How to play perfectly everytime: Videos

[David Youngman]

I just completed 3 videos on using challenges to perfect your pieces in a way that makes you consistent and able to always hit those notes correctly.

Check them out and let me know what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceGZ...iS_NqswEQ4ASl2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9fd...iS_NqswEQ4ASl2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4hY...iS_NqswEQ4ASl2

[El Duque]

Good stuff.

I just looked at the first one. will ck out the other two.

Maybe one of my learning issues will be addressed. Recall. Memorization. I don't have much trouble with shorter songs but those in the 6-7pg and longer -diff. story.

I just got back into playing regular. I think I did it differently 20yrs ago. I seemed to learn faster and retain longer.

If I played for others there would be more pressure to get it perfect. There is that.

thanks.

[rick-slo]

Thanks for putting together the videos. Anything that can help one think more clearly about what they are playing is helpful.

Normally on playing a piece one makes mistakes somewhat randomly - and mistakes can be anything you would like to have played differently, from a missed note, or a fret buzz, or not the right volume or timing. Repetitive mistakes at the same location takes more focused attention on the particular problem (on basic technique, fingering, etc.).

[David Youngman]

El Duque

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know it's harder when you are older. I think part of it is just having a lot more in your head to manage. Being a performer and managing booking and promoting and being a husband and dad it makes it a lot harder for me to fit in my practice time so I need all the tricks I can get to get the most out of my time.


Hey Rick,
Good thoughts on defining mistakes.

Best wishes,
David

[Jberczel]

thanks for the lessons. have you done any related to ear training/transcription?

i'm trying to work out a relatively simple finger style piece i heard on youtube, but it has been humbling to say the least.

[David Youngman]

I have not done any on that topic. I will log that information as an idea for future tutorials.

If you tell me your approach to transcribing, maybe I can offer some advice on this. Also if you post the link to the video it might help me in giving you some more specific suggestions.

Best

[Jberczel]

Originally Posted by David Youngman

I have not done any on that topic. I will log that information as an idea for future tutorials.

If you tell me your approach to transcribing, maybe I can offer some advice on this. Also if you post the link to the video it might help me in giving you some more specific suggestions.

Best

below are some basic stuff i was trying to transcribe as practice. my general approach was try try to find root note and key of song. after that try to pick out melody or riffs. and then finally add in the harmony.

perhaps i should start with easier stuff. this is my first time trying to learn from ear as opposed to tabs. appreciate any tips. thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRYld6nQqQY
(key of D? the melody seems to do down the scale)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9WmqIpYYiw
(believe this one is in C, mostly going back and forth between C and Am)

[Chin music]

Your video regarding right-hand stability is EXACTLY what challenges me right now. In short, on faster tunes with respect to right-hand picking, my right hand begins to oscillate a bit. This is especially true for faster right-hand tunes that have an alternating bass. The sensation I get is one of driving a car that, as you accelerate, starts to shake as if it's coming apart. That's what my right hand feels like on faster tunes, and usually results in enough tension in my hand about a minute into the song that I begin missing strings - my fingers fire and try to pluck, but don't hit the intended string. This is especially true for my index finger on the G string right after I've 'oscillated' and reached up to hit the low E string with my thumb.

I'll try that technique you demonstrated in the video - unorthodox to be sure, but it looks like it has merit.

Keep them coming!! I watched all of them.

[David Youngman]

Originally Posted by Jberczel

below are some basic stuff i was trying to transcribe as practice. my general approach was try try to find root note and key of song. after that try to pick out melody or riffs. and then finally add in the harmony.

perhaps i should start with easier stuff. this is my first time trying to learn from ear as opposed to tabs. appreciate any tips. thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRYld6nQqQY
(key of D? the melody seems to do down the scale)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9WmqIpYYiw
(believe this one is in C, mostly going back and forth between C and Am)

Jberczel

You have some good approaches. These pieces don't sound too bad to be able to learn. I can think of a couple of things that might help. One is starting the video and stopping quickly right at the point of the note you are trying to figure out.

This may not work but I'll try to type a way to understand this here.

With music and these pieces there are those stand out notes that are more accented and then the filler type notes. I'll represent the accented notes with a "BA" and the filler notes with a "da". So lets say a song has a line

BA da da da BA da da

Then lets say you hear the first note (BA) but the rest just kind of blend in. You want to hear that next note so play it again and try to stop your audio right after the next note

BA da (STOP).

Try to get that note in your head. If not, try it again until you hear it and can find it on the guitar. Next you would stop the audio right after the 3rd note

BA da da (STOP)

This not only helps you to figure out the note but it also trains you to focus better so that you will start to be able to pickup two notes at a time and so on.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if it's a stupid explanation that doesn't make sense so I'm sure not to use it again.


My other suggestion is to write out the music (assuming you have an understanding of notes and note values). I use this often where I can hear certain parts but other sections might be a little vague or maybe I'm just not focused enough at the time so I write what I hear and leave holes in the music where I'm not sure what the notes are. Then I go back to those sections using the start/stop idea to focus more and find those notes. Sometimes on a fast run I might have trouble hearing what notes are being played so I just write out the rhythm first so I know how many notes I have to figure out.

The more you work at transcribing the easier it gets so keep at it.

[David Youngman]

Originally Posted by Chin music

Your video regarding right-hand stability is EXACTLY what challenges me right now. In short, on faster tunes with respect to right-hand picking, my right hand begins to oscillate a bit. This is especially true for faster right-hand tunes that have an alternating bass. The sensation I get is one of driving a car that, as you accelerate, starts to shake as if it's coming apart. That's what my right hand feels like on faster tunes, and usually results in enough tension in my hand about a minute into the song that I begin missing strings - my fingers fire and try to pluck, but don't hit the intended string. This is especially true for my index finger on the G string right after I've 'oscillated' and reached up to hit the low E string with my thumb.

I'll try that technique you demonstrated in the video - unorthodox to be sure, but it looks like it has merit.

Keep them coming!! I watched all of them.

Thanks for the feedback and I'm so glad these are helpful to you! It sounds like you should stick to slower tempos for a while to get your technique under control. As you work on your technique you can test out your technique by playing fast for a short spurt to see if you are making progress. Then come back to slow practice.

My latest video might also be a big help to this problem you are having.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heC-...YbWuuoIcIQzmNQ

I'm sorry to say I've had to take a break from the lesson videos for a bit but I will definitely be back with more in the future. Thanks for the support and let me know if I you need more suggestions and I'll do my best to help.

[Jberczel]

Originally Posted by David Youngman

Jberczel

You have some good approaches. These pieces don't sound too bad to be able to learn. I can think of a couple of things that might help. One is starting the video and stopping quickly right at the point of the note you are trying to figure out.

This may not work but I'll try to type a way to understand this here.

With music and these pieces there are those stand out notes that are more accented and then the filler type notes. I'll represent the accented notes with a "BA" and the filler notes with a "da". So lets say a song has a line

BA da da da BA da da

Then lets say you hear the first note (BA) but the rest just kind of blend in. You want to hear that next note so play it again and try to stop your audio right after the next note

BA da (STOP).

Try to get that note in your head. If not, try it again until you hear it and can find it on the guitar. Next you would stop the audio right after the 3rd note

BA da da (STOP)

This not only helps you to figure out the note but it also trains you to focus better so that you will start to be able to pickup two notes at a time and so on.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if it's a stupid explanation that doesn't make sense so I'm sure not to use it again.


My other suggestion is to write out the music (assuming you have an understanding of notes and note values). I use this often where I can hear certain parts but other sections might be a little vague or maybe I'm just not focused enough at the time so I write what I hear and leave holes in the music where I'm not sure what the notes are. Then I go back to those sections using the start/stop idea to focus more and find those notes. Sometimes on a fast run I might have trouble hearing what notes are being played so I just write out the rhythm first so I know how many notes I have to figure out.

The more you work at transcribing the easier it gets so keep at it.

Thanks for the advice. Yea, I think there's no shortcut around transcription/ear training. Will keep working on it.