10 Things to Instantly Improve your Guitar Playing
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- Опубліковано 20 кві 2024
- Here are 10 things I have found that have supercharged my own playing:
1 - Document your playing time
2 - Same guitar, strap, picks
3 - Stand with a mirror
4 - Ultimate technique settings
5 - Learn theory and ear training
6 - Learn songs by ear and not tab or tutorial
7 - Get obsessive about tuning and intonation
8 - Read biographies
9 - Become an expert at setting up your own guitar
10 - Light touch and economy of motion
I would add only one topic, which is related to rhythm: tap your foot while you play as much as you can!
Some of your tips I already do,but standing isn't one them. Worth a look.
Practicing with a mirror is not mentioned enough! It seriously helps so much. I'm glad you mentioned that.
These are all great tips. I've been playing for over fifty years. There are a lot of things here that I had never considered. This was time very well spent thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent video, as a self taught guitarist finding tips that can help me improve is excellent. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Fantastic advice. Thanks!
I think most guitarists need to put in more focus on rhythm early on than they often do. Not just being able to put a note on the beat, but also when does that note stop? What is the ratio of swing? Also the ability to play right on the beat, or on the front or back edge of that same beat. I think this is some of the most important stuff in music, but also the stuff that took me a long time to really get into.
Always keep your documentation organized. Once I mistakenly grabbed my bowl movement log book...
Don’t do that!!! 😂
😂😂😂
These are great tips and you're completely correct that they aren't talked about enough nor implemented enough. I don't agree with you one instrument philosophy however. If I were to do it all over, I would have spent 25% of my practice on a different instrument, and preferably different every time. I've experienced (and seen plenty of other people) going into a gig with a different instrument because of a repair issue on my main guitar, and play way under my skill level because acclimating to a new instrument while under performance pressure is a really bad combination. I'd much rather be like Bettencourt and Vai, who can pick up almost anything with strings and play it like it's the only instrument they've ever handled. I love your content and just started playing with the rounded edge of my pick because of you. Thanks for all of this.
I used to tell guitar students to sleep with a metronome on all night.... even a bad guitar player that made mistakes in time was better for the band than a shedder that couldn't keep rhythm. I did this and would alternate to playing Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" album on infinite repeat while I slept. I am still not a Jazz guitarist, by any means, but that kind of immersion sinks groove and cool into your bones. LoL
The one thing you missed is for the player to ask themselves what their objectives are. Some want to play gigs, others want to record their own stuff and others want to just play for fun. Each path adds or subtracts from your list.
I noticed that you Play mostly with just 3 fingers on the finger board. By keeping your knuckles parallel with the bottom of your fingerboard will pull your little finger in a better position to use it more. Thumb is over the neck not behind but habits are hard to break.
Great and useful video. Q: what guitar do you play ? Thank you
This is a Fender Custom Shop ‘59 Telecaster NOS
@@KoreyHicksGuitar Thank you
This sounds great are you just recording thru an I phone ?
No, I’m using multiple microphones through an interface, individual microphones for guitar, speaking and backing tracks
I’m so sorry to be this guy, but I think F# dim is pretty reasonable in the key of B flat. Especially as a fully dim7, i would consider it a pretty widely used substitute (going back to Bach, even) that is only one note away from both the V7 and III7 (aka V7 of vi) and can be used as-is to imply the dominant seventh flat 9th of both the tonic and relative minor of B flat.
Again, sorry to be that guy but you DID say know your theory and since you went to Berklee I’m sure you would be aware of secondary dominants, substitutions, and the mutable properties of diminished chords.
Great video though, especially the tip about practicing on your feet. Fees better on the whole body to stand with a strap at the correct height.
Since doing this I’ve noticed how much more tense my neck and picking shoulder are when I do sit.
Ha! You are totally right. F#Dim7 would be an inversion of F7b9 (as would Adim7, Cdim7, and Ebdim7). Good catch! That’s what I get for not having a script and winging it 😆
What to do if you can't stand. I have a prosthetic leg and standing for any length of time gets painful. I currently play on a drummers chair - always the same height - with a strap and in classical guitar position. Any thoughts?
I guess the point is if you perform standing to practice standing, but if you perform or play for fun in the chair, then I would just continue doing that!
Good point. Obvious when you think about it. I have been thinking about taking my own drum stool when I gig. This discussion has helped with that decision. Cheers!
By the way…How did Stevie Ray get so good?
Any thoughts on posture when standing, i have horrible back in the upper right side, usually dying by end of 3rd set. I think its posture related
Are your shoulders the same height when you stand? Some players hold their right shoulder higher and this can cause a lot of tension. This is where having a mirror really helps so that you can see if your posture looks relaxed or if you’re hunched over!
@@KoreyHicksGuitar no my shoulders are pretty level, but i catch myself resting the guitar closer to my side then right on top of my stomach
It could be just age and instrument. Is your guitar too heavy? Do you work out a minimum to keep fit, especialy the back and core. Are you overweight? Gigging is physical labor, after all. A really light guitar helps, but other areas must be checked.
@@EdBender all things I've thought of, my guitar weighs 5lbs 12 oz, i work out and do back strengthen exercises and get regular massages. Ive got a little bit of a gut but not too bad. I had my spine checked out and its a little crooked but not enough to be scoliosis, tom bukovac discribed the exact same symptoms so i think its guitar related. And therefore posture. I find myself slightly twisted, when playing sitting down and standing.
Do you exercise? There is an exercise called "face pulls". It targets the muscles in the upper back and between the shoulder blades. Light weights, nothing crazy. Look it up, it will strengthen the "posture muscles".
I should of went to Berkeley right out of high school. I was already gigging full time and had to pay my way through “life”. But I kick myself in the butt for not making it happen.
You dodged the student loan bullet!
You’re telling me my Mel Bay Guitar Method 2 book is no good! ?!?!?
"Instant"? 🤔