Ive been playing for a few years now and cant seem to get down any fast licks. Is there some exercising for stretching, etc. that would help me build up speed? I did have surgery on a tendon to completely repair it in my index finger so im wondering if that is the case.
Thanks
I've never been to see a guitar teacher Fah, so I'm afraid I have no magic answers. The only thing I have learned is through a sometimes tedious process that at teh end of teh day everything improves the more I practice ... practice ... practice. I've lost count of the songs, riffs, melodies that I have thought impossible that eventually have come to me and now seem relatively straightforward simply cos I make a point of practicing them every day. In some respects I am very lucky in that I have a guitar around me all day and every day so I can just pick it up and play (even for only a few minutes) - and I'm convinced that helps.
I understand that practicing scales every day improves your speed - well I do that but can't honestly argue that my speed has increased for that reason alone. For me it's just down to the fact that when it comes to guitar I'm a cantankerous old git that won't give in ... :D
I once read an interview with a classical guitarist who argued that his fingers have a memory and just like when we were at school we need to rehearse so that things stay in memory. Trouble is - I sometimes have days when my fingers seem to suffer from chronic dementia!
Don't give in .. keep practicing .. and when you get really bored .. just try 15 mins more. Oh and if you can try smiling at the same time cos you are supposed to be enjoying yourself!!!
D
What did the guitarist do when he was told to turn on his amp?
He caressed it softly and told it that he loved it.
at teh end of teh day everything improves the more I practice ... practice ... practice.
Don't give in .. keep practicing .. and when you get really bored .. just try 15 mins more. Oh and if you can try smiling at the same time cos you are supposed to be enjoying yourself!!! D
nice way to put it. :D you remind me of one of those Asian Teachers... i saw them in my head when I read that. :D
I have a time set every night to practice that sort of stuff before I go to bed. It helps me because when I practice at other times, I tend to go off, and play other songs, rather than focusing on that one topic. Its kinda like im running away from it.
:( But you gotta do it sometime.
I played a few solos yesterday that I thought would never be possible and I've been trying to play them for 2 and a half years now (since I started). That was quite an accomplishment for me, so I think you just have to hang in there. Eventually it'll come with enough practice.
"Today is what it means to be young..."
(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)
An instructor gave me two exercises to do. First practice with a metronome extremely slow between 60 and 80 bpm. This will build your muscle memory. He said practicing slow will in the end make you play faster. The other exercise is to practice from slow to fast. Start the the lick as slow as possible and gradually increment your speed while you cycle the lick over and over. Once you get the point where you are playing as fast as you can without the lick sounding like crap, start gradually decreasing your speed. Repeat this over and over. This has helped me increase my speed. But remember speed isn't everything. Most of the greats weren't shredders. Feeling is far more important than speed.
An instructor gave me two exercises to do. First practice with a metronome extremely slow between 60 and 80 bpm. This will build your muscle memory. He said practicing slow will in the end make you play faster. The other exercise is to practice from slow to fast. Start the the lick as slow as possible and gradually increment your speed while you cycle the lick over and over. Once you get the point where you are playing as fast as you can without the lick sounding like crap, start gradually decreasing your speed. Repeat this over and over. This has helped me increase my speed. But remember speed isn't everything. Most of the greats weren't shredders. Feeling is far more important than speed.
DITTO :)
Hi Fah Q (and Fah Q 2... :wink: )
I was also going to write something just like this, but kevinb beat me to it. He put it well. :)
An instructor gave me two exercises to do. First practice with a metronome extremely slow between 60 and 80 bpm. This will build your muscle memory. He said practicing slow will in the end make you play faster. The other exercise is to practice from slow to fast. etc....
The only way to be able to handle speed is to build it on a solid foundation. Track sprinters know that tensing up slows you down. So do racing drivers. Similar story with guitar. Soon as you get tense back off again until the smoothness and fluidity comes back, then slowly put the pedal down again.
Chris
Thanks for the quick responses guys I appreciate it. What I have noticed when running through scales that i have known for a long time is that a can speed right through them which gets back to what yall have said about the foundation.
