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Thread: Core concepts of economical playing

  1. #1
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    Default Core concepts of economical playing

    I have received a lot of emails in the past weeks in response to the recent video lessons I have posted on youtube. Reading them all thoroughly I discovered that a lot of them kind of were questions that concern the economies of guitar playing.

    We all know economy picking, but I think there’s way more concepts slumbering under the surface than just plain picking technique.

    Analyzing my personal playing principals I would come up with the following points and I hope you guys will add yours too, to get a clear picture for everyone who wants to know:

    1. Right arm movement - I rarely move my right arm when playing. I am not “ventilating” for punk and rock. All movement comes from my right hand wrist only. I think sometimes when adrenalin is pumping and you kinda flip around on stage you might swing your entire right arm, but I am sure it’s not the main technique you should use 

    2. How much power to put in your playing – Well, this depends on the dynamics I apply. Of course in smooth passages, I don’t push it like there’s no tomorrow. Generally, I try to keep myself aware of the fact that we play amplified, so a lot of power some people put into their playing makes them exhausted, even sore and most of it is inappropriate. My wrists and fingers are always relaxed, never tensed and yes it is possible to kick some severe a** with that method. You don’t have to cramp like a nutcracker at work to make your licks and riffs sound fat.

    3. Left hand grip – My left hand grip is “gentle”. I never push my thumb against the neck. It lays soft on the back of the neck. It’s not as if I feel like grabbing or holding the guitar neck. I have witnessed people that lifted the neck all the time, also putting their thumb under the neck. Definitely approaches I wouldn’t recommend. Make sure your guitar is not neck heavy and hangs well balanced around your neck.

    4. How high hangs my guitar – Well, I give a sh** about what it looks like, but my guitar hangs exactly as high as required to play accurate and that is pretty high for RNR standards. I hear a lot of people saying “I play better when sitting”, well that’s maybe because your guitar hangs to low when you play stand up. I also suggest always spending at least 15 minutes of your practicing routine stand up. The feel is different and you should be accustomed to both. Personally, I don't believe in the "one plays better seated" rumours - feel free to disagree.

    5. Where to play a lick? – Well, well. Over the years I have formed the habit of always learning a lick in every possible position on the neck. You know these people that make little journeys on their guitar neck lose time...lots of time, because they only know one position of a lick... Of course there are licks that require open strings and some licks sound best in one position on the neck, but I always try to stay as close to the area of action as possible. I play locally around the chords most of the time. Be direct, always look for the shortest way first. That’s also essential if you wanna become a faster player.

    6. No ornamentation – I like to keep things as simple as possible. I am not imitating puppet strings that I magically pull when bending the string, nor do I tap the 12th fret for that "super cool" harmonic sound etc. You know what I mean. I just concentrate on my playing which is most of the time challenging enough. I am conservative, but conservative is not boring! ;-)

    7. Economy picking – I can’t but play everything with economy picking, except of some chordal licks and some typical palm muted riffs. I try to keep the motion of the pick as small as possible. Most of the time it feels like my pick is wrapping the string or even sticking to the string I am playing on. I also like to practice licks starting with an upstroke and then with a downstroke, which really expresses the real life playing situation. I also like to experiment with playing licks in between the strings and then on the outside of the strings. For example two notes, one on the d string and one on the g string.

    8. The hand shaker – I’ve seen couple of players shaking their left hand in between songs – I mean they lift their hand entirely from the fretboard and shake it shortly. Well, also here I think you don’t need the shaking when you play relaxed. And who has enought time to do this during a song? At least I don't...

    9. Long runs – hang in there and try to sometimes look beyond your own nose. You might tend to play licks in the same length in your solos – don’t deny, you do…for sure…;-) Now go and make them longer  It’s no crime to play triplets or identical rhythm clusters for more than 10 seconds….who cares? You’ll see that you start varying your long runs as soon as you got one method down. I think, when your mind says “go” and “the highway is free”…well why not, as long as you are not destroying the song  To me it’s a part of guitar economies, too. Leaving out potential doesn’t really improve your playing and I am not talking overplaying or neglecting good phrasing.

    10. You might think "who the hell asked Jimi75 to molest us with how he sees things", well....I don't know...all I know is that I would love to see you writing down your economies, I have the feeling that this could get a useful thing for newbies and new fretters :-)
    "A lot of people in the industry want to blame downloading for the state of the business. But I think if most music wasn't shit to begin with people wouldn't be downloading it for free," - Corey Taylor (Slipknot)

  2. #2
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    Cool stuff. I don't know that I have many economies, but I'll think about it later.

    One question, and maybe this belongs in a different thread: I know I sometimes do the handshaker thing. How do you stop doing it? If it's a bad habit, how do you un-learn it what's causing it (probably too tense in the left hand)?
    Quote Originally Posted by Spudman
    Does anyone read the original post?
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  3. #3
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    The only one that I don't agree with is #10... This was really useful to read and think about Jimi, thanks! The kind of things that you might not know to ask and that no one might think to tell you! My question is about the end of #7 - not sure what you mean about playing licks between the strings and outside the strings.
    "GAS never sleeps" - Gil Janus

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    A pro once told me to try playing with as little fret hand force as necessary to get the note. I have remembered this and notice that when I use it I get a more beautiful sound, almost universally. I also noticed that, even though I play day and night a lot of hours, I have almost no calluses on my finger tips. This comes from having a soft hand I think, almost exclusively.

    I suppose if I played in a band, gigging five or six shows a week I would have heavy callusses. Maybe just from getting sloppy and forcing myself to play when I'm tired, etc.

    When I find my wrist or hand are hurting the first thing I think is that I must be doing something wrong and I try to reposition myself. Usually this helps.

    Pressing down too hard on the strings, especially with guitars with the newer jumbo frets, can actually pull the note out of tune. Playing with jumbo frets requires a new fretting style where you might not even push all the way down to the fretboard to get the notes.

    Working on having as soft a hand as necessary I think is an economy of style that really pays off in terms of both improved sound as well as less stressed hands, wrists, and fingers.

    Great concepts here Jimi.
    Duffy Bolduc
    South Williamsport, Pa.

    "Now all the things that use to mean so much to me has got me old before my time." G. Allman, "Old Before My Time", Hittin' the Note.

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  5. #5
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    awesome !!!!

    my vote for a sticky !
    “Your sound is in your hands as much as anything. It’s the way you pick, and the way you hold the guitar, more than it is the amp or the guitar you use.” Stevie Ray Vaughan

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Monkus View Post
    awesome !!!!

    my vote for a sticky !
    +1
    Great info any level of player can use.

  7. #7
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    Great advice Jimi.

    A lot of economy does come from playing relaxed. For various reasons this is often hard to do, yet your information is a great reminder that to play fluidly being relaxed is important. If you have stage fright or anxiety it would be a good idea to find solutions to get these under control. Yoga, stretching, meditation or whatever it takes, can have a real positive outcome on one's playing. Some anxiety can come from also not knowing the material or your own abilities. Get comfortable and confident with with both and economy will come to fruition.

    "No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi

    Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.

  8. #8
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    Yes very good stuff Jimi, especially the #9 is so true it hurts...many even rather good players seem to approach solos etc. as compilations of same-length bursts with sometimes even clear breaks between every bar.
    Dee

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  9. #9
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    In terms of stellar picking hand technique.....this is as good as it gets.....effortless......DogHouseDave:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvO7B6sj58s

  10. #10
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    Great advice!

  11. #11
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    Thanks for that Jimi. A lot of important things to keep in mind when practising.

    I for one am -very- guilty of dropping in 12th fret harmonics (well harmonics in general) in my playing though. I've been -trying- to wean myself off pinch harmonic bends (squealies) ever since I figured out how to do them

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