A new routine

Open lane

Open lane

New member
After taking some time off from guitar, my right arm's picking technique really go thrown off. I really don't have a lot of energy to practice/play as much as i used to and there are some licks my arm just does not want to shred cleanly.

Finally i found a way to really create a burn in my right arm and it's really helping so i thought i'd share and see if anyone here does similar.

I set my metronome to a SLOW 40bpm and only change notes on each click (not 16th notes as i had been).

The result is a quality workout burn in under 5 min. The type of burn i otherwise only get after putting in serious time.


This approach is working for me right now, considering i have 4 etudes i'm trying to master. Spent months memorizing them. After trying to do some fast/clean chops for weeks now and hitting a wall i decided to shift my approach.

Anyone here do similar? It's tedious, it's boring... but me, it's WORKING!

:)
 
It's something I had heard, but never really understood for a long time . . . playing slower makes you play faster. But only if you're playing slower perfectly (and relaxed). I spent way too many years practicing on the raggedy edge all tense and never getting better. Whenever I hit a wall for speed now, I just slow it way down, play for a while, and then try it again the next day. Always seems to improve that way.
 
I always practice slowly with a metronome. It allows you to focus on technique more myopically. I was taught the rule of thumb to start slow, once you play something cleanly, without flaws 3x. Increase the speed of the metronome and start over, 3X, increase the speed...
 
Btw i'm sorry to the typeo's i've made (and will probably continue to make). Tried editing it but I get an error.

Yeah, man. I know it's become cliche but chipping at it slow as hell seems to be baking the doughnut before.

Obviously, at some point i practiced slow before getting fast but really my approach had turned it "go ahead, keep grinding fast, it will come together eventually" and really that way can work too. I find the slow grind potentially saves a lot of work.
 
GuitarStv said:
It's something I had heard, but never really understood for a long time . . . playing slower makes you play faster. But only if you're playing slower perfectly (and relaxed). I spent way too many years practicing on the raggedy edge all tense and never getting better. Whenever I hit a wall for speed now, I just slow it way down, play for a while, and then try it again the next day. Always seems to improve that way.
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The guitar equivalent of MTB cycling's better braking allows you to ride faster?

Anyhow, I am going to try this out!
 
It's like choreographing a ballet. If every muscle movement is orchestrated slowly first, then it can be done more rapidly at tempo with precision.
 
No doubt that gets your timing together, too. The type of exercise also depends on the type of picking. Economy picking would be different than strict alternate picking, I'd guess, too. I use slow tempos to practice picking in 5s or 7s.
 
Demanic said:
Kettlebell.
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I ... haven't seen kettlebell as graceful as a ballet or tai chi, but I'll keep an open mind.

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Well I guess my way of going about things is as usual the opposite of everyone else's :laugh2:

I move only my wrist and I never play anything slow if I can play it fast..

What I've noticed is that if I give things a break for a day or two or even a few weeks I come back sloppy & that's inevitable, but after I've done playing to a couple of backing tracks (never use/or owned a metronome.. cuz they're boring and monotonous) things return to normal (fast and clean) automatically.

Playing along to an actual song/backing track with all it's myriad changes & nuances (even better if it's a real drummer) is not only way "better" (more effective) as far as practice goes for me but also less boring & more fun :bigthumb:
 
...I never move my entire arm either. That seems like it will cause some pain in about 30 years.
 
Mincer said:
...I never move my entire arm either. That seems like it will cause some pain in about 30 years.
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I agree, I'm amazed Al di Meola can still play some of his stuff. Saw him a few weeks ago and any time he goes fast he tenses up (like veins in the neck popping out tenste) and picks from the elbow, seems totally counter productive to me. I had a teacher back in the 80s that was a huge fan of Al's and worked really hard to play the same way, and taught that it was the best way, I had to undo a lot of that programming. Sadly, Audley Freed was teaching in the room next door, should've jumped on some lessons with him instead.
 
Yeah I think I'm gonna unlearn everything I've worked on and buy a bunch of delay pedals and build soundscapes instead. I would still be sitting at the computer in 30 years indeed.
 
Mincer said:
...I never move my entire arm either. That seems like it will cause some pain in about 30 years.
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devastone said:
I agree, I'm amazed Al di Meola can still play some of his stuff. Saw him a few weeks ago and any time he goes fast he tenses up (like veins in the neck popping out tenste) and picks from the elbow, seems totally counter productive to me. I had a teacher back in the 80s that was a huge fan of Al's and worked really hard to play the same way, and taught that it was the best way, I had to undo a lot of that programming. Sadly, Audley Freed was teaching in the room next door, should've jumped on some lessons with him instead.
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A little arm movement might be a good thing. As you probably know, the muscles that work the fingers travel all the way up your forearm and wrap around your elbow, anchoring in the bone there. If you only move your fingers/hand/wrist without allowing your arm to follow the hand position a little bit, there's more friction taking place in the tunnel at the wrist that the muscles and nerves thread through. But probably shouldn't be DiMeola-tense. I was taught everything should be relaxed, only the necessary effort required to make a clear sound.
 
beaubrummels said:
A little arm movement might be a good thing. As you probably know, the muscles that work the fingers travel all the way up your forearm and wrap around your elbow, anchoring in the bone there. If you only move your fingers/hand/wrist without allowing your arm to follow the hand position a little bit, there's more friction taking place in the tunnel at the wrist that the muscles and nerves thread through. But probably shouldn't be DiMeola-tense. I was taught everything should be relaxed, only the necessary effort required to make a clear sound.
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Yes, I didn't mean to lock the elbow, everything needs to should relaxed and capable of movement. Windmills should start from the shoulder.
 
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