|
Do Not Disturb
(17 May 03)
Fixing Problems
I have talked about this a lot in some of the other articles. Lemme sum it up one more time: If you find a problem when you practice, find out what exactly the problem is, isolate it, and eliminate it.
That means, if you i.e. are trying to learn a solo off a record, and there's a certain lick that gives you a problem, stop working on the rest of the solo. Isolate the part that gives you trouble. Either work on that single lick, or make up an exercise that'll help you to play that part.
An example? Well, let's say you are trying to learn that cool Frank Gambale solo. The beginning is kinda easy, gives you no trouble. But the middle is difficult, because there's this fast run, played with economy picking.
What do you do? Will you play the whole solo over and over again, always slowing down or making mistakes when that run comes up? WRONG DECISION!
What you should do (and again, this is just a recommendation, it works for myself and many of my students, so maybe you wanna try it, too) is:
Take that run by itself, and work on it. If you are still having trouble with economy picking, work on it by making up an exercise using that technique. It helps to work on very small segments which you later put together.
Once you feel comfortable with that part, move on to the next, or, if the other parts don't give you trouble, put the whole thing together again.
No rocket-science here, but I have seen people working on etudes or solos, and some of them always tried to play the whole thing. Every time they got to that little trouble part, they were stopped dead. Instead of isolating the problem and working on it, they wasted a lot of time, attention and nerves on trying to play the whole thing, while it was only a tiny lil lick that was giving them a problem. Oh, and by the way, I used to do the same thing myself, so this "isolating"-method is "Vandenberg-approved"
Conclusion
Finally, I'd just give you some final thoughts to think about and keep in mind:
- I think that "5 minutes of practice makes me a guitarist-improved-by-5-minutes". That means that every little piece of practicing can help you to improve. Sure, sometimes, if you're not in the mood, not warmed up, or your attention is exhausted, the net-effect of your practicing session might not be as satisfying as it is on other days, but I just feel that every time I pick up the guitar, I am working on my technique and musical vocabulary. Which is a good motivation to pick up the guitar tomorrow. I stopped planning ahead too much, thinking for too long about what I am gonna work on. The point is "THE BEST TIME TO START practicing IS RIGHT NOW. SO PICK UP YOUR GUITAR AND PLAY"
- There might be days where you don't feel like playing. Maybe you're just busy, or you're depressed or distracted by stuff that is going on in your life. If you don't feel like picking up your guitar, DON'T! Sure, sometimes you need to get yourself going, need to motivate yourself. But it is not a good idea to force yourself. If you do, your heart might not be in it, which can prevent your practicing session from being effective. Instead, it can become a negative experience
- Keep the big picture in mind. Don't get frustrated if it takes a while to get a grip on that certain technique / lick / solo / chord progression. Remember that everyone has a bad day, or certain problems with a specific aspect of playing. Patience and working on it will usually take care of that.
- Try to keep it interesting. Try new licks and exercises in between. Pick out some cool licks from a record you like. Separate your practicing schedule into different activities, like strict practicing- jamming- transcribing – theory etc.
- If you ain't got a guitar with you, and feel like practicing, try to go through some exercises etc. in your mind. This is another essential part of practicing. Try to imagine how you play that lick, where to put which finger, what it sounds like etc.
- Analyze yourself. You should try to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. What practicing-strategy has the best effect for yourself. Everyone has a different approach to things. Strategies and exercises that work for one player might not work at all for another one. So try to figure out what works for you, how to get the most out of yourself. A good teacher can help you with that, but it's best if you try to figure it out yourself.
- Don't spend your whole life sitting on the edge of your bed with a guitar and a metronome. Apply what you worked on to actual music, by jamming with some friends, sitting in with a band. Play in front of an audience, whether it's really small or big. That's another part of your development, and a good learning experience. Get used to the situation on stage… it's so very different from sitting in your bedroom with your favorite amp, being able to hear yourself well. Get on stage or into the rehearsal room and play music instead of worrying about speeding up that certain lick by 1 1/2 bpm for years!
I lucked out... when I started out, a good friend of mine used to come over to my house at least once a week to hang out. Well, after I had started to play, I usually played something for him every time he came over… stuff I had worked on, songs I had learned. Oh boy, that dude must have suffered quite a bit, especially in the beginning. But after I got better and learned how to improvise etc, he actually seemed to enjoy listening to that for a while (he'd come over at like 3 PM, and I'd play for him for like 15- 30 minutes. After that we'd hang out and do the stuff kids used to do... watch stupid movies and TV shows, play some games on the computer (the good ol C64), go outside to play, eat loads of unhealthy food...)
- Let playing and practicing be a labour of love. There sure are times when being a musician requires a lot of work which isn't a lot of fun, unpleasant stuff you have to take care, situations where you have to work hard without it being that much fun. But in general, it should be fun to play, to practice and develop, to become a better musician and create music.
|
|
|
|
Eric started playing the guitar at age 10. He attended GIT and studied with Scott Henderson, Brett Garsed, Dan Gilbert amo. Eric is involved in several bands and recording projects and his instrumental debut - Hidden Creek - plus his instructional book Talking Hands - A Guide To Contemporary Lead Guitar Techniques is available HERE
Visit his website at www.ericvandenberg.net
|
|
|
