MikeM
It's easy to forget what we're all setting out to achieve. With so much gear that needs to be fiddled with, there's little time left over for us to try and hone our skills.
What are you doing today that'll make you a better guitarist / musician?
Don't be afraid to post exercises, extracts or even youtube links of songs you're practicing ?
AlanRatcliffe
Timing... always timing...
Still trying to get my feet to do what my brain tells them to until my brain doesn't have to tell them to any more. All while trying not to lose the plot on the guitar (electric 12 string today).
Chocklit_Thunda
I'm trying to learn how to solo....
MikeM
Chocklit_Thunda wrote:
I'm trying to learn how to solo....
Heh, being vague always helps us achieve our goals.
Also, I don't think that counts as something you're doing
today, most of us try to learn that over a decade or two ?
@Alan, good point. I need to get in the habit of practicing with a metronome. Got one on my phone, so accessible but I still usually can't be arsed.
Squonk
Fingerpicking - I have brought a book with me on holiday as well as the Cort Earth Mini. One of the areas I am concentrating on. If I can get to 5 percent of Martin Simpson, it will be an achievement
wirt
I'm trying to learn the humble 12-bar blues rhythm. I'm permanently on the verge of smashing my guitar against the wall in frustration...
Sean
Today, as well as the last few weeks, I'm memorising the fretboard. Using a pretty nifty app that Justin from Justinguitar developed. It's taken me much further than anything else I've tried in the past.
Btw Mike, when did you lose the "M". Must have been very recent. I sometimes only check out a thread based on who has commented. Saw "Mike" two days ago and thought it was a newbie, only to later see it was you ?
MikeM
App for pc, iOS or android?
A couple days back, was going through my profile and seeing what information I can remove ? I have no clue why I didn't use just plain old Mike in the first place (Actually, I clicked that some memeber with a name is the old Sevenson and that made me dig through my profile options)
Sean
iOS.... there was talk about Android but I don't think it happened, so I just put it on my ipad. Called Fretboard trainer I think
MikeM
Cool! I'll check it out. Thanks!!!
Lethe
12 bar blues with substitutions
Bob-Dubery
I need to rebuild my right hand technique. I play mostly finger style, but I do do some work with the pick and want to do more. But I got a problem - and it affects playing with pick and with fingers.
When I play with the pick my right index finger catches the strings - mostly, but not always, on an up stroke. This results in a lot of wear on the nail on that finger, or even chunks of it being torn away. It doesn't happen all the time, but enough that the nail is compromised for finger picking - or just not there at all.
Yeah, yeah.... it's only a matter of changing the grip. But I do that and it feels weird, and even if I do do it I have to watch like a hawk to make sure that I don't fall back into bad habits. Plus because the way I hold the pick changes, the tone changes, and so I have to strum in a different position - further from the bridge.
I tried playing with a thumb pick, but it's still a big adjustment. You can't do up strokes very well without having to put a finger under the pick, which means I just use my current grip and the same potential problem is there. Plus the thumb picks you can get here are really heavy. So I have to go for the rebuild option.
I got some good, detailed advice from a friend, but I have to groove it now so that it's automatic and I don't have to think about it.
First prize, I guess, would be hybrid picking, but that still requires a sound grip on the pick.
Even if I get the pick grip sorted I might still do away with nails. They're a pain - you got to look after them all the time. I remember talking to Martin Carthy post gig some years ago. I didn't ask him about nails, but you could see the lengths he was going to to protect them - down to a funny grip on the pen and doing lots of things left-handed. You can get a good tone without nails - but, again, it's an adjustment. Only a couple of mm, but enough to through some things out when the going gets tough.
Moan, moan, moan....
MikeM
Great work (and post) Bob!
I'm actually also looking at my right hand technique. I'm getting quite sick of picks rotating while I play, and to make matters better, I can't even feel that it's happening.
Strangely enough, I do something pretty similar with my index finger. Usually end up with a blister underneath the tip of my nail, and the top worn away on the right hand side.
I'm seriously considering spending much more time finger picking, but I find I'm more dexterous when working between 1 or 2 strings with a pick, than I am with just my fingers. Lately I have been experimenting with single string picking, specifically with either 2 of my fingers, or a finger and thumb. It's quite a curious issue and I think both could be used effectively with enough practice, but I'm not sure which I am leaning towards..
Hope it goes well, and when in doubt, slow it down ?
Chocklit_Thunda
X-rated Bob wrote:
I need to rebuild my right hand technique. I play mostly finger style, but I do do some work with the pick and want to do more. But I got a problem - and it affects playing with pick and with fingers.
When I play with the pick my right index finger catches the strings - mostly, but not always, on an up stroke. This results in a lot of wear on the nail on that finger, or even chunks of it being torn away. It doesn't happen all the time, but enough that the nail is compromised for finger picking - or just not there at all.
Yeah, yeah.... it's only a matter of changing the grip. But I do that and it feels weird, and even if I do do it I have to watch like a hawk to make sure that I don't fall back into bad habits. Plus because the way I hold the pick changes, the tone changes, and so I have to strum in a different position - further from the bridge.
I tried playing with a thumb pick, but it's still a big adjustment. You can't do up strokes very well without having to put a finger under the pick, which means I just use my current grip and the same potential problem is there. Plus the thumb picks you can get here are really heavy. So I have to go for the rebuild option.
I got some good, detailed advice from a friend, but I have to groove it now so that it's automatic and I don't have to think about it.
First prize, I guess, would be hybrid picking, but that still requires a sound grip on the pick.
Even if I get the pick grip sorted I might still do away with nails. They're a pain - you got to look after them all the time. I remember talking to Martin Carthy post gig some years ago. I didn't ask him about nails, but you could see the lengths he was going to to protect them - down to a funny grip on the pen and doing lots of things left-handed. You can get a good tone without nails - but, again, it's an adjustment. Only a couple of mm, but enough to through some things out when the going gets tough.
Moan, moan, moan....
I've actually been moving away from picks in developing my right hand technique. I've always had a bad habit of pickling upwards which usually kills the sustain. So now I'm focussing on banjo fingerpicking techniques. Much harder than it looks!
Bob-Dubery
Mike wrote:
Great work (and post) Bob!
I'm actually also looking at my right hand technique. I'm getting quite sick of picks rotating while I play, and to make matters better, I can't even feel that it's happening.
Well ja, but one of the things I got from the aforementioned friend - who is a very good player - is that the pick rotates for him as well, but he just keeps on pushing it back into place. I also got sent a good instruction clip from a good mandolin playing friend and the same thing came up there: You need to not hold the pick tightly, so it's loose and so it will move around a bit.
So when I realise something like that is going on in the wider world it's no immediate help, but I do know it's not just me and my stupidity / bad habits / lack of mojo.
I spent some time looking at pictures of right hands gripping the pick, and I'm not THAT far away from a good grip. But far enough that I have to make an adjustment and then groove it until it gets as automatic as my dodgy technique does. This is partly about the position of the right index finger, partly down to how much of the pick I allow to show (if you were looking down on my hand from the top of the guitar). I also play with the side of the pick, so that leaves less margin for error. Again I thought "silly old me, playing with the wrong part of the pick" but then I find that said very good player also plays with the side. So it's not so silly, I'm not breaking some sacred rule and at least I can chill about that one.
I plan to overcompensate actually. When I was taking singing lessons the teacher instilled this idea into me - over do it at first, sing like you're a public school boy with a hot potato in his mouth and over enunciate like crazy. Your pitch will be correct, and your voice will be stronger and it WILL sound very forced at first, but you'll start to relax into something more natural but that still maintains all the disciplines you're working to instill. She doesn't teach guitar though :'(
studmissile
Rockabilly a la James Burton with alternate bass picking.
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RobbieZ
I am currently concentarting on:
1. getting to grips with the fredboard (using the Justinguitar app)
2. improvisation
3. as always, timing ?
DaFiz
Trying to get the timing right for some Savoy Brown blues...
Made Up My Mind, Stay While The Night Is Young... Could it be 8 bar blues instead of 12 bar ? ???
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PeteM
@DaFiz, if you're referring to "Made Up My Mind' I think it is a 16 bar number in 4/4 with bar 14 a 6/4 bar.
arjunmenon
Theory-wise, i'm busy developing my chord vocabulary (mostly 9ths, 11ths, 13ths) along with harmony (think Hendrix style chords and fills) and playing through changes on a chord per chord basis.
On the technique front, i'm trying a minimalist approach to soloing with more focus on feel & timing and how many ways i attack/approach a note.
On the whole, i'm trying to develop my ears - it's shocking how much stuff i just can't seem to hear, both when it comes to tone and hearing harmony when it isn't emphasised.
