Skill Tightening Technique - How do I do this???

Mike,

I have been playing guitar (1-4 hrs/day) since January of this year. Thanks to you and your coleaguees I have learned 19 songs all the way through from Shook Me All Night Long to Sweet Home Alabama, to Let Me Love You Baby, to Purple Rain.

Thank GOD for the looper function! That thing is a game changer!

My problem is, being a beginner, I can play the songs all the way through at full speed but they are pretty sloppy. By the time I get the song down where I can play all the notes by heart, etc., I can barely stand the song any more. I hear the difficult parts/note changes over and over in my head, walking down the street, while watching t.v., in my dreams, etc. I am having trouble finding the will power to continue working on these songs to perfection...I lose interest in them

Instead, I just move on to the next song and learn that one because it is something fresh and I have new found enthusiasm. So....now I can play (in sloppy fashion) almost 20 songs that I used to like and can now barely stand, although I suspect my love for them will come back someday.

Is this a good method? Will my skills eventually come together by learning many songs at a somewat superficial skill level or do I need to go back over my previous songs and force myself to nail them down better before moving on?

I'm seceretly hoping that if I just keep learning songs like this, I'll slowly get better as I learn them and someday I'll be able to go back to my original songs and play them at a high level without torturing myself by playing them over, and over, and over, etc.

Love the lessons from you by the way! This site has SERIOUSLY been a salvation for me duing these tough times. You all have given me countless hours of therapy.

Thank you so much!

Mark.

Hi Mark - first off, thanks so much for the kind words, and we're so glad you are digging the lessons on GT!

I have to say - you made me LOL with your experience working on songs with all the parts continuously running through your head. This is exactly what I experience leading up to when I film my song tutorials. Sometimes I'll wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, playing a guitar part over and over in my dreams haha.

I have a few suggestions for you to try and shake things up.

First up - you might consider using 30-60 mins of your daily playing time practicing exercises and drills that aim to tighten your skills. Instead of burning out on song parts being played over and over, perhaps take some time to work on your picking, timing, strumming, and chord changes in a more general sense. Start slow, use a metronome, and simply drill the basic mechanics of your playing skills every day. You can find some drills and exercises to get you going here:

https://www.guitartricks.com/artofpractice.php

However - I just want to stress that you should NEVER stop learning songs!! I am suggesting this approach as a companion to what you are already doing.

Next - when you're working on songs, use the speed buttons on the side of the video frame to slow down the song. This allows you to focus more on smooth execution of the parts instead of blowing through the song sloppily. Try 50%, 75%, or 90%, and figure out the sweet spot of where you can play through the song smoothly, without any mistakes, and then STAY THERE! Lots of repetition at this slower tempo will force you to focus on smoothness and dexterity. This is a more efficient and effective way to practice, and you should start seeing progress in the tightness of your playing quicker than what you're doing now.

I hope this gives you some ideas to try. Let me know how it goes!!!

Mike

Ha! Good to know I'm not the only one who suffers from cold sweats and night terrors!

BTW, I do use the speed function. It is incredibly useful. It sounds like I need to stay on the slower speeds longer to galvanize my technique though.

I'll go through the exercises and drills regularly likeyou suggested as well.

One follow up though. In the Sweet Home Alabama solo, more specifically the fast hammer on/pull of section high on the neck, is there a specific drill/exercise that will help me more accurately play that? As you can immagine, my notes don't ring out, come out muted, etc. as I'm trying to get through that part. I have been playing over and over and over and I'm SLOWLY making progress but if there is a specific drill that can help me nail that kind of technuque, I would love to incorporate it into my practice schedule.

I watched the "Building Pinky Strength & Dexterity" tuorials and will practice those but I'm hoping there is something else, more focused on the hammering on and off method.

Mark.

Cool man! Check out this lesson for a few great exercises:

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=20176&s_id=1588

I recommend doing these to warm up first, then dive into that specific lick from the song, playing it slow enough that it's smooth and clear, with plenty of repetition.

One more thing I'd recommend is while working on Anders' first exercise, stretch the pinky up another fre (so it's 4 frets up from the index finger). This will be a little closer to the stretch that's needed on the Skynyrd lick.

Hope this helps - let me know how it goes!

Mike

Originally Posted by: lavanish

Ha! Good to know I'm not the only one who suffers from cold sweats and night terrors!

BTW, I do use the speed function. It is incredibly useful. It sounds like I need to stay on the slower speeds longer to galvanize my technique though.

I'll go through the exercises and drills regularly likeyou suggested as well.

One follow up though. In the Sweet Home Alabama solo, more specifically the fast hammer on/pull of section high on the neck, is there a specific drill/exercise that will help me more accurately play that? As you can immagine, my notes don't ring out, come out muted, etc. as I'm trying to get through that part. I have been playing over and over and over and I'm SLOWLY making progress but if there is a specific drill that can help me nail that kind of technuque, I would love to incorporate it into my practice schedule.

I watched the "Building Pinky Strength & Dexterity" tuorials and will practice those but I'm hoping there is something else, more focused on the hammering on and off method.

Mark.

Originally Posted by: lavanish

I watched the "Building Pinky Strength & Dexterity" tuorials and will practice those but I'm hoping there is something else, more focused on the hammering on and off method.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1829

This is kind of a companion to the pinky building exercises.

The lick you are talking about requires a lot of strength, dexterity & stamina. It takes a lot of repetitious practice to build that level of all three. Be patient with yourself! Hope that helps!

Awesome! Thanks for chiming in Chris!

Originally Posted by: lavanish

Awesome! Thanks for chiming in Chris!

You're welcome!