Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Am I Doing It Right?
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 3 2015, 07:05 PM
Hi guys, i've been practising this reverse lick (don't know what to call it), and i've attached a recording of myself playing it through a clean amp, and to the maximum speed that i can play it. Can you tell me, as it gets faster, is that how it's supposed to sound?
And how can i get it to go faster?
Thanks
Reverse_Lick.wav ( 3.33MB )
: 150
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 3 2015, 08:54 PM
Can you post your clip to soundcloud? That way we can make little notations on the clip itself and it doesn't require a download of the clip. I'm on my tablet right now so attachments make things wonky 
Soundcloud is free and every musician can benefit from having a soundcloud account 
And how can i get it to go faster?
Thanks
Reverse_Lick.wav ( 3.33MB )
: 150Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 3 2015, 10:03 PM
What do you mean by this, I'm not sure I fully understand the question could you provide more details?
I have listened to the clip and I think that you should practice this kind of lick along with a metronome. Currently it sounds like there might be some sync issues between picking and fretting hand which might be preventing you from playing this lick cleaner and smoother. Notice how some notes are louder and cleaner while some feel muted, quiet and with some additional noise in the tone? This is what I'm referring to as sync, picking and fretting hand need to work in harmony and picking should only happen when the note is fully fretted. If you first pick and then fret down the note fully, it will not get sounded or sound weak/muted or with a bit of added noise.
I know that it is a boring suggestion, but try playing really slow and focus on the making each movement spot on and economic. Practicing on a really slow tempo can make a huge difference when bumping up the BPM. If you skip tempos even though you can't play clean on them, then you'll in the end be practicing sloppy playing. As you go faster, it can be harder to hear/notice mistakes by yourself while playing.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 3 2015, 10:18 PM
Great tips!! ALso, any chance of doing a quick video? Any video will do, cell phone, web cam, etc. If we can see your fingers we can really get a good idea of what to suggest 
I have listened to the clip and I think that you should practice this kind of lick along with a metronome. Currently it sounds like there might be some sync issues between picking and fretting hand which might be preventing you from playing this lick cleaner and smoother. Notice how some notes are louder and cleaner while some feel muted, quiet and with some additional noise in the tone? This is what I'm referring to as sync, picking and fretting hand need to work in harmony and picking should only happen when the note is fully fretted. If you first pick and then fret down the note fully, it will not get sounded or sound weak/muted or with a bit of added noise.
I know that it is a boring suggestion, but try playing really slow and focus on the making each movement spot on and economic. Practicing on a really slow tempo can make a huge difference when bumping up the BPM. If you skip tempos even though you can't play clean on them, then you'll in the end be practicing sloppy playing. As you go faster, it can be harder to hear/notice mistakes by yourself while playing.
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 3 2015, 10:29 PM
That's what i meant, as i go faster, are there any issues, but clearly there are, with the sync between my fretting hand and picking hand, I also noticed that.
But i was playing slower and picking each note clearly for a while earlier, but when i speed up, the same thing happens.
Maybe i can upload a vid tomorrow too.
Edit.... How do i upload a video? do i have to put it on youtube? or can i just post it on here?
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 3 2015, 11:00 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G37BVZE-OUk
Here's a link ^^^^^^
Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jul 4 2015, 01:32 PM
I too would suggest to practice really slowly with a metronome or drum machine. The latter is more fun! Make sure you play clean very slowly, that your synchronization between your hands is spot on and then move up the tempo. It does sound like there are some synch issues.
Ben (Higgins) has some great hand synch lessons that you could maybe try:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Hand-Synch/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Hand-Synch-II/
Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jul 4 2015, 09:28 PM
Thanks for sharing Succeed, the track you provided showcases the problem well. You master the lick/technique pretty well at slower speeds, but when you push it we can start hearing obvious flaws.
The tips given here are spot on. And here is my way of looking at it:
Every single little mistake you do at slow speeds, will be "amplified" at higher speeds. So there is absolutely no point in moving on to a higher bpm, unless you can play the lick as flawless as you wish 9/10 times.
From hearing your clip - I would guess your "flawless rate" might be around 5/10 times at slow speeds. So this means that when you move on to higher speeds, the rate will decrease and when it gets really fast, mistakes will be completely dominating.
I practice this kind of stuff only at slow speeds with the metronome (I probably wouldn't practice faster than your slowest bpm), and then when I want to try the licks out "for real" I do it over a backing track, playing music. This has a lot of advantages (probably too many to list here!) - but the most important one for this topic, is that the mistakes I do will be musical.
The later might sound weird, but it's logic when you think about it. If you practice technique stuff over music, your hands and brain will opt for what sounds good (even it's not perfect - nothing ever is).
When practicing with the metronome you loose all that stuff, so that's why I only do it at slower speeds to make sure my hands are physically capable of executing whatever I am trying to do - relaxed and without mistakes.
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 4 2015, 10:42 PM
Thanks for your feedback Kristofer, I've changed my picking technique today & focused on losing all tension in my wrist,arm and shoulder, and i feel a lot faster with more control.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 5 2015, 12:49 AM
Todd here After listening to the clip, and it sounds like you may be trying play a bit ahead of yourself. When you play it slow, it's working well. But you seem to skip above your current level of ability and start missing notes just a bit when you speed up.
The hardest part of learning to play fast is developing the patience to play slowly and deliberately increasing by very small amounts. Try to start with a metronome to find a comfortable speed that you can play cleanly at. Then add just one or two BPM (Beats per minute) and keep going until that is clean.
The only way to really get good at playing "fast" is to get good at playing at each speed starting from "slow. I fear you may be skipping the middle part where you work up bit by bit. I realize it's tempting to skip to the end But the best way to get there is to earn it by working through the middle.
Does this make sense?
Todd
And how can i get it to go faster?
Thanks
Reverse_Lick.wav ( 3.33MB )
: 150The best way to use video is
1.)UPLAOD TO YOUTUBE
2.)CLICK ON "INSERT SPECIAL ITEM" in the upper left when making a post and select "INSERT YOUTUBE".
3.)PASTE IN THE YOUTUBE URL (you only need the last part of the url) For example if the url is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffMUkG-gq4
then you just paste in the last part or "xffMUkG-gq4"
let me know if you need help
But i was playing slower and picking each note clearly for a while earlier, but when i speed up, the same thing happens.
Maybe i can upload a vid tomorrow too.
Edit.... How do i upload a video? do i have to put it on youtube? or can i just post it on here?
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 5 2015, 09:06 AM
Todd
Yep, thanks mate. Snails pace it is!
Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jul 5 2015, 02:02 PM
Found this short article, which is on point as well
https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/index.php?p=Improve-Muscle-Memory-With-These-8-Easy-Tips
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 5 2015, 08:46 PM
It's important to progress in speed and precision, but also important not to try to skip the parts in the middle you'll get there! Just take your time doing it along the way
Don't forget to try to post that video as well I"m sure we can offer some help after seeing you play!
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 5 2015, 10:35 PM
Great article caleum!
And i posted the link above a few days ago todd
Here it is...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G37BVZE-OUk
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 6 2015, 12:43 AM
Hi mate! You've received really valuable feedback here. Practicing slowly, with metronome, focusing on making our movements the smaller possible is the way to go. It's also very important to practice EVERY DAY to see results, and be patient.
About your technique, I would suggest a little tweak in your way to hold the pick. I recommend to use the tip of the thumb to hold it like this:
It allows a more precise technique than this one:
This little change, combined with trying to keep your left hand fingers the closer are the two things that you should pay attention regarding your technique besides all the previous comments and suggestions received.
Keep on the hard work!
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 6 2015, 09:17 AM
About your technique, I would suggest a little tweak in your way to hold the pick. I recommend to use the tip of the thumb to hold it like this:
It allows a more precise technique than this one:
This little change, combined with trying to keep your left hand fingers the closer are the two things that you should pay attention regarding your technique besides all the previous comments and suggestions received.
Keep on the hard work!
Very interesting tip gabriel, i will definitely practise with that today.
Out of curiosity, why does your version have more control? you'd think the pick that's further down the thumb would have more control?
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 6 2015, 03:55 PM
Out of curiosity, why does your version have more control? you'd think the pick that's further down the thumb would have more control?
It can be compared to drawing. We have more precision when the hold the pencil with the tips of our fingers, and closer to the point, like this:
Take a pencil and try holding it like you are holding your pick and you'll notice that you'll lost precision. This affects your alternate picking, but it will make difficult to manage other elements like dynamics, harmonics and arpeggios.
Posted by: hickstir Jul 6 2015, 04:30 PM
https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/index.php?p=Improve-Muscle-Memory-With-These-8-Easy-Tips
Thanks for the reminder!! I'm probably doing a lot of damage going faster than my abilities.
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 6 2015, 05:55 PM
Take a pencil and try holding it like you are holding your pick and you'll notice that you'll lost precision. This affects your alternate picking, but it will make difficult to manage other elements like dynamics, harmonics and arpeggios.
Wow, very interesting. I've been trying it out today, but the pick keeps slowly slipping towards it's natural position.
Am i to just keep focusing on keeping it in that position, until i'm used to it?
Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jul 7 2015, 02:13 PM
No problem, Hickstir
Posted by: Ricky9 Jul 9 2015, 08:43 PM
Here is a little metronome program, Good luck.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oqrwjitw39h9oep/metrotimer.zip?dl=0
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 10 2015, 04:32 PM
Am i to just keep focusing on keeping it in that position, until i'm used to it?
yes, this is what happens at first to all my students, but with practice you'll get used to it.
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 10 2015, 05:46 PM
I've found myself kind of inbetween the pictures you sent. Not quite as good as the first one, but not as bad as the second
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 11 2015, 12:57 AM
Great advice coming in this thread!!! Gabe has a very good point about "choking up" on the pick. Getting your center of force a bit closer to the tip provides more control over the pick tip. If you leave too much space between your grip point and the tip of the pick, you allow the pick to "wag" a bit and lose a bit of control.
Also, you might try a sharper pick. It looks like the pick you are using is a standard medium round tip. I found that these sort of picks can (especially at first) make it feel like your picks are getting caught on the strings.
While you are in the early learning phase here, I'd strongly suggest trying to find a Dunlop sharp 1.0 thick pick. They are big enough to grip well and pointy enough to be precise. If you find your pick slipping, take a knife and score/scratch the front and back where your finger rests near the tip.
These are some of the tips I usually give out as the "secret sauce" in SHRED BOOTCAMP to get people over the initial hump Of course, you can always go back to round, thinner picks later, just like Paul Gilbert uses But especially at first, a thicker, sharper pick can really help.
Here is my first full article on ALTERNATE PICKING and contains wads of info. Give it a quick ready I also have a picture similar to gab showing a demo of how I hold my pick. Which is very similar to his. n this picture I'm mostly showing the angle of the pick. When I strike, my thumb moves much closer to the very tip of the pick.
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Lesson_Series:_%E2%80%9C0_To_60%2C_An_Introduction_to_Alternate_Picking%E2%80%9D_-_Lesson_1
Posted by: Im here to succeed Jul 11 2015, 09:19 AM
Also, you might try a sharper pick. It looks like the pick you are using is a standard medium round tip. I found that these sort of picks can (especially at first) make it feel like your picks are getting caught on the strings.
While you are in the early learning phase here, I'd strongly suggest trying to find a Dunlop sharp 1.0 thick pick. They are big enough to grip well and pointy enough to be precise. If you find your pick slipping, take a knife and score/scratch the front and back where your finger rests near the tip.
These are some of the tips I usually give out as the "secret sauce" in SHRED BOOTCAMP to get people over the initial hump
Of course, you can always go back to round, thinner picks later, just like Paul Gilbert uses But especially at first, a thicker, sharper pick can really help.Here is my first full article on ALTERNATE PICKING and contains wads of info. Give it a quick ready
I also have a picture similar to gab showing a demo of how I hold my pick. Which is very similar to his. n this picture I'm mostly showing the angle of the pick. When I strike, my thumb moves much closer to the very tip of the pick.http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Lesson_Series:_%E2%80%9C0_To_60%2C_An_Introduction_to_Alternate_Picking%E2%80%9D_-_Lesson_1
Awesome, i'll take a look. And currently I'm using a Jazz III pick
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 12 2015, 07:38 AM
The Jazz III is a fine choice! The Petrucci Jazz III is also spiff!
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)