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Solo Trouble

idssdi

Sold-out Crowd Surfer
Nov 11, 2019
5,336
6,754
Groningen
11
  • #221
    I hate to break it to you Brandon but Alternate picking X is a pretty difficult thing to play so maybe that one is just above your skill level.
    Try to just start at the beginning of the school and move through the whole curriculum and be proactive. Show us what you can play and ask specific questions on something when you’re struggling with it. Participate in the homeworks when they are posted can also really help you too!
     
    J

    Jak Angelescu

    Guest
  • #223
    Brandon I would like to encourage you to do something. I had been playing guitar for 20 years when I joined the school and the most valuable information that actually helped me improve my picking technique and everything we’re in the 1st 30 lessons. There was so much that I hadn’t missed out on so I strongly encourage you to try it out.
     
    C

    Calvin Phillips

    Music Theory Bragger
    Nov 11, 2019
    2,588
    1,988
  • #224
    You can also practice your alternate picking while doing the early lessons. I wouldnt say to really pay attention to them ALL. But atleast watch every episode once. And understand what pg is saying. The way he plays out the fretboard is something I’ve never seen before. It’s so good other companies are now trying to do the same lol. Fender has online lessons now when you buy their guitars. Just give them a shot. See what happens.
     
    O

    OskarF

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    41
    33
  • #226
    There’s a great mental model(please look up mental models, https://fs.blog/mental-models/ ) called “First Principles” that I love. It’s a really simple concept of breaking down something to it’s simplest form. For example, “what is vibrato”.
    Love that you are posting so much on the forums, it’s really helpful and inspiring!
    Reading about mental models now and i love stuff like this! Might sound strange but i feel like things like these can at times be more important when it comes to learning to play the guitar than actually talking about guitar. I used to practice 8 hours or more most days and i achieved most of my technique goals by doing it, but my mental walls blocked me so i did not progress musically the way i wanted to and i ended up quitting for almost a year. It’s only after learning to be more mindful of stuff like this that i’ve been able to tackle things that i’ve really wanted to learn for a long time. So thanks a lot for posting this!





    This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  oskar foogerbrant.


     
    O

    OskarF

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    41
    33
  • #227
    @brandon Diemert I bet people have told you this already, but honestly, there’s only ONE way that i know of, that’s actually efficient and reliable, to build speed with alternate picking, or any technique for that matter: play at a tempo where you can execute whatever it is you’re playing, perfectly. It doesn’t matter how slow you have to do it, just make sure you can do it while as close to 100% relaxed as possible (in your whole body) and most importantly, ata tempo where you are able to listen to every single note that you play so you can tell when a note comes out sloppy or not clear enough. Eventually when you feel comfortable doing this at a certain tempo, take that tempo up a tiny bit, even if just by a single BPM, then repeat the process.
    I don’t mean that this the only way you should ever practice technique, but when it comes to building speed you really have to analyze the smallest details in your movement, and you can’t do that if you play too fast for your brain to be able to pick up those details. I think of it like this: if the goal is to have effortless and controlled technique at high speeds, isn’t it reasonable that the best way to learn it, is to do exactly that, but at a tempo where you can actually do it?
     
    A

    Akash Ujawane

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    7
    0
  • #228
    I am a 15 year old boy. I’ve been playing guitar since 2 years and I’ve been a very big fan of synyster gates.I couldn’t watch them live even once because I live in India.Syn inspired me a lot and i have developed speed skill and I never got into trouble for soloing even through the fire and flames.There is my video on youtube of me playing that song just because of syn.Afterlife was the hardest solo of synyster gates but i got it learnt in less than 1 week as he is my inspiration and because I want to be a man like him I practice a lot.I hope you reply to me.
     

    idssdi

    Sold-out Crowd Surfer
    Nov 11, 2019
    5,336
    6,754
    Groningen
    11
  • #229
    Sorry Akash but I find it very hard to believe that you play guitar since you were 2 years old. I could barely walk and talk when I was 2 years old let alone hold and play a guitar. Maybe you are a really great guitar player but I can’t possibly know that since you did not share any videos of yourself playing.
     

    Jay Ivanez

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
    10
    0
  • #236
    I grew up never really learning solos because they were hard. Even seize the day was amazingly hard when I was so into it.
    So I resort to writing my own
    Within writing a solo I believe Its a 3 step process .
    1) watch Barney & Friends , absorb how much barney hammers in the fact that imagination is key to life .
    2) imagine your solo and vocalise it. Vocalise it in ways you can remember. If its not memory worthy maybe its not that good.
    Notice how you can probably mumble or sing all of your favourite avenged solos ? This even includes the speedy runs.
    3) do everything in your power to achieve that melody/vision in your head . When layed on the guitar a degree of change will happen ,because that’s how magic works. That is probably where technicality usually meets melody . Because we got itchy fingers.
    And I believe the phantom factor here is as syn said : relentlessness . The ability to never give up regardless of circumstance. If a decade of guitar playing has taught me anything, is that I suck enough to understand how to suck less .
     

    Dan Shipway

    Slim Shady
  •
    • Nov 11, 2019
    726
    158
    9
  • #237
    There are a few steps I would recommend
    Step 1- know the fretboard layout. I myself am not to clear on it but it helps with the other steps.
    Step 2-Know the basic major scales and minor scales (natural, harmonic etc)
    Step 3- play something on one string this will be the foundation melody
    Step 4- Knowing the fretboard layout, move some of the notes onto higher or lower strings.
    Step 5- work out scales from the notes that have been moved up and down. If you play the solo then you should be able to see the rough outline of a scale.
    Step 6- use the scale to add more notes or to change some.
    Hope this helps. This is just my method.
     

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