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How fast ( metronome ) can you play a scale?

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(@coolnama)
Prominent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 590
Topic starter  

Welp, how fast can you play the minor/major scale and the minor/ major pentatonic and the arpeggios.

I can play the minor scale at 200 BPM, with a bit of trouble but can play it at 190 BPM with ease. The major scale I can play at 190 with a bit of trouble and 180 with ease.

The major 7 arpeggios I can play at 180 with a bit of trouble and 160 with more ease ( but still a bit hard ) the minor 7 arpeggios I can play at 180 BPM no problem, they are easier. and the min7b5 are a bit harder so I can play them at 150 BPM.

I know speed isn't the most important thing, I'm just curious :roll: .

I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)

You gotta set your sights high to get high!

Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.

( wise stuff man! )

Its Kirby....


   
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 Ande
(@ande)
Prominent Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 652
 

Just read your post, got my metronome and guitar, and checked.

Majors and minors in pretty much any key around 160 clean and easy, get sloppy round 180. Interestingly, I've been moving, and haven't picked up a guitar in about two weeks.

I'm pretty sure that 160 is slow compared to two weeks ago!!

Best,
ANde


   
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(@coolnama)
Prominent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 590
Topic starter  

Wow that was quick.

Wow for not playing alot in 2 weeks, thats pretty nice. You're probably a bit faster than me when you practice every day.

Anyhow, since I already started on my post I'm going to talk about my new teacher.

He is the son of my old teacher, when I say son, he is like 30 years old,but looks more like 25. He plays awesomely, he didn't bring his guitar to the first class but he took mine to show me something and I was like O_O.

He has a cool sense of humor and seems like a nice guy, he also knows alot about Jazz and about Theory, which I'm hoping he'll teach me soon. We started out with a quick run through of what I know, all the scales, what I know about modes, chords, jazz chords, reading music etc etc.

After that he started me out with Arpeggios, he taught me the Maj 7, Minor 7 Dominant 7 and Min7b5 arpeggios, in the key of C, and well from what I see I can just use the same arpeggio shape on different keys and I just follow the order ( Maj 7, min 7, min 7, maj 7, dominant 7, min 7, min7b5).

He wrote out all the arpeggios for me, and told me what excersises to do and stuff.

I'm excited about him because he's a Teacher in a University, the only one that teaches Music that is not classical ( the one that teaches that is the local Conservatory ).

He told my old teacher that he is treating me like one of his Univeristy students, which really makes me feel good ^^ and is motivating the heck out of me so I am practicing more to try and "prove" myself to this guy; I know stupid reason to practice but it works :D.

I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)

You gotta set your sights high to get high!

Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.

( wise stuff man! )

Its Kirby....


   
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 Cat
(@cat)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1224
 

Boy, oh, boy...fed up with my routine of farm chores and setting up the studio...so I decided to check in onto GN to catch up on things and I see THIS sorta post!!! :?

Lots of guitarists learn a scale...then zip along it without ANY thought to WHAT they are doing: "if it's on the scale, it must be right" sort of thing.

Ugh! :cry:

Chew yer food... :wink:

Cat

"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"


   
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(@coolnama)
Prominent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 590
Topic starter  

Boy, oh, boy...fed up with my routine of farm chores and setting up the studio...so I decided to check in onto GN to catch up on things and I see THIS sorta post!!! :?

Lots of guitarists learn a scale...then zip along it without ANY thought to WHAT they are doing: "if it's on the scale, it must be right" sort of thing.

Ugh! :cry:

Chew yer food... :wink:

Cat

>_> I don't know how you can just assume that I don't give any thought to what I am doing.

Also in response to the other post, just because I'm asking about technical abilities in this post doesn't mean I don't care, or don't give thought to other things like dynamics etc etc.

Notice I didn't ever say solo in my post, this post was just a question of excersise, and not a question of just running through a scale very quickly and calling it a solo.

I just wanted to see where more or less, my technical ability was compared to other guitarists.

It really grinds my gears that you people are so quick to assume that I am just one of those " Guitar STore Shredders" that just plays a scale or riff quickly, and doesn't think about what he is doing.

Sheesh! I was just curious :roll:

I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)

You gotta set your sights high to get high!

Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.

( wise stuff man! )

Its Kirby....


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

It's one of those hot-button issues that fairly predictably elicits responses like those, Coolnama. I've seen similar discussions over and over on this and other guitar-related boards.

As for myself, I have no idea how fast I can play a scale, but Dogbite has something on his music page that describes me to a T:
"If you can't play fast, play slow."
:mrgreen:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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 Cat
(@cat)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1224
 

I don't know how you can just assume that I don't give any thought to what I am doing. :

Cat say: mea culpa!

Cheers...

"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Two octaves, Major, Harmonic Minor, or Melodic Minor, in any key, and three octaves of everything between E and A, using i-m-i-m at 140 clicks a minute with two notes per click.

Basic requirement for my Grade 8

A :-)

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@ph0nage)
Reputable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 199
 

I must admit that I'm a little confused by this thread so far. Alan is the only person who has really clearly said how fast he plays a scale (unless I'm missing something in other posts). Are you guys doing quarter notes or eighth notes? (Or whole notes! :mrgreen: )

I honestly have no idea what I can do, but i can play most of the music i like to


   
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 cnev
(@cnev)
Famed Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4459
 

I assume everyone but Alan was playing quarter notes since they didn't actually say.

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
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(@coolnama)
Prominent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 590
Topic starter  

I'm playing eight notes, sorry, forgot that.
I don't know how you can just assume that I don't give any thought to what I am doing. :

Cat say: mea culpa!

Cheers...

Lol sorry about my response, was having a rough day ^_^.

I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)

You gotta set your sights high to get high!

Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.

( wise stuff man! )

Its Kirby....


   
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(@almann1979)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1281
 

hello guys.
i must admit i just read through this thread agin and just decided to give it a go - but when i put my metronome on i thought "i dont know what im doing".

i set it at 2oo bpm. so, how many notes will i have to play per click to call it quater notes??

also, to make sure i am getting my maths right, when alan says he plays 2 notes per click at 140 clicks per minute, is he basically saying he plays just over 4 notes per second?

sorry about the questions but i rarely use a metronome - when i practice a new lick i do it along to a backing track which i slowly speed up - so i dont really understand a lot of the terminology here.

thanks. Al

"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

200 BPM = 200 quarter notes/min

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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(@almann1979)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1281
 

thanks ricochet - but what is a quater note? if somebody is playing quater notes at 200bpm, how many notes per click are they playing?

"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

In the most common time signatures, 2/4, 4/4, and 3/4, the 4 on the bottom means that a quarter note is one beat.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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