Great video Denis! I've been guilty of doing the technical exercises for years now. I'm getting back into spending more time on actual music and I can see the benefits already. Technique is pushed a lot on UA-cam and social media these days it seems, I think people are forgetting why we picked up instruments in the first place.
I used to do a warmup routine that was developed by Barney Kessel. You were basically going through each finger combination on each string, up and down. Then repeated the same patterns but alternating between two strings. It just took a long time and didn't give me anything that I could use musically. I don't think you really need to "warm up" to prevent injuries. The reason I did this was that it was supposed to make my fingers ready to move in any combination I would ever need. The spider exercise is also not supposed to actually warm up the fingers, but to teach finger independence. There is a point to doing these things but I think that doing basic scale exercises, arpeggios and licks does the same exact thing.
I make my fingers move by working on things that I can use in real life situations so often i practiced jazz lines! I’ve said in previous videos, but my technique essentially came from lines rather than exercises. To be more specific, I took lines that I liked and that were a bit difficult, and shed them so hard. I would then use them at every opportunity in real life playing situations. Over time, I developed the speed and dexterity very naturally from using them constantly
Yes, and no… Some of the really silly mechanical non-musical warm-up exercises can be seen as a waste of time, but as someone who has been playing guitar for 58 years and at a professional level, and has been dealing with pretty severe hand injuries for the last several years, I would say that warming up is an important function for working on more and more complicated music. You aptly point out that holding chords for long periods of time can be challenging, but so can playing really complicated technically demanding music? I play in a duo here in Spain with a very advanced flamenco guitarist, and the rhythms and the chord voicings that we have to play and hold are pretty challenging and they're demanding, and my hand gets tired. I need to warm up my hand before I play and I also use a massage device for my hand to get blood flow going so that I am not perpetuating the injuries or exacerbating injuries that I already have, and keeping my hand open and relaxed. I think that the physicality involved with playing is equivalent to the same mechanics as playing a complicated sport, susceptible to the same types of repestitve motion injuries, and that people for long-term need to be able to address Hand health issues. Every instrument has its own set of endemic injury and hand health is an important issueJust my 2 cents...
@@TheZenguitarguy haha I don’t think you watched my video, cause I say you gotta warm up and you have to be careful about movements that require too much tension
I'm absolutely a player that MUST warm-up every time I pick up a guitar, but I'm in 100% agreement with Denis here. Those "1234" *TYPE* of purely technical exercises are simply useless and boring. Just play actual music/songs/riffs/rhythms/solos/musical examples slowly, then work up to speed to warm-up.
Hello! Yes , as I say in my video (or rather imply), we all have to warm-up! It’s how we go about it that can potentially be a time waster! I warm up by playing the things I want to use, and often at the tempo that I can manage right off the top which is usually on the slower side of things.
If one can't paly well on a different type guitar does not mean their level is not there yet? I can gypsy pick fine on a gypsy guitar, but have difficulties on a standard flattop acoustic guitar.
I think it depends on the guitar and the setup. Even on different GJ guitars I may have trouble because the setup is not what I ‘m used to. But as I say in this video, I generally can play at 50% of my level on any guitar. I just have to make sure my 100% is high enough that 50% is still decent 😂😂😂. It happens to me a lot when I get invited to travel abroad for festivals. I refuse to travel by air with a guitar , so I often have to borrow instruments and just make do with what I’m provided with. There were times, I knew that even if I were warmed up I wouldn’t be able to execute certain things because the setup was much too different so I have to avoid doing such lines… but these are usually very complex lines. For the most part, playing “standard” stuff is manageable even on the worst guitar that I’ve been given. So perhaps my suggestion is just to keep at it (assuming the mechanics are correct) and raise your 100% to such a high level that eventually you’ll be able to play basic stuff on the crappiest of guitars out there hahah Happy new year!
Great video Denis! I've been guilty of doing the technical exercises for years now. I'm getting back into spending more time on actual music and I can see the benefits already. Technique is pushed a lot on UA-cam and social media these days it seems, I think people are forgetting why we picked up instruments in the first place.
for the algorithm 🙏
I like to warm up with something musical :>. But not for the hands, but for the mind. Detaching from the hasty life around me :D
Always a valid reason!
I used to do a warmup routine that was developed by Barney Kessel. You were basically going through each finger combination on each string, up and down. Then repeated the same patterns but alternating between two strings. It just took a long time and didn't give me anything that I could use musically. I don't think you really need to "warm up" to prevent injuries. The reason I did this was that it was supposed to make my fingers ready to move in any combination I would ever need. The spider exercise is also not supposed to actually warm up the fingers, but to teach finger independence. There is a point to doing these things but I think that doing basic scale exercises, arpeggios and licks does the same exact thing.
I make my fingers move by working on things that I can use in real life situations so often i practiced jazz lines! I’ve said in previous videos, but my technique essentially came from lines rather than exercises. To be more specific, I took lines that I liked and that were a bit difficult, and shed them so hard. I would then use them at every opportunity in real life playing situations. Over time, I developed the speed and dexterity very naturally from using them constantly
This video is an elegant antithesis to all the nonsense produced by commercial intent! Thank you for always sharing your wisdoms.
Yes, and no… Some of the really silly mechanical non-musical warm-up exercises can be seen as a waste of time, but as someone who has been playing guitar for 58 years and at a professional level, and has been dealing with pretty severe hand injuries for the last several years, I would say that warming up is an important function for working on more and more complicated music. You aptly point out that holding chords for long periods of time can be challenging, but so can playing really complicated technically demanding music? I play in a duo here in Spain with a very advanced flamenco guitarist, and the rhythms and the chord voicings that we have to play and hold are pretty challenging and they're demanding, and my hand gets tired. I need to warm up my hand before I play and I also use a massage device for my hand to get blood flow going so that I am not perpetuating the injuries or exacerbating injuries that I already have, and keeping my hand open and relaxed. I think that the physicality involved with playing is equivalent to the same mechanics as playing a complicated sport, susceptible to the same types of repestitve motion injuries, and that people for long-term need to be able to address Hand health issues. Every instrument has its own set of endemic injury and hand health is an important issueJust my 2 cents...
@@TheZenguitarguy haha I don’t think you watched my video, cause I say you gotta warm up and you have to be careful about movements that require too much tension
@@DenisChangMusic I am a dork and only watched the first 6 minutes before I typed...sorry...of course you would care and speak intelligently...my bad
Joy to the world was sick !
I'm absolutely a player that MUST warm-up every time I pick up a guitar, but I'm in 100% agreement with Denis here. Those "1234" *TYPE* of purely technical exercises are simply useless and boring.
Just play actual music/songs/riffs/rhythms/solos/musical examples slowly, then work up to speed to warm-up.
Hello! Yes , as I say in my video (or rather imply), we all have to warm-up! It’s how we go about it that can potentially be a time waster! I warm up by playing the things I want to use, and often at the tempo that I can manage right off the top which is usually on the slower side of things.
@DenisChangMusic It really is the best way (simply just playing real musical pieces), imo!
What is this thumb rest-stroke technique? I've seen it in recent Bireli videos
@@ziuzidion i dont know lol but it gives a different sound. I have been playing this way since I was a kid haha
If one can't paly well on a different type guitar does not mean their level is not there yet? I can gypsy pick fine on a gypsy guitar, but have difficulties on a standard flattop acoustic guitar.
I think it depends on the guitar and the setup. Even on different GJ guitars I may have trouble because the setup is not what I ‘m used to. But as I say in this video, I generally can play at 50% of my level on any guitar. I just have to make sure my 100% is high enough that 50% is still decent 😂😂😂. It happens to me a lot when I get invited to travel abroad for festivals. I refuse to travel by air with a guitar , so I often have to borrow instruments and just make do with what I’m provided with. There were times, I knew that even if I were warmed up I wouldn’t be able to execute certain things because the setup was much too different so I have to avoid doing such lines… but these are usually very complex lines. For the most part, playing “standard” stuff is manageable even on the worst guitar that I’ve been given.
So perhaps my suggestion is just to keep at it (assuming the mechanics are correct) and raise your 100% to such a high level that eventually you’ll be able to play basic stuff on the crappiest of guitars out there hahah Happy new year!
Buon anno 🥂🤪🍕
Triggered asfk rn 😤
I'm triggered. Thank Denis!
Darn, I'm disappointed. I thought you were going to teach a new useless warm-up routine!