Beyond the music: Things to help you progress

Hi Folks,
Its a bit unusual thread but I wud like to draw u'r attention towards
One Common but serious problem for all of us is "Hearing Loss".
Those of us who has attended Concerts might have experienced it.
I went to Satch Concert in Bang'lore and I cud feel the ringing in my
ears even days after it.
Now comes playing the guitar.Especially we do not have any control
over the sound Intensity of an Acoustic Guitar , Most of the time
we look towards Fretboard So Left Ear is Exposed to soundboard
which gradually effects the Left ear.Heavy Strumming makes it worst.

When it comes to Electric Pls suggest the safety guards.Say regding
proper Earthing of Amp and Also suggest any Tripping Devices to
cut off the Current If Anyone Knows + other safety tips.

Thanks and Regards
Vipin

This is something which most of here dont care while playing. Listen! be honest, think and answer to yourself that how many of you play guitars with nails being cut properly viz. "SHORT". Let me answer....its few. Just a small thing to do and trust me, it'll just improve your playing and technique enormously. I know quite a bit of them must be having proper short nails. But this is for the members in large cos i know most of them dont care to cut their nails short. Unless you get you nails cut short you wont be able to play proficiently nor perfectly.. by just NO means! And if you are so lazy to do that then atleast cut short the nails of your fretting hand. Please!

Just do it! And you will surely feel better grip and command over your fretting board! And you wont find any distorted noise or atleast it'll get reduced by large.

Give respect to the instrument and just cut short your nails!

Cheers!!!

1.surf igt less..and play ur guitar more.
2.worry abt ur "gear" when u learn how to play.
3.play along with records..it will help u to get down stuff faster.
4.stop using guitar-pro and tabs as a crutch while figuring stuff out..try to figure songs and solos out by ear..and use tabs and guitar-pro only as a tool..
5.most guitar players..forget that dynamics is an imp part of playing..and emoting.

1) take good care of your instrument... put it in the cover everynight before going to sleep. Do not rest the guitar on the bridge too much ..... it might bend it ..... thus increasing the gap between the fretboard and the strings ... and making it harder to play ...... and don't ever EVER let it get wet

2) keep some boroline and moov handy, if you are a beginner and really enthusiastic, your fingertips and the base of your fingers might hurt like anything

3) do some basic stretching exercises for your arms

4) keep some extra strings with you

5) practice in front of a mirror if possible ...that will boost your confidence ... other than giving you a better idea of the fret positions (look at yourself while in front of the mirror .. don't look down at your guitar ...... kind of beats the purpose :-) )

and remember that there is no shortcut for learning the guitar (or any other instrument for that matter) ... it all hard work ..... believe in yourself......

Ats

Always..ALWAYS...ALWAYS ALWAYS use a metronome when practicing....a screwd up sense of timing can be hell to correct ( am still trying )

I know it'll be tiring reading but please do because it's yet another small thing with literally no effort which will go on to improve your playing and increase the much demanded SPEED enormously. It has got to do with the playing posture. I'm not talking with reference to sitting posture though it helps a lot in maintaining the needed balance. But the posture will rather help you a lot in gaining CONTROL and thereby SPEED.

Firstly, I'd like to define Speed for them who generally fail to understand the term. In a layman's language, the Speed refers to the number of notes being played per second. That is very simple. But now, lot of people get confused while counting the notes. Some feel that plucking the string one at a time means playing one note. You are wrong! That isn't it! Note essentially means the number of times your fingers are hitting the fretboard and not that your pick (plectrum) is hitting the strings!

Again switching back and emphasizing the main point, one should make sure that he/she maintains a good distance between waist and elbow while playing. Let me elaborate on it very lucidly. When you hold on to your guitar, your fretting hand's elbow is near your waistline. BUT most of you fail to realise the importance of maintaining a bit of distance between these two body parts. In most cases that i've encountered is that guys generally tend to stick their elbows to their lower abdomen or waist which should NEVER be done. (For heavens sake, don't interpret the meaning of sticking w.r.t some glue... please!) Now with your elbow being almost stuck by the waist, you cant move your fretting hand easily over the fretboard. And unless you cant move your hand along the fretboard with ease, you can never play the instrument with speed!!!
For instance:- Can you play piano sticking your both hands by your waists??? NO! You will have to stretch your hands out in order to reach the keys. And that is essentially the same logic that u should apply behind playing guitars too.

Dont be lazy! And stretch out! And you will gain contol and speed, for sure.

Cheers!!!

alys keep a plectrum in ur wallet. so that u can find em easily...i mean always play wid a plectrum...make it a pont that u alys play wid a plectrum

Originally Posted by sumit

alys keep a plectrum in ur wallet. so that u can find em easily...i mean always play wid a plectrum...make it a pont that u alys play wid a plectrum

what about finger picking??

WRT to speed, always remember what slash said, "Speed is the by-product of accuracy"

and this is just a bit of advice for tone......which i find useful

keep the plectrum at an angle to the strings not perfectly parallel and notice the differnece in the tone.......kinda like making the plec more "aerodynamic"

Hello Dr Saurabh, it was nice to learn your advice but i would rather suggest something materially important. As you must have tried out holding the pick with both the options viz. at some space of angle and with parallel postion w.r.t strings. I agree with you on the note that the sound is simply beautiful when you play with inclined angle BUT that is at the cost of speed. The speed gets seriously affected while playing with an inclined angle. Though the tone is really different when one plays with inclined angle as opposed to parallel postioning. But to this note i'd rather advice all that if in case you need speed, always try to keep the pick virtually parallel to the strings while playing. And remember, it doesn't mean absolute parallel. But yes, if in case you need to experience a different tone then try holding the pick at an inclined angle as suggested by Dr. Saurabh.
And Sorry Dr. Saurabh for adding a bit of conflicting opinion.
Cheers!

Oops! I think i should've mentioned it...... for them who doesn't know what "PICK is?
Pick means Plectrum.

i got a proper shock performing in a gig.the grounding wasn't proper.

1) Always try and practice on a guitar which is perfectly tuned. It's very important to get that perfect sound into your system.

2) There is more to IGT than cricket discussions in the Chit Chat lounge. Use your resources well.

3) It is always better to learn from someone who knows what they are doing rather than taking lessons of the internet and practising. It is very difficult to "unlearn" something if you've done it wrong. I'm not saying that you cannot learn on your own...you will, however, learn faster with help.

4) Alternate picking is your best friend. Use it.

5) Do not ever make the excuse that you do not have the time to practice. Practice does not have to be actually taking time out to sit with the guitar. You can even practice while doodling infront of the TV. This is especially useful when you're doing finger patterns or alt. picking practices.

The thing on which I’m about to inscribe is yet another way to increase speed, specifically while playing chords and obviously leads too.

I can categorize the technique of holding the pick in two ways which generally anyone of us does. One is with a closed grip viz. with fingers folded and enclosed inside the palm. And the other is where the fingers are generally being left loose and stretched hanging out. It might look a bit confusing and so I’ll try to post the pictures of the two customs of holding, soon and if possible.

You'd find the former being suggested worldwide and/or even if you would've gone through articles on how to hold the pick then you must have got the hint by now! But still, many hold the pick with latter pattern just because it feels comfortable to them. No doubts they'll keep continuing to play like that eternally since they feel comfortable. But unfortunately they are doing it at the cost of some speed. Let me try to explain why the latter positioning is at a cost of speed. You won’t be able to play fast numbers on chords or infact leads too with latter mentioned grip!

Look what happens with the latter technique is that when you hold a pick with help of thumb and index finger then generally there is a tendency to leave the rest of the fingers hanging which without any doubt weakens the speed. There is essentially a scientific reason behind! Actually when you strum a chord, then with the movement of your hands the speed gets reduced caused by friction as the hanging fingers are getting resistances of movement from the air. But with the former technique, when the fingers are folded and enclosed inside the palm then there is no scope for air to hit against the loose & hanging fingers which helps your strumming hand to move quite rapidly with minimal effort and with much better and controlled movement. And that will certainly go on to amplify the speed.

I would like to add and suggest you all who hold the pick with latter positioning to switch-off to former suggested pattern because it’ll help you achieve better command and control over the movements and speed too! You will undeniably feel in the beginning that you are uncomfortable playing with former technique. But remember that it’s for the long run which will go on to help you immensely when it'll come to speed and power play. And there you’ll find an edge.

Just a suggestion to them who play with latter technique to change the way of holding the pick to the former!

Cheers!

I'd say do all the above and most of all ....
..........DO NOT WEAR METAL BUCKLE BELTS WHILE PLAYING STANDING.
It'll save u a lot of scratches and wear.

@ Nishantsomani- The technique youve outlined is fine from a purely speed perspective. However it keeps your hand much more tense and rigid and reduces playing dynamics. Secondly, if you do anything besides alt picking, eg Lenny Breau harmonics, fret tapping or hybrid picking, this system is not useful and limits you.
Furthermore, the parallel/ curved pick thing is not necessarily true..its just a question of getting used to either method. Shawn Lane and Eric Johnson both make a point of the angled technique for better tone, and frankly I've never heard anyone consistently faster than the former.