Useless Guitar Technique Exercise / Genius Alternate Picker Anton Oparin
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- Опубліковано 17 кві 2024
- Anton Oparin’s Left Hand Position Video: • Sad TRUTH about CLASSI...
Anton Oparin’s Right Hand Universal Technique: • Does Universal Guitar ...
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As a guy that comes from the "shredder" school of playing, who's gateway to jazz was seeing Jimmy Bruno blasting through Gaint Steps on his 7 string Benedetto. I actually have a pretty similar perspective to yours, and back when I was teaching I told all of my students "technique is a subjective thing, you only need the level of technoque required to play what you want to play."
Speed is actually a really easy thing to develop as long as you break down the biomechanics of the technique. The other aspect of that is that if you're purely trying to nail the notes in a piece of music, and are not concerned about playing it exactly as it was played, then it opens up a lot of options for use of other techniques that may make it easier to execute. As far as playing fast goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
That being said, being a guy who spent quite a bit of time analyzing my technique and found speed to come easy, at this point I'm not really impressed by speed and technique. I'm much more impressed by unique musical ideas, and cool phrasing. Too many people get caught up in the pursuit of speed and technique, and forget that it all is nothing more than a means to make music. Any type of music that is strictly reliant on any one thing quickly becomes boring, because there's no contrast or variation. Impressive technical facility only goes so far, and at some point you have to shift your attention back to making music and not just ripping through scales, shapes, and arpeggios.
I love your brutal honesty. You give us important information.
The concept you were describing with the colored object and someone going along even though they disagree personally with the group is called: group-think.
I started playing classical guitar before moving onto flamenco and jazz; that 'spider fingers' exercise was one of the first i was started on. It was useful for playing the exercise, but that was about it.
That made me laugh out loud. I was waiting for an explanation about your perceived benefits 😂
@DenisChangMusic ha! Yep, that was the perceived benefit. Each to there own, but I think you covered it perfectly.
If only they knew what was transpiring next door. Thanks for the video Denis. Much love from Montana ✌🏻
Great content and Insigths!! greetings from Mexico!!
Gracias❤
totally agree on the finger excersie seems pretty pointless to do things you dont even use.
Olli Soikelli is an example of a wicked fast player who exhibits minimal wrist moments, mainly the forearm. Gypsy jazz and bebop.
Antons music in that 2h video is not an attempt at Gypsy Jazz, rather it's traditional Russian music LOL
U know, after filming my video, i rewatched Anton’s vid and realized it was more eastern European than GJ. Nonetheless, when eastern Europeans like the Ivanovic Family play guitar accompaniment in that style, it has a similar vibe to the Gypsy Jazz rhythm. There is a specific way of striking the strings to achieve a very specific sound. Most guitar players who try to play this rhythm cannot get without a bit of training. It wouldn’t take long for anyone to learn though, and Anton himself could probably learn it faster than most people
@@DenisChangMusic lol now this guy talking about that Antons video actually has a gypsy jazz backing track in the background
ua-cam.com/video/e9ytgXnDKoI/v-deo.html
Nice that you mentioned Anton Oparin! Watching your videos I was wondering when you will mention him.
In my opinion Anton is the most accurate alternate picker out there but for the shake of marketing himself (probably) he put false labels such as ''universal technique'', for right hand but also for left hand.
In guitar playing the more specific you go with the technique, the more specific you get with the musical style in my opinion.
Therefore there are many hand positions for both hands that produce different results.
In regards to his right hand, in a acoustic set up he still will not have the volume of someone that practised rest strokes technique.
In regards to his left hand, he will not be able to play a classical guitar arrangement with the same ''violin'' position, which is ideal for single-line playing.
So in my opinion his technique is not universal for guitar but specifically ideal for the shredding style of electric guitar.
There is not universal technique because there is not universal music style.
actually, I think I recall him saying a few times in passing that he’s referring to electric guitar. I also kinda understand where he’s coming from with that label. But as you said (and as I said in my video), there are certain specific sounds that you can only get with specific techniques, so at the end of the day, it’s all about knowing what you want to play and how you want it to sound. I developed my own technique around this philosophy.
@@DenisChangMusic Yes I agree 100%. By the way I love those Paganini Caprices performances with his overdrive sound and technique! Such an admiration!
Well, Anton has a few clips where he plays acoustic and he gets a loot off volume out of it with his unbelievable technique!
ua-cam.com/video/PZhZlg0xx3c/v-deo.htmlsi=BpsUWJCWizCwcBhu
@@Andreorsel I only found one where he uses piezoelectric system to capture the sound, so it is very different to know his actual acoustic volume.
But the rest stroke technique is totally different, it also helps to swing.
So as also Denis mentioned every technique provides you with a sound effect and it is a pity to be dogmatic.
Lastly I would say that the gold line would be to learn both techniques and I would add on that to learn them on acoustic instrument as well. Then you have a good idea also about the acoustic sound and you approach everything with a more spherical view.
I had never heard of Anton before this video. I went to his page and listened to his videos. If we're talking about technique, ok I"ll give it to him. He's killing it. But, I listened to a few of the "tunes" he wrote on his channel and I couldn't hardly make it it through a video. There is a large gap between our physical abilities and our mental abilities for music. I'm not musical magician, but I can confidently say that this guy is definitely not. the reality of a musician comes out a clear as day when you hear their original music. That's when we get to see who they really are and where their mind is at from a musical maturity level. I feel about him kind of like I do AI. AI is impressive, but since it lacks any originality or whatever we call originality, it fails to touch whatever it is that the music of great musicians touch. I almost hate writing this because I have heard people say similar things about some of my favorite artist such as Steve Vai, Yngwie Mamsteen, and multiple others. There is a reason that composers say that writing and creating music is as much of a practice as practicing your instrument. It's because the writing is activating a different part in the brain. I mean, not to be too much of a hater, but this guy has the worst electric guitar tone I've almost ever heard. It sounds like the guitar tone that I first had when I got my first amp which was a Roland cube that had about the worst digital effects an amp can have. I can't take him seriously if he hasn't even the ear to hear what a good guitar tone is. I'm impressed and deeply unimpressed by this guy. Even his video on using rhythmic space in your playing was convoluted, unclear, and not well representing in his own examples. Want to see some musically inspired playing? Go check out Ted Greene, Josh Meader, or Julian Lage. Ted Green has passed many years ago, but those other two guys are bringing the heat when it comes to music. There is also another amazing player that I've recently discovered who blows my socks off playing-wise and compositionally. His name is Roy Ziv. His album "Currents" it's amazing front to back. check him out. On another note, I'd love to see a video from you Denis talking about space and its function to music and musical surprise. Thanks for all you do man. You're amazing.
I guess different strokes for different folks. I personally think his stuff is great
I just watched his video. Amazing how he does it with his eyes closed. I suppose it's because he doesn't want to be tricked if its a white pyramid or black pyramid.
Second time I’ve watched this video. The exercise you referred to is pointless in my opinion, however, perhaps it will open new doors - Evolution, evolution, evolution 😎🎸i just love to play and I believe that my style is quite original because I have my own technique which is a plus but also a negative based on limitations.
Guthrie Govan is incredible - he plays with feel, intelligence and is a master of his art. Worth checking him out on UA-cam.
The pinky is our weakest finger so maybe that exercise can toughen it up, as long as you don't come up with a pinky string bending exercise I'll continue to enjoy your video's, ha ha. Django's fingers were probably stronger but how strong do ya fingers really need to be to play guitar. Do our forearms and maybe even our wrists get stronger with some of these exercises? Classical players seem to have stamina just to maintain their technique which I find to be a right bugger on the wrist but I reckon jazzers have harder callouses. Keep up the great work, thanks from county Devon, England.
Anecdotally - after I had a Bad Week in 2017 and injured both my wrists and my fretting hand, I found hand strength to be something I had to foster. The hand exercises in this "spider fingers" camp do that for me. Just practicing good lines or running ii-V chord games isn't enough for me on their own. The injury kicked off some pretty life-changing arthritis for me, so anything to ameliorate that for me is by definition not "useless". For me! I can't tell you what's useless for you.
If a player struggles with hand strength, it might not be so useless to do these kinds of exercises.
I m glad to hear you recovered and that you found it useful! Out of curiosity, did you also do actual physical hand strengthening exercises?
Conversely, as I said in my own video, I feel I could get injured if I am not careful with that spider exercise. The same way one could get injured at the gym if one is not careful. Whereas with the "natural fast lines" I play on guitar, it is based on natural mechanics, so I feel that I m far less likely to suffer an injury
24:45 I hear this everywhere in bebop guitar, that's a real important exercice. Can I find something that I can learn from this arpeggiating and enclosure combined ? Thank you, anyone
Exercises such as that one @ 8:41 etc, have practical applications for the fingering of independent musical lines in classical guitar technique. The wide string separation teaches independent control, and above all helps with the ability to relax in place digits that are not in active use while others move. In polyphonic textures some notes are required to sustain an independent line and hold notes while other musical lines are played around them. This might help you with your question at 12:50 as to why it can be beneficial to hold fingers down. Anyway, that one is not even a particularly difficult exercise, - try similar exercise using triplet legados (hammer on followed by pull off) and see what difficulty actually is.
I suspect you don't see as useful as the musical styles you play don't require nearly as much attention be made to polyphonic line as is commonly demanded from classical guitarists.
That is a good point! However, personally, if I were playing classical guitar or any polyphonic style of music and I ran into problems with getting the polyphony to come out properly, I’d make an etude of that excerpt and drill it. My 2 cents anyway (and thanks for sharing yours!)
@@DenisChangMusic "I’d make an etude of that excerpt and drill it."
That's essentially the same thing, but purpose oriented exercises are usually designed to prepare for more contingencies than just one or two specific works, they can also facilitate sight reading ability and general strength and flexibility.
I agree that some exercises are more efficient than others and some a waste of effort. I happen to think this exercise (well, when/if it's played using legados at any rate) is actually beneficial for the reasons I've provided.
I want that nylon guitar
I might actually buy it haha. They asked me to come to the shop to demo a bunch of guitars and I fell in love with this one, they have two others in stock. I haven’t tried them though. IT really plays like butter and has great sound
The first 1234 spider walking is a very useful and a good excersize. However, you said over practice. This very good when done in one or two 2 minute intervals to let break up and mix up your excersizes from say, long arpeggios and subdivision excersizes. Learning how to use it as butter on a sandwich not instead of bread and meat. Never done for more than 2 minutes a day and Never done more 4 minutes a day if you want to focus on it. 2,2
2 minute sets of 1234 MAXX. What do you think of that limited application in moderation?
For sure, trying something out isn’t bad if it’s not overdone, but I still have a lot of difficulty imagining practical uses for it. Again, as I’ve said in my video, I’ve proven that with my “natural” technique, I can play all the things that I need to play. In the instances where I have to practice something technical because it’s “unnatural”, I make an etude out of it and practice it. For example, I’ve talked about this in other videos, but I said that I’ve never really practiced arpeggios or scales. I have practiced them enough to know them, but not more. In other words, except for a very brief period of time in the beginning, it has never ever been a part of my practice routine. But some people insist you need to keep practicing them, and so then people practice them, and in worst case scenarios, prioritize them over other practical things. In best case scenarios, people practice them but also practice practical things, so it works out. There are tons of people in both camps. Well, I m someone who never practiced them (cept for a year or two when I was starting out), and I still achieve the same results. So the conclusion that I can only make is that the practical things should be your main priority. Anything else can be fine as long as you know what your priorities are.
Speaking of genius, what was that amazing intro material you played so effortlessly?
Did you just improvise that off the cuff?!
If not, is there a transcription available somewhere? 😊
Haha thanks. That was improvised but to be honest, I wish I could change it a bit. Stringphonics Guitars asked me to come in to demo some guitars for their social media and they put a camera in front of me. With no preparation, I had to demonstrate a few guitars. The problem is that I don’t want to play the same thing on each guitar, so I had to make stuff up. It’s stressful to be on the spot like that!
@@DenisChangMusic Oh man, that sounds very stressful. Came out really well though, I think!
I was told to demonstrate one guitar, so I did prepare an Eddie Lang thing because I knew I’d be nervous in front of the camera with other people watching me as I film. But then, after, I was asked to demo a few other guitars hahaha
Where can I get one of these guitars to start off learning this style? Thx
U mean gypsy jazz? There are tons of gypsy jazz guitars on the internet now! The one I’m playing in the beginning of the video was made by Stringphonics
I know a few player like Anton. What separates him from others is his passion for playing. Incredibly talented. The only way you can get to this level is by living what you play.
Completely agree, that exercise is rubbish, great way to make you want to put the guitar down! Out of interest, what do think of Olli Soikkeli's technique? Can you hear that he's not using the typical Gypsy Jazz approach and instead using lots more alternate picking? (There are some close-ups on Troy Grady's channel). EDIT: Olli is also a great example of someone who's fingers fly away from the fretboard but he still effortlessly speeds up and down the neck.
I know him mainly from his Gypsy Jazz playing days, I think he used a kind of a hybrid approach that worked really well for him and it was not always easy to tell! I think he does switch to alternate picking for electric like me but I use the George Benson technique when I play bebop
From what I see, Olli Soikkeli does not use his wrist and he plays really, really fast. Gypsy and bebop.
Hmm it’s very clear from so many videos that he plays with the wrist, and I used to play with him too a very long time ago. I used to watch his right hand up close back in the days. Definitely wrist movement.
I think it depends on what what your goal is. Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday come to mind, if you know what I mean.
That being said, I wish I had had some guidance on right hand technique when I began guitar 55 years ago 😉
More notes=Better music
Speed=Emotion
How small is that room?! Looks like if you get up you'll hit your head on the ceiling.
You know what? Osaka is much cheaper than Tokyo and you get bigger rooms too. If you want small, go to Tokyo, where I am right now lol
Anton "it can be done" Oparin.
If all you are about is playing fast and efficiently, you end up trading off everything else that makes music interesting. It gets old. Music is multimodal. It's harmony, tone, melody, speed, etc.
While I can agree with that, I have to say that Anton is not a one trick poney. Having worked with so many incredible players in my career, it’s usually not so easy to impress me like this but his playing is so refined. Even if it’s not my style of music, I find myself mesmerized by his playing. The control is so perfect, and I mean that in a good way. Sometimes I agree that people who are too perfect can be robotic, but his playing is perfect in the sense that he does everything with so much intent and purpose that the end result is very musical. I really have nothing but the highest praise for him not just as a guitarist, but as a musician. Just my opinion! Of course, because he has so much knowledge about technique, it’s also normal that he’s capitalizing on it. I don’t blame him for it!
He's crystal clear and very musical.
He's not really that fast, pal. I play fingerstyle a lot, and I'm not that terribly far behind him; if I worked on a piece for two weeks, I could be just as fast.
I'm an R&B guy with some jazz thrown in. I don't usually play fast but for effect, but could practice fast passages well enough.
@@JESL_Only_1 not realy fast!?
Watch this from about 5:22. Now play this with your fingerstyle.
ua-cam.com/video/HUXWgdqIGaU/v-deo.htmlsi=O6sM1vgV8zZRqAvn
There's something almost too much about Antons perfection. Things he gives minuses to, in Yngiwe and the like playing, the "sloppiness" is something I enjoy in those players. It gives it a human touch. Anton would probably tear up someone like Jimmy Rosenberg who even in his prime was "sloppy" but that's what makes him great and gives it "the touch". I love "shred" stuff, but Anton is almost too perfect and robot like. I'd take "sloppy" Yngiwe, and Jimmy.
I don’t know him personally, but as I said in my video, he’s making an “academic” video so in that sense, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, even though it may rub people the wrong way. From that perspective, I totally understand where he’s coming from. From a general musical perspective, like I also said in my video, technique is but one aspect of playing music, and I’m not bothered by slight “imperfections”. In Gypsy Jazz, Bireli Lagrene is one of the biggest risk takers out there, and he makes a lot of “little mistakes” but it’s no big deal for me. The risk taking is so exciting as is his energy when he’s really into it
I didn’t enjoy the Anton Oparin videos I saw. The performances weren’t very musical, but machine-like
J’ajouterais que ce Oparin est saoulant et arrogant.
Slow down his performances and you will be able to hear the musicality and dynamics. It might be going by too fast for you to hear it.
Anton a un côté 2nd degré que des gens ne comprennent apparemment pas...C'est un technicien incroyable et un chercheur mais l'entendre improviser peut aussi faire comprendre qu'il est également un musicien non? C'est bizarre pour moi de voir Oparin consideré comme un simple m*rdeux-bete-de-foire d'Internet car perso je pense qu'il a les clefs pour certaines techniques guitaristiques et qu'il a decouvert des trucs qui inspireront tous les guitaristes des années a venir:On verra si je me trompe...ou pas :)
What do you think “musical” means…? What do you mean “machine like”? Because he plays it tightly? Listen to him play his classical etude arrangements. Tons of dynamics, great phrasing, etc…
dmn ... I'm not trying to be a stuntman or play in a circus...