Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:52 am Post subject: Right hand speed limit?
Ok, here's something that i have wondered since i started trying to develop speed in the right hand.
First, i obviously know that the human body has a speed limit, but my question here is, more precisely,
Can i increase that limit?
You'll see, I'm left-handed (i play normally) and my right hand has a very slow speed, i can play accurately at around 130bpm (4 notes per beat) without starting to use the forearm and getting tired quickly. So, wanting to play some shred songs, i fail immediately at the first alternate picking run.
I've tried to use metronome, increase the speed slowly, but my limit is still VERY slow to play shred.
I've been using the Speed Trainer software, what i noticed is a little pain in my hand, maybe it's finally developing speed.
But well, for the shredders of the forum, did you make your right hand any faster or you just never had that problem?.
Thanks for reading, any help is welcomed.
P.D.: Excuse my bad english.
you will hit walls, and some people can play faster than others, thats nature, you can push these walls but it takes time and dedication
get GT, martin goulding has a great column in there atm, martin is one of my teachers, i can assure you, it gets results. it just takes time, sometimes years
Later on Scott made mention of the influence of sax players in his playing, particularly in his legato approach,
"If you don't need to pick don't do it! I decide on where to play stuff by the least of mind of picking I need to do."
There was then a surprising demonstration of just how slow Scotts picking actually is, but I don't think that anyone in the audience would hold that against him.
Make some music...you aren't in the olympics (trying to get my head around this also) _________________ SoundCloud
Thanks! well yes i'm more a legato/sweep guitarist for that reason. But still i'd like to play a little faster with alternate for a more complete technique.
I'll keep it in mind.
Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Awesometown, Scotland
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject: Re: Right hand speed limit?
Andrés wrote:
Ok, here's something that i have wondered since i started trying to develop speed in the right hand.
First, i obviously know that the human body has a speed limit, but my question here is, more precisely,
Can i increase that limit?
You'll see, I'm left-handed (i play normally) and my right hand has a very slow speed, i can play accurately at around 130bpm (4 notes per beat)
I see the dilemma, that's quite slow indeed.
Yes, you can increase the limit. From a technical standpoint of alternate picking it starts with picking lighter.
SUPER LIGHT, so light that you miss most of the notes at first, acuracy will adjust in time and speed will unlock.
If however you are not looking for blazing alternate lines but instead want OMFG levels of speed then ditch alternate picking and start watching Marshall Harrisons lessons
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject: Re: Right hand speed limit?
John Aiton wrote:
Andrés wrote:
Ok, here's something that i have wondered since i started trying to develop speed in the right hand.
First, i obviously know that the human body has a speed limit, but my question here is, more precisely,
Can i increase that limit?
You'll see, I'm left-handed (i play normally) and my right hand has a very slow speed, i can play accurately at around 130bpm (4 notes per beat)
I see the dilemma, that's quite slow indeed.
Yes, you can increase the limit. From a technical standpoint of alternate picking it starts with picking lighter.
SUPER LIGHT, so light that you miss most of the notes at first, acuracy will adjust in time and speed will unlock.
If however you are not looking for blazing alternate lines but instead want OMFG levels of speed then ditch alternate picking and start watching Marshall Harrisons lessons
Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 50 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 7:33 am Post subject:
Whilst i am primarily a classical player (finger picking as opposed to pick), there is a certain technique i have found effective at building up speed. It is often called 'burst' training, basically it involves playing in small fast bursts, i.e. playing two open Es as fast as you can, then make it 3 Es, 4, 5, 6, 7 etc, also try alternating whether you start on a downstroke or upstroke. The most important thing here is for it to be small movements, it is basically accurately twitching your hand, also aim for evenness and try make the last note feel like it is on the beat, i.e. you are cramming the other notes before it. Another thing you can do to practice evenness is to make the 'on beat' note the second last note, then third last etc; this is basically identifying weaknesses in your picking.
Once this is really solid you need to sync the left hand (given that your left hand is already fast enough), because there is no point having fast left and right hands if you can't synchronise them when playing runs. so maybe get a scale and apply that burst technique to it.
hope this is of some use, cheers _________________ "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast"
WHY YES THERE IS!!
actually, there are a lot of ways, i'm in the process of finding and organizing all of them, but I'll tell you one thing right now that should help. Since you are left-handed, you probably don't write with your right hand, so start. It will probably freak you out how much potential you have that has been completely blocked off from you. Learn to write cursive and learn to draw things, too. Look up how to draw cartoons, and draw them over and over again. You'll probably have to learn how to draw circles and squares first though haha.
or.... switch; that's what I did. Even though i was faster after learning this, I still knew I would be better in the long run after i switched. I played for ten years righty and I was stuck at 120 bpm for almost the entire time, I've been playing 10 months lefty, and I can already play WAY faster (actually shredding, in my first few months. I had to wait for my fretting speed to get fast enough, which is a feeling most guitarists never get), partially because I can play guitar right handed already. You see, learning to fret will increase your picking speed as well. Even after I switched, I would occasionally play righty, and my picking was faster, because my thumb and finger were so much stronger from fretting with my right hand.
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