Trouble With 16th Notes Options

[JTaylor]

Has anyone here ever had trouble with playing something so elementary as 16th notes? I submitted a REC on the Minor Pentatonic scale and got great advice which, for once, I have been following. However, no matter how many times I play it, almost every single time I try to step it up just a little, I mess it up. It is the lick by Bear Rose in his Beginners Corner #14. The last part is where I have the problem, when I am picking from the G to the B strings. In his video, Bear picks those notes. I can hammer and it (sometimes) sounds good but, that is not the way the lesson is written. I mess it up picking those three 16th notes in a row. I know it takes time, but I am pretty bummed out that I am having this many problems this soon into the learning. Any of you ever gone this much trouble this early in the journey and, if so, what did you do? BTW....Merry Christmas to everyone!

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[jstcrsn]

Has anyone here ever had trouble with playing something so elementary as 16th notes? I submitted a REC on the Minor Pentatonic scale and got great advice which, for once, I have been following. However, no matter how many times I play it, almost every single time I try to step it up just a little, I mess it up. It is the lick by Bear Rose in his Beginners Corner #14. The last part is where I have the problem, when I am picking from the G to the B strings. In his video, Bear picks those notes. I can hammer and it (sometimes) sounds good but, that is not the way the lesson is written. I mess it up picking those three 16th notes in a row. I know it takes time, but I am pretty bummed out that I am having this many problems this soon into the learning. Any of you ever gone this much trouble this early in the journey and, if so, what did you do? BTW....Merry Christmas to everyone!

there are 2 kinds of guitar players-- those that play ( good) or those that play
the first ( including my self ) push thru, and yes,have many,many and many of these times, get good
the second don't

will you push thru and hang in there ?
and yes ,I am having one of those times as well

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[JTaylor]

there are 2 kinds of guitar players-- those that play ( good) or those that play
the first ( including my self ) push thru, and yes,have many,many and many of these times, get good
the second don't

will you push thru and hang in there ?
and yes ,I am having one of those times as well

I appreciate the words, friend. I had to smile at the analogy because I have "played with" the guitar since 1988. During that time, I have had an Epiphone, Charvel, Jackson, Guild, Takamine, and 2 different Ibanez's (all of which were low end models - nothing expensive). I have learned horrible habits and even though I can get through some songs (playing rythym only) I have always been terrified of soloing, have never learned ANY theory, and had very low self esteem about my playing. I will perservere in this. Thanks again and Merry Christmas.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Mate! First of all - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Relax, have a good time and treat your guitar right patience is the key!
Remember to be relaxed when you play and focus only on what you are doing with your guitar there! DO NOT race through these lessons there's no rush! Try and sing the lesson with your voice as well you'll realize that once you have it in your system, things will be much easier to tackle, as your body already feels 'what's next'

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[dark dude]

Make sure that your picking hand is relaxed as it can be, that you're picking from your wrist (and not from your elbow). Focus on small movements, and clarity in your notes, but not at the expense of becoming tense. The same idea goes for your fretting hand, be as relaxed as possible. You shouldn't even need the thumb behind the neck to play the notes (it's possible without), so don't clamp the fretboard tightly, just enough to get a clear note out of it.

At first, it's likely that your fretting fingers won't be able to keep up with the speed due to endurance issues, or independence may not have developed enough yet, so you need to practice SMALL chunks of what you're struggling with (i.e. take 3 notes at a time), and with a metronome, play it many times as perfectly as you can. STAY RELAXED IN BOTH HANDS!!!! So important if you want confident picking.

When I'm practicing a tricky lick, I'll play it to a metronome for 10 minutes, take between 1 and 5 min break, depending on how intense it is (how my hands are reacting) and on how far into my routine I am (the further in, the more tired I am, the more likely it'll be more intense). I then repeat this once more in the following 10 min, this must be done regularly (i.e. daily). If I was practicing a specific lick, I'd play that lick all up and down the neck (fret 1 - 12) on the strings (in your case, 2 strings, G and for a specific number of times, before bumping up the speed by perhaps 5 bpm or 10 bpm, whatever I'm comfortable with. I never treat it as a "well, I hit 185bpm yesterday, so today I have to better that!" scenario, I just make sure that I'm playing as well on that day as I physically can, all while keeping relaxed.

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This post has been edited by dark dude: Dec 24 2011, 06:32 PM

[Daniel Realpe]

Try and sing the lesson with your voice as well you'll realize that once you have it in your system, things will be much easier to tackle, as your body already feels 'what's next'

This is a great thing to do. To sing the part, or even JUST THE RHYTHM with ta -ta -ta -ta

If you CAN do that then playing it becomes much much easier

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[JTaylor]

Make sure that your picking hand is relaxed as it can be, that you're picking from your wrist (and not from your elbow). Focus on small movements, and clarity in your notes, but not at the expense of becoming tense. The same idea goes for your fretting hand, be as relaxed as possible. You shouldn't even need the thumb behind the neck to play the notes (it's possible without), so don't clamp the fretboard tightly, just enough to get a clear note out of it.

At first, it's likely that your fretting fingers won't be able to keep up with the speed due to endurance issues, or independence may not have developed enough yet, so you need to practice SMALL chunks of what you're struggling with (i.e. take 3 notes at a time), and with a metronome, play it many times as perfectly as you can. STAY RELAXED IN BOTH HANDS!!!! So important if you want confident picking.

When I'm practicing a tricky lick, I'll play it to a metronome for 10 minutes, take between 1 and 5 min break, depending on how intense it is (how my hands are reacting) and on how far into my routine I am (the further in, the more tired I am, the more likely it'll be more intense). I then repeat this once more in the following 10 min, this must be done regularly (i.e. daily). If I was practicing a specific lick, I'd play that lick all up and down the neck (fret 1 - 12) on the strings (in your case, 2 strings, G and for a specific number of times, before bumping up the speed by perhaps 5 bpm or 10 bpm, whatever I'm comfortable with. I never treat it as a "well, I hit 185bpm yesterday, so today I have to better that!" scenario, I just make sure that I'm playing as well on that day as I physically can, all while keeping relaxed.

I tried hitting the notes without my thumb on the neck and found you are absolutely correct! I have been in a lot of pain from the top of my thumb all the way down to my wrist. Man, what a difference! I posted another take on this board of the 16th notes. Still not perfect but better than the first time. I know I have got to relax more. You and many instructors have told me to. I guess I'm just trying to make up for lost time. Thanks for the direction!

Mate! First of all - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Relax, have a good time and treat your guitar right patience is the key!
Remember to be relaxed when you play and focus only on what you are doing with your guitar there! DO NOT race through these lessons there's no rush! Try and sing the lesson with your voice as well you'll realize that once you have it in your system, things will be much easier to tackle, as your body already feels 'what's next'

Thanks Cosmin! Like I told DarkDude, I think I have been trying to make up for lost time. I know it won't happen overnight and I'm definitely going to try and have fun at this. My three year old son has taught me some lessons in patience but it looks like I have a lot more to learn. BTW: Thanks for the insight you gave me on my first REC and you have a Merry Christmas also!

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[Cosmin Lupu]

I tried hitting the notes without my thumb on the neck and found you are absolutely correct! I have been in a lot of pain from the top of my thumb all the way down to my wrist. Man, what a difference! I posted another take on this board of the 16th notes. Still not perfect but better than the first time. I know I have got to relax more. You and many instructors have told me to. I guess I'm just trying to make up for lost time. Thanks for the direction!



Thanks Cosmin! Like I told DarkDude, I think I have been trying to make up for lost time. I know it won't happen overnight and I'm definitely going to try and have fun at this. My three year old son has taught me some lessons in patience but it looks like I have a lot more to learn. BTW: Thanks for the insight you gave me on my first REC and you have a Merry Christmas also!

Have a great one mate! The pleasure was all mine and I'm looking forward to the next ones!

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

Keep it simple my friend, and like Cosmin said, don't rush it. After few days of playing, and resting, you will see improvement already. Try to slow down the tempo so much that you can do it properly, and then spend some time on that tempo. We learn the best on ultra slow tempos, this is where fluid tone is being created and noise is being canceled.

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[JTaylor]

Keep it simple my friend, and like Cosmin said, don't rush it. After few days of playing, and resting, you will see improvement already. Try to slow down the tempo so much that you can do it properly, and then spend some time on that tempo. We learn the best on ultra slow tempos, this is where fluid tone is being created and noise is being canceled.

Thank you Ivan! In your response to my first REC, you had told me not to be discouraged. You said that two weeks earlier, I probably could not play it at all. Well, I had got a webcam a few days earlier and was videoing my playing. I looked back at it and you are exactly right! I was getting lost and not even able to play the slow parts in time! You guys are really encouraging and I greatly appreciate it! Jon Taylor

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[Alex Feather]

You can do it. Just put a metronome on slow and play 16th notes for at least a half hour straight for as many days as you can stand and you will improve.

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