Quote:
Originally Posted by jthorpe
I cannot immediately take to a song and play it at any kind of tempo - I actually fumble around all over the place - getting used to chord fingers, picking patterns etc. so it actually takes a lot of NO TEMPO (no proper tempo at least) practice to get me to the point where I can even consider playing at a tempo (no matter how slow 60 bpm is)!
Do any of you guys/gals experience this also?!
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I fumble fumble fumble... don't keep time, and don't worry about effects like vibrato/slide/hammer ... whatever, I just get to the notes and see where I can reach them. After a handful of times, I feel good about where to play the notes, and I start counting, very deliberate and slow. I coun't down to the shortest beat in the song (triplet, eight, sixteenth, etc) and make the timing perfect. Then I go back and think about should I hammer, or slide here. Is there an easier fingering? Eventually I get it so it is all comfortable and sounds like the page reads... then I ignore the page and play it how I like it
It takes a long time, but in the end, it is more committed in memory by how it should sound and feel. If I miss a note or nuance in the music, it is ok, because in my mind, I know when and how it should resolve, and how I can cover up... I actually write the interval of every note, and every note name above and below the music. This really burns the theory in my mind (and helps me learn the fretboard). When you have the theory down, and you know where the phrase is going... you can cover a mistake really well... so that nobody knows its a mistake... you can also jump back in the song at any point if you lose your place for a split second.
For instance... I know a phrase is 2 measures, starts on the 3rd and ends on the root... and is in the major key of B. I can make the rest up... but I do try to stay to the music... but a missed note will not distract as I will work it in with the rhythm and phrase. Depending on how wrong the note is, I'll slide to the right one, or maybe just use it as a 16th on my way to resolving something else. Sometimes, instead of ending the phrase on your songs root.... your aiming to end on the chord's root (maybe the IV). Anyway... everything is individual. Take what you can, toss the rest. Try different thing until you find what works for you. And always be open to a new technique.