Jimi75
February 16th, 2007, 03:34 AM
Speed and accuracy is one of the major points that every one of us guitarist comes across at one point. I have made a bunch of mistakes in building speed because I wasn't patient enough or cheated on me.
The last couple of years I worked on my speed as follows with success:
****you have to work with a metronome****
Take a lick and determine a target speed, e.g. 100 bpm.
Now break the lick down in tempo and try the following:
1. Play the lick at 20-35% of the speed for 3-5 sessions, one session is one day. I make the session 5-10 minutes long approx., because it is hard to concentrate for a longer time on one single lick.
***I know this can be very boring, but please stay disciplined and do not speed up, also after the session, no try outs please, because try outs impliment errors in your playing! Only take the next step if you play the lick TRANCE-like and proper without errors!!! If you cheat at this point you are already lost***
2. Play 3 sessions at 50% of the speed
3. Play 3 sessions at 60-65% of the speed
4. Play 5 sessions at 80% of the speed
5. Play 1 relaxed session at 85% - this is the bridge to higher speed
6. Play 10 sessions at 90%
7. THE FINAL SESSION: Start with 3 repetitions of each and go for 30,60,85,100%
I mix different styles like Pentatonic, Arpeggios, Picking, Finger Play and so on until I reach 30 minutes of practicing 3-5 times a week.
Taking into consideration that it might take 1 month to play a lick 100% it might sound a long time in the beginning, but I can ensure you that your whole playing will benefit from this.
I must admit that it is tough to slow down completely and to repeat over and over again, so please do not overdo it. The more you pay attention to accuracy the easier future licks will be for you.
I know I sound like a "wannabe", but honestly spoken, I had to find a good teacher who washed my brain and taught me to learn and slow down.
:cool:
The last couple of years I worked on my speed as follows with success:
****you have to work with a metronome****
Take a lick and determine a target speed, e.g. 100 bpm.
Now break the lick down in tempo and try the following:
1. Play the lick at 20-35% of the speed for 3-5 sessions, one session is one day. I make the session 5-10 minutes long approx., because it is hard to concentrate for a longer time on one single lick.
***I know this can be very boring, but please stay disciplined and do not speed up, also after the session, no try outs please, because try outs impliment errors in your playing! Only take the next step if you play the lick TRANCE-like and proper without errors!!! If you cheat at this point you are already lost***
2. Play 3 sessions at 50% of the speed
3. Play 3 sessions at 60-65% of the speed
4. Play 5 sessions at 80% of the speed
5. Play 1 relaxed session at 85% - this is the bridge to higher speed
6. Play 10 sessions at 90%
7. THE FINAL SESSION: Start with 3 repetitions of each and go for 30,60,85,100%
I mix different styles like Pentatonic, Arpeggios, Picking, Finger Play and so on until I reach 30 minutes of practicing 3-5 times a week.
Taking into consideration that it might take 1 month to play a lick 100% it might sound a long time in the beginning, but I can ensure you that your whole playing will benefit from this.
I must admit that it is tough to slow down completely and to repeat over and over again, so please do not overdo it. The more you pay attention to accuracy the easier future licks will be for you.
I know I sound like a "wannabe", but honestly spoken, I had to find a good teacher who washed my brain and taught me to learn and slow down.
:cool: