minorkey
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My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Mar 31, 2023 12:28:17 GMT
Making my way through The Guitarist's Way book one and the pieces are great but it doesn't give advice on what to practise, and how to practise. (Also doesn't mention posture and correct grip for the left hand)
At the moment I'll practise a piece I'm working on (Spanish Dance currently) and work it till I get it right (driving the kids in the next room daft), going over difficult passages again and again, but I also come up with my own fingerstyle pieces to get the fingers moving in the right way, trying not to hold my hand like a claw. I suppose I should look for a book of arpeggios and scales...
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Mar 31, 2023 12:34:35 GMT
Practice? I don't understand the concept...
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 31, 2023 14:30:11 GMT
Google is your friend, Larry - lots of images of hand position out there, and vids. Check out our own Jonny Moss here - www.youtube.com/@jonnymoscoguitar/videos - pick the videos tab and scroll down to find the vids with "How to play the guitar" across them (blue flash, white lettering) - the early ones deal with position, hand position and tips on effective practising. There's loads to go at there - all good stuff and well explained and demonstrated. Keith
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
Posts: 2,992
My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Mar 31, 2023 18:12:45 GMT
Cheers guys
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Post by Vinny on Mar 31, 2023 22:35:48 GMT
Practice? I don't understand the concept... You don’t need to, Leo. That’s only for us mortals.
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,546
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Mar 31, 2023 23:24:35 GMT
Practice? I don't understand the concept... You don’t need to, Leo. That’s only for us mortals. 4 chords and a capo. Anything else is just showing off, like
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
Posts: 2,992
My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Apr 1, 2023 0:33:26 GMT
You don’t need to, Leo. That’s only for us mortals. 4 chords and a capo. Anything else is just showing off, like Which end does the capo go on? 😋
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Post by Onechordtrick on Apr 1, 2023 5:33:51 GMT
4 chords and a capo. Anything else is just showing off, like Which end does the capo go on? 😋 This chap has got it nailed
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
Posts: 2,992
My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
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Post by minorkey on Apr 1, 2023 11:39:20 GMT
Which end does the capo go on? 😋 This chap has got it nailed Ah yes I remember that. Such a pro...
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Post by shez on Apr 1, 2023 22:45:08 GMT
This chap has got it nailed Ah yes I remember that. Such a pro... A photo that says so much....
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
Posts: 2,992
My main instrument is: hurting my fingers!
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"72dd98"}
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Post by minorkey on Apr 2, 2023 9:17:45 GMT
What a waste of a Tanglewood!
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Post by PistolPete on Apr 10, 2023 13:53:04 GMT
I'm not familiar with the book you're referring to but some general practice tips would be:
Break pieces into sections and work on them one at a time, and keep dividing ever smaller if certain bits give you difficulty, even if it's down to just a few troublesome notes or part of a bar.
Start slow, get it smooth and then gradually speed up.
Spend at least 1/3 of your time playing for fun. Old material, new stuff that doesn't challenge you much, just noodling around - it's all worthwhile.
Be regular, even if it's only for a short period of time. 10 minutes a day is better than 70 minutes once a week.
Personally, I also think it's important to practice material that inspires you to pick up your instrument. Music teachers often put a lot of emphasis on scales, arpeggios and exercises that are useful building blocks for other things, but honestly if practising them makes you want to burn the guitar then play something that brings you joy instead. It's always better to be practising than not practising!
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Post by jwills57 on Jul 18, 2023 23:32:33 GMT
I teach guitar to a few students, and I will throw in a these-days-increasing-unpopular suggestion. Spend some time, maybe 10 minutes or a bit less, playing scales. Play slowly and strive to get up on the tips of your fingers, aiming for clarity. The thing about playing scales--start with the major scale--is that if you play scales enough, you will begin to hear the intervals more clearly. Scales are also great for working on precision and articulation with your fretting. You don't need a lot of scale work, but I do think scales help in a number of ways.
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Post by martinrowe on Jul 19, 2023 3:17:19 GMT
minorkey I heard something the other day that put the whole thing in perspective. It went something like this - my paraphrase. What you are trying to do is to make a strong connection between your brain and your fingers i.e. you are simply trying to create a strong motor connection between a thought in your brain and a physical part of your body - think of a novice learning a movement. This is the reason for the principle of 'going slowly'. It should perhaps be 'go as slowly as you need to in order to be able to place your fingers, or combination of fingers, where you want them to go: just behind the fret wire, as lightly as is needed to be able to play a pleasing sound'. It doesn't really matter how slowly you go, and it is important not to go too fast, as what you are doing is creating or strengthening this connection between the brain and a motor movement. After a while the part of the body will be able to follow what the brain is telling it. Going quickly defeats the whole object of the exercise as there is a danger of cutting corners and what you don't want is the brain sending a partly incorrect message. The right message is lightly behind the fret wire in the place where you want - you don't want to train the fingers to do anything different than that . Once the motor movement is created you then have 'muscle memory' and the brain can then take a rest and you can 'just do it', and by repetition, as the muscle gets stronger, will be able to do it faster. So, as slowly as it takes to get it right i.e you train your brain to place your fingers where you want them, as lightly as possible, as close behind the frets as possible to make the sound you want. That was a help for me: Scales, or exercises, or a small snippet of a tune, for me, just got more interesting.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jul 19, 2023 7:50:38 GMT
For some "undercover" scale work, try the first part of the guitar solo from "Hello, goodbye" (not the greatest Beatles song, I know) - it's just going up a major scale. Then do it backwards. Then try starting it from a different note, and so on. Keith
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