| | | Hey Friend,
So my manic self is sitting here thinking about what brilliance I can enlighten you with today (HA HA!).
I've already broken the golden rule of productivity - that is, stay out of email until you get important stuff done. I've just got like a bazillion to catch up on and have been wading through them ever so slowly...
Makes me crazy with overwhelm.
I know, I know, I should just "let it go," but once an old dog gets used to doing something a certain way, it takes a few whacks of a newspaper to modify behavior. Somebody whack me!
Just kidding, I bruise easy...
Put the newspaper down!
Speaking of modifying habits, I got a survey result from Kim, who says her biggest problem is she's not quick enough. She didn't go into any details, but I'm guessing she means that there's a disconnect between changing notes and chords and how well her picking hand keeps up with her fretting hand.
There's a lot going on when you consider the need to navigate the notes within a key or when you have to switch chords quickly AND making sure your picking/strumming hand is engaging at the right times.
This problem is not only speed, it's accuracy.
There's a very simple answer to Kim's problem. As I've said before, there's no magic bullet to increasing your speed or accuracy. The solution is simple, but it's not easy.
Here's the simple part:
SLOW DOWN!
Slow down?! But I want to shred!
All in good time, Grasshopper.
You must play more slowly in order to increase your speed.
Sounds like quote from Buddha or Bruce Lee, doesn't it?
Here's why this approach works - every time.
You must play something enough times accurately in order to train your muscles. Your hands and fingers are what makes things happen on guitar, but like any skill, the muscles have to be taught the proper way to execute techniques.
A body builder doesn't start off knowing how to lift heavy weights properly. If s/he tries to pick up too much weight without a proper stance, there will be pain. They have to begin with lower weights and build up to lifting cars and boats. They train their muscles how to handle heavy objects.
After you have trained your fingers to know exactly where notes in a pattern belong, you can then work at improving the speed they get to each note.
Left Doesn't Know Right
Let's not ignore the fact that you have a strumming hand that needs to learn how to keep up, too. For most of us that's the right hand, but if you're a lefty, just reverse that.
The same advice applies to your strumming hand in order to increase speed. You need to start with slow exercises and practice matching your right-hand technique to the beat of a metronome.
Did you catch that? A metronome.
Yes, this is still an extremely relevant to to helping you improve your speed and accuracy.
There's a lot more I can talk about with regards to Kim's challenge, but this email is getting long and I think some exercises would help demonstrate the key concepts better. Watch out for those tomorrow.
For today, just make sure you have a metronome. That's your assignment.
You can get them online or as an app on your phone. I personally use a metronome app - you can find these in your Apple or Android stores for free or a small fee. I'd suggest the app I use, Tuner&Beat, but it doesn't appear to be available anymore.
Really, any of them are going to be fine to use. Just pick one that looks nice to you. And you can always go here for a free online version.
Until tomorrow...
Peace~
Dave
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| | | Products I use, recommend and love:
Easy Power Chords - With power chords you can literally start playing songs today.
Song Surgeon - Slow your audio files down or create custom looped practice sessions so you can target your problem areas and speed up your improvement.
Video Surgeon - Capture online videos (Youtube and others), slow them down or create custom practice sessions and loops to boost your daily improvement.
Just so's you knows, if you decide to invest in some of these products, I may get paid a commission.
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