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Hand synchronisation

Dismemberer

Stairway to Heaven Tab Studier
Oct 16, 2021
31
53
How do I know if my hands are in sync while playing fast licks in 3 notes per string style? When i play something like that, it sounds fine to me but others say I'm not in sync which means I can't hear it for some reason. So my question is, how do I differentiate between synchronised and not synchronised playing? And how do I get in sync?
 

Rad Synner

Sold-out Crowd Surfer
Staff member
Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    Hey dude! We would be happy to help but perhaps a video of you playing said lick could help us identify the problem better. See, you say that it seems normal to you and yet others says it's not so perhaps a video could help us have a better perspective on your issue!

    Because good sync comes with practice and patience but we first must identify if the problem lies with your technique or else :)
     
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    Chris Johnston

    Music Theory Bragger
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    North Ayrshire, Scotland
    14
    Hey! As Radu said, a video would be super helpful, but a couple of key points to get your left & right hand synced up:

    - Play really, really slow & give each individual finger the same ammount of strength & purpose - when you feel like you could speed up - fight the urge & stay slow!
    - Do the above to a metronome and be very strict with yourself, if there are any slip ups, take time to correct them until they feel comfortable & controlled at a slow speed.
    - Treat this like you're taking 2 robotic hands through the sequence, programming every muscle movement you need, slowly first, so that when you speed up, everything is in place.
    - A way to tell of you're synced once you feel you've practiced enough: Speed up and record yourself, then slow down the footage & see if there are any slip ups.

    I guess the basic difference between synched and unsynced is that your right hand may pick before your left hand has made the decision to move to the note you want to play (or vice versa) this usually happens when playing at a tempo you might not be ready to hit, as you'll be more likely want to rush through the lick to bring it to that speed. Its the difference between 3nps patterns sounding like a well oiled machine or sort of unbalanced, where one side is still catching up with the other. This can be easily disguised when it's a flurry of distorted notes so it's best to slow down and calibrate, cause that will give you the speed & clarity but most importantly the control over every note you're playing. Control beats & breeds speed 👌 😊
     
    Lots of great practice techniques mentioned above! Practicing Hand synchronisation can also be treated in the same manner that pianists (especially in their beginning stages) treat practice: Separate the hands. For us as guitarists, this means lots of legato, and lots of muted picking (wrap your hand around the strings to deaden them). Luckily, 3NPS scales lend themselves to consistent fingerings, which are great for practicing legato. Personally, when it came to sorting my technique out, I learnt that it was far more prudent to focus on legato first - it's often a weaker area and when you think about it, the fretting hand is responsible for 'belt-feeding' the picking hand notes. In this case, it's a wise idea to make sure each note being fed through to the picking hand is of sufficient quality ✌️
     
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