I've been hammering away at scales for a good year now. I think I'm fairly proficient moving up, down, and across where my fingers only deal with 4 frets...one for each finger.
But I just really opened up a world of pain trying to move quickly and accurately over the same scales but stretching over more than 3 or 4 frets. For example, some A minor streches:
* G: 5 - 7 - 9
* D: 5 - 7 - 9
* G: 10 - 12 - 14
* D: 10 - 12 - 14
* A: 10 - 12 - 14
I definitely have a harder time with these stretches when I have to reach up and over to the E or A strings...near impossible over fret 12.
I know, I know, practice makes perfect. Couple questions:
* What specific practice exercises do you use to overcome?
* Do you actually make the stretch or do you just get proficient at targeting the note you want to reach and then accurately hitting it? I find that I may not necessarily be able to reach the note in all cases so my fingers are kind of leaping to the note.
Having more command over larger portions of the scale is my next goal...along with being able to skip strings.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks. KY
Funny, but I started an article for GuitarNoise on this very subject just last night! It won't be ready for a few days, but I think (hope) it will be of some help for those of us who have gone through or are going through that and similar problems. I explain my stretching exercises, how to build up the muscles in your hand and fingers, the fact that sometimes you have to change the position of your fretting hand in order to make that reach. But, I'm not going to tell it all now or nobody will have a reason to read my article! :D (My mama didn't raise no foolish daughter!) Anyway, hopefully, in a few days you'll be able to read my entire article here on GN and gain at least a BIT of knowledge or just a hint or two, whichever you happen to need!
..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
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-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-
"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
Look forward to it.
There's no question you have to change the position of your fretting hand. Maybe this is something that comes with time to the point where I don't think about it. All I know right now is that I have to think way too much about it, while everything else has become intuitive.
It's wierd...I thought I knew some scales really well, but when I looked at the scale in 5 or 6 fret chunks instead of 4 fret chunks it was like I was learning it all over again.
Oh well.
Thanks. KY
My guitar teacher gave me some scales like that - if you want some real good stretching, try using your ring finger instead of your middle finger. :P
Also, I try to make the stretch. There are some good major scales that incorporate this, and if you really, REALLY want to work on that with something fun, pick up the April issue of Guitar World (with Alexi Laiho, Steve Vai, and Zakk Wylde on the cover) and check out Malmsteen's article with Paganini's 5th Caprice. Lot of fun, I'm only into the first dozen bars of it (there's roughly over a hundred of 'em), and you could consider it your first real introduction to classical shred. :-D
-Brian
Henry Garza, Saul Hudson, and Darrell Abbott could not be here tonight, but they all had sex and are proud to announce the birth of their two-headed baby, Rodya S. Thompson.
- Paraphrased from the Tenacious D series
It seems the classical guitarist have all the answers.
I get most of my exercises from a book.
Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant (not sure on spelling)
It has both left and right hand exercises for Stretch, string crossing, keeping your fingers close to the strings , speed, ect...
I think I paid 12 bucks for the book but well worth it especially if you are into fingerstyle at all.
Hey elektrablue is that lesson done?
