Ben's Sweeping Journal ! Options

[Ben Higgins]

Hi. K1R and Velci, don't let me down. Where are your takes ?
Here is mine for today, at 140 bpm.
[attachment=24454:20110821...g_140bpm.mp3]

This is coming along very nicely !

Haven't enoght time to record last 2 days. So here is my today's take.

Very cool, K-Man !

Watch out for the downstrokes when you're coming back down the arpeggio.. they are a little uneven, particularly on the 2nd & 3rd shapes. However, you're still doing great... it's about time I did some more practice on this myself

EDIT: Sometimes when this happens, it isn't necessarily your right hand. A lot of the time the left hand can throw your picking rhythm out because the fingers aren't fretting the notes in time.. especially on those difficult shapes where you have to 'roll the finger'. So have a look at your left hand first, really concentrate on keeping time with your fretting hand and that will probably make a difference.

Hey guys. I was considering giving an old thread about building speed a little bump, but I'm gonna hijack this thread instead.

My point is simple: Playing something faster is NOT doing the same motion faster.
To play an individual note, you need to hit the string with a certain speed or force. Somewhat simplified, playing a sequence of notes involves repeating that procedure (with some variation, of course, since you are likely to want to use both up- and downstrokes). Thus, playing the same sequence of notes faster means repeating the procedure at a higher rate rather than simply speeding up the overall flow of motion.

This is possibly most obvious when sweeping. GrindGuer's 100 bpm take sounds a bit staggered, while the 130 bpm take is a lot smoother (sounds really nice to my ears!). When the pick has hit one string, it arrives with a certain speed at the next string ready to hit the next note. At a lower tempo, one is more or less forced to break up that motion. One is tempted to question the efficiency of starting too slow and thereby print broke up picking patterns into muscle memory.

I think this applies to alternate picking as well.

What do you guys have to say about this?

H4H

It's a good point and yes, it is valid. My personal approiach is a combination of the two. Firstly, before I go too depp into it.. in order to teach yourself how to do something, you have to do that thing. So, in order to learn how to play fast, you have to spend some time actually playing fast.

In my personal experience - I train myself the new motions at slow speed, to develop muscle memory and get comfortable with the patterns.. also to encourage relaxed technique. When I think the time is right, I supplement this with bursts of high speed repetitions. What the speed does is train your brain and hands to operate at a higher velocity, a little bit at a time.

Not only do your fingers have to handle higher speeds, your brain does too.. so it's necessary to develop these neurological pathways and the only way to do that is by dipping your toes into that water bit by bit.

Then, from each end, slowly combine the 2 until it all comes together in the middle. Balance

This is what my whole approach is about in my Stamina School lesson.

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This post has been edited by Ben Higgins: Aug 22 2011, 08:38 AM

[GrindGuer]

This is coming along very nicely !

Thank you Ben. I'm still working on it. Here is my take at 150 bpm :
 20110822_sweep_picking_150bpm.mp3 ( 146.45K ) Number of downloads: 99

It's a good point and yes, it is valid. My personal approiach is a combination of the two. Firstly, before I go too depp into it.. in order to teach yourself how to do something, you have to do that thing. So, in order to learn how to play fast, you have to spend some time actually playing fast.

In my personal experience - I train myself the new motions at slow speed, to develop muscle memory and get comfortable with the patterns.. also to encourage relaxed technique. When I think the time is right, I supplement this with bursts of high speed repetitions. What the speed does is train your brain and hands to operate at a higher velocity, a little bit at a time.

Not only do your fingers have to handle higher speeds, your brain does too.. so it's necessary to develop these neurological pathways and the only way to do that is by dipping your toes into that water bit by bit.

Then, from each end, slowly combine the 2 until it all comes together in the middle. Balance

This is what my whole approach is about in my Stamina School lesson.

Interesting point. Could you please tell us what is your approach when working on an exercise like this one ?

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[Ben Higgins]

Thank you Ben. I'm still working on it. Here is my take at 150 bpm :
 20110822_sweep_picking_150bpm.mp3 ( 146.45K ) Number of downloads: 99



Interesting point. Could you please tell us what is your approach when working on an exercise like this one ?

Sounding good !

Yes, I'll gradually go up the sppeds on the metronome then when I get to a speed that is more challenging I will put the metronome even higher and do a few reps but I won't play the sequence all the way through. I'll do 1 rep of one shape, wait a few clicks then do another one. Even though it's too fast to play it all the way through perfectly, still try to do the small bursts as perfectly as you can. Then put the metronome back down to where you were and carry on

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[K1R]

Very cool, K-Man !

Watch out for the downstrokes when you're coming back down the arpeggio.. they are a little uneven, particularly on the 2nd & 3rd shapes. However, you're still doing great... it's about time I did some more practice on this myself

EDIT: Sometimes when this happens, it isn't necessarily your right hand. A lot of the time the left hand can throw your picking rhythm out because the fingers aren't fretting the notes in time.. especially on those difficult shapes where you have to 'roll the finger'. So have a look at your left hand first, really concentrate on keeping time with your fretting hand and that will probably make a difference.

Thanks for hte comment, Ben It is hart to fret the notes and release them in time in 2nd & 3rd shapes. When I don't release them, it makes buzz,but when I try to release it in time it feels like hand is paralyzed... I'll be working on it.
Here is today's take.

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[Ben Higgins]

Thanks for hte comment, Ben It is hart to fret the notes and release them in time in 2nd & 3rd shapes. When I don't release them, it makes buzz,but when I try to release it in time it feels like hand is paralyzed... I'll be working on it.
Here is today's take.

I know exactly what you mean with that !

I practiced this sweep lick today.. I started at 100bpm and got up to 160. Around 160 I started getting uneven and forced.. so I put the speed to 170 and did a few shorts bursts, staying relaxed and trying to keep it clean and in time. I then went back to 160 for a while before leaving it for today.

One thing I do is mute the strings with my right hand, which is something I need more because I don't have a neck pickup.. but muting the strings with your picking hand might help you guys keep it sounding cleaner

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[superize]

Here is a take at 160 bpm but i am not sure if i played it tight to the bpm

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[Ben Higgins]

Here is a take at 160 bpm but i am not sure if i played it tight to the bpm

Hey Superize.. you did go out of synch with the metronome but technically you played it really well ! If you could keep it in time it would be killer.. perhaps go back to 150 and lock in with the click to make sure you know where you are etc..

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