We're updating the community and moving all social content from the community to the Discord. All lessons related conversations will still take place here though! Join the Discord below and view the full announcement for more details
I'm learning the major scale...and I can play it slow. But any attempt to speed up, even a little, is a disaster. What am I doing wrong? Any tips for this beginner on how to improve here? CC always welcome!!
Don't get discouraged!! You're doing great! I wish I had better advice than just to keep at it and practice. The speed will come!! If you've been practicing the Major Scale a lot, lately, maybe take a break from it and try learning something else (maybe a song you like, just for fun!) to give yourself a break? You got this!
Don't get discouraged!! You're doing great! I wish I had better advice than just to keep at it and practice. The speed will come!! If you've been practicing the Major Scale a lot, lately, maybe take a break from it and try learning something else (maybe a song you like, just for fun!) to give yourself a break? You got this!
I haven't moved on from the major scale since I started it around the 11th =). That might be the advice I need: take a break from it and try something new...then I can come back to it. I did watch my video from the 11th and was surprised to see I had progressed some on it. Maybe I will try moving to the next lesson and see if that helps! Thank you!
I haven't moved on from the major scale since I started it around the 11th =). That might be the advice I need: take a break from it and try something new...then I can come back to it. I did watch my video from the 11th and was surprised to see I had progressed some on it. Maybe I will try moving to the next lesson and see if that helps! Thank you!
There you go! That's something I love about this place, you can totally skip around on the lessons if you want to. You're welcome, I'm glad I could help a little bit!
Hey there! So you still seem very new to playing guitar! Congrats on embarking on this journey!
In my opinion, I think you shouldn't focus on trying to speed it up, *yet*.
I think you'll be much better off getting the scale under your fingers. Get the notes down, the frets, and play them a hundred, a thousand times! Play it while watching your favorite shows or during the first 30 mins of a movie. Then, you'll likely find that you have built incredible muscle memory.
Then, if you don't have one already, download a metronome app on your phone. Start it ridiculously slow (like 40 bpm) and play along with it. If it's too fast, lower the speed. Once you can play it at the tempo you set with comfortability, move the tempo up by 5. Rinse and repeat.
I know this method doesn't sound sexy, but I promise it will help! Best of luck, and please let me know if you have any questions!
Hey there! So you still seem very new to playing guitar! Congrats on embarking on this journey!
In my opinion, I think you shouldn't focus on trying to speed it up, *yet*.
I think you'll be much better off getting the scale under your fingers. Get the notes down, the frets, and play them a hundred, a thousand times! Play it while watching your favorite shows or during the first 30 mins of a movie. Then, you'll likely find that you have built incredible muscle memory.
Then, if you don't have one already, download a metronome app on your phone. Start it ridiculously slow (like 40 bpm) and play along with it. If it's too fast, lower the speed. Once you can play it at the tempo you set with comfortability, move the tempo up by 5. Rinse and repeat.
I know this method doesn't sound sexy, but I promise it will help! Best of luck, and please let me know if you have any questions!
I never thought about a metronome, but that makes good sense! I've done that with other instruments I play and it does help...and I will give it a try with the scales! Thanks for the good advice and I will keep you in mind for more questions!
you're not doing anything wrong. I think you just need to get more comfortable with the instrument. Give it time and practice to ingrain the finger positions in your brain and you'll get it.
My only advice is practice constantly to a metronome. Once you get the feel of one timing, you'll naturally want to speed it up. Just keep playing and go as slow as you need too!
Hey there! There's some good advice in here already which is good to see! Starting to use/regularly using a metronome can help immensely. Start off slow and build up over time. In the words of Vince Lombardi. "Practice does not equal perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." Mistakes aren't bad. No need to be afraid to make mistakes. But don't ignore it. Look for what caused the mistake and aim towards not making that mistake the next time. Whether that's playing the wrong note, accidentally muting the string, or accidentally bending the note out of pitch. In my family the term "shit happens" is used frequently. I've made mistakes like these probably thousands of times in my relatively short time playing guitar (2 years this March). But I've improved with time/practicing. With practice your hands will be able to stretch more to make stretches that seem impossible now achievable. Your fingers will start to find their proper place on the neck without you thinking strongly about it. 2 things I noted while watching your video.
1. Your holding the pick rather awkwardly. I held it the same way early on. The way people hold their picks can make certain techniques and metaphorically their voice stand out. Marty Friedman from Megadeth has a really funky picking technique but he's regularly considered one of the best guitarists in his genre because of his note choice, techniques, and the way he brings everything together. But having a weird/bad pick holding/picking technique can hold you back. I'd recommend you hold more of the pick in your fingers. I use smaller picks but it was the same way with larger ones. I make a fist with my hand when holding a pick. The back part of the pick fits all the way under the far right side of the thumb and a tiny fraction of it sticks out. This allows for better control of the pick as well as it being less likely to fly away like a pesky pigeon. Disappearing into the unknown. Try this for a couple of days even and you should notice a difference. Although you did mention in a post about joint pain so if your joints prevent you from comfortably doing so I understand!
2. I also noticed you're using down strokes to play each note. I'm pretty sure every beginner does this. I surely did. Upstrokes feel kind of odd/uncomfortable initially. But with time they'll start to feel not necessarily effortless but it'll be just as easy as down strokes. Scales can be played with whatever technique but for the most part they're meant to be practiced alternate picking. I start 99.999% of the time with with a down stroke followed by an up stroke. Up down up down up down. Moving onto the next sting with a down stroke. I'd highly recommend you first adjust your picking technique, and second to start working on your alternate picking. The earlier you get started the easier it'll get as time goes on. Alternate picking also allows you, once your technique improves, to play scales faster as well as easier. Anyway, before I ramble on more, I hope this helps. I was in your shoes not all that long ago. You're doing good! You'll get better as long as you keep practicing. Especially if you use the advice given by Gemma, Anthony, and I. Looking forward to your next post. Have a good night/day
Hi there fellow shredder! I think you’re doing great I would focus a bit more on fundamental technique before going fast. I think the way you’re holding the pick has a little room for improvement. I’m a big fan of not having that much pick between the hand and strings. The less pick there is, I think it’s easier to control. Lesson 4 will help you out!
Next thing I suggest is to minimize your hand movement on your fretting hand. Make the movements as small and precise as possible while still having the right amount of force needed to make the notes come out 100%
I think after you have this under your belt, increasing speed will come a bit more naturally
keep up the great work! Look forward to seeing more from you!
Like said before, try to use a metronome. I didnt use it, and then I did, its nice and handy if you get used to it. Speeding up really takes a lot of time, but you will do it, guitar playing takes a lot of patience in my opinion.. But you will get there!
Also try something else if you get confused, do something fun, like a song. I change between fun things (songs) and scales
