I am going to use my psychic powers and predict that the answer to this question is... Practice. :?
But... I have been doing spiders (or something like them) and while I often do hit the correct string without looking, sometimes I don't, and it's quite frustrating. I have also been trying to jump from one string to another in Pentatonic scales, skipping strings, etc.
Any tips?
Thanks.
Learning requires a willingness to be bad at something for awhile.
Nothing wrong with your psychic powers :)
Two different types of drills help practice this skill... one is string-skipping drills which use a pedal point - you play something like a scale or arpeggio, but in between each note you'll play some other note. You can find some of these (written out in standard notation) towards the end of Mel Bay's book 2, or in the Berklee book 1 - look them up in the index section "right hand development".
The other drill I use with students is pretty simple: close your eyes, call out numbers from 1-6, and pick that string. If you do that a few minutes a day, you'll find your accuracy improves pretty quickly.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Two different types of drills help practice this skill... one is string-skipping drills which use a pedal point - you play something like a scale or arpeggio, but in between each note you'll play some other note.
A simple pedal point study with TAB: http://www.tampaguitarlessons.com/pamplona.htm
This is played fingerstyle, but would be a good exercise for using a pick.
GT
If you want to be good, practice. If you want to be great, you must constantly change the way you think.
You might want to try anchoring your hand in a consistent way, if you haven't already. Every time I try a different hand position I end up losing track of where the strings are again...
You might want to try anchoring your hand in a consistent way, if you haven't already. Every time I try a different hand position I end up losing track of where the strings are again...
Actually, last night I tried the pinky on the pick guard and it seemed to work (acoustic - much harder to get my arm around than my electric) but it did seem to improve my accuracy.
I hate that sound when I hit one string lower and it's muted from my fingers. It's like a game show buzzer - I expect Alex Trebek to say, "No, sorry."
:oops:
Learning requires a willingness to be bad at something for awhile.
on acoustic, ya might wanna try anchoring by having the palm of your hand (like, just a bit of the 'heel' of ya hand) resting on the bridge.
hth
