Plateau in speed increases
a while ago I posted this question about my ideas for guitar practise: Guitar practice - general techniques
Since then I've been using the little app I put together, ranked up about 40 hours or so in total and it's been mostly great. I can record how much I've been practising, it slows me down when I make mistakes, gradually speeds up, etc.
I found some interesting things which made me tweak how it works along the way.
But mostly - I seem to get 'stuck' around a particular BPM, about 75% of the target BPM I wrote the riff/part for, for the past couple of weeks. That's across 3 or 4 different sections, which I practise on average between 10 and 20 minutes each every day (i.e. total 1 to 2 hours each evening, ish)
Usually I pick up each riff for the day, make some mistakes and so drop down 5 or 10 bpm or so until I play it consistently. Then, the BPM rises to about the same place (or slightly higher, slightly lower) and the time for that exercise/riff/part is finished, so I move on.
I sometimes make better progress on the days I can do 20 minutes on each part, but there's rarely a good solid leap.
The good part is my app can throw out a graph of date vs BPM, and it's recorded everything I've done. The frustrating part is the line goes up from my starting tempo (30 or 40%) to about 170 bpm in each case - despite some being 16ths, some 16th triplets, some sweeping etc - and has stayed there for a couple of weeks.
I have no doubt it's doing some benefit - I can relax more, play for longer, and when I 'mess around' and try the thing at a high tempo (or full tempo), it sounds a lot better than before - albeit it lots of mistakes.
I want to see what everyone makes of this: am I reaching some talent-based limit, technique-based limit etc? I feel as is everything is relaxed and when watching myself in the reflection of my old monitor, there's no stray finger flailing around, no massive inefficient movements etc...
(Oh, as per my original question's best answer: I do warm up with some chromatic runs.. despite it sounding like a terrible affliction.. for about 3 min, which seems to get my fingers / muscles in the mood)
Can anyone comment or provide any tips, thoughts?
(3)3 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
You seem to be focused on the physical aspects and drilling. I'd recommend a complementary pursuit of something with more musical content. Even Steve Vai's 10-hour workout (which, btw, is one of the best things ever published in Guitar World), recommends a heavy dose of transcription and improvisation.
Funk guitar has a lot to offer in the way of complicated riffs that repeat throughout the song. Grab some George Duke or Parliament and play along. You can jam through three 3-minute songs in 10 minutes.
Keep in mind that even with a very thorough workout, some things just take time. And you need to rest, too. I regularly find myself making more progress speed-wise when I stop practising something for a day or two than when doing it like hell. As mentioned in another answer, reaching high speeds requires relaxation as much as it relies on repetition. Either work on this, of give yourself some slack : the more you stress yourself, the less you'll reach your goal. If you really want to practice, practise something else. If you really want to practice this part, try breaking it up in multiples parts, or playing it another way : another octave, another fingering, another right or/and left hand technique : it will prevent your from boredom, it will expand what's available to you in term of playing...and you might even find a better way to play it than what you originaly wrote.
Also, playing a hard, fast part, can be really challenging at a very, very slow pace (tai chi style). Try playing it at 40, or 30 bpm. I used to start from an average tempo and then work my way, either up or down in tempo. Both are hard.
It sounds like you have hit a wall, but it has nothing to do with talent or technique. It has to do with hearing. One of the most helpful things I ever learned had to do with playing really fast intricate lines. My technique is really good and I can play fast, but when I did, my lines got boring and sometimes I couldn't keep up with a tempo. The problem was that I wasn't 'hearing' fast. My brain couldn't keep up with the speed of the notes, even though my fingers could. Turns out it's damn near impossible to think about each note flying by at a fast tempo. The trick is to not do that. Only think about the line as a whole and practice hearing it that fast in your head a few times before playing it. Do it without the metronome at first so as not to get caught up in trying for perfection.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.