working at a range of tempos each day, starting slow enough that it's comfortable and I can think about each note/movement, then working up to a tempo that's a little faster than I "should" be trying it at. I've found the latter to be pretty important because it points to areas where I need to pay more attention at the slower tempos, plus it acquaints me with how it feels to play where I'm headed with it, if that makes sense. But so far I'm still below full tempo with it. Currently I'm working from 65% and 90% each day.
On the project I'm working with my SIL, inspired by your observations) I've started practicing a little bit every day at one notch higher on my metronome than the piece's tempo (132bpm versus 127bpm target). That's not as drastic as the jump you made, but the song's got a lot of flat-picked arpeggio-type stuff (I have a frustrating habit of "composing" things that require technique well beyond my present playing level) and it feels like a pretty big jump. I'll try to remember to report back in a week or two if I find it efficacious.
Although I didn't grab it with the quote, I agree with something else you said--that to play at higher tempos you need to play at higher tempos. One of the traps I fall into is we are often encouraged to play things at slower tempos until we get them "perfect" then inch up achieving perfection at all the interim tempos up to the target. The problem is in what is meant by "perfect". I can make a mistake at any tempo so the good little student in me tends to be averse to cranking up the metronome knowing that if I play something ten times at a given slow tempo I'm laible to screw it up at least once. My strategy to push the tempo a little every day beyond where I "should" be practicing is an attempt to break out of that.
The conventional wisdom has always been to increase the metronome speed by small increments. Obviously, that will work. However, I think that is a very slow process. Plus, like you said, when you force yourself beyond a speed you're comfortable with you immediately see the specific problem areas. You can then isolate and work on those. I also think it helps to not stop and start from the beginning every time you screw up. When you flub a couple of notes keep going. Try to recuperate and find your place again. I've always been the type who goes back to the beginning when I make a mistake. The result is I get a lot of practice playing the beginning and very little practice on the problem area and whatever comes after. It has been that way for me on every study I ever worked thru. Hopefully, I'm finally breaking that habit. Speaking of conventional wisdom and advice from online guitar teachers and books: I often wonder if they actually did everything they recommend. One more thing. I have also "composed" things that I can't play. Talk about frustrating yourself. |
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Post by grampalerxst on Feb 14, 2020 10:19:21 GMT -6
The conventional wisdom has always been to increase the metronome speed by small increments. Obviously, that will work. However, I think that is a very slow process. Plus, like you said, when you force yourself beyond a speed you're comfortable with you immediately see the specific problem areas. You can then isolate and work on those. I also think it helps to not stop and start from the beginning every time you screw up. When you flub a couple of notes keep going. Try to recuperate and find your place again. I've always been the type who goes back to the beginning when I make a mistake. The result is I get a lot of practice playing the beginning and very little practice on the problem area and whatever comes after. It has been that way for me on every study I ever worked thru. Hopefully, I'm finally breaking that habit. Speaking of conventional wisdom and advice from online guitar teachers and books: I often wonder if they actually did everything they recommend. One more thing. I have also "composed" things that I can't play. Talk about frustrating yourself. Working up slowly on it's own isn't all that much of a hindrance to me, what I get stuck on is specifically the "don't increase until you can play it perfectly" caveat. So if I modify that to "get it right more often than not" I'll make progress of sorts. Then I get up to tempo being able to "get it right more often than not". So I'm hoping that pushing beyond tempo might hasten the improvement beyond "get it right more often than not". Next time I find something I want to work on of modest scope I'll try to work on it way above tempo early on and see if it shortens the process for me. Regarding starting over every time, that's a tough habit to break. And it's one of those things I've been able to work on via the playing-along-with-original-slowed-down stuff I've mentioned in the past. Being able to get back on after falling off is a good skill to have if you are prone to falling off. Since the play-along keeps going trying to join back in is difficult and very satisfying to pull off. All I know is I did not do all the things I tried to extol my kids to do. Having trod a non-optimal path formulated a lot of my future advice. I bet it's the same for most guitar instructors too. |
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Working on that "Modern Blues Soloing" class, so many ideas it's just mind boggling. A good place to add some "outside" stuff is the last bar before the chord change, so for instance bar 4 before you go to the IV chord. One idea is, if you're in A and playing the A major pentatonic over the I chord, play the G major 7 arpeggio (which is contained within the A mixolydian mode) in bar 4 and end on the D note at the beginning of bar 5; it gives it a bit of an "outside" sound but of course it fits. That's idea #1 out of maybe 100 lol. If I take the time to add all these ideas to my jamming and actually "internalize" them, I should be done about the time astronauts land on Mars.