# My daily practice.



## hatecore_64 (Jan 26, 2011)

Okay, i just wanted to put this out for anyone who, like me, has spent what seems like forever trying to find a simple, solid, condensed warmup/exercise that will improve technique.

It is simpley this:

Imagine those chromatic 4-notes-per-string exercises that everyone recomends for speed training. You know, E: 1-2-3-4, A: 1-2-3-4 etc, then you decend on the next fret up when you reach the top. 

This is great for solidifying alternate picking i've found, but it didnt seem enough. 

So all i do, is play 2 of each note (E: 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4) etc, which will help with tremolo picking which ive discovered takes a slightly differant approach to alternate picking. 

Anyway, I do this on the low E, then i go to the *D STRING*, not the A, and repeat the exercise. 

I THEN go to the A, followed by the G. Yes, we are string skipping.

When you reach the high E, play the exercise and go up a fret, but this time REVERSE the exercise as you decend (i.e 5,5,4,4,3,3,2,2).

This way, you are also practicing string skipping AND tremolo picking in one exercise, thus combining techniques to make this a more condensed, almost handy-sized practice technique.

I'm sure there are also ways to incorporate other techniques, e.g. tapping, economy picking, even doing repeating the whole exercise using downstrokes.

I hope this helps, i dont want anyone to be as frustrated as I was before devising this.

Ps. PRACTICE SLOW. I know, everyone says this, and its easy to tell yourself that you'l improve if you just keep playing it at a fast tempo badly. I used to feel the exact same way.

I describe it this way -
Imaging there is a skateboard on a halfpipe. The further up one side he starts, (the slower the practice begins in our case), the longer the runup to the other side of the halfpipe, thus the further and faster he will go.
Now, if this skateboard started half way up the side of the halfpipe he was aiming for, hes not going to go anywhere is he? He does not have that essential run up to gain speed. Likewise in pracitce - if you start fast, youl play it badly, and in the long run, you wont get anywhere fast. 

Thanks for your time.


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## SirMyghin (Jan 26, 2011)

Not Bad, I prefer to run scales in different patterns( straight, 3rds ,etc), or runs, and rhythmic types (sextuplets, 16ths, swung). Reason being while chromatic exercises are good for your right hand. They don't do anything for the left.


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 26, 2011)

Yes, I do find that the most of the problems arise with my left hand, esp. fast picking on the high E. any tips would be welcomed.. (;


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## SirMyghin (Jan 26, 2011)

What left hand problems specifically?


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 26, 2011)

I find that alternate picking on the high E, open or fretted, sounds gritty, like the pick is scraping the string, and somtimes get little harmonics coming through.
Ive got the pick with little showing at the bottom, could there be another problem?


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## Excalibur (Jan 26, 2011)

It's a good idea, but what exactly are you practicing to play?


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## ShreddingDragon (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks hatecore, I'll try those out!

Any good "inside the string" picking excercises that anyone does daily? (Inside the strings like, downstroke on high E, then upstroke on B etc.) I'm having problems with getting it into control, and this picking direction issue is the reason why playing straight 16ths is harder for me than 16th triplets.


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 26, 2011)

Excalibur - im simpley playing this to increase my general speed. im currently taking my A level exams, and this is somthing to keep me practicing through times where i dont necisarilly have much time to put aside 

Shreddingdragon - Thanks, im glad you liked it  
If you want some tips on inside picking, i reccomend watching Rock Discipline, a John Petrucci instructional DVD. There is a section in which he explains various technique exercises, including inside picking:

You can find this on google vids, but i would consider buying the DVD. 
Check out 1:02:00 for info on inside picking. hope this helps


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## SirMyghin (Jan 26, 2011)

hatecore_64 said:


> I find that alternate picking on the high E, open or fretted, sounds gritty, like the pick is scraping the string, and somtimes get little harmonics coming through.
> Ive got the pick with little showing at the bottom, could there be another problem?



Not exactly sure what you are getting at here, or if it would necessarily be a left hand problem. Sorry.


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## rug (Jan 26, 2011)

One thing that I just started doing recently helps get a little more mileage out of regular scale practice, I've found, and it's a nice warmup exercise too.

Basically, set your metronome at a speed where you can play 16th notes at the "just woke up" speed...where you can pick cleanly without any warmup time. I'm no Petrucci, so that's 160 bpm for me. Then, I move upwards through the 7 patterns like this...

8x through the scale position, up and down, playing 8th notes, effectively half of your "just woke up" speed.
8x through, up and down, playing 8th note triplets
8x through, up and down, playing 16th notes

Then, you can apply that do different sequences in the different patterns. You can either use it as a warmup for 10-15 minutes, or extend it into a full blown exercise and spend even longer on it. I like it because it forces you to focus on keeping good time even when you're playing really slowly (because guitarists love to rush the tempo!), you are easing your hands into work without stressing them right away, and you're working on different rhythms while working on a particular scale. You can also alter it to include 5 and 7 note groupings if you want too. Pretty versatile warmup, IMO.


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 27, 2011)

rug said:


> One thing that I just started doing recently helps get a little more mileage out of regular scale practice, I've found, and it's a nice warmup exercise too.
> 
> Basically, set your metronome at a speed where you can play 16th notes at the "just woke up" speed...where you can pick cleanly without any warmup time. I'm no Petrucci, so that's 160 bpm for me. Then, I move upwards through the 7 patterns like this...
> 
> ...


 
Sounds like a good idea, i may try this 

Just one question, when you say the 7 patterns, are you talking about the 7 modes? sorry for any misunderstanding 

And congratz on the 160bpm, i hope to get there some day


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## failshredder (Jan 27, 2011)

I warm up with Holy Wars. 









Twice through, because the first time is invariably sloppy as fuck.


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 27, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Not exactly sure what you are getting at here, or if it would necessarily be a left hand problem. Sorry.


 
It was becuase my strap was a tad too low, and, ironicly, i was practicing too quickly


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## tpl2000 (Jan 28, 2011)

> I find that alternate picking on the high E, open or fretted, sounds gritty, like the pick is scraping the string, and somtimes get little harmonics coming through.
> Ive got the pick with little showing at the bottom, could there be another problem?



That's definitely a right hand problem, assuming you're playing a right-handed guitar. 

Your pick is at too much of an angle, and/or you're using too much of the pick to produce sound. Only use the tip, and vary with the angle of the pick to find your "sweet spot." Paul Gilbert likes his way angled, to get that kind of scraping sound, but I prefer a completely parallel motion, which gives me less string noise and a much cleaner sound, especially when I'm playing fast/difficult parts.


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 28, 2011)

tpl2000 said:


> That's definitely a right hand problem, assuming you're playing a right-handed guitar.
> 
> Your pick is at too much of an angle, and/or you're using too much of the pick to produce sound. Only use the tip, and vary with the angle of the pick to find your "sweet spot." Paul Gilbert likes his way angled, to get that kind of scraping sound, but I prefer a completely parallel motion, which gives me less string noise and a much cleaner sound, especially when I'm playing fast/difficult parts.


 
Thanks mate. would you happen to know how to adjust the amount of pick exposed? i tried and found it awkward to keep the shorter amount gripped propperly.


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## stryker1800 (Jan 29, 2011)

jazz sized picks definitely help with that if you don't already use them, other than that you just have to get used to it really.


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## rug (Jan 30, 2011)

hatecore_64 said:


> Sounds like a good idea, i may try this
> 
> Just one question, when you say the 7 patterns, are you talking about the 7 modes? sorry for any misunderstanding
> 
> And congratz on the 160bpm, i hope to get there some day




Yeah, 7 modes...but I don't know anything about music theory, so I just decided I was going to try and learn it in slow, digestible bites. And for me, I figured approaching things of learning everything in 1 key, so the 7 positions for the modes are just patterns for me that I can play and still be in G, for example. I'm sure that's probably a stupid way to do it, but I can't ever force myself to sit down and learn theory. 

It's on my "do this eventually" list though. Money's kinda tight, but I'm trying to convince my wife to let me take lessons. I've never taken them before, I think it would help.


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## OrsusMetal (Jan 30, 2011)

My warm up consists of going through all the different permutations of 2, 3 and 4 with every finger combination from the 1st fret to the 12th. I don't pick them though, I do them all hammer ons ala Holdsworth. That not only works almost every common possible fingering combination, but also works on strengthening your hands and fingers as the hammer on approach makes it much more difficult. My picking exercises to warm up are different.

Give this a run as it is always nice to continue to build and change up what you work on.

Perms of 2 (do these with these finger combos - 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 34)

1 2, 2 1

Perms of 3 (do these with these finger combos - 123, 124, 134, 234, A fret between each finger now on these - 124, 134, two frets between these next two - 124, 134)

1 2 3, 2 3 1, 3 1 2, 1 3 2, 2 1 3, 3 2 1

Perms of 4 (just do these the way they are, it would add a LOT more if you added stretches)

1234, 1243, 1324, 1342, 1423, 1432
2134, 2143, 2314, 2341, 2413, 2431
3124, 3142, 3214, 3241, 3412, 3421
4123, 4132, 4213, 4231, 4312, 4321


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## hatecore_64 (Jan 30, 2011)

rug said:


> Yeah, 7 modes...but I don't know anything about music theory, so I just decided I was going to try and learn it in slow, digestible bites. And for me, I figured approaching things of learning everything in 1 key, so the 7 positions for the modes are just patterns for me that I can play and still be in G, for example. I'm sure that's probably a stupid way to do it, but I can't ever force myself to sit down and learn theory.
> 
> It's on my "do this eventually" list though. Money's kinda tight, but I'm trying to convince my wife to let me take lessons. I've never taken them before, I think it would help.


 
I find once you know how to play a mode, you can remember it by how it sounds and ascociating it with a colour.
7 modes, 7 colours of the rainbow - Its almost TOO easy 

1. Ionian - This works well as red as it is the basic major scale, and its all warm and happy.

2. Dorian - If you think of the sound of this mode, it sounds kind of thoughtful and nostalgic. For this, orange works well as the colour as you can sort of imagine a sepia coloured scene (I think of the inside of an old cabin, hehe.)

3. Phrygian - This sounds similar to the harmonic minor, which to me has an arabian sound. This is cool to go with yellow as it reminds me of scorching deserts and the sun, etc. You can imagine this playing in film 300 for example.

4. Lydian - This one is my favourite, it sounds floaty and pretty. Green seems to work well, as it is a natural colour and you can almost imagine youself soaring over trees..

5. Mixolydian - This sounds REALLY major. Maybe blue is an optimistic colour? Its a masculine colour, men are always optimistic.. I bet you can think of a better way to think of it.

6. Aeolian - The basic minor scale. Purple is a sad colour, so that speaks for itself really 

7. Locrian - This is the hardest to remember, as it sounds sort of atonal and wierd. I remember this as pink becuase when i played Runescape, there was this large pink fucked up monster that went around fucking people up in the fucking wilderness. 
The scale is also pretty fucked up.

Using this method, and remembering the colour ascociated with the mode, you should remember how each one sounds and remember their order.

Just a bit of first hand point of view, but trust me it helped


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Jan 30, 2011)

Epic colour coding! Most interesting. 

I don't know what the obsession is with making scalic noise to a metronome. I did it too for a while (years) but this is the part people leave out:

Play a scale.... Sing along with it... Play it for a bit with a metronome.... Improvise AND sing it.

The chromatic and scalar excercises loose all meaning once you can remember all of them (scales and modes). They're a memory aid, not a punishment. Try the scat singing version as it will help with improvisation and composition. I got the idea from Joe Satriani's Guitar World book, who took it from Lenny Tristano, a jazz player who taught him for a while.

Also, racing around scales will only help you to find the notes you really want in a given situation, they're only the beginning! 

Enjoy Shawn's explanation:


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## XIII (Feb 1, 2011)

When I started moving into the more technical side of guitar playing years ago, a book that a friend recommended was Troy Stetina Speed Mechanics For Lead Guitar, its got the lot and a solid spring board for developing cool licks and tricks. Still use it to this day 

I apologise if someone has already stated this and I have been too lazy to notice. (be easy on me, I'm a noob to this forum )


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## rug (Feb 1, 2011)

hatecore_64 said:


> I find once you know how to play a mode, you can remember it by how it sounds and ascociating it with a colour.
> 7 modes, 7 colours of the rainbow - Its almost TOO easy
> 
> 1. Ionian - This works well as red as it is the basic major scale, and its all warm and happy.
> ...




I like this. Thanks dude!!!!!!!


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 2, 2011)

XIII said:


> When I started moving into the more technical side of guitar playing years ago, a book that a friend recommended was Troy Stetina Speed Mechanics For Lead Guitar, its got the lot and a solid spring board for developing cool licks and tricks. Still use it to this day
> 
> I apologise if someone has already stated this and I have been too lazy to notice. (be easy on me, I'm a noob to this forum )


 
Thanks man, Il look into it


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 2, 2011)

rug said:


> I like this. Thanks dude!!!!!!!


 
Np bro 

Remember, say if your in A Ionian, your also playing B Dorian, C Phrygian, D Lydian, E Mixolydian, F Aeolian, and G Locrian


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 8, 2011)

Update: Ive been doing my exercise thingy for just over a week. I seem to have hit a problem, becuase today ive bearly mannaged to hit 150bpm cleanly, whereas before ive made my way up from about 60bpm every day increasing by about 8bpm. 
why am i loosing it?


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## rug (Feb 8, 2011)

Unfortunately, you don't improve speed in a linear fashion. Sometimes, you'll be improving on a daily or weekly clip, other times, you'll be stuck at a certain tempo on something for weeks. I've found a couple things help me in this situation.

1. Don't get frustrated. Every guitarist has had this happen. 
2. Alter your exercise a bit. If you're doing the same thing every day, maybe it's time to approach things from a side angle for a bit. If you're doing 16ths to start with every day, do sextuplets instead. If you're doing 6 strings, try just doing exercises on 1 or 2 strings. Warm up by learning a couple new licks or something. Find different phrases that use the same sort of technique that you're working on right now, and play those instead. If I've burned myself out on picking every note, maybe I'll work on legato or sweep picking for a while. Basically, just give yourself enough variety so that you're not doing the same thing every day.

There's a lot to be said about powering through obstacles, but I generally try to find the most efficient way to play something with the tone that I like to hear. It can have negative connotations, but (within reason), I like to take the path of least resistance when it comes to improving control and speed. 

Try that for a week or two - I bet you'll have maintained or improved your speed on that exercise, even if all you do is nibble around the edges on whatever particular lick you've hit a wall with currently.


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 9, 2011)

rug said:


> Unfortunately, you don't improve speed in a linear fashion. Sometimes, you'll be improving on a daily or weekly clip, other times, you'll be stuck at a certain tempo on something for weeks. I've found a couple things help me in this situation.
> 
> 1. Don't get frustrated. Every guitarist has had this happen.
> 2. Alter your exercise a bit. If you're doing the same thing every day, maybe it's time to approach things from a side angle for a bit. If you're doing 16ths to start with every day, do sextuplets instead. If you're doing 6 strings, try just doing exercises on 1 or 2 strings. Warm up by learning a couple new licks or something. Find different phrases that use the same sort of technique that you're working on right now, and play those instead. If I've burned myself out on picking every note, maybe I'll work on legato or sweep picking for a while. Basically, just give yourself enough variety so that you're not doing the same thing every day.
> ...


 
Thanks for the enouragement man, il definately try and alternative practice routine and see where that gets me!


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 11, 2011)

Okay, time for a nice update. 
Ive been practicing 16th notes up to 150 bpm every night for about a month. 
I guess i have improved, but im not really sure what tempo im 'perfect' at, i feel its around 120bpm. 
This is my 'speed i can do after ive warmed up', and i usually move up from then trying to increase until i reach my goal.
I go up 1 bpm each time; i play it through about 5 times until i feel its perfect, then move up. 
Im not fussed about how boring it is, becuase i enjoy the fact that in the long run this is helping me.

But does anyone have any tips that may help? Do you think it will take long to reach my goal?


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## stryker1800 (Feb 12, 2011)

I would recommend not going up 1 bpm at a time, I did that for a while and it wasn't worth the extra time it takes, i usually do 4 or 5 bpm increases and that works well for me.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Feb 12, 2011)

Ryan-ZenGtr- said:


> Enjoy Shawn's explanation:




Jesus fucking christ, every time I see video's of Lane playing it makes my brain explode. He's so fucking clean 

Its too sad that he died so young


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 12, 2011)

stryker1800 said:


> I would recommend not going up 1 bpm at a time, I did that for a while and it wasn't worth the extra time it takes, i usually do 4 or 5 bpm increases and that works well for me.


 
Okay, cheers man


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 12, 2011)

.. then at 1:01pm, on saturday the 12th of february, i exceeded my goal of 150 and eased my way up to 160bpm. I am the happiest man alive.


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## rug (Feb 12, 2011)




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## hatecore_64 (Feb 15, 2011)

.. and now its gone again.. :L

say if im aiming for 150 each day, should i start every day at say 75 (the tempo i first started praciticing to improve) and work my way up, even though i can play that tempo cleanly now?


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## SirMyghin (Feb 16, 2011)

Some days are better than others, some days you just have 'it'. It happens, don't be discouraged. You want 150? Do your normal routine til about 130/140. Then jump to 160 or 170 and give it everything you got for as long as you can. It is going to be sloppy. Not back it down to 150 again. Then try.


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## hatecore_64 (Feb 16, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Some days are better than others, some days you just have 'it'. It happens, don't be discouraged. You want 150? Do your normal routine til about 130/140. Then jump to 160 or 170 and give it everything you got for as long as you can. It is going to be sloppy. Not back it down to 150 again. Then try.


 
Cheers man


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## SirMyghin (Feb 16, 2011)

^

Hope it helps, I know it sounds counter intuitive but I have learned a lot of stuff that way (eventually you try it and can play it at the fast one too...)


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