Strumming accuracy

[pyure]

hi guys,

Im having a lot of trouble with accuracy while strumming partial chords, firstly simply hitting the right notes can be difficult - for example if im only supposed to play the DGE strings i hit the A string alot of the time. secondly some strings get hit harder than others, there's no control over tone etc.

does anyone have any ideas of exercises to overcome this ?
thanks

[joe34]

http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=409

Dunno if this is of anyone use to you but scroll down to example #2A and the author of the article seems to have a good point about playing partial chords. I adopted this approach when alot of powertabs i downloaded of easy bands like nirvana seemed to be overly complicated and i was getting frustrated trying to copy them exactly. Even my friend whos been playing 7 years thinks that alot of powertabs are overly complicated and hes no beginner.

[Schooligo]

Hi Joe34,

If you go to the powertab archive, the majority of the files at that site are are some of the most accurate files on the internet

and while it is true that you can do partial chords (and in some musical settings, such as Jazz, blues, etc. that a partial chord strategy will benefit the music.)

I think it is important to do both:
1. be able to use partial chords,
2. and also learn the song as accurately as possible(even if it is complicated)

that way you have the advantage of both strategy's to be able to apply to your music and musicianship :cool:

[Zatz]

pyure,

When possible I prefer to grip the full chord even if I play a partial one - kinda safety net for me in case I happen to strum a bit farther down on a very strong beat. You know, the guys who transcribe rythm guitar just have to tab something but in actual situation it's never that accurate as it appears on paper.


alot of powertabs i downloaded of easy bands like nirvana seemed to be overly complicated and i was getting frustrated trying to copy them exactly


yea, the tabs authors are apt to decorate their works with fancy stuff to make them look cool ;) I remember a fake book of MTV Unplugged concert of Nirvana and there was G/A everywhere - almost in every single song throughout the album. It just made no harmonic sense to me at my first glance but then I realized it was a mere blank upstroke on 4 middle strings on a weak beat while shifting to the next chord :D

[Schooligo]

I remember a fake book of MTV Unplugged concert of Nirvana and there was G/A everywhere - almost in every single song throughout the album. It just made no harmonic sense to me at my first glance but then I realized it was a mere blank upstroke on 4 middle strings on a weak beat while shifting to the next chord

That may be in books but as I said before the Majority of powertabs at the the powertab archive are quite accurate,

I have seen alot of tabs on the internet from various sites and they not accurate at all, I have not found that to be the case with the powertab archive, not only is each powertab that is submitted rated(and people who are familiar with the song will tell you what is wrong in the submitted tab, and recommend that be fixed) but they also will update any errors they have in the tab.

and it doesn't matter if it's a easy folk song version or a complicated tab like a Dream Theater song ie. Home, I really appreciate the effort for someone to write something like that out.

It is an incredible opportunity to study your favorite musicians and their music.

yea, the tabs authors are apt to decorate their works with fancy stuff to make them look cool

I haven't noticed that, if it does happen I would bet it is rare at the powertab archive because the musicians who comment on the tabs would rip them apart, for doing an interpretation of the tab(if it was not stated by the tabber in the comments)as opposed to an accurate submitted tab..

[EricV]

That is true, but also keep in mind that a lot of ptb´s at the Archive actually were ripped from mags and TAB books ( occasionally, the transcriber even admits that ).
I think even though some of the guys who do TABs for that site lack the experience that Dave WHitehill, Jesse Gress and some of the other "legendary" transcribers have ( those guys were responsible for many TAB books and a majority of the TABs in the guitar mags in the 80s and 90s, and those were really good ), they do not only transcribe, but also spend a lot of time actually learning the solo.
One thing that often occured in TABs by non-professionals or people new to tabbing is:
-They transcribe the first lick
- They TAB out that part
- They move on to the next lick, possibly figuring it out in a different part of the neck
- At the end, they might not attempt to play the whole thing through at the original tempo ( or a tempo close to it ).
- This often results in arrangements that simply are impossible to play, cuz they didnt try to play it all the way through.

Guitar One had some TABs that were prepared in a way to make them more playable than other versions, with a lot of attention to fingerings and position changes. That was a really important thing to point out, I´d say.
There are some awesome TABs at the Archive, but if you compare them to older books, you also have to consider this: The technology has changed a lot. These days, everyone can get software that slows down music digitally ( so no pitch change, and the quality doesn´t suffer that much at all ), removes vocals etc.
In the old days, you had to slow down your tape or record, thereby you had a pitch change etc. So that made tabbing a bit harder. When I do transcribe something, I use software these days, and it´s kinda amusing to see how easy some of this has gotten.

If you i.e. look at some of the TABs Vai did for magazines in the early and mid 90s... some of them were not entirely right, even though Vai has amazing ears and a lot of experience with playing, transcribing, notation( even back then he did ). If you look at his TAB of the "Introduction" solo ( Steve Morse ), there´s way more legato in there than Morse usually used, and some odd notes too.
I think that was due to the technical problems of slowing down stuff, and even Vai, who was ( is ) a monster transcriber had to struggle with that.
These days, with the PCs and internet, you can easily get the software, you can find videos of the original artist playing, you have access to a lot of interviews where you may find clues about how an artist played that and that solo or about specifics about his technique etc.
So that may put some things into perspective as well.
Eric

NP: Eric Johnson - Bloom

[Schooligo]

technology has changed a lot. These days, everyone can get software that slows down music digitally ( so no pitch change, and the quality doesn´t suffer that much at all ), removes vocals etc.

Yeah, Isn't it just awesome that we have this type of technology!!! :D

These days, with the PCs and internet, you can easily get the software, you can find videos of the original artist playing, you have access to a lot of interviews where you may find clues about how an artist played that and that solo or about specifics about his technique etc.

What a great opportunity to learn from your favorite musicians!! ;)

[pyure]

thanks for the replies guys - just a little update to nudge things back on track :)
im currently playing 'wish you were here' by pink floyd from powertab, and in the intro strumming section there's quick a bit of alternate strumming on the treble strings, and this is where my accuracy lets me down alot.
i know it sounds ok even if i play kinda sloppy and hit other strings, but id like to be able to play it exactly as tabbed as well.
biggest problem is lack of a fluid motion in strumming hand, missing/hitting to many strings and an uneven sound - some strings being hit harder than others.
any advice on fixing this?