The Guitar Thread - style/technique/skill

[SocialNumb]

I still think thats the problem with music today. Everybody learns to play or practice everyone elses shit and then when they decide to write their own music it sounds like all the bands they practiced too.

I think there is some truth to that. When I first started playing I refused to play anything from any band. I would just practice my own made up stuff about 10 hours a day. No joke. I was getting real good at inventing off the wall stuff. Then one day I decided to get a job. On my very first day while stocking/stacking boxes of some crap on a office roof inside a warehouse I fell off and got my ring on my ring finger on my picking hand caught on something as I fell. Ripped 1/2 my finger off. Then came surgery and rehab. Some time went by. Then that 1/2 a finger started to die. Then came a complete finger removal more healing time and rehab. Basically I couldn't play for about 4 years. Really fucked me up playing wise and mentally. Now I'm over it but still have not got back to the level of playing I had back then. I'm still trying.

Sorry J not very helpful. I can say that practicing for absurd amounts of time a day will get you where you want to be a hell of a lot faster. Take care of your fingers. Social life not included.

 

[Djabthrash]

On my very first day while stocking/stacking boxes of some crap on a office roof inside a warehouse I fell off and got my ring on my ring finger on my picking hand caught on something as I fell. Ripped 1/2 my finger off. Then came surgery and rehab. Some time went by. Then that 1/2 a finger started to die. Then came a complete finger removal more healing time and rehab. Basically I couldn't play for about 4 years. Really fucked me up playing wise and mentally. Now I'm over it but still have not got back to the level of playing I had back then. I'm still trying.

 

[Rob Logic]

I highly recommend John Petrucci's "Rock Discipline" as well as all the Paul Gilbert videos. That will give you more than enough things to work on.

Hah! Exactly what I used. Rock Discipline is awesome. Before I got that video, I just played to tabs and played excercises from wholenote.com and chopsfromhell.com. The Rock Discipline excercises got me into a consistent routine which helped my left and right hand techniques equally. I do agree that having a strict regiment of excercises is necessary but also play songs so you can get comfortable using those skills in context because playing a sweep by itself sounds great but placing it well in a solo is more of a challenge. The Gilbert vid's didn't help me as much but helped build my dexterity in my right hand a bit. And Gilbert is a trip.

 

[006]

Well if you get stuck into playing shit that sounds like the bands you learned from then...that's pretty sad IMO. I learned from a lot of metal bands, virtuosos and prog bands (vai and petrucci)...yet my own personal music doesn't sound anything like their stuff. Ever.

~006

 

[siegfried]

For me it is difficult to have relaxed right hand if I´m playing palm muting riffs... Maybe if I play very lightly, but I think if you hit the strings harder, it will sound better (I´m practicing with low gain so I can immediately hear if I hit the strings hard enough- distortion, or not- almost clean sound)- problem is that I have some tension in my palm and I feel pain... What is right way to do it? Slow to hard- indeed. But "light hitting" to "hard hitting"- is it OK, or I must learn how to have relaxed hand AND hit strings hard at same time? (How?)

 

[Djabthrash]

For me it is difficult to have relaxed right hand if I´m playing palm muting riffs... Maybe if I play very lightly, but I think if you hit the strings harder, it will sound better (I´m practicing with low gain so I can immediately hear if I hit the strings hard enough- distortion, or not- almost clean sound)- problem is that I have some tension in my palm and I feel pain... What is right way to do it? Slow to hard- indeed. But "light hitting" to "hard hitting"- is it OK, or I must learn how to have relaxed hand AND hit strings hard at same time? (How?)

I'm also hard hitting, and my picking hand gets relaxed when i stop palm-muting like a maniac... No seriously the best way to get endurance while palm-muting is to practice this shit (raising the tempo from day to day, trying to last as logn as possible) while having a position that's not too painful.

 

[Rupturemetal]

Well if you get stuck into playing shit that sounds like the bands you learned from then...that's pretty sad IMO. I learned from a lot of metal bands, virtuosos and prog bands (vai and petrucci)...yet my own personal music doesn't sound anything like their stuff. Ever.

~006

Well yea I agree with you, it is sad but look at all the clones out there.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

MY practice regiment is as fallows:

5 mins of that walk up the board, you know where your in the first position and you go up the frets in the same position all the way up the strings (doesn't sound like anything) then move up a position and do it going down then up again going up etc... Start slow and speed up, key is to do it accurately, it's good for pick accuracy. Don't spend more than 5 mins on this though because it's boring . Don't have to do this to a metronome.

Next for me is practicing all the positions of the minor pentatonic scale (your just starting right, er I mean you only have a year under your belt right? Well this is a good scale to know in and out). Once you have that practice playing them with the 6th and the 9th. I spend around 10-15 mins on this. Do this to a metronome. Once you have that down learn another scale or mode. Hopefully you already know the major and minor scales.

Next up is just plain playing and learning any song I am trying to figure out. I play along with the CD. Improvisation of solos is fun, but learning the arrangement is fun as well. Either way this is a good way to get a feel for playing with others (well... actually the best way is to play with other but you know...).

Once I have done all the above for around 30-40 mins. I may just play along to something mindless (simple chords and shit) to cool down.


That's is all.

 

[JBroll]

I think doing both would be the best route.

Agreed.

Innate talent, while handy for some, is not essential.

Videos: JP's Rock Discipline, Paul Gilbert's videos, Vinnie Moore's videos, Marty Friedman's videos.

Jeff

 

[Noumenon]

Just some things that has worked for me...

Metronome in all it's glory, but seriously, use a drum machine instead. Much more fun playing along to an actual beat with rhythm
Practice stuff that's FUN. In other words, find musical pieces, riffs etc that you enjoy but are hard for you and practice them!
I.E. Darkane - Third, that song is fucking hard for me, esp. at the orig tempo. I usually play that one many times.

As for warming up, I have four pieces that I use for warming up:
1. Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement.
2. Bach - Partita no 1 BWV 825
3. Bach - English Suite no 2 BWV 807
4. Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Mozart-Figaro

I use these mainly for warming up and you also get a good sense of melody and note movements.
Also, a good place for exercises on a daily basis is www.365practicesessions.com

 

[Chryst Krispies]

I'd go with Rock Discipline, and Michael Romeo's thinga majig for vids.

 

[LydonB]

As for your left hand, well, I dunno - classical players say you should NEVER have your thumb above the middle of the back of the neck, but that always pissed me off, cuz I can't dig in to do a good bend vibrato (they do their stupid "sliding"-esque vibrato, so that's why the technique works for them), so I just always make sure to use my fingertips, and leave it at that.

You shouldn't have your thumb over the neck because your range of motion will decrease on a wide ass neck like on a classical guitar. Plus, it is not very comfortable. If you have correct posture while playing classical guitar I think it is more comfortable than playing electric. Hell, I've started to use a footstool when I practice electric guitar these days.

 

[Metaltastic]

You shouldn't have your thumb over the neck because your range of motion will decrease on a wide ass neck like on a classical guitar. Plus, it is not very comfortable. If you have correct posture while playing classical guitar I think it is more comfortable than playing electric. Hell, I've started to use a footstool when I practice electric guitar these days.

Well I think perhaps the active ingredient of what you're saying is "on a wide ass neck like on a classical guitar" - I definitely don't find my range of movement restricted, and I don't think the guys I listed before in response to Christ Kryspies do either, judging by their chops In fact, the only electric player I know of who plays with his left hand in the classical position is Jani from Sonata Arctica, and while he can shred his balls off, he's also a prime example of how bend vibrato is really not that easy to do (and more importantly, control) with your hand that way. Check out this vid, he's one of my favorite guitarists in terms of his taste in note choice, but I feel his vibrato leaves a lot to be desired:



And I got a footstool and tried to play the "traditional" way for awhile (left foot on the stool, guitar between my legs), but my back always ended up hurting from having to sit up straight. Now I actually put my right foot on the stool, which elevates my leg when playing the guitar the "electric way" (all on the right leg, or hip, really), and is MUCH more comfortable cuz I can slouch over the top of the axe like a lazy bastard

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Damn, I like Sonata and all, but that' dudes vibrato is kinda....yeah.

 

[Ben Johnson]

And I got a footstool and tried to play the "traditional" way for awhile (left foot on the stool, guitar between my legs)

I play Vs, so I don't have much of a choice other than playing in the classical position. Here's what I use for my footstool.

Works perfectly.

 

[J the TyranT]

that japanese dude is more tasteful, lol

 

[SocialNumb]

I like both. Both had some good chops. I am leaning towards the japanese dude tho. (clothing not included)

 

[Djabthrash]

that japanese dude is more tasteful, lol

uke: OMG this red "Power Rangers" clothe thingie...

Thought it was some girl at first.

 

[Metaltastic]

See, I found Syu (the Japanese fellow) to be too much of a wanker, in that he would often just sort of go completely off-time with noodle-fests (from 2:19 until the end of his solo is a prime spot to play "find the tempo!" :Smug: ), whereas Jani would always stay on time, even if he too occasionally shredded too much as well. "Wanking" to me is when the guitarist just has no sense of rhythm or phrasing; Jani at least always has a set beginning and end to his licks, whereas Syu often just meanders, IMO. Syu definitely has the better left hand technique for metal, I'll admit, but I overall prefer Jani's licks (the solo at 4:46 is to me the best in the video from either of them, and he's capable of doing SOOOOO much more melodic stuff than this, believe me).

 

[STINNETT]

Let's see, some general tips for improving your chops....

Play things slowly and analyze your shortcomings honestly. Don't be in a hurry to master a technique. When something comes out dirty all the time - slow it way down and figure out what fucked up aspect of your mechanics is causing it - and then work it out.

While you're slowing things down - take plenty of time to analyze your string muting. That's one of the most important parts of playing fast and clean - and that includes both hands!

Practice without the guitar plugged in sometimes. That will reveal alot of things to your ear. If you can make it sound sweet like that - it will sound even better plugged in.


If you want a "personal opinion" oriented tip - get your picking chops up as good as you can - but work on legato like your life depends on it. It's a surefire way to blazing speed runs and clean, liquidy execution. Some people will obviously disagree with that - but oh how I love the sound of fingers flying at top speed without that horrendous clinking pick sound going along with it.....uke:
Perhaps that is an anti shred tip....I don't know. I just really hate the sound of a pick.

Learn scales - but learn how to bend the rules if you want to really capture anybody's attention. Learn the sound of intervals, and with that, learn how to grab that perfectly exotic sounding note which is often the only thing that can elevate a boring piece of scale derived drivel into a truly interesting phrase.

Realize that alot of people throw scales out the window when they're going for top speed. (Except maybe for Yngwie - who is incapable of playing anything but harmonic minor. ). I went to the school of Eddie Van Halen in this regard, and it pretty much works in any context. Think symmetrically. Think - "fingering pattern" instead of "scale tones" and just start blasting those bastards all over the neck. Sometimes a wicked symmetrical "scale" across the strings will give you a hint of exotic flavoring and insane speed all rolled into one, and with far less thought and effort than trying to stay within the confines of a scale.

That's about all I can think of right now.