#1
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Right hand exercises
Like many here on the forum (it seems) I played guitar in my teens and early twenties and then didn’t do much with the instrument for the next 30 years. The last year and a half I’ve been playing quite a lot. I play fingerstyle with the flesh of my fingers as I have no nails.
Lately I’ve been working on a few Celtic tunes in DADGAD (Tony MacManus, Stephen Wake, Pierre Bensusan). The song I’m currently working on is “Le Voyage Pour L’Irlande” and it has, in addition to a lot of other challenges, a little triplet that I’m just not able to do as fast as it should be. I can “fake it” by doing hammer-on and pull-off’s instead, but not three fingers after each other as it’s supposed to be. It struck me that I’ve done very little or not dedicated right hand exercises. The left hand has gotten a lot of attention and exercises, like controlled scales without flying fingers, moving between difficult chord shapes, stretching exercises etc and I often sit with a guitar while watching tv just practicing my lefthand without plucking the strings. Having said that, of course I have spent quite a lot of time practicing picking patterns and particularly remember working on Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” which was a bit tricky in terms of thumb/finger independence (steady beat on the thumb and triplets on i, m and a). But I feel that is maybe more an issue of getting my brain to move the correct finger at the right time than the physical limitations in the right hand. I did a little test today to see how fast I could play a triplet with i, m and a and found I could keep up with 90 bpm (i on the beat) for about 20 seconds before my right arm was all tense. I did a bit of “googling” here on the forum and elsewhere and most of the stuff I came across was related to classical guitar. Nothing wrong with classical guitar, and I’m sure there is much to learn even if you play a steel string, but it got me thinking, what do you (non-classical) guitarist do? Do you have dedicated exercises to practice speed and precision for the right hand, or is it just along for the ride?
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Collings D1 Traditional Sitka/Mahogany (2017) Martin Cole Cirrus 15/12 European spruce/Brazilian RW (2006) Flammang Guitars GC60-42 Adirondack/Brazilian RW (2004) Bourgeois OMS 12 Fret Adirondack/Madagascar RW (2022) Martin D-35 (1974) Yamaha LS400 (2000) Yamaha LL6 (2006) Yamaha LL16 12-string (2009) |
#2
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I don't do any such exercises which are not directly related to playing phrases from the problematical section, I never had formal guitar lessons so escaped that kind of training. Sometimes I make up short musical jingles to gain familiarity with a difficult technique, sometimes I just cheat and find an alternative way of getting my guitar to make a noise that's close enough to what's required.
But if you can play this triplet at 90 bpm is that not good enough? Though bpm can be a bit confusing when refering to Irish music as it's often in a compound time with the metronome set to two clicks per bar even though the time signature might be 6/8 so not sure what your mean in this instance. Anyway I think using hammer ons and pull offs in dadgad sound great more like traditional instruments. Do you like the sound it makes? |
#3
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Check out the reviews on this book, it seems to work for some folks.
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Bob https://on.soundcloud.com/ZaWP https://youtube.com/channel/UCqodryotxsHRaT5OfYy8Bdg |
#4
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This triplets at 90 bpm I mean playing 123 123 123 with the beat on 1.
Yes, actually, I think it works quite well in this case. My point is, if I have compensate with my left hand for the lack of ability in my right I should probably put some effort into right hand exercises. Just curious what others do.
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Collings D1 Traditional Sitka/Mahogany (2017) Martin Cole Cirrus 15/12 European spruce/Brazilian RW (2006) Flammang Guitars GC60-42 Adirondack/Brazilian RW (2004) Bourgeois OMS 12 Fret Adirondack/Madagascar RW (2022) Martin D-35 (1974) Yamaha LS400 (2000) Yamaha LL6 (2006) Yamaha LL16 12-string (2009) |
#5
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Quote:
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Collings D1 Traditional Sitka/Mahogany (2017) Martin Cole Cirrus 15/12 European spruce/Brazilian RW (2006) Flammang Guitars GC60-42 Adirondack/Brazilian RW (2004) Bourgeois OMS 12 Fret Adirondack/Madagascar RW (2022) Martin D-35 (1974) Yamaha LS400 (2000) Yamaha LL6 (2006) Yamaha LL16 12-string (2009) |
#6
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#7
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Mauro Giuliani 120 right hand studies in notation with tab pdf download page:
https://www.classclef.com/120-right-...auro-giuliani/
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#8
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Question; Any idea how to go about practicing these pieces? One at a time until one can play it comfortably and the move on, or work on a group of them at a time?
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Collings D1 Traditional Sitka/Mahogany (2017) Martin Cole Cirrus 15/12 European spruce/Brazilian RW (2006) Flammang Guitars GC60-42 Adirondack/Brazilian RW (2004) Bourgeois OMS 12 Fret Adirondack/Madagascar RW (2022) Martin D-35 (1974) Yamaha LS400 (2000) Yamaha LL6 (2006) Yamaha LL16 12-string (2009) |
#9
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But you do have to focus on correct articulation, clean and clear. It can be easy to learn to play one of them, and think you've done it just because you can play it with no mistakes. The point of them is to train your right hand to be precise and controlled, in terms of dynamics and tone. Playing each one quite slow is a good tip there: play slower than your normal speed, and use a metronome to keep you on track. That way you can focus on the sound of each note, and experiment with dynamic attack. That's critical for classical guitar, but pays dividends on steel-string too.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#10
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For me the best results of right hand work is achieved when my nails are just so (right length, shape, and polish). Find what seems to be best for you in that department. As mentioned already the Giuliani 120 right hand studies are effective ones.
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Derek Coombs Youtube -> Website -> Music -> Tabs Guitars by Mark Blanchard, Albert&Mueller, Paul Woolson, Collings, Composite Acoustics, and Derek Coombs "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Woods hands pick by eye and ear
Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#11
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The temptation with these is to just blow through each one in order to get through them all. That's a trap leading to a complete waste of your precious time. There's no rule as to which ones to practice first. You can do them sequentially, or in groups, or individually. That's not really the main issue. If you just take one, any one, and focus all your attention on the goals that JonPR outlined, it will be beneficial. No matter what music you play.
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Best regards, Andre Golf is pretty simple. It's just not that easy. - Paul Azinger "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." – Mark Twain http://www.youtube.com/user/Gitfiddlemann |
#12
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RM ----------------------------------------------------- Taylor 856, Taylor GC7, Martin 00-28, Breedlove Oregon Concertina, Breedlove Jeff Bridges Signature, Guild JF55-12, Guild D212, Larrivee OM3, Eastman E20 OM, Farida OT22w, Cordoba Fusion 12 Orchestra, Blueridge BR-361, Pono 0-15 mango, Journey OF-660, Tanglewood TWJP parlor (Nashville tuned), Paul Reed Smith SE Custom. |
#13
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My pleasure. I’d be interested to know your thoughts. I have not looked at mine in quite a while
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Bob https://on.soundcloud.com/ZaWP https://youtube.com/channel/UCqodryotxsHRaT5OfYy8Bdg |