ghost_of_karelia
Utrydd dei Svake
Inspired by 80H's One Month Theory Challenge (http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/mu...s/236337-one-month-theory-challenge-game.html) I've decided to start my own similar thread, both to hopefully demonstrate to the myriad of SS.org readers interested in practice-riff-with-metronome practice regime and also to aid with self-motivation and give me a goal to aim for and a means to document my process towards achieving it.
The Challenge:
Having just completed recording rhythm guitars for my band's debut, one of the major areas of my technique currently lacking is my ability to pick fast - not anything as complex as alternate picking during solos or smooth and accurate sweep picking - even picking in excess of 125BPM on a single string is very difficult for me. I tense up enormously and often enjoy the luxury of awful pains in my shoulder and wrist. Thus, I want to spend the next month working almost exclusively on my technique using a number of riffs that I love hearing but cannot for the life of me play. The main areas I will be concentrating on are:
- Stamina
- Muscle relaxation
- Sound consistency
- Change in position (sitting to standing and vice versa)
The Thread:
Depending on whether or not I feel the need to stroke my ego, I'll be updating this thread with either daily or weekly updates on my improvements. I'll be listing the exercises I've used, the warmups I've developed, the change in metronome speed/usage, recording various examples of the riffs chosen in order to see progress, recording how much time I spend daily on working and just sharing bits and bobs that I come across during the process that may help out others that are curious.
The Riffs:
The riffs I aim to be able to play consistently and well while maintaining a relaxed posture by the 15th July are:
Wintersun: Sleeping Stars (1:33 onwards)
Amon Amarth: The Last With Pagan Blood (opening riff)
Wintersun: Sons of Winter and Stars (2:24 onwards)
Mastodon: Divinations (2:12 onwards)
Above all: Why on SS.org? Why not keep it to yourself?
Because in my perusings on the site trying to learn more about our craft I've seen an abundance of questions about how to speed riffs and picking up over time, mostly using a metronome. The folk on this forum give some great advice, and I thought it was about time to take some of it on and practice accordingly, and I thought I'd broadcast the process to give curious guitarists of all skill levels an opportunity to see the techniques applied first-hand to a regular routine. An experiment, if you like, to see what kind of results can be gained!
Also because I have nothing to do now I'm in the break between college and uni, so it's time to put the pot noodle in the bin, put the dr pepper back in the fridge and get my hands back on the axe and start improving in a serious fashion.
SS.org, I hope you enjoy following the thread and seeing progress!
The challenge begins tomorrow (Sunday 15th June) and will continue for a month - finishing on Tuesday 15th July.
ENJOY!
The Challenge:
Having just completed recording rhythm guitars for my band's debut, one of the major areas of my technique currently lacking is my ability to pick fast - not anything as complex as alternate picking during solos or smooth and accurate sweep picking - even picking in excess of 125BPM on a single string is very difficult for me. I tense up enormously and often enjoy the luxury of awful pains in my shoulder and wrist. Thus, I want to spend the next month working almost exclusively on my technique using a number of riffs that I love hearing but cannot for the life of me play. The main areas I will be concentrating on are:
- Stamina
- Muscle relaxation
- Sound consistency
- Change in position (sitting to standing and vice versa)
The Thread:
Depending on whether or not I feel the need to stroke my ego, I'll be updating this thread with either daily or weekly updates on my improvements. I'll be listing the exercises I've used, the warmups I've developed, the change in metronome speed/usage, recording various examples of the riffs chosen in order to see progress, recording how much time I spend daily on working and just sharing bits and bobs that I come across during the process that may help out others that are curious.
The Riffs:
The riffs I aim to be able to play consistently and well while maintaining a relaxed posture by the 15th July are:
Wintersun: Sleeping Stars (1:33 onwards)
Amon Amarth: The Last With Pagan Blood (opening riff)
Wintersun: Sons of Winter and Stars (2:24 onwards)
Mastodon: Divinations (2:12 onwards)
Above all: Why on SS.org? Why not keep it to yourself?
Because in my perusings on the site trying to learn more about our craft I've seen an abundance of questions about how to speed riffs and picking up over time, mostly using a metronome. The folk on this forum give some great advice, and I thought it was about time to take some of it on and practice accordingly, and I thought I'd broadcast the process to give curious guitarists of all skill levels an opportunity to see the techniques applied first-hand to a regular routine. An experiment, if you like, to see what kind of results can be gained!
Also because I have nothing to do now I'm in the break between college and uni, so it's time to put the pot noodle in the bin, put the dr pepper back in the fridge and get my hands back on the axe and start improving in a serious fashion.
SS.org, I hope you enjoy following the thread and seeing progress!
The challenge begins tomorrow (Sunday 15th June) and will continue for a month - finishing on Tuesday 15th July.
ENJOY!