NEEDS Some guitar technique help

[devilfish]

hey,

i need a few answers for some thing si wish to improve on...but i really need to kno what to learn/pracxtise og et better at them

1. whe i play lead guitar parts, which requires bending the string....i seem to make a lot of 'other' noise, wehter its when releasing the bend i hit another string or jsut sound of poor technique.... whats the best way to esnure a descent sounding, no bad noise full bends?

2. i really want to get better at solo'in and improvising. i know my minor pentatonic sclae and im practising running up and down ther whoel neck in the minor pentatonic scale and going through soem backign trakcs...but the solos i create seem tob e very samey and slow...it sounds crap for need of a better word. what should i be practising to get a descent varied solo that actually sounds good and has the 'wow' factor to it) (im not talking angus young type solos...just solos with a bit of speed tyhat sound descent) :nervous:

3. when i practise solos (back in blasck speicfically at the moment) i struggle to hit all the right notes on the fast bends and really fast picking parts. i know practise makeks perfect, but i seem to be mkaiong alot of extra unwanted sounds either open strings or duff noted and i just need some pointers and things to look oput for /make sure im doing

any help/pointers, would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

1. Learning to mute all the other strings just takes time, but if you know it's a problem, you're already on the road to improving.

2. Think in terms of phrases and melody rather than just flurries of notes. Also, remember that inside the minor pentatonic is the major pentatonic, too. A minor is also the same notes as C major, so once you know the relationships of all keys, you have at least two modes to use.

3. Slow down...Eric Clapton earned the nickname "Slowhand" cause it sounds good. Curl your fingers to keep them from hitting unwanted strings, or learn to mute with your picking hand.

 

[devilfish]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

hey,

thanks, what do you mean by curl your hand though?

any information is a big help thanks very much for the pointers.

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

a lesson i keep having to learn over and over every year is that you need to really slow down. play each note perfectly before moving to the next. i often get comfortable playing things so much that i tend to neglect minor nuances. those become bad habits and lead to playing problems later on down the road.

also stay away from pentatonics all the time. i don't know why some guitar teachers start off teaching pentatonics. i think because they're 2 notes per string it's supposed to be easier, but petatonics are actually a little awkward compared to playing everything else IMO.

i personally think you should start off learning the 3 notes per string patterns and practicing alternate picking on that before going pentatonic. it will give you a much better feel for improvising and keep you out of those little pentatonic boxes. i know some sought-after guitar instructors who don't teach pentatonics until after learning the full scales. maybe you can learn solos from instruction books to begin with before moving on to song solos.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

If you can afford it, go take a few lessons. I wish I had. It took me a long time to unlearn bad habits I spent as many as 14 years developing. I've also learned things recently that, if I'd known them when I started, I'd be way beyond where I am now.

 

[Bludave]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

If your picking is slow, a good exercise is to play chromatic scales. Start at the first fret using all 4 fingers playing one note after another. Focus on playing with alternate picking and focus on playing all notes clean. Play as slow as you need to to play correctly and gradually your speed will pick up and your dexterity will improve dramatically.

Some also mentioned this and I will emphasize this also........ think in terms of vocals. Think of your guitar as a voice singing the parts. The term commonly asscociated to this is phrasing. Pick "phrases" that work well over the chords that are being played.

Listen to BB King. He and Lucille never play at the same time. B.B. sings, then Lucille.... its like a duet. Thats what phrasing is all about!.... Good Luck!

 

[blueslegend8]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

The best advice that I can give you concerning improv is to go jam with people that are better than you. You don't even have to take lessons from them just go play and take turns soloing. Just by being there and hearing what they do in certain musical situations you will start to pick up on things that they do and instantly transfer them into your own repertoire.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

Improvising comes with experience and knowing where you are on the guitar at any given moment, in my opinion, fwiw, ymmv, etc

 

[devilfish]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

ok thanks. i jsut really needed some stuff to focus on and practise and look out for so thanks laods!

any more advice/help is alos appreciated

 

[tc]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

hey,

i need a few answers for some thing si wish to improve on...but i really need to kno what to learn/pracxtise og et better at them

1. whe i play lead guitar parts, which requires bending the string....i seem to make a lot of 'other' noise, wehter its when releasing the bend i hit another string or jsut sound of poor technique.... whats the best way to esnure a descent sounding, no bad noise full bends?

2. i really want to get better at solo'in and improvising. i know my minor pentatonic sclae and im practising running up and down ther whoel neck in the minor pentatonic scale and going through soem backign trakcs...but the solos i create seem tob e very samey and slow...it sounds crap for need of a better word. what should i be practising to get a descent varied solo that actually sounds good and has the 'wow' factor to it) (im not talking angus young type solos...just solos with a bit of speed tyhat sound descent) :nervous:

3. when i practise solos (back in blasck speicfically at the moment) i struggle to hit all the right notes on the fast bends and really fast picking parts. i know practise makeks perfect, but i seem to be mkaiong alot of extra unwanted sounds either open strings or duff noted and i just need some pointers and things to look oput for /make sure im doing

any help/pointers, would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

1. Start muting the strings. I use the side of the palm in my right hand to mute strings lower than what I'm playing, and my index finger to mute the strings higher than what I'm playing.

2. First, listen to the backing track. Pay attention to accents and stuff like that. Feel the groove. Use every technique you can think of, palm muting, tapping, bending, harmonics, slides, legato, strict picking, economy, everything. After a while you'll "feel" or know what to use at any given time. Oh and take breaks, phrase it up instead of shooting everything in 16th notes without stopping. Play with triplets and such. If your fast enough, don't just wank off, try to make a point with your soloing. Another tip is thinking of a melody in your head and playing it, then playing around that melody with the backing track. Listen to some players, their solos sound like lots of beautiful melodies strung together. There's lots of ways you can approach soloing, you can think of it like Randy Rhoads, you know, a story inside a story, or you can just make it a slight extension of a song. Just loop a track and try everything on top of it for a while.

But that's what you do WHEN you're soloing. Before that, you must prepare yourself technically and learn some theory, but most importantly, apply it. Learn to use the modes and hear them in your playing. Don't look at pentatonics as a separate system, but rather as every single pitch in the fretboard being usable in any situation. If you think of it, pentatonics are included in the major system. Use the fretboard to your advantage.

3. As previously stated, work your muting. Nailing stuff comes with muscle memory and practice. You'll get it soon enough.

Anything else just ask.

 

[devilfish]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

hey thanks for all that advice. im now trying to undo my bad habits i suppose. rather than playing sloppy try and really really tightne it all up.

my soloeing has gotten better in the last year or so. but until now ive never really tried to create a solo. jsut a 'lead part' which is really slow using the pentatonic scale/.

im learnign the major and minior pentatonic sclaes at the moment to try and get a descent sort of solo up together, but i seem tob e falling intop the trap of not being able to write out of 1 block of frets. fo instance basically going round the minior pentatonic scale in one position. i cant seem to make any kind of solo involving more than 3 strings and in 1 section of the pentatonic scale.

 

[Osensei]

Re: NEEDS Some guitar technique help

As for your item #2 - read my post :

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=121802