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Posted by: Tolek Jun 11 2008, 02:57 PM

Hey folks,
I finally decided to post a video in order to get some feedback. I am not able to play fast, but I have been practising it for a while now. Do my hands move correctly or not?

Here´s the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9gsQVQ-p--E

As you can see, I get quickly out of playing. However, it´s not always like that. I am tired now and it doesn´t sound well.
And sorry for the quality.

Cheers,
Tolek

Posted by: Nick325 Jun 11 2008, 03:07 PM

from what i can see your hands look right but try to slow it down so u get every note clear because some aren't clear and then speed it up

Posted by: Tolek Jun 11 2008, 05:11 PM

Thanks for your reply. My problem is that I can play it slowly, but at a certain moment I lose control over my fingers. However, a few fast licks I can play without practising them a lot. I know that I have to practise every day some licks and do a lot of exercises in order to get faster. But I don´t have sometimes the time.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 11 2008, 07:33 PM

DOn't worry, take all the time you got. Remember, it is always more important to play CLEANLY then SLOPPY. So don't worry if you play too slow for your taste, do it like that, and in time you will improve if you follow the rule from the first sentence.

Posted by: Smells Jun 11 2008, 07:51 PM

as Ivan said you have plenty of time, you are probably making the jump from playing slow to trying to play it fast in too bigger jump, working on the piece over and over and over again increasing the speed slightly (use a metronome) until you are comfortable, then up the tempo a little at a time, patience is a major part of it mate, if your palying too fast and its all going wrong frustration creeps in very quickly and will make the whole thing worse as you`ll then try too hard, its an ever decreasing circle, just take your time and it will come together for sure

Posted by: Tolek Jun 12 2008, 02:42 PM

I expected these answers. Thanks for these. I will try to slow down and gradually to speed up. I tried it several times already, but without success.
When (or if xD) I reach my goals, I will show a video.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jun 13 2008, 11:05 PM

Hmm I would bring the left hand thumb down for better support on the neck..

Posted by: JasoninOhio Jun 14 2008, 02:34 AM

Sometimes, the hardest lick to play will be the easiest to master. You need to slow down, alot. You aren't quite ready to play this particular lick that fast. A good way to know if you are ready to advance to a faster speed is to be able to play each and every note cleanly without any bumps three times in a row. If your hand is tired before you get to the third round or your notes are muffled, you are not ready to advance. Loss of hand control or "finger lock" is also a sign that you are trying to play too fast. Your hand either locks or spasms to inform you that your muscles are not jiving with what your brain is telling your hand to do. Practice, practice, practice and when you're done practicing, practice more...but slowly.

Posted by: Tolek Jun 14 2008, 11:48 AM

Thanks again. It´s very convincing, guys.

Posted by: Mark. Jun 14 2008, 11:58 AM

First you should learn the lick clean and slow, to get it in your fingers.
Once you don't need to think about how your fingers should move you can start focusing on your speed.
Ofcourse it's important that you're able to play it clean and neat at the speed you want it. But that doesn't mean that you aren't alloud to play it sloppy while practicing.. Practicing is ment to get your sloppy stuff clean right? If you keep playing it at the same slow tempo, increasing your speed will takes months. So from my experience it's mostly a good thing to try to play it way faster then you want it to be ( and have it sloppy, which doesn't really matter then because it isn't the speed you're focusing to get). Because then your disired speed will seem more easy Just as long as you play it at your max clean tempo when you film it

This part was really IMO and a bit against "the rules" but it works for me

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 14 2008, 02:30 PM

I might add that the trick is not to play only SLOW but PRECISE. Precision has everything to do with it. If you're not precise on slow tempos, then you'll hit the limit on 130bpm and can't go further. But if you play super precise on slow tempos then you can expect to go much higher up the tempo.

Posted by: Nemanja Filipovic Jun 15 2008, 12:42 PM

I agree,this is very important,as Ivan sad,just be patient and I am shore you will improve your skills.

Posted by: Pablo Vazquez Jun 15 2008, 06:11 PM

I agree!

Posted by: Trond Vold Jun 16 2008, 11:03 AM

I'm gonna go with the rest of the replies here and say that you have to try to get it to sound perfect slow first. Slow and precise is the keywords.

I see alot of potential in that video though. Keep it up!

Posted by: Daniel Robinson Jun 16 2008, 09:23 PM

Aside from what everyone else has said, let me tell you what i think you are doing right.


From listening to it you have a very good connection to the strings with the pick, its solid and not timid. I have heard alot of people with inconsistent pick stroke, but yours is very nice.

Also, you dont seem to have "Fly away fingers" its another downfall of beginning players especially when trying to play fast. You seem to have good control over fret location as well. Usually when trying to play fast as a beginner i usually hear fret buzz, and even though you are not in complete control speed wise you are fretting the notes in the right posistion.

All of these things tell me you are on the right track to playing like a pro, just keep your practice up, and work on being clean. You will imo speed up rather quickly since you have overcome alot of the pitfalls of beginning players.


Daniel

Posted by: mattacuk Jun 16 2008, 09:32 PM

Well there is already some great advice here. In a nutshell your going faster your capable off right now which is resulting in a loss of tone quality.

I can see as you speed up your not accurate in your picking, this is because you havent spent enough time practicing to a metronome and / or backing tracks when you practice!

I think you will make a great player for sure, just take your time over practice! if you can play clean at a slow tempo, your already better than when you were playing fast and sloppy.

Good luck !!

Posted by: DeepRoots Jun 16 2008, 09:40 PM

I can see that you are quite ambitious with your playing! Keep it up mate, a bit of metronome practise goes a long way and im sure that by the look of things your well on your way to shredding with the best of them

Posted by: Tolek Jun 16 2008, 11:13 PM

Wow... I´m really shocked now. I did never expect such much good advise and comments for such a bad video. xD Thanks a lot again, guys! You are really great!

Yes, I am a beginner in electric guitar. BUT, I´ve been playing classical guitar for 6 years now and this with a great teacher. So, I have already made some experience. However, I am always trying to move my finger as little as possible. The beginning was pretty difficult and it drives me still mad when I have to made such small movements which is a challenge. But I will master it!

Now, I have another problem. I can´t record me anymore. My little brother is gone to our father and he took his laptop to him. (My parents are getting divorced. ) I have to buy a webcam in order to record myself again.

And I have some other news. I can play the lick now pretty fast without stopping. However, I lose control sometimes. Fortunately, I have your great advice and I slow down every time, speed up and don´t get depressed. Thank you!

Cheers

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jun 16 2008, 11:21 PM

No problem man, keep it up. Sorry about your family, thumbs up!