I know, it sounds like I’m just being really profound. Like I’m a ninja, or perhaps a little green dude with large ears and a propensity to fight with light sabers. But, no, actually this has everything to do with music.
Slow down your practicing (using a metronome of course) and make sure that you can play the part you’re working on without having to think about it too hard. When it becomes second nature, THEN you can speed up.
The more consistently you practice purposefully and slowly, the faster you’ll get faster. Therefore:
Slower equals faster.
May the metronome be with you, always.
The Musician’s Toolbox
Its not too difficult to slow down a song so that you can play along with it. There is plenty of software out there that will do the job.
That way, if there’s a part of the song that’s just too fast, you can slow the song down to, say, 70% of the normal speed and then work your way up.
You might want to try the “Amazing Slow Downer” or just google slow down audio.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
When you are practicing, make sure you use the same fingers consistently on whatever it is you’re playing. This will make sure that your brain does not get confused, and that your muscle memory will develop faster.
Practically what this means is, slow down.
Make sure that you’re doing things right. Consistent. The only way to know is to go slow enough for your brain to “self-check” what you’re doing. If you play too fast or just don’t care, chances are you’re struggling to get faster and improve your accuracy. If you develop consistency, you’ll get better, no question about it.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
If you’re trying to learn any instrument, you’ll need some time to set aside to practice. Playing music and becoming a musician (of any sort of standard) is not just about absorbing information or how much you “know” about music. You have to build actual muscle memory, and train your hands, arms, feet, (whatever your instrument is) to OBEY what you “know” in your brain. The only way to do this is to put in the time and practice.
So, practically speaking, the first thing you should do is set aside some time specifically for practicing. It sounds obvious to say, but many people skip this crucial step. Simply make up your mind, write it down on a giant piece of poster board and hang it in your room. It could say, Monday’s at 4:00 Practice Warmups and bla bla bla for 20 minutes.” The point is that you make your goal obvious to your brain, because your brain WILL rebel against you and try to distract you with other less important things, like….food….Wii…..sleep….you get the point.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
Something that’s not necessarily obvious when you’re first learning guitar is that you can use different picks for different styles of music. For example, if you’re trying to shred “Through the Fire and the Flames,” you’d want to use a thicker pick, because it will give you a nice, controlled sound. In other words, the pick won’t flop all over the place as you’re shredding your strings into oblivion.
Alternatively, if you’re strumming a chilled out song that’s slower, or just not as crazy rhythmically, then you could use a thinner pick. The thinner picks will sort of blend the sounds of the strings together as you strum, and you’ll get a warmer sound.
In either case, just make sure you keep your wrist relaxed and that you’re holding the pick between your thumb and index finger.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
