Yeah, it's so easy to focus on one thing and to let other aspects slide.

Here's the vid, in case anyone's interested:



I think it's the string changes that are tripping up my timing, but I'd appreciate any insights or advice. I've just re-watched Diego's picking vid earlier on this thread, and I notice how very little pick motion he's making. I thought my picking was reasonably tight, but maybe I need to focus on yet smaller motions?

(OMG - just noticed the faces I'm pulling here. I guess I'm not very relaxed :)).

Now that is dedication! I guess I've been working with Stetina's book for two years or so, and been a member of the forum for around nine months. I've made nothing like your progress, but then again I've put nothing like those hours in - one to two hours a day for me, with more at the weekends - and I probably haven't focussed as diligently on any one exercise. Congratulations!

Thanks Ursin. I can feel the tension there. Perhaps I'm just pushing it too hard.

"Also the last few days I have been thinking a lot about past things I have tooted my horn off about on these forums...And I am trying to "grow upp"...These forums are important enough to me that now I am comitted to learning my place in the guitaristic pecking order."

That's cool Nick. But really, there is no pecking order. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We're all here to learn from each other, and we're all competing with only ourselves.

Thanks Damon - great notes.

You're right about the open strings. I need to practice muted too, but for the particular problem I was trying to overcome, it seemed a bit more challenging letting 'em ring. And yep, that harmonic has been bugging me, and I've been foolish not to be sure to stop so far. I'll definitely work on that.

Listening back, I also notice my timing is pretty bad.

Any advice? Nothing very useful from me I'm afraid. Maybe just check in on the other hand once in a while, once the one you're working on seems to be doing what it's supposed to :).

Funnily enough, this relates to my post just above yours. I thought my left-hand was being lazy when playing scales, in my attempt to keep the touch as light as possible. Well, I just discovered tonight that there's a right-hand problem too. For some reason, when I ascend the scale, my right hand always stumbles when moving from the D to the G string. But only when I start from the bottom E.

Anyway, tonight I worked to fix this by starting (again) very slowly, first nailing the picking with open strings, then introducing the left-hand and concentrating on keeping that controlled and light. Periodically I stopped fretting and double-check the picking was still going how it should be. Maybe something like this would work for you too?

I got a lot out of Stetina's book. As Ursin says, many of the exercises can be found in several places, including Pebber's vids.

The order of the exercises is very carefully planned, I think, so you learn one skill which preps you for the next. Also, many of the exercises are 'in the style of' rock guitarists who I'd like to sound like - Rhoads, Malmsteen, etc etc. Plus there's plenty of good technical advice in there too - economy of motion, etc etc.

All that being said, I think I've probably improved more since I joined this site (what, six or nine months ago?) compared with the two years I worked with Stetina's book. I think the interactive nature of this forum, the feedback, the ability to see others practice and improve, plus the strong ethic of hard work - all of these are valuable things that are hard to get from a book.

Hey Derek - I'm definitely one of the less technically able players on this forum. However, I feel recently I've climbed a couple of long-standing plateaus, so I'll mention what's worked for me in case it's any use:

Practice it really slowly, being very aware of how your fingers are falling - be sure to work slowly until you're making only the motions you want. I find that when I'm struggling with something, I'll tend to fret and pick too hard, and after a little while I notice the tension. So always try and stay relaxed, since what you're practicing slowly is hopefully going to be what you end up playing quickly.

As for speeding it up, a tip from Troy Stetina is to isolate the problem spot, and try playing just a few notes (maybe the two notes on the previous string) plus the problem note. Play as quickly (but cleanly) as possible. Once you have this nailed, add a note from earlier in the sequence, then a note from later, and so on. I've found doing this helps me find what's causing the sticking point.

With this particular scale, it may well be the right hand that's the issue (it would be for me). You could try using the same picking pattern but an easier left-hand pattern. Is that easier to play. If not, you know you need to work on the picking pattern itself.

Anyway, sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but hopefully some of it will prove useful.

Hey Scott - nice work on that A harmonic minor lick - it's sounding really clean. Funnily enough, I had a go at learning that one a year ago. I was following the wizard of shred's advice at the time, and spent two solid weeks practicing just that and another one from Troy Stetina's book. This is as far as I got:



Seeing you play it again, I tempted to give it another go and see how far I can take it with scalpel picking and what I hope is now a better left-hand technique.