playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

[xerxes]

well, after about a 2 week period of playing nothing but clean slow blues, i decided to bust out my ltd and throw the gain channel into the on part. i came to an interesting conclusion, after playing slower, my faster playing is cleaner. let me explain, when i play faster now, the notes ring out better, and i slur notes less, which is nice. also, im actaully playing faster after playing slower. i know, you are thinking i think im just playing faster because what i was playing was slow, but its not. jamming with a friend, he even noticed the difference.

its weird. deffinately try it though. if for nothing else your playing will get cleaner, i garuntee that.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

Yeah i know what you mean. Playing slower and cleaner makes you make sure you really hit the notes right on and not just glide over them for a split second, then when you go to play faster you carry some of that with you which results in what you're talking about.

 

[Alvin Lee Fan]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

Great practice tip, xerxes. I always play stuff really slow until the notes just fall off my fingers themselves. Then I can pickup the speed without thinking about it.

I alos go the opposite way. I'll play stuff as fast as I can, trying to stay clean. When you slow it down to the righttempo, it's dead easy to hit everything

 

[take2]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

Playing slowly helps the brain coordinate the movements of the two hands so that they are more in sync - great practice method.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

Yeah the nerves gets the slow part in right and accurate......plus you build up tension by playing fast all the time.
I actually play better when I have not touched the guitar for several days.

 

[Biu]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

yeah, that's how I started out. Well, actually, it was more like playing slowly on clean, then getting up to speed, but still on the clean channel. But now that I have my Strat, I just fire up the clean channel and get some spanky, single-coil blues goin :13:

 

[xerxes]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

yeah, that's how I started out. Well, actually, it was more like playing slowly on clean, then getting up to speed, but still on the clean channel. But now that I have my Strat, I just fire up the clean channel and get some spanky, single-coil blues goin :13:

you arent the only one! lol. still one of my favorite things to play is clean strat blues...

 

[nuntius]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

thats the way its done

i use my acoustic for practising - its even better than an electric imo because its harder to play - just dont hurt yourself playing stupidly high gauge strings and you'll notice an improvement in your technique if you give it a bit of time

 

[some_dude]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

I agree, whole-heartedly

Everytime you play your developing muscle memory.

If you always play fast, you'll develop sloppy technique, because that's what your training your muscles to do.

When you play slow, your forced to play with cleaner technique. Your muscles will remember how to play clean, even when you speed them up.

 

[xerxes]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

thats the way its done

i use my acoustic for practising - its even better than an electric imo because its harder to play - just dont hurt yourself playing stupidly high gauge strings and you'll notice an improvement in your technique if you give it a bit of time

exactly why people should start on acoustics....i did, and it really helps....

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

"Accuracy then speed" is an old typing maxim, and it certainly applies to guitar playing. You can't play some things too slow, or you lose another important factor: rhythm! Slow is good, but slow and in-time is better! Slow is subjective, too, I suppose; if you can site read, it's more a process of going over something again and again until you have it memorized.

 

[some_dude]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

"Accuracy then speed" is an old typing maxim, and it certainly applies to guitar playing. You can't play some things too slow, or you lose another important factor: rhythm! Slow is good, but slow and in-time is better! Slow is subjective, too, I suppose; if you can site read, it's more a process of going over something again and again until you have it memorized.

I agree. But I'll also add;

rhythm = metranome

and it'll teach you to follow a drummer.


(I'm pretty sure I just spelt metranome wrong, but I'm having a stupid moment right now and can't seem to figure it out.)

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

I agree. But I'll also add;

rhythm = metranome

and it'll teach you to follow a drummer.

I agree; click track is our friend!!

 

[y2stevo]

Re: playing slower to play faster (part of the "tips")

Yeah the nerves gets the slow part in right and accurate......plus you build up tension by playing fast all the time.
I actually play better when I have not touched the guitar for several days.

Yes i find that it seems that way to me to...