Several novice guitarists out there impatiently want to learn to play the guitar effortlessly. Regardless, many have a somewhat vague conception about what this really means. Lets see if we can clear up some of this misconceptions about playing fast, assert various fundamental rules about learning to play the guitar fast and at the same time provide you with some comprehensive ideas about the way this style of playing ought be used.
Playing the Guitar Fast and It's Misconceptions
In spite of this increasing obsession regarding playing fast, speed by itself is really not pertinent. Despite that, speed is definitely a good thing when used in the context of good music and with taste.There are additional misconceptions about speed that in order to learn to play guitar fast you need to practice fast. It is in actuality correct that at some level you will want to practice fast. Still, the first undertaking is to develop various techniques before you can work on playing fast. Step by step is really the only way to learn these techniques and this needs to be done slowly.
The Key Question - How Do You Learn To Play Guitar Fast?
One important factor to playing fast is you must think before you play. A well-known guitar teacher, Aaron Shearer, promoted the "aim directed movement", which means you need to know exactly where your fingers have to go before you move them there. This can only be achieved by slow practice.
Another important factor is developing your finger strength. You need to practice not only flexing the finger, but extending it as well. We have used our hands to grab and hold things since birth, thus developing our flexors. It's important to train your extensors in order to learn to play guitar fast. Practicing Rasgueados is a great way to do this.
Building body energy will help you hold out during the fast playing periods by practicing speed bursts. With a speed burst you need to take small pieces of a scale and play it backwards and forwards using the eighth note as the rhythmic value for every note. Using the sixteenth note instead, play the same part of the scale backwards and forwards without stopping. Consequently you can isolate the problems in playing a scale, such as string crossings or shifts.
Using The Speed the Right Way
Pumping Nylon, a book by Scott Tennant, has a great statement about speed. Scott states when you are looking at a good piece of music, you'll note that the Fast-playing parts only last for a couple of measures. Although knowing your scales and being able to play them quickly is always a good thing, it's not essential to use this speed for long periods of time.
You will find many articles online that will help you to learn to play guitar fast. Just don't expect this to come too easily. You will definitely find there is a lot of work involved. The best way to get started is to learn about the various strategies you'll need to develop your finger strength, speed bursts and Rasqueados.
If you really want to learn to play guitar well you must do one simple thing before anything else. You must learn how learning takes place between your muscles and brain. If you understand the process that your brain must go through to train your muscles your practice sessions will produce predictably effective results.
You have probably heard the term muscle memory. This is the process of your brain learning and storing a set of precise instructions for each group of muscles needed for every small task you want your fingers to perform on the guitar. When muscle memory is solidly established it becomes a naturally effortless and an almost unconscious act to play the guitar well.
These tasks need to be practiced at speeds that are slow enough so that you can consistently perform them perfectly. If you practice the guitar at a tempo that produces lots of mistakes you end up teaching your muscles how to play the exercise with the mistakes included. Unfortunately muscles cannot distinguish between playing with mistakes and playing without them.
Here are 12 tips for having practice sessions that will support the development of good muscle memory:
1. Prepare your whole body for the practice session. Practice while relaxed. Just like an airplane pilot checks over the plane prior to take off you should check your body for any tension, stiffness, tightness, pain or any discomfort. Tight muscles can become tighter during practice which can seriously limit the full range of motion needed to master the guitar. Even tension in the shoulders can travel to the arms and then eventually to the fingers. Stretch and warm your entire body before playing in order to stay loose. Begin practicing with slow, easy exercises to prepare your hands for more demanding new material.
2. Practice in a quiet, comfortable place where you are unlikely to be disturbed.
3. Commit to a specific time each day for practice. Begin each day with a firm commitment to a practice plan that includes the specific details of when, where and what to play.
4. Keep your practice sessions short, frequent and very specific. It is more effective to practice 20 minutes everyday than to practice two or three hours once a week.
5. Always practice with a metronome. Let me repeat that. Always practice with a metronome. It is surprising how often even good guitarists break this rule. Training yourself to play at a consistent tempo will make your music sound professional. This is valuable whether you plan to play just for friends at a party or in a stadium full of screaming fans.
6. Tune the guitar before each practice.
7. Determine your optimum practice speeds. For each part of a scale, exercise or song find the fastest metronome speed that you can play without making mistakes. Practice it for a day at 25% to 30% of that maximum tempo. Follow this with a day at 50% of maximum then another day at 75%. On day four practice at your old maximum speed. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you have a new, faster maximum speed. Be forewarned, however, that this routine might seem ridiculously slow but, hang in there because it really will pay off.
8. Do not try to learn too many different things at each practice session. Practice only small sections of an exercise or song at a time. Working on an entire new song, all in one setting, makes it more difficult for your brain to cement solid muscle memories. Just like a newborn baby can’t handle an entire meal of solid food we need to practice only a few, small musical spoonfuls at a time.
9. Work on the problem parts not just what you already know. This may sound extremely obvious but there is a tendency for new guitarists to play the easy parts over and over while continuing to stumble over the problem spots.
10. Spend the first ten minutes warming up, then split the remaining time equally between new exercises and new songs.
11. Set aside some time to just goof around with the guitar. Make sure to inject a healthy dose of fun in each practice session. If you have been working on blues scales then why not put on some jam tracks or even your favorite blues CD and try to improvise a solo. Select a favorite song to work on at the end of each practice session.
12. If you plan to perform in front of people perfect your songs in private then practice playing in front of sympathetic friends and family members. Create a practice environment that is as close to the conditions of your upcoming performance as possible. If you will perform standing up then practice that way. Tell your friendly practice audiences to feel free to talk and laugh it up during your practice. This will help you learn to become comfortable in a distracting concert environment. Consider recording your practice sessions with a simple home video camera on a tripod.
Opening night jitters can throw off your game no matter how well you know the material. If you have repeatedly practiced playing in simulated concert environments then the real deal can be a breeze.
The bottom line: to play the guitar well it is essential to design practice sessions that support the natural development of solid muscle memories.
About The Author: John Mackinnon has been enjoying learning to play guitar for over 40 years. He is the father of three wonderful children and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. John is the owner of the online guitar lessons website called www.CompareGuitarLessons.com which offers guitar related articles, online guitar lesson program reviews and a free newsletter.
Both Carlie Edwards & John Mackinnon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Carlie Edwards has sinced written about articles on various topics from Stress Management, Cure Anxiety and Types of Cancer. Carlie Edwards publishes articles on Today's Issues & Topics. For info on Learn To Play Guitar Fast visit Spanish version here. Carlie Edwards's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
John Mackinnon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Guide Guitar, Home Management and Health. John Mackinnon has been enjoying learning to play the guitar for over 40 years. He is the owner of the online guitar lessons review website www.CompareGuitarLessons.com. John Mackinnon's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.