# Guitar Techniques



## jackonthebox (Feb 29, 2008)

hey! can anybody out there thats on this site do sweeps on guitar? I've been working at it for the past few weeks and am almost there but its like i can't speed it up any. This thread is just a result of my frustration. But while I'm here, any tips?


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## smoke two joints (Mar 1, 2008)

well its like any technique on guitar, like me im learning to alternate pick at the moment and its going at an alright speed but its still pretty slow, but i can garuntee if you keep at it you will improve your speed 

ps. if your fustrated... spark up a jay =]


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## jackonthebox (Mar 1, 2008)

alternate picking is a bitch.


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## KindBud420 (Mar 1, 2008)

Just Start Slow. You Wont Learn It In A Day.


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## JohnnyBravo (Mar 1, 2008)

I've found that My improvement comes in spurts...Then I'll plateau for a few months and then Bam, I can shred something new....It's a slow process but hey man if it was easy, women wouldn't get all squirmy and throw their panties at you!!!!


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## KindBud420 (Mar 1, 2008)

JohnnyBravo said:


> I've found that My improvement comes in spurts...Then I'll plateau for a few months and then Bam, I can shred something new....It's a slow process but hey man if it was easy, women wouldn't get all squirmy and throw their panties at you!!!!


I know what you mean, ill play a really hard part and not get it and a day later as soon as i play it , i get it right and it feels simple as shit.


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## jackonthebox (Mar 1, 2008)

my plateaus take months for me to advance any. but I guess its easiest to notice a change in ability when youre first starting anyways.


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## mattso101 (Mar 1, 2008)

I can do it on guitar hero! lol


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## Taipan (Mar 1, 2008)

mattso101 said:


> I can do it on guitar hero! lol


its a fun game but kids take it too seriously like i see them walking down the street with their plastic guitar controlers over their back. like wtf, like they play the game and it gives them a false sense of being actually able to play guitar thats why it sells, same with UFC its all the rage and everyone thinks they are the best fighters ever and that they can learn how to fight by watching it on a saturday night lying down smoking a joint and having a beer, they are pretty good, but they do it for sport, like if it was a real fight you wouldnt want to put a person into a submission the start of the fight should be when someone aproaches you, the middle should be when you put your guard up and the end should be when you first make contact, this is what separates true martial artists from sport fighters. wow i got off topic lol 

o btw hope to see you at the march! im gonna pick up a nice 1/2 ounce peice of hash


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## jbreeze (Mar 2, 2008)

one word..metronome..its a bad word for some guitar players. People try to say it makes your playing sound mechanical or something. Trust me and get a metronome or go to metronomeonline.com if you practice by your computer. Anything new you learn on guitar, start by timing it very slowly to the metronome. It seems kinda boring at first cause you dont feel like your doig much, but you will get the most from your practice time. Dude I did that when i was practicing alternate picking and scales. In a month I was fuckin blazing around the fretboard like I never had in the past 4 years to that point. I use it with difficult chord changes now to. Its a thing of beauty.


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## jackonthebox (Mar 2, 2008)

I have a metronome but haven't gotten myself to use it yet. the little clicks tend to get on my nerves after abouot 5 seconds. but thanks, I'll probably start using it more often.


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## jbreeze (Mar 2, 2008)

lol yea the cicks can get a little annoying at first


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## jimmyspaz (Mar 2, 2008)

How do I get to Carnagie Hall? Practise, practise, practise. Just like the old joke any skill improves with doing. Also the plateau thing is very true, one day (after long hours of practise) it all comes together, and it's like magic!


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## smoke two joints (Mar 2, 2008)

KindBud420 said:


> I know what you mean, ill play a really hard part and not get it and a day later as soon as i play it , i get it right and it feels simple as shit.


so true lol, this has actually just happened to me litrally 20 - 30 minuites ago
ive been learning monkey business by skid row, i couldnt work out how to play the intro exactly right and 20 minuites ago i just learnt to play it perfectly.


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## fdd2blk (Mar 2, 2008)

i get stuck. my fingers get minds of their own. i walk away. i can come back 30 minutes later and play it with my eyes closed. it is weird but it happens with every new lick i learn.


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## jackonthebox (Mar 3, 2008)

jbreeze said:


> one word..metronome..its a bad word for some guitar players. People try to say it makes your playing sound mechanical or something. Trust me and get a metronome or go to metronomeonline.com if you practice by your computer. Anything new you learn on guitar, start by timing it very slowly to the metronome. It seems kinda boring at first cause you dont feel like your doig much, but you will get the most from your practice time. Dude I did that when i was practicing alternate picking and scales. In a month I was fuckin blazing around the fretboard like I never had in the past 4 years to that point. I use it with difficult chord changes now to. Its a thing of beauty.


This metronome shit is rough. I have a pretty good sense of rhythm but the metronome makes it SOO exact. but you're right, I already see improvement in my technique. thanks!


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## ganjafarmer1016 (Mar 14, 2008)

jackonthebox said:


> alternate picking is a bitch.


Ive figured out that from personal experience that practicing more intriquite (not sure if i spelt that right) riffs with more alternate picking and chugging helps out your alternate picking a ton. I started out 5 years ago with metallica riffs and eventually moved up to playing riffs from bands like killswitch engage, lamb of god, shadows fall etc. playing stuff from some of my favorite bands has helped me improve greatly with my alternate picking without even realizing it.


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## MsMILFweed (Apr 12, 2008)

I love playing with a metronome I don't know why people think it's a dirty word. A friend of mine says "what wrong with my foot, I can tap that". 

If you think a metronome is a hard playing, try playing with it except using the metronome beats on counts two and four. So "one, two, three, four" would sound like "silence, click, silence, click". Now that's tough to get used to.


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## kasuhit (Apr 17, 2008)

Taipan said:


> its a fun game but kids take it too seriously like i see them walking down the street with their plastic guitar controlers over their back. like wtf, like they play the game and it gives them a false sense of being actually able to play guitar thats why it sells, same with UFC its all the rage and everyone thinks they are the best fighters ever and that they can learn how to fight by watching it on a saturday night lying down smoking a joint and having a beer, they are pretty good, but they do it for sport, like if it was a real fight you wouldnt want to put a person into a submission the start of the fight should be when someone aproaches you, the middle should be when you put your guard up and the end should be when you first make contact, this is what separates true martial artists from sport fighters. wow i got off topic lol
> 
> o btw hope to see you at the march! im gonna pick up a nice 1/2 ounce peice of hash


I agree so completely with this, I mean as if the guitar itself wasn't already a stoner toy. People I guess thought stumming and fretting actual strings was physicaly impossible?

man, I don't know what u talking about? I win any fight in teh real world cuz I play street fighter everyday and bust out shoryus with a pink joystick straped to my back[/lol end the heavy sarcasm]

I think its great if you wanna play any video game competively and take it seriously. They are after all just 'games' with the word "video" attached in front of them.

but personly IMO, for lack of a better word I think GH is retarded! People putting so much effort into learning songs they never even heard before. and an actual guitar takes just about as much effort to learn, and can be played dry anywhere w/o electricity. and not to mention ther are realy no hard rules with guitar, its not a game over if you prefer to play a sour note at a certain part.

Sorry if i'm bumping and or derailing an old thread, I just see so much attention payed toward Guitar Hero, and it baffles me to no end, whats the joy in pressing a button that corrisponds to a color. might as well play DDR, don't get me started on that shit lol.

Btw I do play guitar, (elec then accoustic)
I do agree with the meternome thing too, peoples sense of rythem and an actual steady beat differ. I know myself when I play somthing out of beat. Its only something I can hope to over come in time. Although ther are a few very arrogant people out there that think they are never out of beat.... yea right!


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## MsMILFweed (Apr 17, 2008)

KindBud420 said:


> I know what you mean, ill play a really hard part and not get it and a day later as soon as i play it , i get it right and it feels simple as shit.


That's exactly what happens to me too. Can't get it at the moment, but the next day I try, I'm able like I've been doing it all my life. It's all about muscle memory. Once you've trained your fingers, that's it. It's in.


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## Twistyman (Apr 17, 2008)

It's funny, I've played drums for 42 yrs. and find that if I really go nuts trying to learn something it won't sink in. Then one day... boom, got it. The other day something I've tried for years and couldn't do just....happened
You can get a - L.E.D. - metranome (?) Just a little lite no noise.


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## jimmyspaz (Apr 17, 2008)

I think MsMilf nailed it with the muscle memory comment. That seems to be a common thing to all of us, try something over and over with no result and suddenly-tah dah-you've got it!!!


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## SraGreen (Jun 30, 2008)

Jimmyspaz, I can't quite agree with you. Maybe I'm just retarded, but I've decided there are some things my fingers just refuse to play. 

I found this jazz version of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer around Christmas '07, and despite all my practicing, i simply cannot play the song the whole way through. I always forget a chord, or finger one incorrectly despite the hours I have put into this song. No lie, I would play this version all year round if I could just get it down.


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