Hey all! There's been quite a lot of interest in the topic of warm up and technique practice for fingerstyle guitar - thank you very much for that. So, I've decided to put a mini course together that gets more into the details of that. I'm doing this in my sparetime, so it's gonna take a while to have everything complete and ready for upload, but I hope I can have it done by Christmas time. Thank you very much for your interest. Have a great day, and enjoy your practice. Ruben
Thank you for this video. I've been strumming an electric guitar for 56 years and I'm 72. I bought a fine acoustic guitar (Martin D-18) with the goal of mastering finger style guitar. At 72 I am finally realizing that something as complex as FS guitar requires a thorough understanding of HOW TO PRACTICE. Your explanation really helps. I'm going to read ERICSSON’s book. Thanks again.
Hi Tom! That's great! The book gave me the right understanding and all the principles. Ever since it has been an ongoing exploration of how the masters actually do it in this very discipline. And it takes a lot of experimenting also. I can really recommend the book. Truly amazing - a real eyeopener. Have a great day. Thank you for your message. Ruben
Yes, you have made really noticeable progress! It shows. I just ordered the book. This is exactly where I am (I guess where you used to be). Playing what's fun, making no progress, and getting bored.
More than 40 years ago, my Algebra teacher said he was lazy, which was a bit of a shock since he was a hard-ass when he marked our assignments. He emphasized elegant problem solving and he credited his laziness for finding efficient ways to solve equations.... Doing something really well takes considerable time and effort and so for those who are ambitious, we are instinctively looking for more efficient and effective learning strategies. I picked up some of the habits in this video all on my own to learn multiple instruments and roller skating. Unfortunately, I acquired these learning skills somewhat late in life rather than in school. What a shame, so much time wasted! Bonus: Another useful skill/habit is to stop compartmentalizing your knowledge. What you learn in one discipline is often transferable to another. I got a degree in physics and it actually helped me to learn roller skating more quickly.
I totally agree, and resonate with what you are saying here. For me deliberate practice has become a journey in itself - always striving to get better at practice in order to improve at my craft and other areas of interest. I'm really into fingerstyle guitar, but I will surely also apply the approach to singing, work, and other stuff. Like you, I discovered the true power of practice a bit late, but it'll take it from here, and make the most of it :) Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. Your kind and sensitive lessons are very timely in my own journey. It's great that you choose to share what you have learned and are learning. I am sure all who watch this will gain from your time and efforts.
I came across your channel a couple weeks ago and thought “i wish he would share some of his insights” im glad this is going to be a part of your channel now. Thank you!
@@stevemcdermott6199 great to hear, Steve! Learning fingerstyle is awesome ☺️ Hope you will find some useful information here, and share what you learn! !👍
Zen archery breathing technique works like a charm for reducing tension. Spent 6 months working on a tune, developed shoulder pain, the breathing made it go right away. It's not hippy stuff there's a bit of science to it. I read Peak in the 90's, good stuff.
Your video from two years ago really resonates with my playing style-it’s mostly accurate, but it feels like it’s missing that extra 'pop' to make it shine. So glad I stumbled upon your channel!
That's great to hear Joseph. Thank you for your interest. I will be making more videos that get more into the details of things that I'm learning. I hope it can be useful.
Thanks Ruben for a very interesting and informative video. What you say all makes perfect sense. Know exactly where you are coming from and I think anyone struggling would be wise to consider applying some or all of these principles
I've been struggling with how ineffective my "practice" has been for some time and been trying to review and rethink it. Not warming up (how obvious!!), not being task focused (technique versus just playing), and that I've been mashing them together - you've enlightened me on how to redo how I work on my acoustic skills. Thanks for the information, and I look forward to hearing more from you!!!
Thank you very much for this message. I'm glad to hear that you find it useful. I have to work more on these things that I'm learning and talking about. Learning to practice is a journey in itself, but it is a joyful one. I'll be making more videos that get more into the specifics of the things I'm learning. I hope some of it can be useful for you also. Have a great day, enjoy your practice..
It is very interesting to see your progress! I try to master fingerstyle myself and fell in same trap as you did 2 years ago Now I try be more efficient Thanks for the video!
I totally agree. It doesn't come easy. I'm still working on it almost every day, and I hope to get a steady thumb going over the coming years. I don't feel like it is totally "second nature" for me yet, but bit by bit it gets better. In a few weeks I will upload a series of videos on daily warm up / technique practice. Maybe there will be something useful information for you in there. Thank you All the best Ruben
Just came across your video. I have also just recently picked up an interest in FS guitar. Currently I am trying to tackle one of Erik Satie songs and have gotten it memorized; playing it fluently is another matter. Like you, I am trying to understand what exactly will make me a more confident, fluent player. I subscribed to Marco Cirillo's FS Guitar Patreon page. His style is quite beautiful to me and one I would like to emulate to some degree. But his website is difficult to navigate and again, I don't have a good understanding of how or what to practice, how often or in what order. It would seem to make sense to begin with scales and arpeggios. I look forward to your research and I thank you for your efforts.
Hi Ruben, I like your video, but can you please go deeper into Lesson #1? I am learning acoustic fingerstyle, but I know I am lacking the right way to get to the level I want to get to. I tend to blend practice and playing. Can you give examples of what you do to warm up and your technique exercises? 🎸
@@simonpratley3301 Hi Simon... Many requested that, and I really appreciate the interest, so Im now working on a course that gets into specifics of that topic! Im doing this in my spare time so it will take me a while to get it complete and ready. I hope i can have it uploaded by Christmas time. Thank you ☺️👍
Took it up again this year , haven't in over 20 years . I learnt a few tunes from others , but now I just make my own tunes up most of the time . I should learn some new techniques tho . I came up with about 6 tunes of my own . Very cool man . Just now and then I come up with a good idea . I usually just mess around with different cords etc . The blues scale helps a bit I find . I mix up rock with country with a bit of flamenco and classical style . Works well for me . Also a little bit of metal in there . Good if you can some plucking in there where you can fit it I find it makes tunes more interesting . I love a good melody of anything else . One tune I came up with sounds a bit like Nirvana you could say . People I know were like wtf you made that up lol .
Great topic. I've been trying to learn guitar for years. I still strum the same 4 or 5 chords. I need some structure in my practice so I can see real results. I'll keep watching. 👍
Very good and interesting video ! I totally agree that practicing slow and deliberate is great for learning and advancing guitar in any style. As with travis picking getting that bass rythm is essensial. If you can not do just the bass for 5-10 mins without a mistake then forget about starting on the melody. (For those who are struggling, you will get there and then it feels quite easy. You kind of forget your thumb, it does its thing.) Once a certain level of playing is achieved I strongly recommend to start learning scales, arpeggios, triads etc and the do improvising over chord changes. For me I felt that then the MUSIC in me started to evolve and it became less of a mechanical thing. Also, play a tune like you want. Do not try to sound like your hero by nitpicking on a tune forever. When I am trying to learn a new tune I listen and try to copy that original, once I have it in a way I just play and fiddle with it as I think it was. Cheating is allowed ! Also: do not get addicted on tabulature. Great tool but learning by watching and hearing teaches you far more and gives you a better understanding.
Thank you very much. Cool, thanks for sharing your experience here. It makes good sense! :) It has to really be build up from the bottom, slowly getting all the moto skills and different aspecs of this style down.
I identify to this all the way! Although I haven’t yet even looked at the book and definitely will most likely buy it, your video inspired me! I am 71 and have been learning guitar and reading for a year now. I get stuck. I know that a structured practice is essential, but never sure how or what to do anticipating picking up my guitar to practice. I do love it and at the same time I often feel anxious about picking up my guitar to practice because I might run into that proverbial wall of ‘what do I do next?’ Thank you, Ruben!
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I'm glad you found value in the video. I hope my videos to come will be useful for you in how to approach your practice. All the best! Ruben
Thanks Ruben, that was great information. I need to be more mindful... I don't practice skills that much at all... hence I still play at the same level I was at 10 years ago! I just subscribed to your channel
Hey David, thank you! Me too, that's also where I need to keep improving - it's not easy to be mindful, but I find that it get's better and better also with practice. It is very satisfying to experience practice getting deeper and deeper, and I believe there's great potential here! Like you, I had that experience of learning tunes for many years, but never got to improve quality. The dedicated and diligent daily skill practice certainly helps with that - which is rewarding.
Although I'm left-handed, I was taught guitar right-handed, and I played right-handed for about 49 years. I'm pretty good, and have even made a little money playing guitar. However, I was always frustrated by my picking/fingerpicking ability, and in 2020 actually bought a left-handed guitar and started fresh. It felt as weird as you'd think it would! I considered it kind of an experiment in neuroplasticity - to see if I could be better through deliberate practice, without any old bad habits to get in the way. I'm a little past 4 years now and am either as good or better than I ever was right-handed. Finger-picking is easily the slowest to develop (I'm already WAY better flat picking left-handed than righty), and amazingly, my reference song has been "Baby's Coming Home"! Your experiment is a great reminder that there are no short cuts, but that with practice - and the right kind of practice - improvement isn't just possible, but inevitable. My four years playing lefty have been the most fun I've had playing guitar since I was a kid. Thanks for sharing!
What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing, and thank you so much for your encouraging words. I totally agree with your perspective on practice, and I believe your experiment going lefty must have been an amazing journey! Baby's Coming Home is just a wonderful tune. I love the old recording of Chet playing it on his nylon with his sweater and scarf on :) All the best on your journey, enjoy your practice Ruben
Very interesting. I'm a lefty (started lefty) and have always been annoyed when somebody says 'just learn to play right handed' . I felt I'd never reach the potential I could have playing naturally lefty.
I have this book it was recommended by Joe Robinson it is a good read and buys things into perspective .. this guitar style takes a lot of patience and practice and time to develop. Thanks 🎸🇮🇪
REALLY interesting! I'm probably where you were 2 years ago...and have been there for a couple of years. I've developed my own practice journal which I find helps. One trouble now is I'm lucky if I can get 20-30 minutes a day to play/practice, a far cry from your almost 2 hours a day. Anyway, I hope you'll include what practice drills you did to overcome specific problems Such as; Chord changes, position jumps, hammer-ons and pull-offs on the inner strings etc. Steps to learn a new piece etc. Thanks for sharing. When I've finished your video I'll mute it and let it play without skipping ads while I practice 🙂 If I do this a few times it should help you get some revenue ;-) Imagine if we all did that. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much for this, mate. I will definitely be making videos that go more into the specifics of building fingerstyle guitar technique / learning a tune and so on. I'm actually planning to do that next - but like you, time is a challenge, so it will probably take a little while. Thanks a lot for your interest and support! Have a good day and enjoy your practice, when you get the chance.
Very helpful video! Thanks for sharing. I have a question for you. While deliberately practicing, do you have a notebook, spreadsheet, or other tool to log your practice routines? Or do you simply remember your practice routine and do it each day?
Thanks a lot mate. That's good to hear. I have two main documents that I'm working with. One for my practice routine and another for my goal setting. I log my practice routine with the exercises and repertoire work that I do, and it is a dynamic document that I update along the way as I make adjustments in my routine. In my goal setting document I have long term, mid term and short term goals. That's my "plan", I would say, and my practice routine should always support that plan. I don't think that's necessarily the way to do it, but it works for me right now. All the best to you, thanks for your message Ruben
How did you determine what you needed to practice and where to start? I’ve been playing for 14 years, mostly fingerstyle guitar. I know I am not a perfect player so I’d love to hear how you examined your own playing and found what you wanted to work on
Hey Ryan.. Me neither, no perfect player or expert at this, but I'm learning. Well, shortly. Mostly by recording myself and then holding what I'm hearing up against how it should ideally sound like (based on how it looks and sounds when great players / masters do it). Then I would analyze and try to figure out the roots of the problems in my playing, and then find ways to practice and improve on that. Also, I have had some lessons with Brooks Robertson and Bryan Sutton giving me feedback and pointing me in the right direction. What I found at first was that my playing just lacked that sense of flow and fluency which was caused by lack of muscle memory on the very basics + a lot of tension. Since then I have just done simple exercises and worked on repertoire to get my technique together based on my observations. I'm always trying to optimize and get better at how to practice. In deliberate practice, as my approach is, the key is to have what you do informed by how masters already did it. So I'm always curious to figure out how the masters learned their craft. Does that answer your question specifically?
@@poratl hi, thank you very much. Yes, I will definitely be making videos that go into the more specifics of all the things I talk about here with examples. Ill see if I can get that done as one of the next ones. Thanks for watching and showing interest. Ruben
Do you mind sharing your exercises you do for warmup? You play the kind of stuff I like and I’m not even to your rough phase yet so any advice is appreciated.
Hey David! There's been quite a bit of interest in that, so I've decided to make a mini course that get more into the specifics of the warm up and technique practice routine I'm talking about. I'm doing this in my sparetime, so it will take a little while. I hope I will be able to have everything complete and uploaded by Christmas time. Thank you very much for your interest! Have a good day!
Thanks Ronald! Just before 5 minutes is a D7 chord variation going to an F using the thumb over the top to get the F note in the base. Is that what you meant?
Brother read the “Inner game of Tennis” it deals with these same inner/outer concepts. Body vs mind, and how to conquer those loud thoughts and reach those peak flow state moments
I might do that one day! I already read "The Inner Game of Music" as Bryan Sutton recommends on Artistworks. It should be based around the exact same concepts as "The Inner Game Of Tennes", and I really like the book. I just read it again a few months ago. Very inspiring. All the best, mate. Ruben
? I thought I already made a comment.?! To repeat: This is good. Good topic. I play guitar but I"m interested in "deliberate practice" as applied to Buddhist meditation. My gripe is that you spent 8 minutes before delivering the 5 principles and then were not all that clear on what the individual 5 are. Separating practice from playing was an excellent tip, I thought ... doing the work first and enjoying it.
Hey Tracy, thanks a lot for your feedback. I get what you are saying here. I think I never really meant to get too much into the details in this video, and I think I'm also only covering a very little bit of what deliberate practice actually is in this video, based on my own research and experience. My goal is to expand my channel over the years and get deeper and deeper into this topic as I'm also improving and learning myself. This video should probable more be seen as an introduction to that rather than an actual detailed instructional video. Hope that makes sense. Like you I'm also very interested in the topic of meditation and mindfulness in general! I think there is a huge potential here for learners of any field, and I think it goes hand in hand with deliberate practice. All the best, Tracy. Ruben
Interesting Ruben. I’m on the same path! Have you always played with a thumbpick? It’s something I struggle with. Played now 4 years without and it feels like I lose all my skills when I have it on. Though I believe it would help me in hearing the bass better (and my mistakes). Tried many models…but they all feel awkward 😬
Hey Tom.. Cool to hear you are also down this road. I started using thumbpicks after watching videos of Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel around 10 years ago.... It did indeed feel extremely awkward at first. It is really something you have to get used to, and it will most likely take months of practicing and studying how others do it. Consider watching some of Tommy Emmanuels instructional videos on how to get started in fingerstyle (if you havent done it already). That was helpful to me. Here is an example: ua-cam.com/video/u0ocjT3gObE/v-deo.html I'm also planning on making a mini course on how to learn thumbpicking fingerstyle at a basic level before the end of this year. It tried many thumbpicks that felt very bad.. I finally found the Fred Kelly thumbpicks which feel great and comfortable. Maybe you try those ;)
Often, I have to take a passage and play it very slowly with a metronome and then gradually increase the tempo. This might be repeated over several days. Another thing is that there might be a much easier way to play a passage--but this takes experimentation and time.
I took about 10 years off of playing guitar, watching my acoustic guitar gathering dust. I've recently picked it back up, with the intention to learn fingerstyle (over just simply strumming and singing the popular songs). Do you have any guidance for what makes a good Warm-Up for Technique Practice? My "warm up" is usually just replaying the same songs I know a few times, with the hopes that it sounds a little bit cleaner each time - but this sounds like more "Naive Practice"
Hey! Thanks for watching. Great for you that you picked up the guitar again. Learning fingerstyle is a wonderful journey. Actually I'm working on a course on that very topic right now, since there's been quite a lot interest around that topic. I hope to have it all done and uploaded before the end of the year. Please be patient with me, and I hope it can be useful to you in your situation. Like you, I used to just learn tunes and play them as good as I could, but it never really got any better. Implementing an actual daily warm up/technique practice has really done something good for me! All the best to you.
@@KevIn-tu4fv , yeah agreed, and I often experience the same kind of struggle the other way around also. Like, when doing focused repetitions over a phrase and then suddenly I lose it to the impulse of trying to play the tune - and before Im even ready to play it. That's bad "programming" of the body and brain. ☺️
Alright, fair enough. I think "mastery" can sound like an endstation. To me the journey to fingerstyle guitar mastery (or mastery in any field) is an ongoing proces towards a greater sense of fluency, effortlessness and freedom at whatever you are doing... I consider myself still at the very beginning of my journey - 2 years in. I'm simply exploring the power of deliberate practice and neuroplasticity, and I'm exploring my own potential to get good at this.. All the best to you! Have a great day.
I will assume you bought a MATON because of TE. The Maton is well known for being dead as a doornail unless plugged in. They are awful, I do not understand why anyone would buy one if you are playing acoustically with no electronics. I wanted one until I played one, I would not take one for free. The worn out phrase of "it's the player not the guitar" is BS. And definitely true of the MATON. Just a suggestion.. when I wake up I want my guitar to inspire me.. not possible with a Maton. If that is not a MATON, my apologies.
@@RubenRamsgaard I like your reply Ruben. It's a funny world... Like you I discovered the principle of deliberate practice and it transformed my practice completely. I read Peak a few years ago, and other books within the same field such as 'The Talent Code'. My research started around ten years ago, I had a nerve injury which stopped me from playing completely. When I could practice again, I could really only play about ten minutes a day max and so I had to make those minutes count. I hope many musicians are inspired by your video, to do their own research, there are many resources out there. The secret is to always practice on the cusp of what you can play. So that you are always pushing yourself into that zone of what you can't do, but you're not quite in that zone, I hope that makes sense. I use a journal to track daily where that cusp is. All the very best to you, and your guitar sounds wonderful by the way.
@@MikeFowlerguitars hey Mike. Thank you for this message, amazing story! And I'm totally resonating with what you are saying. Actually, right now I kind of rediscovered (or came to deeper awareness of) the importance of really hitting that sweet spot of the proximal zone of development - at the cusp of what I can do. I just recently also started tracking that more close with very specific goals and a journal. Think it is a proces getting good at it, but a super crucial skill to learn in deliberate practice! I didnt read The Talent Code but will surely take notice of that! Thank you. What you are saying here makes perfect sense. And thank you very much ;) All the best Ruben
Thanks so much for posting this, so much of what you say is relevant to my own attempts to learn fingerstyle. I will definitely stick around for further videos. Do you have any suggestions for the type of exercises that you say we should start all practice sessions with ? Thanks again. Ps. There is a massive difference in your performance from first to second video👍.
@@pprender1 Thank you so much for this message. It is good to hear and very encouraging! I'm actually working on a videos series with 8 videos on that topic since there has been quite a lot of interest into that! It will include a bit of theory of learning, practice guidelines and a bunch of exercises. I hope I can have it done and ready for upload by the end of the year! I hope it will be useful for you. All the best, enjoy your practice Rubeb
@RubenRamsgaard Great stuff, thanks again, Ruben. One other question, if i may ... have you tried any classical/Spanish guitar or is that an entirely different discipline and approach ?
@@pprender1 hey again mate. I do not do a lot of nylon strings playing, though I find it very beautiful. Great fingerstyle legends like Chet Atkins and Buster B Jones did a lot of nylon, and Brooks Robertson, who is my teacher on his Truefire channel, also does it... It is definitely something I wanna get into more, but right now I don't do it much. I think you have to get used to the different feeling of the strings and neck on classical guitar, but besides that it is basicly the same discipline. I love how Chet Atkins plays Mr. Bojangels on his nylon. Try to check it out :)
Hey all! There's been quite a lot of interest in the topic of warm up and technique practice for fingerstyle guitar - thank you very much for that. So, I've decided to put a mini course together that gets more into the details of that. I'm doing this in my sparetime, so it's gonna take a while to have everything complete and ready for upload, but I hope I can have it done by Christmas time.
Thank you very much for your interest.
Have a great day, and enjoy your practice.
Ruben
That’s awesome! Thanks so much.
Thankyou for an excellent and inspiring video!
@@slartybartfast57 Thank you so much.
Thank you for this video. I've been strumming an electric guitar for 56 years and I'm 72. I bought a fine acoustic guitar (Martin D-18) with the goal of mastering finger style guitar. At 72 I am finally realizing that something as complex as FS guitar requires a thorough understanding of HOW TO PRACTICE. Your explanation really helps. I'm going to read ERICSSON’s book. Thanks again.
Hi Tom! That's great! The book gave me the right understanding and all the principles. Ever since it has been an ongoing exploration of how the masters actually do it in this very discipline. And it takes a lot of experimenting also. I can really recommend the book. Truly amazing - a real eyeopener.
Have a great day. Thank you for your message.
Ruben
Yes, you have made really noticeable progress! It shows. I just ordered the book. This is exactly where I am (I guess where you used to be). Playing what's fun, making no progress, and getting bored.
More than 40 years ago, my Algebra teacher said he was lazy, which was a bit of a shock since he was a hard-ass when he marked our assignments. He emphasized elegant problem solving and he credited his laziness for finding efficient ways to solve equations.... Doing something really well takes considerable time and effort and so for those who are ambitious, we are instinctively looking for more efficient and effective learning strategies. I picked up some of the habits in this video all on my own to learn multiple instruments and roller skating. Unfortunately, I acquired these learning skills somewhat late in life rather than in school. What a shame, so much time wasted!
Bonus: Another useful skill/habit is to stop compartmentalizing your knowledge. What you learn in one discipline is often transferable to another. I got a degree in physics and it actually helped me to learn roller skating more quickly.
I totally agree, and resonate with what you are saying here. For me deliberate practice has become a journey in itself - always striving to get better at practice in order to improve at my craft and other areas of interest. I'm really into fingerstyle guitar, but I will surely also apply the approach to singing, work, and other stuff.
Like you, I discovered the true power of practice a bit late, but it'll take it from here, and make the most of it :) Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. Your kind and sensitive lessons are very timely in my own journey. It's great that you choose to share what you have learned and are learning. I am sure all who watch this will gain from your time and efforts.
Hi Ronald. Thank you so much for this kind feedback. That's a great encouragement for me to go on. All the best to you.
Ruben
Thank you. I am going to follow your lesson.
Thank you very much. That's encouraging to hear.
All the best
Ruben
I just want to let you know that this video is extremely valuable to me. I appreciate that you listed additional resources too. Merci!
Hey Thomas.. That's awesome and very motivating for me to hear.. It encourage me to make more videos.. Thank you very much.
I came across your channel a couple weeks ago and thought “i wish he would share some of his insights” im glad this is going to be a part of your channel now. Thank you!
Thanks Ruben I'm just coming back to the guitar after a number of years, and I want to get into fingerstyle so I'll be following along
@@stevemcdermott6199 great to hear, Steve! Learning fingerstyle is awesome ☺️ Hope you will find some useful information here, and share what you learn! !👍
I immediately noticed a massive improvement in your low string strumming in the progress vid.
Good to hear - I put a lot of work into the flow of the thumb on the low strings. THanks!
Zen archery breathing technique works like a charm for reducing tension. Spent 6 months working on a tune, developed shoulder pain, the breathing made it go right away. It's not hippy stuff there's a bit of science to it. I read Peak in the 90's, good stuff.
That's awesome. Thanks for the tip! It is always exciting to go explore new sources if inspiration.
What a progress. Amazing.
Really enjoyed this video. Valuable insight. Thanks!
Thank you very much for your interest!
Subbed for this series can’t wait!!
That's awesome! I'm almost on a year of practicing the guitar every day and it's so much fun! hope you continue for a long time too
Good to hear! Thanks, same to you!
Great clip. Thanks for sharing. Excellent playing 👏
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate that :)
Great tips. Thank you.
thank you so much, for these insights.. your channel will grow immensely
Thank you very much for your interest, and thank you very much for the encouragement! I appreciate that!
Thanks. Very insightful. Will start applying this to my routine and will check out your recommendations. Looking forward to further videos.
Took note...these are excellent tips. Thanks.
Amazing video! Thank you! ❤
Thank you so much.
A few of ur points now hit home with me & I better recongize now after watching ur video .
Thank u
Great job!
Bravo 👏🏻 Ruben! Great information and excellent progress for you!
@@ScottDickman awesome to hear. Thank you.
Your video from two years ago really resonates with my playing style-it’s mostly accurate, but it feels like it’s missing that extra 'pop' to make it shine. So glad I stumbled upon your channel!
That's great to hear Joseph. Thank you for your interest. I will be making more videos that get more into the details of things that I'm learning. I hope it can be useful.
Thanks Ruben for a very interesting and informative video. What you say all makes perfect sense. Know exactly where you are coming from and I think anyone struggling would be wise to consider applying some or all of these principles
Thank you, Tony. I'm happy to hear that!
Your doing great! Keep going!
Thank you ☺️
I've been struggling with how ineffective my "practice" has been for some time and been trying to review and rethink it. Not warming up (how obvious!!), not being task focused (technique versus just playing), and that I've been mashing them together - you've enlightened me on how to redo how I work on my acoustic skills. Thanks for the information, and I look forward to hearing more from you!!!
Thank you very much for this message. I'm glad to hear that you find it useful.
I have to work more on these things that I'm learning and talking about. Learning to practice is a journey in itself, but it is a joyful one. I'll be making more videos that get more into the specifics of the things I'm learning. I hope some of it can be useful for you also.
Have a great day, enjoy your practice..
Thank you for sharing!
Really appreciate this post. I’m sort of “stuck’ in my own slow progress… so I’ll be watching intently.
Fantastic information, very insightful 👍
It is very interesting to see your progress! I try to master fingerstyle myself and fell in same trap as you did 2 years ago
Now I try be more efficient
Thanks for the video!
16 months into my own journey. Very interesting to hear about your views and very motivating to see your progress.
That's awesome to hear... I wish you all the best on your journey :)
I'll have to use this method,you proved it work!
I'll have to keep my Thumb beat going steady!
Separating the fingers from the thumb is hard.
I totally agree. It doesn't come easy. I'm still working on it almost every day, and I hope to get a steady thumb going over the coming years. I don't feel like it is totally "second nature" for me yet, but bit by bit it gets better.
In a few weeks I will upload a series of videos on daily warm up / technique practice. Maybe there will be something useful information for you in there.
Thank you
All the best
Ruben
Very good lessons.
Just came across your video. I have also just recently picked up an interest in FS guitar. Currently I am trying to tackle one of Erik Satie songs and have gotten it memorized; playing it fluently is another matter. Like you, I am trying to understand what exactly will make me a more confident, fluent player. I subscribed to Marco Cirillo's FS Guitar Patreon page. His style is quite beautiful to me and one I would like to emulate to some degree. But his website is difficult to navigate and again, I don't have a good understanding of how or what to practice, how often or in what order. It would seem to make sense to begin with scales and arpeggios. I look forward to your research and I thank you for your efforts.
Thank you very much for your message. That's good to hear. I hope you will find some useful information in my videos to come.
All the best
Ruben
Hi Ruben, I like your video, but can you please go deeper into Lesson #1? I am learning acoustic fingerstyle, but I know I am lacking the right way to get to the level I want to get to. I tend to blend practice and playing. Can you give examples of what you do to warm up and your technique exercises? 🎸
@@simonpratley3301 Hi Simon... Many requested that, and I really appreciate the interest, so Im now working on a course that gets into specifics of that topic! Im doing this in my spare time so it will take me a while to get it complete and ready. I hope i can have it uploaded by Christmas time. Thank you ☺️👍
Great work mate! Inspirational 👏
Took it up again this year , haven't in over 20 years . I learnt a few tunes from others , but now I just make my own tunes up most of the time . I should learn some new techniques tho . I came up with about 6 tunes of my own . Very cool man . Just now and then I come up with a good idea . I usually just mess around with different cords etc . The blues scale helps a bit I find . I mix up rock with country with a bit of flamenco and classical style . Works well for me . Also a little bit of metal in there . Good if you can some plucking in there where you can fit it I find it makes tunes more interesting . I love a good melody of anything else . One tune I came up with sounds a bit like Nirvana you could say . People I know were like wtf you made that up lol .
Great topic. I've been trying to learn guitar for years. I still strum the same 4 or 5 chords. I need some structure in my practice so I can see real results. I'll keep watching. 👍
AWESOME video thank you, I’m pretty new so consider me lucky to have found this video
Very good and interesting video !
I totally agree that practicing slow and deliberate is great for learning and advancing guitar in any style. As with travis picking getting that bass rythm is essensial. If you can not do just the bass for 5-10 mins without a mistake then forget about starting on the melody. (For those who are struggling, you will get there and then it feels quite easy. You kind of forget your thumb, it does its thing.)
Once a certain level of playing is achieved I strongly recommend to start learning scales, arpeggios, triads etc and the do improvising over chord changes. For me I felt that then the MUSIC in me started to evolve and it became less of a mechanical thing.
Also, play a tune like you want. Do not try to sound like your hero by nitpicking on a tune forever. When I am trying to learn a new tune I listen and try to copy that original, once I have it in a way I just play and fiddle with it as I think it was. Cheating is allowed !
Also: do not get addicted on tabulature. Great tool but learning by watching and hearing teaches you far more and gives you a better understanding.
Thank you very much.
Cool, thanks for sharing your experience here. It makes good sense! :) It has to really be build up from the bottom, slowly getting all the moto skills and different aspecs of this style down.
I identify to this all the way! Although I haven’t yet even looked at the book and definitely will most likely buy it, your video inspired me! I am 71 and have been learning guitar and reading for a year now. I get stuck. I know that a structured practice is essential, but never sure how or what to do anticipating picking up my guitar to practice. I do love it and at the same time I often feel anxious about picking up my guitar to practice because I might run into that proverbial wall of ‘what do I do next?’ Thank you, Ruben!
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I'm glad you found value in the video. I hope my videos to come will be useful for you in how to approach your practice.
All the best!
Ruben
Thanks Ruben, that was great information. I need to be more mindful... I don't practice skills that much at all... hence I still play at the same level I was at 10 years ago! I just subscribed to your channel
Hey David, thank you! Me too, that's also where I need to keep improving - it's not easy to be mindful, but I find that it get's better and better also with practice. It is very satisfying to experience practice getting deeper and deeper, and I believe there's great potential here!
Like you, I had that experience of learning tunes for many years, but never got to improve quality. The dedicated and diligent daily skill practice certainly helps with that - which is rewarding.
Great video, dude. I look forward to following your progress. I'll try your approach for a while.
Although I'm left-handed, I was taught guitar right-handed, and I played right-handed for about 49 years. I'm pretty good, and have even made a little money playing guitar. However, I was always frustrated by my picking/fingerpicking ability, and in 2020 actually bought a left-handed guitar and started fresh. It felt as weird as you'd think it would! I considered it kind of an experiment in neuroplasticity - to see if I could be better through deliberate practice, without any old bad habits to get in the way. I'm a little past 4 years now and am either as good or better than I ever was right-handed. Finger-picking is easily the slowest to develop (I'm already WAY better flat picking left-handed than righty), and amazingly, my reference song has been "Baby's Coming Home"! Your experiment is a great reminder that there are no short cuts, but that with practice - and the right kind of practice - improvement isn't just possible, but inevitable. My four years playing lefty have been the most fun I've had playing guitar since I was a kid. Thanks for sharing!
What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing, and thank you so much for your encouraging words. I totally agree with your perspective on practice, and I believe your experiment going lefty must have been an amazing journey!
Baby's Coming Home is just a wonderful tune. I love the old recording of Chet playing it on his nylon with his sweater and scarf on :)
All the best on your journey, enjoy your practice
Ruben
Very interesting. I'm a lefty (started lefty) and have always been annoyed when somebody says 'just learn to play right handed' . I felt I'd never reach the potential I could have playing naturally lefty.
I have this book it was recommended by Joe Robinson it is a good read and buys things into perspective .. this guitar style takes a lot of patience and practice and time to develop. Thanks 🎸🇮🇪
@@dieselman7453 exactly, that's also where I discovered the book!
Yeah sure, it really does, but it is a fun and rewarding journey 😁👍
Yea Rubin I’m part of joes invisible technique course and community.. take care my friend 🇮🇪🎸
@@dieselman7453 thanks, you too buddy!
99% of people would have assumed you mastered it 2 years ago.
REALLY interesting! I'm probably where you were 2 years ago...and have been there for a couple of years. I've developed my own practice journal which I find helps. One trouble now is I'm lucky if I can get 20-30 minutes a day to play/practice, a far cry from your almost 2 hours a day. Anyway, I hope you'll include what practice drills you did to overcome specific problems Such as; Chord changes, position jumps, hammer-ons and pull-offs on the inner strings etc. Steps to learn a new piece etc. Thanks for sharing. When I've finished your video I'll mute it and let it play without skipping ads while I practice 🙂 If I do this a few times it should help you get some revenue ;-) Imagine if we all did that. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much for this, mate. I will definitely be making videos that go more into the specifics of building fingerstyle guitar technique / learning a tune and so on. I'm actually planning to do that next - but like you, time is a challenge, so it will probably take a little while. Thanks a lot for your interest and support! Have a good day and enjoy your practice, when you get the chance.
Very helpful video! Thanks for sharing. I have a question for you. While deliberately practicing, do you have a notebook, spreadsheet, or other tool to log your practice routines? Or do you simply remember your practice routine and do it each day?
Thanks a lot mate. That's good to hear.
I have two main documents that I'm working with. One for my practice routine and another for my goal setting. I log my practice routine with the exercises and repertoire work that I do, and it is a dynamic document that I update along the way as I make adjustments in my routine. In my goal setting document I have long term, mid term and short term goals. That's my "plan", I would say, and my practice routine should always support that plan. I don't think that's necessarily the way to do it, but it works for me right now.
All the best to you, thanks for your message
Ruben
Well done
Thank you very much
How did you determine what you needed to practice and where to start? I’ve been playing for 14 years, mostly fingerstyle guitar. I know I am not a perfect player so I’d love to hear how you examined your own playing and found what you wanted to work on
Hey Ryan..
Me neither, no perfect player or expert at this, but I'm learning.
Well, shortly. Mostly by recording myself and then holding what I'm hearing up against how it should ideally sound like (based on how it looks and sounds when great players / masters do it). Then I would analyze and try to figure out the roots of the problems in my playing, and then find ways to practice and improve on that.
Also, I have had some lessons with Brooks Robertson and Bryan Sutton giving me feedback and pointing me in the right direction.
What I found at first was that my playing just lacked that sense of flow and fluency which was caused by lack of muscle memory on the very basics + a lot of tension. Since then I have just done simple exercises and worked on repertoire to get my technique together based on my observations.
I'm always trying to optimize and get better at how to practice. In deliberate practice, as my approach is, the key is to have what you do informed by how masters already did it. So I'm always curious to figure out how the masters learned their craft.
Does that answer your question specifically?
Hi Ruben, great video, thanks for sharing. Can you give examples of the simple technical steps you practice for 40 minutes a day?
@@poratl hi, thank you very much.
Yes, I will definitely be making videos that go into the more specifics of all the things I talk about here with examples. Ill see if I can get that done as one of the next ones. Thanks for watching and showing interest.
Ruben
An interesting video and topic - subscribed!
Thank you, that's good to hear!
A quote from a famous Australian rules football coach, Ron Barassi…
“Practice makes perfect is bulls**t. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
Yeah, I think that's really the spirit of this topic!
Do you mind sharing your exercises you do for warmup? You play the kind of stuff I like and I’m not even to your rough phase yet so any advice is appreciated.
Hey David!
There's been quite a bit of interest in that, so I've decided to make a mini course that get more into the specifics of the warm up and technique practice routine I'm talking about. I'm doing this in my sparetime, so it will take a little while. I hope I will be able to have everything complete and uploaded by Christmas time. Thank you very much for your interest!
Have a good day!
Excellent information. What are you playing just before the five minute mark? Nice piece! Thanks!
Thanks Ronald! Just before 5 minutes is a D7 chord variation going to an F using the thumb over the top to get the F note in the base. Is that what you meant?
Brother read the “Inner game of Tennis” it deals with these same inner/outer concepts. Body vs mind, and how to conquer those loud thoughts and reach those peak flow state moments
I might do that one day! I already read "The Inner Game of Music" as Bryan Sutton recommends on Artistworks. It should be based around the exact same concepts as "The Inner Game Of Tennes", and I really like the book. I just read it again a few months ago. Very inspiring.
All the best, mate.
Ruben
? I thought I already made a comment.?!
To repeat: This is good. Good topic. I play guitar but I"m interested in "deliberate practice" as applied to Buddhist meditation. My gripe is that you spent 8 minutes before delivering the 5 principles and then were not all that clear on what the individual 5 are. Separating practice from playing was an excellent tip, I thought ... doing the work first and enjoying it.
Hey Tracy, thanks a lot for your feedback. I get what you are saying here. I think I never really meant to get too much into the details in this video, and I think I'm also only covering a very little bit of what deliberate practice actually is in this video, based on my own research and experience.
My goal is to expand my channel over the years and get deeper and deeper into this topic as I'm also improving and learning myself. This video should probable more be seen as an introduction to that rather than an actual detailed instructional video. Hope that makes sense.
Like you I'm also very interested in the topic of meditation and mindfulness in general! I think there is a huge potential here for learners of any field, and I think it goes hand in hand with deliberate practice.
All the best, Tracy.
Ruben
Interesting Ruben. I’m on the same path! Have you always played with a thumbpick? It’s something I struggle with. Played now 4 years without and it feels like I lose all my skills when I have it on. Though I believe it would help me in hearing the bass better (and my mistakes). Tried many models…but they all feel awkward 😬
Hey Tom.. Cool to hear you are also down this road. I started using thumbpicks after watching videos of Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel around 10 years ago.... It did indeed feel extremely awkward at first. It is really something you have to get used to, and it will most likely take months of practicing and studying how others do it. Consider watching some of Tommy Emmanuels instructional videos on how to get started in fingerstyle (if you havent done it already). That was helpful to me. Here is an example: ua-cam.com/video/u0ocjT3gObE/v-deo.html
I'm also planning on making a mini course on how to learn thumbpicking fingerstyle at a basic level before the end of this year.
It tried many thumbpicks that felt very bad.. I finally found the Fred Kelly thumbpicks which feel great and comfortable. Maybe you try those ;)
@ Thanks!
Often, I have to take a passage and play it very slowly with a metronome and then gradually increase the tempo. This might be repeated over several days.
Another thing is that there might be a much easier way to play a passage--but this takes experimentation and time.
I took about 10 years off of playing guitar, watching my acoustic guitar gathering dust. I've recently picked it back up, with the intention to learn fingerstyle (over just simply strumming and singing the popular songs). Do you have any guidance for what makes a good Warm-Up for Technique Practice? My "warm up" is usually just replaying the same songs I know a few times, with the hopes that it sounds a little bit cleaner each time - but this sounds like more "Naive Practice"
Hey! Thanks for watching.
Great for you that you picked up the guitar again. Learning fingerstyle is a wonderful journey. Actually I'm working on a course on that very topic right now, since there's been quite a lot interest around that topic. I hope to have it all done and uploaded before the end of the year. Please be patient with me, and I hope it can be useful to you in your situation. Like you, I used to just learn tunes and play them as good as I could, but it never really got any better. Implementing an actual daily warm up/technique practice has really done something good for me!
All the best to you.
I’d like to know what material, or program, you are following to learn to play like this.
@@wholovesyababy5574 thanks for your interest! I will be making more video that get more into the details of how you learn to play in this style!
@@RubenRamsgaardGreat!
Looking forward to the following videos about specific practice drills that you do Ruben -many thanks
What's the guitar name&model?
Hey mate, that's a Maton EBG808-artist model.
@RubenRamsgaard thank you mate :)
Lesson #4 is so true. Whenever I'm playing and I starteto think about what I'm doing, its get me out of the zone and I mess up.
@@KevIn-tu4fv , yeah agreed, and I often experience the same kind of struggle the other way around also. Like, when doing focused repetitions over a phrase and then suddenly I lose it to the impulse of trying to play the tune - and before Im even ready to play it. That's bad "programming" of the body and brain. ☺️
Peak has no practical examples. It is a book of ideas.
"My journey to fingerstyle mastery" (in the thumbnail)?
It got me to click, I suppose. I don't know if anybody is really a "master" of fingerstyle.
Alright, fair enough. I think "mastery" can sound like an endstation. To me the journey to fingerstyle guitar mastery (or mastery in any field) is an ongoing proces towards a greater sense of fluency, effortlessness and freedom at whatever you are doing...
I consider myself still at the very beginning of my journey - 2 years in. I'm simply exploring the power of deliberate practice and neuroplasticity, and I'm exploring my own potential to get good at this..
All the best to you! Have a great day.
Good, but could be better. Did not produce the meat until 8 minutes in, then was not real clear on what the 5 steps of "deliberate practice" are.
I will assume you bought a MATON because of TE. The Maton is well known for being dead as a doornail unless plugged in.
They are awful, I do not understand why anyone would buy one if you are playing acoustically with no electronics.
I wanted one until I played one, I would not take one for free.
The worn out phrase of "it's the player not the guitar" is BS.
And definitely true of the MATON.
Just a suggestion.. when I wake up I want my guitar to inspire me.. not possible with a Maton.
If that is not a MATON, my apologies.
Hi Jeff.
Thank you for your inspiring input here.
All the best for you on your guitar journey.
Have a great day.
@@RubenRamsgaard You are welcome.
@@RubenRamsgaard I like your reply Ruben. It's a funny world...
Like you I discovered the principle of deliberate practice and it transformed my practice completely. I read Peak a few years ago, and other books within the same field such as 'The Talent Code'. My research started around ten years ago, I had a nerve injury which stopped me from playing completely. When I could practice again, I could really only play about ten minutes a day max and so I had to make those minutes count.
I hope many musicians are inspired by your video, to do their own research, there are many resources out there.
The secret is to always practice on the cusp of what you can play. So that you are always pushing yourself into that zone of what you can't do, but you're not quite in that zone, I hope that makes sense. I use a journal to track daily where that cusp is.
All the very best to you, and your guitar sounds wonderful by the way.
@@MikeFowlerguitars hey Mike. Thank you for this message, amazing story!
And I'm totally resonating with what you are saying. Actually, right now I kind of rediscovered (or came to deeper awareness of) the importance of really hitting that sweet spot of the proximal zone of development - at the cusp of what I can do. I just recently also started tracking that more close with very specific goals and a journal. Think it is a proces getting good at it, but a super crucial skill to learn in deliberate practice! I didnt read The Talent Code but will surely take notice of that! Thank you.
What you are saying here makes perfect sense.
And thank you very much ;)
All the best
Ruben
Thanks so much for posting this, so much of what you say is relevant to my own attempts to learn fingerstyle. I will definitely stick around for further videos. Do you have any suggestions for the type of exercises that you say we should start all practice sessions with ? Thanks again.
Ps. There is a massive difference in your performance from first to second video👍.
@@pprender1 Thank you so much for this message. It is good to hear and very encouraging! I'm actually working on a videos series with 8 videos on that topic since there has been quite a lot of interest into that! It will include a bit of theory of learning, practice guidelines and a bunch of exercises. I hope I can have it done and ready for upload by the end of the year! I hope it will be useful for you.
All the best, enjoy your practice
Rubeb
@RubenRamsgaard Great stuff, thanks again, Ruben. One other question, if i may ... have you tried any classical/Spanish guitar or is that an entirely different discipline and approach ?
@@pprender1 hey again mate. I do not do a lot of nylon strings playing, though I find it very beautiful. Great fingerstyle legends like Chet Atkins and Buster B Jones did a lot of nylon, and Brooks Robertson, who is my teacher on his Truefire channel, also does it... It is definitely something I wanna get into more, but right now I don't do it much.
I think you have to get used to the different feeling of the strings and neck on classical guitar, but besides that it is basicly the same discipline.
I love how Chet Atkins plays Mr. Bojangels on his nylon. Try to check it out :)