Help improving speed and accuracy

[BenoA]

If it's just a jam, then very nice improvisation .

Thanks again! But from a "technical point of view", I cheat a lot playing those licks. This is why I'm working on my technique these days.

[Cliff]

Trem - thanks for the encouragement. I think I'm forgetting these are on-going exercises, and secretly hoping they're something I can suddenly do and then move on to something else. In the past I would have 'cheated' these with hammer-ons and pull-offs. It's not really cheating anyway, since Randy Rhoads, Van Halen etc would most likely do it the same way, at least according to the tab of their solos that I've seen. But for me personally, this sort of shortcut wasn't very good 'cause I wasn't playing evenly in time. I'm finding that if I do full alternate picking, it helps to keep my timing on track. But when I'm actually playing music rather than practicing these exercises, I have absolutely no problem with doing things the easiest way possible that still sounds good.
Hey Javert, I realise they're aimed at that, but I feel like I'd like a little more explanation in the book about how to go about doing it. I suppose he leaves that open so you can discover your own way. For instance, I noticed when I was playing #54 at around 80bpm, I was using my forearm to switch between strings for the four notes within a beat. But once I got past 100, I'd subconsciously changed to using my wrist to do that, while still using my forearm to move the hand on the beat, so to speak, as the overall pattern moves up or down a string. Using the forearm sort of made sense to me, since I'd read elsewhere that it's best to use finer muscles for finer movements (eg wrist for picking), and coarser muscles for coarser ones (eg forearm for moving across strings). But it seems like moving my forearm at 100+bpm is just not possible. If that's the case, then I need to go back to practicing these exercises slower again, but using the wrist instead.

[micha]

Cliff- DO NOT try to "play thru pain". Stop immediately. That can cause permanent damage. If you still have numbness/pain.... Go see your doctor.

I'm just installing a software metronome
http://www.nch.com.au/metronome/index.html
when I stumble across this in their license agreement:

5. You may not use this software in any circumstances where there is any risk that failure of this software might result in a physical injury or loss of life.

This shows dramatically what can happen if a metronome is pushed too far too soon...



As an upgrade on my progress, my arms are still heavy once I'm done, but it's getting better.
The increase in speed is hardly measureable and should depend on that I simply know what I'm doing by now.
But it's been just about a week, I started an excel document to have a graphical display of my progress to keep me motivated on long term...
Let's see how it works.

[Cliff]

"5. You may not use this software in any circumstances where there is any risk that failure of this software might result in a physical injury or loss of life."
That reminds me of an anecdote about someone giving a lecture on safety in software engineering to team leads. He asked his audience to imagine their teams had written the software for an airplane. Then he told them to imagine the room was the airplane, and they should leave the room if they didn't feel safe in it. All leave except for one guy who stays seated. "You must have a lot of faith in your team," says the lecturer. "No," replies the team leader, "if my guys wrote the software, the plane would never leave the ground."

[javert]

Hey Javert, I realise they're aimed at that, but I feel like I'd like a little more explanation in the book about how to go about doing it. I suppose he leaves that open so you can discover your own way. For instance, I noticed when I was playing #54 at around 80bpm, I was using my forearm to switch between strings for the four notes within a beat. But once I got past 100, I'd subconsciously changed to using my wrist to do that, while still using my forearm to move the hand on the beat, so to speak, as the overall pattern moves up or down a string. Using the forearm sort of made sense to me, since I'd read elsewhere that it's best to use finer muscles for finer movements (eg wrist for picking), and coarser muscles for coarser ones (eg forearm for moving across strings). But it seems like moving my forearm at 100+bpm is just not possible. If that's the case, then I need to go back to practicing these exercises slower again, but using the wrist instead.

Ah, I get you now, sorry about that. I guess that is the one of the things that a book has a hard time helping you with. At least you seem to be aware of the issue. I have wondered about similar things in my playing, you know, do I pick at different angles depending on which string I'm on and so on. Those things are really hard to detect and correct by yourself. One thing I did notice about those exercises is that when I practiced a lot, my picking did change and my movememt became smaller and more precise.

[javert]

That reminds me of an anecdote about someone giving a lecture on safety in software engineering to team leads. He asked his audience to imagine their teams had written the software for an airplane. Then he told them to imagine the room was the airplane, and they should leave the room if they didn't feel safe in it. All leave except for one guy who stays seated. "You must have a lot of faith in your team," says the lecturer. "No," replies the team leader, "if my guys wrote the software, the plane would never leave the ground."

lol, good one.

[micha]

hehe indeed...

[BenoA]

One thing I did notice about those exercises is that when I practiced a lot, my picking did change and my movememt became smaller and more precise.

Same here and in just a few weeks. So it's worth keeping working on it!

[Cliff]

I've noticed the same thing. But small precise movements on one string seem difficult to combine with the bigger movements needed to cross strings. I guess that's just the nature of the instrument: some things are easier to do than others. Say with #54 (mechanic 54), you're going to do two very small picking motions on E (we know it's possible to get 130+bpm with this motion fairly easily with practice), but then you have to switch to the B string for a downstroke, followed by a switch back to the E string for an up stroke - outside picking. Suddenly you're making two very coarse motions at the same speed you were doing the fine ones. Seems difficult to immediately reign that in and come back to the fine picking for the first two notes of the next beat, if only because of the momentum you've built up to make the big motion. At the beginning of the right-hand section in his book, Stetina states that these sorts of coarse motions are only practical between 80-120 bpm, and for faster than that you need finer motions. Yet exercise 54 seems to require these coarser motions at the frequency of a single sixteenth note. So is the implication that picking every single note beyond 120bpm for this exercise isn't really practical? Just realised this question is a bit stupid, since we can hear our man Troy doing exactly that on the CD. Nevertheless, what he's saying does seem a bit contradictory here.

[javert]

Hmm, where does he say that thing about the coarse movement? If it's the statement before #25, then I interpret as you can get away with wasteful, coarse movements and poor techniques at slower speeds, but once you reach a certain level, that has to be eliminated. I don't think the example you gave is are coarse movement in this sense, but they certainly are "coarser" than, say, inside picking. I think of that coarse movement as something like moving your arm or hand excessively to pick.

[Cliff]

Yep, the statement before #25 is what I was referring to. And your interpretation makes total sense. I just need to practice more .

[Twitch]

. So is the implication that picking every single note beyond 120bpm for this exercise isn't really practical?

Picking a shit ton of notes individually is a pain above 120 unless youre super skilled and have KILLER coordination. My picking hand can easily maintain 200, but my fret hand would never sync up right. At those speeds, I rely A LOT on hammer ons and pull offs. I may play 4 very fast notes, but will only pick the string once. Watch the end lick of that video I posted, the very beginning is very fast. Watch my pick hand during the run up, then watch it on the run down. The run down isnt as fast, so my picking hand goes back to alternate picking mode.

Regarding inside picking as coarse, maybe I misread you posts, but inside picking requires less motion than outside picking, so how is inside picking the "coarse" method?? Besides that, inside, outside, it doesnt matter. At any given time, one is more efficient and proper than the other. It depends on where you started and where you intend to end. The longer you play and practice, the more ingrained it will become as to which you should be doing and when. You wont even think about it, it will just happen. The really hard part is doing 140 alternate picking on one string palm muted then having to down stroke the following chord open that includes the string you were just chugging away on in the same timing because that chord with an upstroke sounds different and sloppy. In order to come in for the down stroke for the chord, your picking hand has to make one wasted up stroke because you ended the palm muted chugging on a down stroke, which means you really have to hurry that wasted up stroke in order to stay in time.

Normally, you would down pick everything, but I injured my arm and it fatigues in short order, so I had to start alternate picking the riff in question to make it through tracking the song(which I still havent been able to finish because of the injury, but Im getting there), and it is a bitch to play this way, but I just cant have that chord on an up stroke. In addition to the sour sound of the chord with an up stroke, alternate picking doesnt have the punch that all down strokes does, but its what Ive got to do right now to keep up. Nerve injuries SUCK!!!

[VitaminG]

so drop the chord in for the recording. Alternate pick the preceding line. Stop. Rewind. Punch in. Chord.

[Cliff]

Hey Twitch - sorry to hear about your injury. Have you been to see the doctor? Is this something that's likely to heal with time? Seriously, prior to this you're saying you would have been picking at 140bpm with downstrokes only!?
When I was saying inside picking was coarse, I was comparing it with the picking motions on a single string. I've found I've got these pretty fine now, but have to move considerably more for the inside picking - that motion is closer to the sloppy motion I was using all the time back in the original video I posted.

So, anyone got any cool progress to share? I've been dropping back slow (again!) in an effort to give my wrists a rest and be sure I can play everything clean and and even. I also had a go at the first two rhythm exercises, and am ashamed to say I'm actually struggling a bit with both .

[BenoA]

So, anyone got any cool progress to share? I've been dropping back slow (again!) in an effort to give my wrists a rest and be sure I can play everything clean and and even.

On my side, I haven't been able to practice as I wish lately. Only 30-45 min a day. Right now I'm stuck on a "plateau". And the single string exercises are still killing me.

I feel so "newbie" doing those exercises.

At least I'm trying to keep working on these.

I also had a go at the first two rhythm exercises, and am ashamed to say I'm actually struggling a bit with both .

Numbers or page?