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Now, I have been asked by a guitarist friend of mine how to get past this limit that he feels he’s hit. He’s says that he’s got on well with a metronome but isn’t sure what to do next; so I’m going to do my best to help him.
One of the biggest barriers that people hit is the number of notes that can be put into groups. Almost all players use groups of 3 or 4 at some point, and the really high rated players are often the ones who’ve broken this monotony. You see my friend has been using a metronome which is the right way to go to improve timing, but there is also the value of improving phrasing with this.
If you don’t have a metronome then try tapping your foot at a constant speed so that you can still get the feel of one for this tip, or if you are good at keeping time in your head then that might work, but really a metronome is best for this. And it’s always possible to find one online somewhere; if you found this lesson then you should be able to find a metronome somewhere. All exercises should be done while a metronome is going at the same speed.
Tab key:-
--4-- = pluck the string shown while fretting the string on the fret numbered
--h6- = hammer-on your finger onto the string on the fret numbered, doesn't require the string to be plucked
--p2- = pull-off your finger from the string shown to sound a note while fretting the string on the fret numbered
-8b9- = luck the string shown while fretting the string on the fret numbered, then bend the string until the note sounded becomes the same as the note sounded on the fret shown to the right of the b. E.g., 8b9 means pluck the string while fretting the string on the 8th fret, then bend the string one semitone/one fret higher in pitch.
-8b9r8- = same a regular bend but allow string to return to regular position on fret numbered; think of b as meaning bend, and r as meaning relax
--t12- = tap on the fret numbered firmly with one of the fingers in your plucking hand
-t9r5- = tap on the fret numbered firmly with one of the fingers in your plucking hand then release your finger from the string either by simply pulling it off or twanging it, but fret the string on the fret numbered to sound that note after the finger tapping the string has been removed
-mb7- = bend the string slightly after plucking the string number shown, but don't bend it so that raises the note in pitch by a fret.
/ = Slide finger(s) up the fret-board to the fret shown
\ = Slide finger(s) down the fret-board to the fret shown
--9v- = use vibrato by wavering the string up and down by bending it to get a sort of wavy sound
Here is an example of what can be played in groups of three in-between metronome beeps; the recognisable groups of three.
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
B||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
G||------------------|------------------||-7----9----/12---|-16----14----12--|
D||------------------|-7-----9----/12---||-----------------|-----------------|
A||-7----10----/12---|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
Now here’s a much more unusual grouping of notes, and one that will most likely require some practice to get right; groups of five. One of the perversely unusual things about groups of five in this sense is that it’s actually easier to do it at a reasonable speed than it is to do really slowly, as your mind finds how to blend it more easily at this speed, whereas it will continually be aware of it not fitting well at lower speeds. This problem is overcome with practice however, so it’s not a huge obstacle.
This phrasing grouping is a very good way of breaking the pattern of 3s and 4s in my opinion, and while it may seem tedious to some, I ask them to try them first and see how they sound once they have been practiced and then decide whether it was worth it rather than simply ignoring them. At the very least it’s another technique to choose from.
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
B||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
G||------------------|-----------7--9---||-12-/11--9-p7----|-----------------|
D||-----------7--9---|-7--9--10---------||--------------10-|-10-/9--7--------|
A||-7--9--10---------|------------------||-----------------|-----------10-p9-|
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
Now here’s another unusual grouping of notes; groups of seven. I apologise for the notes being a bit squashed together. The other thing you should be aware of is that it’s quite hard to do as groups of seven do require more co-ordination than some groupings as there’s simply more information to process and it’s hard to space the notes out equally without them sounding like they’re ending too early or too late. Using legato helps a lot with this as it removes a lot of the picking from the equation, and thereby reduces the amount of things to go wrong.
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
B||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
G||------------------|------------------||7h9h11/12-9h11h12|9-p7-p5----------|
D||------------------|5-h7-h10-p7p5h7h10||-----------------|-------9-p5-h7-h9|
A||5-h7-h10-p7p5h7h10|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
E||------------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|
Right, that should get you started for now. The next lesson in this mini-series will be one how to incorporate string skipping into your playing. I honestly hope that this lesson has helped some of you out there, and I wish you the best of luck in you guitar playing in the future, past and present.
This lesson is dedicated to my good friend on UG, Camf3. Hope this helps you man!
Take care guys and I’ll see you next time.
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