Help improving speed and accuracy

[VitaminG]

SRV is a great demonstration of excellent string muting techique. The guy could basically strum and only the note he wanted would sound out. All that string raking is part of the aggression in his playing. He hit 'em hard and muted well.

If you're playing with the higher gain of modern metal, controlling harmonics from muted strings will take some more work. But for the levels of gain that Stevie Ray used, it's very manageable.

[Hellbat]

What irks me about that Stevie video is you can tell he is so lit that he can barely talk at the beginning, but can still rip through that song flawlessly.

[Cliff]

Wow, he does look pretty baked, doesn't he?

Great stuff, though. Funny, they played some SRV on the radio this morning and I was thinking how great his attack sounded.

So far as I can tell, it's possible to get a good strong attack with this scalpel method. I'll try and post a video soon that will have you all convinced it's the way to go . Really, though, I fully understand that different techniques are appropriate for different styles of playing. I also suspect I should just get on with it and stop worrying so much about the details. And relax, yeah, that too.

[Cliff]

As threatened, more vids. The first is me playing at 40bpm. I start off with 1 note per beat, and work up to 8. I recorded two minutes of each, but mercifully I've edited it a little. Still, nothing exciting going on here except a demonstration of the scalpel technique. The last bit shows me trying to adapt it to the pentatonic lick from a couple of weeks ago.

And here's my trying to play a couple of Stetina licks with the same technique. It's early days still, and I haven't quite got the string damping working so well. Javert, this one includes exercise 25 at 140bpm.

As always, let me know what you think.

[javert]

Interesting, Cliff. Must have taken ages to change your picking like that! Looks to me like you went back to moving your hand on the lower strings, no?

[Cliff]

Actually, just a couple of weeks so far. My normal picking technique is so bad it can be replaced quite easily . But you're definitely right, the old technique creeps in as I get to the lower strings. More practice required, I think.

[shredmonster]

It's mechanics. It is also angles and muscles used. It is also the ability to relax which may be the hardest part.

Some random thoughts as I don't have much time. It took me years to get comfy holding a pick. Yeah years to where it just locks in now. I use V picks BTW. Figure out how to best hold the thing.

Figure out how high to have your guitar - most people hold it way to low trying to look cool. Too hard on the wrists and will slow you down and have an affect on accuracy.

Make sure the guitar is set up right for you. I set my own up because I know how I want it to feel and it is a feel thing.

You are going to have to push yourself to the next speed meaning you have to speed up to the point where you fuck up and make mistakes and keep going to that point. Eventually you will pass this point and onto your next point of failure. Repeat.

Don't forget you are using your shoulder, elbow, wrist and index joints. Work with them all. Takes years to get the right mix. This is a big step on the way to learning how to relax.

Covering some stuff maybe not mentioned here - don't want to read all 23 pages.

Last thing is you have to be as good picking upstrokes as downstrokes. Almost as good is not good enough. It has to be smooth and seamless. Depending upon what I am doing I sometimes change the angle of my pick more down or more up I find. But always hold the pick at an angle to the strings never flat.

Learn how to inside pick the strings. Years of fun and practice !

Similarly you have to get comfortable with climbing notes as easily as you descend. Again this takes a lot of practice.

I learned playing cleanly without an amp. Also IMO you have to be able to play on any guitar - acoustic, one where the strings are ridiculously high, one with heavy strings etc... I keep several guitars around.

The shit takes dedication and an attitude that you will never give up and always will improve.

[Maiden89]

I have a P.O.S copy of a Fender Strat (my first guitar actually). It has a really high action and buzzes like crazy, but after playing a couple of months only on this guitar I noticed my speed, accuracy and ease when I switch over to my Jackson's. I can play at least twice as fast and more accurate, because of the high action I was used to on the Strat copy.

Shredmonster has some good advice on setting up your guitars and being able to play on a variety of guitars.

I also really to work on my alternate picking and string skipping as well. I've been hearing about Stetina's books for a while, I might have to grab a copy.

[Cliff]

It is also the ability to relax which may be the hardest part.

More and more I'm beginning to suspect this is my single biggest problem.

You are going to have to push yourself to the next speed meaning you have to speed up to the point where you fuck up and make mistakes and keep going to that point. Eventually you will pass this point and onto your next point of failure. Repeat.

I have to be a little careful here. Often I think I've got decent at a speed, and it's only later I realize I was giving myself a free pass and going further without nailing it at the previous speed first.

The shit takes dedication and an attitude that you will never give up and always will improve.

Yes, I must admit I don't always feel that way. I hear guys far far better than myself saying, 'I'm getting there, but I have a way to go yet'. Pretty humbling. On the plus side, I think as long as you feel like you're improving, practicing in this way doesn't feel so much of a chore.

Maiden89 - I can definitely recommend the Stetina Speed Mechanics Book - it's done wonders for me. That said, it doesn't explain in detail about the best way to hold a pick, the best motions to use with your right hand, etc etc. Funnily enough, there's much more detail on how to use the left hand in this regard.

[javert]

Cliff, don't you think it's because there isn't one, simple answer? Of course, he could simply have chosen his favorite, but it might not work for everybody. The basic motions (for which there are tons of exercises in the book) you need to perform (in terms of moving the pick) are probably more important than how you exactly you hold the pick...

[Cliff]

Cliff, don't you think it's because there isn't one, simple answer?

Argh!! Say it's not so!

Seriously, you're right of course, and I think he says as much, or at least says do what works for you. Although he does recommend not using finger motion .

Speaking of which, I think Uli is using his thumb and forefinger here (not the change in the angle on the thumb's knuckle):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3uvil5QKj0

[javert]

Speaking of which, I think Uli is using his thumb and forefinger here (not the change in the angle on the thumb's knuckle):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3uvil5QKj0

Yeah, sure looks like it... love that song. I was blown away when I frist heard it as a kid, and I never met anybody in Denmark who knew it. I used that video when I was learning how to play the solo some years back. Amazing how he manages to make all the notes stand out even though some of those 16th note triplet runs are quite fast. That vibrato is also difficult to copy without a scalloped fretboard.

[ginsambo]

I was thinking, it is all about your forearm control.

Going back to that two note per string pentatonic in a single position. Try it playing from the high E through to the low E, it's easy right? Now try playing it the other way up, from low E to high E and it's much harder to get fast accuracy. I seriously think if you can master a simple two note per string ascending pentatonic, that is the key that will unlock your string changing control to take you much further whether you are playing two, three, four, five or six notes per string, as it's all about the string changes really.

And why is it easier to go down fast, rather than play up a pattern or scale? I think alot of it is because you are pulling your forearm going down a pattern or scale, rather than pushing it and also because when you tap your fingers on a table you naturally do it from pinky to first finger, effectively pulling off notes, you should train yourself to tap your fingers just as rhythmically the other way, hammering on the table, 1-2-3-4. It does feel unnatural.

Just thinking....:think:

[Cliff]

Yep, definitely harder to ascend than descend. You have the same problem? And I agree it's all about the string changes.
I've been practicing a single note per string going up and down. Works fine at reasonable speeds. So far it doesn't seem to have helped at all when I try and play the pentatonic at speed...

[ginsambo]

Oh well, guess it's all about finding your own way then I guess afterall. It worked for me and snapped my whole technique together and realised the full potential of what I was doing. Then again I guess my playing and background and what I could already do is different to yours. Worth a try though. Thought I had the secret to the universe there for a sec. I managed to drill a 2mm hole in my wrist today, swarf and all, so guitar is off limits for a week or so anyway. Anticipate more useless theories on their way soon.

Effectively what I was trying to say is to focus on practicing the small things what you are worse at, as it's often these tiny details that are the crux of your playing and holding you up, maybe only two or three notes, in a particular sequence, that devastate your playing. Don't worry too much about all the strings and all the neck, it's like playing an ascending pattern, play the string changing initial part until you can slaughter it, then the rest will be easy and fall into place. The worse practice regime is to play a massive repeated pattern over again half cut, without particulary being able to nail any of it. Practicing scales is also useless IMO, patterns from scales are definitely the way to go and much more musical to boot and more fun.