would working out my hands get me faster?

[IcedEarth112]

i had an idea though i dont know if its brilliant or not yet.. found an excersize ball and thought that if i worked out my hands perhaps i'd be able to down-pick faster or just move my fretting hand faster, anyone have any idea if this would work?

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

Yeah ,it works on the ring finger and pinky perfect!Do not work on the picking hand for me ,since you do not need power and endurance for the picking hand.Just technique.
But the best way to get faster is to elliminate too much tension on your pickin hand ,and too much pressure on your fingering hand.Mostly ,we use toomuch power when we push the notes ,and too less when we use our pinky.The best possible way to elliminate it to try to play a note as light as possible ,with every fingers ,same note ,same power.

 

[Mincer]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

actually, its not strength in your fretting hand you need, its dexterity...fast players get around by working efficiently. sadly, the best thing to do, is just play a lot.

 

[Wattage]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

Working out with a metronome will.

 

[Osensei]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

Actually, you should be trying to minimize the pressure needed to stop your notes and not increase it. When I played back in the old days I had an "Iron Monkey Kung Fu" grip. The more challenging the passage the more pressure I'd use, like an idiot.

Today my fingers float over the frets. My touch is so light, I seem to barely have enough pressure to fret the friggin notes. It works out well. My speed has increased and I seem to be requiring fewer tries to work out difficult passages. Now it all makes sense. How can you expect to gain any speed when all of your muscles are constricted? Freedom of motion requires relaxation rather than more tension.

 

[sosomething]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

Actually, you should be trying to minimize the pressure needed to stop your notes and not increase it. When I played back in the old days I hand an "Iron Monkey Kung Fu" grip. The more challenging the passage the more pressure I'd use, like an idiot.

Today my fingers float over the frets. My touch is so light, I seem to barely have enough pressure to fret the friggin notes. It works out well. My speed has increased and I seem to be requiring fewer tries to work out difficult passages. Now it all makes sense. How can you expect to gain any speed when all of your muscles are constricted? Freedom of motion requires relaxation rather than more tension.

Great advice, and something I'm working on right now. I have way too much "kung-fu monkey grip" for the kind of music I'm playing right now.

 

[IcedEarth112]

Re: would working out my hands get me faster?

thanks for the input guys!

i dont have a kung fu grip though, dont want one either.. and i do use a metronome for speed, works grand