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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Advice For Students

Posted by: Phil66 Sep 6 2015, 05:22 PM

You ain't gonna go fast if you can't go slow.

As an example of what I mean I'll use a Formula 1 analogy. Jackie Stewart trained drivers how to race by strapping a bowl to the bonnet (hood), there was a ball in the bowl. The object was to teach the student all about smoothness. No sudden input on the pedals or the wheel and the straightest line around the bends possible, (clipping the apex). The ball had to stay in the bowl. Obviously at speeds of up to 200mph inputs do appear aggressive BUT relatively they aren't. The quickest drivers always look the slowest because they aren't dramatic, they are smooth. Jackie always managed to do a quicker lap than the student without losing the ball. Jackie is a master of smooth.

You can relate the above to the guitar. Look how easy the instructors on GMC make things look, they don't appear to be doing very much, it almost looks to be in slow motion compared to when you try to play it at full speed. When you try to play it at full speed before you've mastered it slowly it looks and feels frenetic. This is because you haven't done the groundwork of learning it slowly and trained your fingers where to go smoothly. I'm as guilty, if not more guilty of this than anyone.

All I can say is, don't rush, calm down, take YOUR time, you will be a better player for it.

Enjoy the journey, there is no destination just many places to visit along the way. Some you will stay at for longer than others, some you will love, some you will hate, just like life.

Patience my friends. Slowly, slowly catchee monkey

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 8 2015, 02:24 PM

Wise words Phil! I totally agree with your post.

Posted by: Phil66 Sep 8 2015, 06:11 PM

Thanks Gab, so do I but I'm a master of not following my own advice

Posted by: liveOASISforever Sep 9 2015, 06:59 AM

Great post Phil

Posted by: mad Sep 9 2015, 08:48 AM

Thanks Phil!

I ALWAYS catch myself trying to play a lesson at full speed too soon and even playing it at 70% speed just after learning is still too fast..

Posted by: Chris S. Sep 9 2015, 05:21 PM

Your argument is invalid - I must be as technically advanced as Yngwie when I wake up tomorrow... I must.

Haha just joshin' - you make a valid point, man! This was the hardest thing for me to accept, like everything else in life it's going to take time, hard work, and way more patience than I ever expected but the journey is totally worth it.

Cheers

Posted by: Phil66 Sep 9 2015, 09:39 PM

I honestly think that part of the problem is that the masters make it look easy so we think "yeah, I can do that". Have you ever watched a master potter throw clay onto a spinning wheel and within minutes they have a beautiful vase???? Looks a piece of piss eh? Then you have a go and it looks like, well it looks like a lump of clay Or a highly skilled woodworker get a lump of wood and "chisle off the bits they don't want" and there appears a beautiful owl. I even sow a bloke doing awesome sculptures recently, and he was using a chain saw

Whatever you decide to do it's always harder than it looks because the masters are masters, they've done their time, they've done their graft!

I think it should be obligatory for each instructor to show a few mistakes just to makes us feel better