[!--QuoteBegin-edthegreat+Jan 12 2006, 08:58 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(edthegreat @ Jan 12 2006, 08:58 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]well thats my ego kicked in the balls [!--emo&

--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/blink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'blink.gif\' /][!--endemo--] but thanbks alot for the advice i really need to practise more. and no im not incredibly talented and some more info on the warm up thingy you mentioned would be ace
up the irons andd thanks
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This is what I do, and it works for me; mileage may vary.
The chromatic exercise basically means that you hit every note on the fretboard. Start on the low E dtring, pick the low F, first finger, and then hit the F# with your second finger; G third finger and finally G# pinky. Then play A# on the A string, first finger, repeat the sane fret/finger pattern on this string as well as the others. Then, when you get to the 4th fret high E (G#), reverse the pattern (4th finger high E (G#), 3rd finger high E (G), etc. Then, once you end at the first fret low E (F), the point that you began, shift your first finger to the second fret low E (F#) and begin the ascending/descending pattern again.
PICK EVERY NOTE.
How long will this take? Better pack a lunch the first few times that you do it; it may take you longer than you think, it depends though. Here are some points to remember:
- PICK EVERY NOTE
- Follow this pattern of hitting every note on the fretboard until you run out of frets, then go back down again. In other words, once you end on the highest fretted note possible, star with you pinky on that note and make your way back down toward the headstock
- PICK EVERY NOTE
- I cannot stress this enough; PLAY SLOWLY. When I was in my teens, speed was the diving rod that all guitarists seemed to be measured. As a result, I sounded like ass. I was fast, but I played like I had something to prove and all that I proved is that I had the abilioty to sound like ass.
The speed will come because:
Speed is the natural result of repetition. I bet that you are much faster now compared to when you first picked up your guitar, right? Play slow and clean and the speed will come; you will then not only be able to pull some speed out of your bag of tricks when you need to, but you will sound much better than the crackhead that it trying to play the Paul Gilbert solo, Frenzy, after only practicing it for a day.
PICK EVERY NOTE.
What do I keep repeating that? Because it is so freaking easy to play everything legato (hammer ons/pull offs) once you learn how to; if you make a constant effort to play fast, the following will result:
- Your hands will be in synch, making those dead notes (your picking hand strikes faster than your fret hand) tends to lesson a great deal
- Riffing, arpeggios )especially sweeps), string skipping and other right handing coordinated techniques will be improved
Listen to early Y. Malmsteen; sure, he was an ego-centric weenie that has since mellowed out, but DAMN! He picked nearly everynote and could play faster and cleaner than most guys that trill. That comes from hours every day of practice.
Some more tips that helped me:
1 - Practice as much as you can, but when you are bored and practice seems like a chore, put the guitar down. Some of my biggest gains in technique were the result of taken a short break (anywhere from a few days to a few weeks), and coming back to the guitar with a fresh state of mind.
2 - After you can play the above chromatic exercise without concentrating a whole lot (you can hit every note and you know where you are going without gluing your eyes to the fretboard), do it while you watch tv. Recently, I started doing that after watching the first two seasons of 24; I got in a lot of practice and saw a great series.
3 - This may border line on an Opra (however you spell her fat name) moment, but do not let your guitar define who you are as a person. If you cannot get a song down or you have writers block, it does not mean that you are a loser or untalented. Keep working at it but do other things, too.
4 - Have fun; after I warm up and try to learn something new (it has been awhile, I went through a period where I did not even touch a guitar for about 10 years), I take some time out to JAM. At this stage, it is by myself, but I play along to some Sabbath and Maiden and I never why I learned to play in the first place; because it's fun and I love playing along to great music.
Sorry this is so long, but it's 6:00 am and I am at work, with nothing to do yet.
Tim
edited to fix a few spelling errors