So I've always relied on a kind of strummy technique for quick stuff, loosely accurate and controlled by muting of the left hand. Kind of Mayer-y (not as fast) or Nile Rodgers-y (better at solos than him after what I saw online the other day!). Can play all the standard classic rock stuff no problem.
Then I tried Frank Gambale's Chopbuiler.
It's absolutely kicking my ass. And that's just the warmups!
I got into the mindset a long long time ago that fast playing usually ends up being tasteless (look at the horrible clothes and pointy guitars those kind of guys wear!!) and I totally wrote it off. I'd never tried to play quickly and assumed that despite years more playing, I hadn't got much faster and probably had a physical limitation.
But now I'd like to try. I've been practicing a single exercise slowly and trying to build up the speed but I'm still 10-15bpm short.
If I just keep at it will the muscle and accuracy build up or is it possible I lack the natural phalange physique and just won't ever be able to do it?
I've been playing for nearly 25 years but I'm back to feeling like Father Ted and Dougall trying to play My Lovely Horse again!
Comments
Purely picked 16ths. Hardcore alternate picking. It makes for cleaner, more technical playing. It's fun but it's absolutely destroying me!
That video made me realise how good FG is a alternative picking, even though he's noted for sweep picking.
It's worth experimenting with different motions. I need to bring in some sort of arm motion to ease fatigue, a bit like the guy on the left as you look at the video.
I think that just going at it without thinking about exactly what you’re doing may limit your progress and, at worst, ingrain bad technique.
This free series of Troy Grady / Frank Gambale vids popped up last week...worth a look:
I'll take a look at the video you posted, you make a very good point about not doing it even more badly by doing it wrong!
I'm left handed but play right handed so it's usually the right hand that I struggle with.
...it’s fkn hard!
Going to be a LONG Summer, I think
I will try this but, in the real world, nobody listenable plays solid 16ths for minutes on end.
You'd be better off transcribing some solos that you love. I recently did 'A Million Days' by Big Wreck after I saw @Bucket post a video. It's 16 bars, really melodic, full of nifty runs...Google it up...if you like it, PM me and I'll send you the PDF I made in GP7.
Although I'm not sure he uses this exclusively in Chopbuilder it's definitely worth being aware of.
I completely agree with this. I struggle with some of these exercises which are only at 120bpm in the video, but there are other 'real world' lines from guitar solos that I can pick/play massively faster.
You might not be noticing Frank using it because the movements can be very subtle and he's not near the limits of his skill. Frank's an odd example as he's obviously more known for his sweeping/economy style. I've been aware of him since the 80s and never had him down as an alternate picker (that seems a bit daft...why wouldn't he do a bit of everything?!!).
The irony with Troy's Cracking the Code (CtC) is that the subjects he chooses have often felt their way through to an optimal technique without sweating all the angles and stuff...maybe they're called 'naturals'.
When I became aware of the CtC material, I felt I was undoing some progress...some things became easier whilst others seemed to get harder...I think there has been a net gain though...still working on it. Then there's the leap of faith where 'to get faster, you have to play fast' where your playing seems to streamline at higher speeds. This seems contrary to the common advice of 'play slow & precise and you'll get faster' because the mechanics alter at high speeds.
Disclaimer: I'm not a fast/shreddy player by any measure
These days, I can play pretty fast, my issue is largely just stamina (left hand issues).
One thing to be aware of is the thing that @digitalkettle mentions at the end of the previous comment. The technique players use when playing really fast is usually not the same as the one they use when playing slower, so there is a point where you just have to sort of "go for it", because gradually clicking the metronome up a bit at a time is not going to work.
today was the first time I managed to film my picking in slow mo up close.
I thought my picking had got better over the last year or so. I can now play a lot of the 80s shred that I grew up with, well I thought I could. I looked at the video in slow mo. I’m so sloppy, the pick is all over the place. I’ve got so much work to do.
I feel like I’ve opened new possibilities with the slow motion video as it’s really close to the pick and you can see everything that is going wrong.
all I have is a newish iPhone with a magnetic mous case and one of their suction camera mounts, but it fits on the horn of the cutaway of a stray perfectly.
I’ll see if it helps me progress quickly.
I think seeing the problem up close in slow motion is a very useful step to fixing it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Guitar-Workout-David-Mead/dp/1860742394
It has exercises that you repeat for just ten minutes a day, where you do something simple multiple times over, with targets for how many times you can do it in two minutes, gradually building up your speed as you go.
But I found that I simply couldn't get beyond a certain point, no matter how much I practised. Either my technique went to hell in a handcart, or I lost count, frequently both.
I tried to work my way through it maybe five or six times and I always fell at roughly the same place. It wasn't due to a mental block or anything, I found there's a point where I just can't get any faster, regardless, and I was happy to accept that. I could probably do with having another pop to get my fingers and hands loosened up again, cos they've been getting a bit stiff lately.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.