Strength and Independence, Part 2

Playing guitar well involves building strength and independence in both hands.

The previous post suggested a left hand pattern to work on, now it's time to get the right hand moving as well. Once you can do the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fret exercise, you can start to build technique with your right hand as well.


Alternate picking and timing exercises.

Play the left hand exercises as before, but now play two of each note using alternate picking. Pick down on the first note and up on the second. While doing that, count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. You should tap your foot and it should follow the same pattern as your picking hand, down on the number and up on and. Practice slowly, with a metronome, and once you're able to play the exercise flawlessly, add a few beats per minute. Beginning guitar players need to be patient, not rush, and build muscle memory.


A new exercise for the fretting hand.

Still using the position playing concept of one finger per fret, now play 2nd fret, 2nd finger, 3rd fret, 3rd finger, 4th fret, 4th finger and 1st fret, 1st finger. Go slow until your fingers land on the right frets, then add the metronome and the down and up picking.

Commit yourself to doing these exercises when you start your daily practice and you'll be surprised at how much easier it gets.

Frustrated and Other Negative Terms

Are you slowing your progress with negative thinking?

I have a new student, he's been playing for 4 weeks, and he must have used the word "frustrating" no less than 15 times at his lesson! Are you doing that too? Yes, beginning guitar lessons is very hard at first. Your fingers feel fat, they won't go where your brain tells them to go and to add insult to injury they hurt when you play. Wow, no wonder he was frustrated.

How to overcome the beginning guitar player blues?

• Accept the fact that you're a beginner. No one starts playing the guitar or any other instrument without feeling frustrated. After a couple lessons you realize it's not a short term project.
• Make it a game. See how many times you can play song, exercise or scale without a mistake. Set the metronome to painfully slow, play the music, and when you can do that perfectly, in time, without stopping, kick the beats up a little. Key words, a little.
• Record yourself.  Many beginning guitar students can't hear any progress, so one technique I recommend is recording yourself. Do that, listen to it, then put it away for a few weeks. The next time you listen to it you should be amazed at the progress you've made, provided you've been practicing in between.
• Get feedback from your teacher. When your guitar teacher suggests something or points out a problem area, pay attention! The goal before your next lesson should be to fix whatever the problem area is so you can move forward.
• Be extremely patient. I know, easy for me to say! Learning guitar is all about muscle memory and unfortunately it's not something you develop instantly. While practicing does help, the process really can't be accelerated that much. Playing music is definitely a time art.
• Lose the negative terms and thinking. Attitude plays a major role in your ability to progress. Don't allow your "lizard brain" as Seth Godin calls it get the best of you. Think positive thoughts and look at learning the guitar like the challenge that it is.

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The 3 Elements of Music

Music is made up of Melody

The melody is simply the tune to the song. Sing Yankee Doodle, Happy Birthday, or Jingle Bells and you're singing the melody.

Harmony

When you have a chord, or 2 or more notes that sound good together, that's harmony. Think church choir or a vocal group like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Simon and Garfunkel, Peter, Paul and Mary and that's the definition of harmony.

Rhythm

The tempo or pace of the song and/or keeping a beat. Rhythm seems to be the most puzzling of the 3 as far as being able to catch on to it, but it's not too hard if you break it down. The next few blog posts will deal with basic rhythms, time signatures, and keeping a beat.

Most beginning musicians and either some who have been playing for quite a while seem to be confused about rhythm. It's a subject that could use a lot more emphasis than it gets. I've had quite a few students with previous lesson experience be totally lost when it comes to keeping a relatively simple beat.

To Play Fast, Learn to Play Slow

Learning to play fast.

At some point everyone sees or hears an amazing guitar player who seems to be able to effortlessly play at blazing speeds. How do they do that? The beginning guitar player sees no way to learn to go that fast, insists they sped up the recording, or used some other electronic trick. Then, they see that guitarist in person and realize he or she is capable of playing fast. So, how do you learn to increase your speed?
Believe it or not, the best way is to learn to play slowly. When learning guitar, you need to remember that if you can't play it slow there's no way you can play it fast. Yes, it's really that simple. Here are some tips for learning to increase your speed.

• Get a metronome and USE IT! I have students who buy metronomes and drum machines, use them for a short time and then give up on them. The most common mistake is setting a speed that you can't keep up with. Then the excuses start to come out. I can't play that slow, it's boring, the song or exercises don't sound good slow, and many more. Set the rhythm to a slow pace, concentrate on picking each note exactly on the beat, with each note being clean and clear. Don't try to play complicated songs or exercises at first. Don't speed up at all until you can play each note in time without missing a beat.
• Work on major, minor and pentatonic scales. Every song is based on a scale, so practicing scales is a valuable use of your time. You'll learn to recognize the sounds of the different scales which will help you develop the ability to pick out songs by ear.
• Listen to the masters. There are amazing guitarists in all kinds of genres. It doesn't matter if you like rock, metal, country, folk, classical or bluegrass music, with a little research you'll find someone you can relate to.
• Practice every day. You don't need to spend hours on exercises but you do need to work on them. One of the quotes I use is: if you think scales are boring, practice them until they're not boring. If you don't think scales are boring, practice them until they are boring, then repeat step one.
• Get help. A guitar teacher can help you progress by watching and listening to you play and giving you valuable tips and ways to improve.
• Find a practice buddy. Do you know someone who also plays guitar or perhaps another instrument that complements the guitar? Is there a particular style of music that you'd really like to play? Find someone to practice with and to hold you accountable. You can do the same for him or her.

There's lots of printed material to help you improve your speed, so check out all of the resources that are available. You can find books, online lessons, CDs and DVDs to help you.

To learn a song note for note, I highly recommend Riffmaster Pro Software. (Affiliate Link). The software enables you to slow down songs without changing the pitch, set up loops so you can work on individual phrases, change the eq settings to emphasize certain instruments, and export the slowed down songs you so you can record and practice them.

Should you purchase the program and have any questions about how to use it, just email me or leave a comment on this blog and I'll be happy to help you figure it out.

Challenge Yourself!

Need to get off the plateau? 

Sometimes it seems like progress has come to a stop and you'll wonder if you'll ever get better. Relax, it's something that we all go through. I've had band practices where we just couldn't seem to do anything right and it was everyone in the group. When that happens, you just take a break and try again tomorrow. How to explain it? Could be you're not in the mood to play or practice, you've got other things on your mind, you're tired or there are more pressing problems.

Crank up the intensity and the challenge level.

After properly warming up, (you do warm up, don't you?), isolate the problem or problems and spend extra time on those. Set your metronome to a speed where you can play the passage comfortably, and then play through without a mistake several times. Don't increase the speed until you're sure you can get through the trouble spot perfectly. This builds confidence and makes you feel like you can play the difficult part with ease. If you catch yourself giving up and playing something you already know it just makes things worse. Issue a challenge to yourself and make it a game. Beginning guitar students tend to avoid the problem instead of working through it. Play so slowly you can't make a mistake and then build from there. The advantage of using a metronome is that you can increase speed in tiny increments so that you hardly feel like you're playing faster. Balance the intensity with the playfulness and you'll get off the plateau and on your way to playing and sounding better.

3 Sure Ways to Learn Faster

Everyone wants to progress more quickly, here are 3 sure ways to do just that.

1. Record Yourself. There are lots of options, from a cheap recorder from Radio Shack, a recording program on your computer like Garage Band, all the way up to professional, multi-track software. The important thing is not how many bells and whistles are available, but simply being able to record and play back what you sound like. Remember one basic concept: RECORDINGS DON'T LIE! You may be shocked at what your playing really sounds like, good or bad. I tell my students to record themselves, listen to it, then put it away for a few weeks before listening again. This is a good way to actually hear progress. 
2. Slow Down. Whether you're working on a new piece or polishing up one you've been playing for a while, it's good to slow down and listen for rough spots. It's much harder sometimes to slow a song down and play it accurately, listening to yourself play and concentrating on producing clear, crisp, clean notes.
3. Buy a Metronome and USE IT. I've heard all of the excuses: "it's too mechanical, it's boring, it distracts me, I can't figure out how to use it", and on and on. Don't forget the three things that make up music are melody, harmony and rhythm. Set the metronome to about 60 beats per minute, play scales, chords, finger stretchers, and anything else that needs work. You'll be surprised at how much this will improve your playing. Once you're at a level where you can play with others they'll really appreciate the fact that you have good, solid rhythm skills.

For more hints and tips, or to register for guitar or banjo lessons, visit our website: www.blguitars.net

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Are You Losing Interest in Guitar?

Maintaining your momentum is hard sometimes

Just like with exercise, beginning guitar lessons can bring the inevitable plateau. Sometimes it seems the harder you try, the worse you get. When this happens it's time to take action! You need to jump start your playing and your interest, here are some suggestions.

• Listen to some good guitar players. Inspiration can take many forms. One way to regain your focus is to listen to some great guitar music to remind you of why you started learning guitar in the first place.
• Find a new piece of music that you'd like to play. Ask your guitar teacher to give you something that you'd enjoy playing or give him or her your idea of what you like. Make a list of songs that you listen to and enjoy and see which ones you're ready for.
• Get a "practice buddy." If you're off of the total beginner stage, or even if you're not, find someone you can practice with. It's more fun to work on songs if you can play them with others. A little friendly competition or at least not wanting to look like you didn't put in the effort will help you get going.
• If you're not taking guitar lessons, finding a teacher can be a good move. Getting stuck in a rut and not feeling like you're getting out of it can be difference between going on with guitar or quitting.
• Have fun! Try to play along with recordings, get a metronome and try to play faster and smoother, see how many times you can play a chord progression or scale in a given amount of time. 

With a little effort and the suggestions above you can get over the hump and on to the next stage of learning.

The 3 Ts, Timing, Taste and Tone

Let's start with #1, Timing.

The key to sounding good is the ability to keep a rock solid, steady beat. Nothing is more frustrating than to play with or listen to a musician without good rhythm. How do you develop this sense of timing? In a word,  METRONOME! It's amazing how many people balk at using a simple tool and continue to struggle with timing. You can purchase a metronome for as little as $20 or even find one for free on the internet.

How does it work?

You set a tempo, (speed), and practice slowly so you develop a sense of timing. Think of this as the pulse of your music. Like your heartbeat it should be steady and rhythmic. A beginning guitar student can start with a simple timing pattern using open strings. The important thing at first is to play something easy so that note reading isn't the problem. Play whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, then build speed. Your guitar teacher can give you more details.