What Are You Working On Right Now?

artwork:

Notes_2024May18_01b.jpg
chuck norris approved GIF
 
Yeah the flailing pinky is a thing for me as well, so any suggestions on how to keep that pinky close and not move when the ring finger moves would be appreciated very much!
There's these 2 riffs I practice a bunch to help break the ring/pinky dependence thing:

I'll See The Light Tonight YJM 71 thru 78

I'll See The Light.png

And this from Muse The Handler, which plays 8x's total. Note the fingering I use:

Handler.png


And then another thing I'll do from time to time is play a Maj7 chord across the top 4 strings:

st/fret/finger:

4/10/4
3/9/3
2/8/2
1/7/1
1/8/2
1/7/1
2/8/2
3/9/3
4/10/4
4/9/3

Repeat

In this one, I try to keep each finger just touching every string, basically muting them, while playing the note of the arpeggio. Which is quite difficult. But between the 3, it has really helped control my pinky. And build up its strength, while helping to free it from the ring finger.
 
And if ya really wanna work that pinky, learn this:

Even at a very slow tempo, the trick is to keep the timing consistent- same amount of time spent on every note! No speeding up on the pull-offs, and slowing down on the string changes or hammer-ons, in other words. And every time you move to a lower string, you use a 'hammer-on from nowhere.' Which many times is the pinky.

I'll pay it as sextuplets, and 16th notes, to help keep my timing consistent. (Since it puts the accents on different notes.)

ITNOG Legato 109.png


I didn't tab it out completely correct, as there's really only a single picked note when you start on each string with your first finger. Everything else is legato.
And ignore measure 243. That's where it repeats, and I transposed the key, since it's played on a guitar tuned to C, I believe.

Also, in 241, use a slide from 8-7, and again from 10-11.

Hell, you could just loop beat 4 in 240 thru beat 2 in 241. Just looping those 3 beats will give that pinky a workout!

:beer :rawk
 
Thanks for the feedback gents! Much appreciated!! I actually developed the second one for the title track of the album and then started second guessing my originally developed work for the album which is the first one ;~)) So I think I will do it as originally intended, first one is the album art, second one is art for the title track!!!
 
Thanks for the feedback gents! Much appreciated!! I actually developed the second one for the title track of the album and then started second guessing my originally developed work for the album which is the first one ;~)) So I think I will do it as originally intended, first one is the album art, second one is art for the title track!!!
I liked the first one, but the second one was pretty sick too. for the second, the mouth with the tongue hanging out drew too much attention from the rest of it which may be better with a sexy woman's mouth not a dude's but what do I know¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Sorry to hear about the band, Barry. Bummer. :(

I hope you keep on keeping on. There are good people
out there to connect with----even if you have to kiss a
few crappy ones to find them. :beer
Yes, still moving forward. It just sucks to have to start over...

The other guitarist and the drummer still want to get together, but I told them I'm in but they could count me out if they were wanting to play with that bass player. I'm in sales, so I have pretty good track record of sizing up bullshit and I saw through his passive aggressive, going behind the other members back and talking shit about everyone but not trying to be talking shit about everyone style. I asked the other guitarist if he did that about me to him and he had done so and I told him he did the same with me about him, lol
 
There's these 2 riffs I practice a bunch to help break the ring/pinky dependence thing:

I'll See The Light Tonight YJM 71 thru 78

View attachment 24850
And this from Muse The Handler, which plays 8x's total. Note the fingering I use:

View attachment 24851

And then another thing I'll do from time to time is play a Maj7 chord across the top 4 strings:

st/fret/finger:

4/10/4
3/9/3
2/8/2
1/7/1
1/8/2
1/7/1
2/8/2
3/9/3
4/10/4
4/9/3

Repeat

In this one, I try to keep each finger just touching every string, basically muting them, while playing the note of the arpeggio. Which is quite difficult. But between the 3, it has really helped control my pinky. And build up its strength, while helping to free it from the ring finger.
Thank you! I will introduce them. I am currently doing something like the first one my teacher started me off with but I will check out the other ones too.
 
Had that Amp in real life. It's thick and juicy. Fryette Deliverance.

Are you going to use a dual amp setup for Dean's tones? Vox AC and something else? Just curious. :idk
Yes Dave so far the Freyette is it for the heavier part, as for the simultaneous layered clean part yes AC30
So dual amp and dual cabs setup in the works

:guiness
 
A weird problem I have (maybe some of you can relate) is that at certain tempos, my picking is erratic. Go slower, or faster, and it's fine. But at these in-btw speeds, my picking is "choppy-like", and the timing gets into da-dum, da-dum, da-dum territory.

So I figure that's the next thing I need to clean up, so I've been sitting for an hour so far today, with the metronome on 175, just playing alt-picked quarter notes, followed by only as many 8th notes as I can play without them getting choppy, or uneven, timing-wise. And focusing on not holding the pick too tight (= choppiness), or too loose (= uneven timing.)

Dum, dum, dum, dum, dadadada, dum, dum, dadadada dadadada, dum, dum, dum, dum, etc. Just 1 note, over and over. Then I mix in some different notes to help with the boredom, but I guess this is the only way (I know of) to fix this shit!

:facepalm

On the bright side, 175 is about the tempo of Highway Star, so I'm using the last section of that solo (at half-speed, with an occasional burst at tempo) to counter the boredom, and I realized I had been playing that section wrong for a long time!

I had been playing it: B- 10-10-11-13, 11-11-13-15, 13-13-15-17..., when all along it's: 10-11-13-13, 11-13-15-15, 13-15-17-17. So that's good, at least!
 
Early on, alt picking was my biggest challenge (in some ways it still is when I decide to go for it). So instead of putting in practice time I worked on the things that came easier and more natural. Not necessarily a bad thing, I think I developed some cool techniques along the way, but I wish I'd carved out more time for alt picking.
Anyways, I think working from slow to fast tempo is the best practice. Adjusting pick slant til finding that comfort zone is huge too.
 
Adjusting pick slant til finding that comfort zone is huge too.
I have gradually adjusted my grip over the past few years, so the pick is at ~45 angle to the strings, while also being as perpendicular to the strings as comfort will allow, so that slanting either backwards or forward (which I have to do both of, in many licks, sometime one right after another) will involve the least amount of "leaning the pick" as possible.

In going back and analyzing my technique, I have watched several of Bernth's videos, and zeroed in on some of the smallest details involved in this stuff. But it does make a positive difference.
 
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