guitar rule: play a cool chord after you finish training the exercise
@TylerSmith-om1cr
Жыл бұрын
Guitar rule: after playing the chord, let it ring out, and, if you feel it necessary, play it again fast and then kill the strings
@uchihaitachi3750
Жыл бұрын
@@TylerSmith-om1cr that's literally me man
@ChopperPlayed
Жыл бұрын
@@TylerSmith-om1cr bro same 💀 I do both of these lmao
@joeladams2540
Жыл бұрын
Absolutely written in stone
@jirifryda9868
Жыл бұрын
Damn, i do the same.😅😂
@McPickleness
Жыл бұрын
The training this provides for the picking hand is underrated.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Yup, there are some good alternate picking movements there.
@fishstix03
Жыл бұрын
Are you meant to go up down up down up down?
@thinginground5179
Жыл бұрын
@@fishstix03 no ur supposed to go down up down up down up
@McPickleness
Жыл бұрын
@@fishstix03 That's what she said. (And, yes).
@jonathanfisher6959
Жыл бұрын
@@McPickleness 😂
@drewnorth3816
Жыл бұрын
I've been playing guitar for about 20 years. I did the spider exercise when I first started playing, but had not done it since, until I saw this video. I felt my technique was lacking compared to where it used to be. So, I decided to do this. Thank you for the suggestion and reminder. I'm about 10 days in. I do it as I am sitting through my morning meetings, for about 30 minutes, then 10-15 minutes throughout the day, and again 15-30 minutes before bed. Results are outstanding. Very good thing to do. Can't wait to see where I am at in another 20 days.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Hmm practice during meetings, good suggestion... I'll just aim the camera a little higher :D
@matarcher3145
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode hahaha!
@hamsterman1995
Жыл бұрын
Hey hope you're still up to it! If not take it as a friendly reminder and encouragement to do so! Let us know your results here soon. :)
@Monarchelijah
Жыл бұрын
Well dont forget to let the people know your honest opinion on how much of a difference it actually makes after your 20 days
@drewnorth3816
Жыл бұрын
@@Monarchelijah Results are great so far. Speed in normal playing has increased and I’m playing more runs including my pinky, than I ever have before.
@orangebolo
Жыл бұрын
results unclear, didnt become a spider
@buttbuttwhat1
Жыл бұрын
“I made it somehow, and these are the lessons I learned.” Beautiful. Never forget you said that.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
😅
@ibnormal71
Жыл бұрын
I used a similar method and it does indeed work. The great thing is that I noticed an improvement on day 2. The payoff is almost instantaneous, so the effect is that you are encouraged by progress almost immediately. The exercise works. It can be a pain in the ass but stick with it. The next day you're going to love playing again, at least it was that way for me. The day I spend practicing it often sounds like crap, but the weird thing is the following day I seem like a different guitar player than I was the day before. Its amazing how the brain fixes mechanics while the body is at rest. And it gets even better as you progress.
@alvodin6197
Жыл бұрын
Improvement in what, the exercise? If the intention is "finger independence", then you would maybe be interested in knowing that your fingers always move independently, regardless of if you do this exercise. This is from a person who has played both Yngwie malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Francisco tarrega and Augustine Barrios.. Now I also play piano. It's a waste of time to perform "special" exercises" to do something that your fingers can do perfectly well without this exercise. So, if you want waste time doing a movement you will maybe never encounter in actual guitar playing, then continue doing it. If not, just study techniques and music of composers that you want to learn. This exercise is based off on of the classical guitar technique workbooks, equivelant to hanon or Czerny for the piano. IMO complete waste of time.
@yuungmung
Жыл бұрын
@@alvodin6197 pfffft try playing mary had a little lamb then you can talk
@shredgod6394
Жыл бұрын
@@alvodin6197 A movement you will never use in guitar playing? That's such a hilariously stupid thing to say. Every chromatic run in a solo ever uses this exercise.. and 99 percent of licks use pieces of this exercise. It's easier to use your middle and ring finger than it is to use your pinky and ring finger. Objectively. Nothing about playing guitar is "natural movement". Its ALL practice.
@ares5337
Жыл бұрын
How long you practice a day?
@ibnormal71
Жыл бұрын
@@alvodin6197 Well, i struggled with left and right coordination until i learned that exercise. Im 51 years old and started playing at age 14. Yes, all those years between and i got through sets by hamstringing myself because couldnt figure it out. Even instructors could not get me to fix it. Until 2 years ago i spoke with an instructor who identified by problem and taught me a very simple exercise. Its about timing, not trying to sound like a famous guitar player. I tried that when i was younger. It didnt work for me . This exercise did. I can say that I wasted 30 years trying to sound like EVH. My playing suffered the same timing/LHand RHand problem. The exercise shown to me impacted my playing overnight. I practiced it a half hour per day and i am 100xs better a guitar player, amd it took only about two to three weeks.
@ChasedRabbit
Жыл бұрын
I did not expect this video to be as engrossing as it was. It also really made me want to practice!
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
I'm very surprised that this many people are watching it, a video that I made primarily for myself xD
@Void-Realm
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! I'm brand new to guitar but wanted to try this exercise for better hand independence and stretching as I have very, very small hands. Seeing someone who's played guitar for a while struggle and seeing that it takes time has really helped as I struggle massively with feeling like I'm not progressing.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Small hands don't limit you much. The example that always comes to my mind is Michael Romero from Symphony X :D
@kipponi
Жыл бұрын
Short scale guitar.
@Wantar
Жыл бұрын
You will notice how your fingers become more flexible with time. I started playing classical guitar when I was 6 years old. That guitar is still big today and I don't know how I managed to get my hands around it. But I did. And you will too. Just give yourself some time and when a practice becomes boring, take a break and instead do whatever you want to do, try to learn a random chord, or learn chords for a song you like. As long as you're enjoying yourself, your brain will remember it. Also, take a mobile phone and record yourself. Do a video of your excercises like here. That will create a bit of pressure, or stage fright, if you will, but it will focus you better and later you can rewatch your video and check everything you need to work on. Maybe left hand, maybe right hand, maybe wrist movement, sitting position... You'll get there!
@e.s.r5809
Жыл бұрын
You'd be surprised how much reach is about flexible tendons, not the length of your fingers! I have seriously tiny hands too. I agree spiders are really hard for us at first, just placing our fingers on the frets takes active effort. I had to start higher up the neck, around the 12th fret. I think it makes a big difference doing hand, wrist and finger stretches and warmups/cooldowns before and after any practice. Most classical pianists, cellists etc are taught to stretch before they even touch their instrument. They have a lot of good resources about it on the Internet. 🙂 I like listening to music on the bus and doing finger independence exercises to the beat, lol. 90s/00s house has a great tempo for hand workouts. 😂
@hamsterman1995
Жыл бұрын
Another thing that can help with getting discouraged is not comparing yourself with others I've found. There are plenty of wonderful guitarists on social media that I am nowhere near the level of and it used to leave me discouraged but as I keep playing more and more things just click in my head. I have my 7 year old daughter practicing these exercises and she has super duper tiny hands. It's a struggle for her as well but I see her improvement every day! Practice hard! :)
@squirrel_82
Жыл бұрын
My hats off to you sir. It's take some serious bravery to put yourself out there like this especially with how people can be on the internet today. We should eat a little humble pie while watching this.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
The internet is waaay better than it used to be :D It's cool for average players like me to see how much progress really can be made, without the clickbait fakery :)
@outdatedmind9871
Жыл бұрын
I have been playin guitar for 9 years on and off, and I still play like 3 months . Now I am doing some serious training and hope to improve myself this remaining year
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
@@outdatedmind9871 Let's go :)
@mm-zn5hh
Жыл бұрын
This exercise is very helpful to me, i included this to my daily exercises before playing anything, I've been doing this for almost 2 years now. Whenever i didn't do this exercise when i pick up a guitar i feel that something is missing. Im telling you, stick with this exercise and try different variations of it. In just 3 months my finger dexterity skyrocket using these. Now i have 13 fingerstyle song under my repertoire and i can say that this really help me.
@joshuatavares2384
Жыл бұрын
I was having fretting hand discomfort and I started playing the chromatic 1 2 3 4 with my thumb off the back of the neck and after a few days it helped with the tension. It’s weird and I don’t know why I started but it helped me.
@marbomangu5023
Жыл бұрын
Please suggest us some tough exercise🙏
@Magelord79
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing your progress. My problem with practice often is: I start, I suck, I skip it. It's very reassuring to see others struggling as well but pushing through!!
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Progress is struggle :) I'm struggling through another 1-month challenge right now ...
@Songbirdstress
10 ай бұрын
See it the other was practice the best you can for x time reps whatever. Doesn't matter if you succeed, matters you do it.
@Songbirdstress
10 ай бұрын
See it the other was practice the best you can for x time reps whatever. Doesn't matter if you succeed, matters you do it.
@JN-so6wt
4 ай бұрын
nobody is instantly good at anything. you ever watched a baby try to eat or a newly-upright toddler try to walk? Keep pushing!
@cpk4228
2 ай бұрын
Best thing you can do is start slow and try to be consistent, and challenge yourself. When you feel like you're not good enough, the only direction you have to go is up!
@unit333angel
Жыл бұрын
Woah this progress video and the lessons you noted were really helpful!! Thank you!!
@dr.leonardo6382
Жыл бұрын
Thank you. It’s something I really need to do. I hate it because it’s mindless and boring but it’s essential for building skills. The lesson you gave us something That all beginner an intermediary players can relate to. Thanks again
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Np man, I guess if we want to get good, we have to feel the burn :D Unfortunately I feel that practice cannot be mindless (to be effective), it really takes effort / focus, that's why we avoid it... Share the results with us if you try something like this :)
@drumrit
Жыл бұрын
I get what you mean! Bring mindfulness into it. There's actually lots going on. It's always a really interesting process for me to find where the bottlenecks are and experiment with what brings more efficiency. I play drums, but I guess the same applies to everything.
@mitsanut5869
Жыл бұрын
One way to look at ANY exercise is that it's anything but mindless. If you're practicing it without putting full concentration and mind into it, it will not serve as anything other than what you describe it as, with very slow results. When I was trying for high competition in shooting in my hey days, I often went through a thousand rounds of ammo daily. One series after another, for hours at the time. But while it was boring for those who stayed mediocre at it, there was so many things to work at to make it more perfect the next time. After each series, everything was quickly analyzed, processed, adjustments were made to find the perfect position and rhythm. It's absolutely the same with music. If you see this as mindless exercise, then you are not doing yourself any favor. So many things go together to form a perfection, and to be able to go to the next step and the step after, you should strive for perfection with EVERY pick, every movement, every note. It's anything BUT mindless.
@cpk4228
2 ай бұрын
Tbh having a sort of "mindless" exercise such as this lets you just focus on your finger placement technique rather than any music theory or wondering what to play or how to play it. When you want to jam or play a song, do it! When you're just sitting and watching a show and want to keep your hands busy, do this!
@Hello-dy1gh
Жыл бұрын
Amazing, great job and true technique. Out of all the fancy guitar lessons KZitem vids you simplified it and made it streamlined to the new or beginning including intermediate guitarist. The basic to intermediate practice techniques will work and definitely improve guitar playing no matter how repetitive and monotonous it feels like when practicing. Great job, excellent dedication to practice and one of the best videos I’ve seen to inspire new and returning guitarists to practice.
@chrisegonsearlemusic
Жыл бұрын
Some of the most boring exercises give the best results. I think the important thing is structure. Great stuff!
@parews
7 ай бұрын
Found this at just the right time, exactly when I needed it. Thanks for this man👍🏾
@svensebastianhorner
Жыл бұрын
Yes, quality is much more important than quantity when practicing. And: If you are absolutely on the beat, you stop hearing the click. It feels really weird at first, but when you feel the beat internally, it won't throw you off. Rhythmic precision is highly underrated by many if not most.
@nerenahd
Жыл бұрын
Don´t bother watching the video. Result: He became Spiderman.
@tanvipandya4366
3 ай бұрын
Thank you for the close up. For a newbie without the close up nothing is clear :)
@BhanteWayne1
Жыл бұрын
Thank you. I just started to do a spider exercise yesterday before finding your video. The video gave me a practice framework and many appreciated practice tips, but the most valuable takeaway is your attitude. After tuning my guitar before practice, I'm going to do an attitude adjustment to get myself in tune. Good luck with your playing.
@Mike28625
Жыл бұрын
Very good! It's easier for me to keep tempo if I don't look at my hands. Sounds weird but I watch myself in a mirror! It broke my habit of looking directly at my hands while still monitoring my technique. Also blindfold exercise is good. The power being used by the eyes and visual cortex will usually provide a greater benefit if it was being bypassed to the ears and fingers, if that makes sense.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Definitely. I experimented with keeping my eyes closed during these practice sessions - it was very overwhelming for me. There's an article I read at the time, it's makes sense: douglasniedt.com/Tech_Tip_Practice_With_Your_Eyes_Closed.html
@danielibnz
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode Definitely, it works for me and a good example of it is Michael Chapdelaine.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
@@danielibnz Damn, first time hearing of the guy... he rips! His intuitive awareness of his guitar is beyond amazing...
@danielibnz
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode Indeed... For me, he is the Man...;-) "Michael Chapdelaine is the only guitarist ever to win First Prize in the world’s top competitions in both the Classical and Fingerstyle genres; the Guitar Foundation of America International Classical Guitar Competition and the National Fingerstyle Championship at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival at Winfield." Even though there are many good guitarists, he has all the capabilities and virtues that I personally appreciate. High level both Arranger and Performer, disciplined and rigorous musician with Master Technique, not a showing off person, no easy complacency or BS...;-) I follow him from many years and he is one of the best for me...
@lurklingX
7 ай бұрын
hey man, thanks for sharing. im about ready to start doing drills myself and it was helpful to hear the SOUND of the spider exercise. but also it was really cool to see you go through this each day and wow 200 was fast!!! the notes were all really helpful and interesting as you went along.
@downcode
7 ай бұрын
Glad you found it useful :)
@pedro_a_martins
Жыл бұрын
Great video! I love the insights and the fact that you show the importance of taking it slow in all senses of the word
@herewego034
Жыл бұрын
Impressive progress! Keep it up and thank you for motivation! :)
@fozzledoff1
Жыл бұрын
I love the dedication and willingness to accept weaknesses and slow it down and start again. Ive been playing for 20+ years and have started all these exercises again recently too .
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Nice man.. yeah it sucks but I can say my playing is getting better and better, I practice almost every day now.
@mk7073
Жыл бұрын
Nice work! Takes me back 30 years... 😲 It's also worth trying the spider but backwards - so you place all 4 fingers on the top E at frets 5, 6, 7 and 8. Pick. Then lift the pinky, picking as you do so and place it on the B string fret 8. Pick the top E again as you lift your ring finger and place that on the B string. And again as you lift the middle finger. Then pick the 8th fret on the B string and move your index finger down Now all your fingers are down a string, repeat the pattern for all strings. It's a brutal workout to begin with, just start very slow and deliberate until the movements make sense. It plays with your head because you're now picking as you lift off a fret rather than placing on a fret. But it'll really work mobility scenarios you never knew existed 😁👍
@halometroid
Жыл бұрын
Good job mate! love the progress!!
@StevenDiLeo
Жыл бұрын
great progress, fun to see it!
@ann0d0m1n1
Жыл бұрын
This is tremendously insightful. Your patience and self awareness show through your progress my friend. Thank you for sharing, and inspiring!
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Pleasure bro, keep practicing :))
@matarcher3145
Жыл бұрын
I could hear myself in the intro. Been on and off over 15 years and want to get into it more now and improve. Good work!
@Walamonga1313
Ай бұрын
Same, I've played for like 12 or 13 years but on and off so I'm not really good
@judithmugisa3248
Ай бұрын
O was actually captivated, I watched it to the end. You have encouraged me to het back to practice
@92RB-4
24 күн бұрын
Thanks for posting this. You would make a great instructor. Your written comments along the way help me learn to focus and adjust my timing--and to be patient! (I also started playing young, then stopped for a while too long).
@downcode
20 күн бұрын
Glad you found it usfeul :)
@rdkomo
8 ай бұрын
Been playing off and on (never seriously) for almost 21 years. Saw the video about the spider walk thing while I was looking up something for a video game. Decided to try the technique while waiting for said game to install. I'm on day 3 & I already feel like I'm improving! It's incredible how much you can pick up from watching videos like yours.
@downcode
8 ай бұрын
Nice man :))
@jackhargreaves1911
Жыл бұрын
Great job. Though my improvement in this exercise has been painfully slow (and nowhere near as much as yours), it has resulted in real, noticeable improvements in my playing generally.
@ramanb
11 ай бұрын
Thanks for posting this! It’s a great example of how a simple exercise, practiced daily can deliver great results. I think I’ll start this tomorrow!
@downcode
11 ай бұрын
It's really worth it, I'm doing it now every day ...
@joebloggs430
4 ай бұрын
Great video, thanks for making and uploading it.
@jonnydoesguitars4247
Жыл бұрын
I TOTALLY hear you about the work thing man been playing roughly the same amount of years and took years off against my will because of constant overtime and having two kids but I've been at it solid now for a few years only plan on improving from here and good job btw this exercise definitely does help with speed and timing/overall accuracy and dexterity.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Totally man, but it does take discipline. I'll be following your progress ;D
@thegamingguy1
Жыл бұрын
This is the most Scandinavian practice routine I've ever seen
@ericmckinley7985
10 ай бұрын
I started guitar this spring and i will be incorporating this technique every day going forward. Glad this was recommended to me
@Marisueksu
11 ай бұрын
this is exactly what i need to do too. thanks for showcasing your practice progress
@entertainment2246
Жыл бұрын
Not that I'm a shredder or something like that, but it really helps to keep metronome on half notes (like you did 2/4), because fast bpms make you nervous and rushing even if you can play this fast. If you really need that precision, than it helps just to internalize metronome beats as half notes (basically, accent only every other beat)
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
I'll give that a try again, fast metronome clicking makes me nervous as well...
@e.s.r5809
Жыл бұрын
Your progress just between day 1 and day 8 is wild! Great going, makes me want to go and practice too!
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Yup but if you pay attention the playing is very sloppy in terms of timing. That's why I went backwards & slowed down :)
@e.s.r5809
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode For 8 days, it was still fantastic work! Even though it isn't perfect the difference is very noticeable. Really enjoyed seeing your technique improve over time. Lots of respect for you slowing back down later once you noticed you got ahead of the beat.
@learnenglishwithrichard8175
10 ай бұрын
tap your foot - really helps me - great effort and improvement is super clear - well done!!
@zokheedcovers
Жыл бұрын
Let's gooo!!! Keep em coming man!!!
@thegreenfish21
Жыл бұрын
Another way of staying on beat is counting the beats out loud 1 2 3 4 and tapping your foot, the human brain is naturally quite good at keeping time when interacting with your voice and body instead of just focusing on your hands. It's something drummers do a lot when learning to play with a click
@Mitsunee_
Жыл бұрын
as someone who doesn't play any instrument this video actually gave me a pretty good insight as to what the challenges in learning guitar playing as a skill are. I used to have a (way too cheap) guitar as a kid that I tried to learn some melodies on and at some point tried to find Metallica songs I could try parts of, but lost interest rather quickly. I have very little in terms of knowledge on music theory, so I guess if I ever start learning guitar for real I'll have a learning curve to overcome before I can get to actually playing a song, but at least I know to expect it now :)
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Even the cheapest guitars are great nowdays! Also there is a LOT of guitar content on YT now, and it's waaaaAAAaaAAaaay easier to get information & learn today. Good luck :))
@amygdalist
Жыл бұрын
Awesome work! I’m inspired to try this for the next 30 days.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
I'm about to start another February challenge, so tag along :) (I'll be trying to learn a solo though)
@contours42
9 ай бұрын
Very cool! I am currently attempting to recover my playing skills after a 36 year hiatus. Not sure I ever practiced this back in the day, though I knew about it. After seeing your results I will definitely try this now! Thank you and congrats!
@downcode
9 ай бұрын
Awesome man, just play every day. Consistency is key... (at least for me)
@lm8404
Жыл бұрын
I play fast drums, 200 bpm double time, punk beats. I had to use very much the same technique as you to get to speed… And learned very much the same things along the way..🤘… Now days, I will set metronome at 100 BPM’s and have it only play the first note… If I play 200 BPM’s over the 100, the beep lands on the (1) note every other measure…. It’s been a great exercise..
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Glad to hear it, I guess it works then :))
@EvilMP5
Жыл бұрын
Haha you do the same thing I do when I get pissed and can't get a part or scale down, the mad mute strum. You did an awesome job remember it takes 10,000 hours to be a master of something. Also limiting yourself to that one exercise is limiting your potential, I do the spider for no more than 10 minutes. Then I move to diagonal fingers, it's kind of like sweep picking type arpeggio's. Then I focus on picking techniques down picking, alternate picking and economy picking. By the time its all said and done I burn about 20-30 minutes prior to what I was going to learn for that day.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
*mad mute strum* hahah you got it! Man, after reading your comment I really need to start practicing again xD
@EvilMP5
Жыл бұрын
The worst part is I keep coming across newer exercises and add those on top of what I currently do. I have recently stopped and opted to use practice sets of exercises to improve speed, agility, and accuracy. Because like with anything, the human body adapts quickly, and the mind gets bored. Then you effort wanes keep that in mind.
@NoBandwidthHere
Жыл бұрын
Thanks, man. You might have been the breakthrough that I've been waiting for for 12+ years.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Woah, I'm glad to help in any way possible, let us know your results :)
@STaSHZILLA420
Ай бұрын
Damn, I'm deaf in my left ear. All I heard was a metronome.
@musgoooo
Жыл бұрын
For the timing problem, a great method is doing an accent in the first of every 4 notes, that way you can focus on the first one which goes on the beat
@ajidemetro
Жыл бұрын
Saw that in the Petrucci dvd, works wonderful. Really makes a difference.
@mishame156
Жыл бұрын
Valuable lesson. Use Febraury for month chalenges
@victorgallegos9858
Жыл бұрын
I almost thought the video was gonna be 28 days long lol. Good tips along the way, I’ll practice these spider exercises, never done them before
@stringbreaker87
Жыл бұрын
Good stuff. The point is to start very slow with your hand relaxed and barely putting pressure on the frets, speed it up while still maintaining the same level of relaxation.
@Superman-xs9no
Жыл бұрын
if you want to practice a technique similar to this but also train your ears and mind do this with scales, play 3/4/5/6 note sequences up and down a scale instead of just playing up and down it all in one go, you will start to pick up other scales alot easier and if your always looking to become better at improvisation it helps a ton
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
This might be cool to try out - keep the "spider" finger movement but play scale tones, hmm...
@dremofnight
Жыл бұрын
I was once mildly interested in speed reading. One of the tricks you could use to speed read was to try and read way faster than you can actually keep up with (like, have words going by on a screen) then lower it down to a speed that used to seem fast and it becomes WAY easier. In my experience, this seems to work with guitar too.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Yup, Troy Grady talks about this trick - forcing yourself to go fast in order to get familiar with how it feels... definitely helpful
@ELCABAN
17 күн бұрын
Absolutely beautiful broski. Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Spain🙏🏼🔥
@downcode
17 күн бұрын
I'm coming to Barcelona in a couple of days, just for fun! Any recommendations ? :))
@vnsfromsteevane
2 ай бұрын
thank you so much for sharing this! i recently started learning the guitar and i want to be able to play my next song effortless before its release on may 24th. this was encouraging!
@downcode
2 ай бұрын
Nice man, let me know when it's released I want to hear it :)
@vnsfromsteevane
2 ай бұрын
@@downcode gotchaaa
@c.brionkidder9232
Жыл бұрын
I have a lot of respect for you for how long you practiced each session. I get bored and give up pretty consistently after about 20 minutes and walk away to do something else. Your results really punctuate the difference your dedication made.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Thanks man, if you approach it with full focus it kind of gets interesting :|
@GoogleAccount-po1gl
11 ай бұрын
I think practicing too much can make you worse. You need to let your muscles rest. I notice when i rest for a few minutes, and i try again, i get fastwr and accurate. Skipping a day also helps. I think its like the gym...for ur hands..you NEED rest days and rest between sets.
@Dh6rma
Жыл бұрын
hey brother! awesome video! not criticizing at all, but wanted to give a tip to save yourself later down the line - at around 3:15-3:19 mark I noticed that angle between your wrist and forearm. good rule of thumb is to consciously try to keep the wrist as straight as possible with the forearm to avoid unnecessary strain because it can lead to some serious wrist injuries. Cheers :)
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Hey man, you're completely right, I have noticed that during this period and tried to fix it (you can see the more "natural" hand positions later on in the video). But definitely something to keep in mind ! Cheers o/
@Dh6rma
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode good to hear! just wanted to look out ‘cause I had to correct that myself a while back. Awesome video though man :)
@volleytheory
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for this!
@eduardoverdeja9596
Жыл бұрын
I came expecting cheap content, but I got good content. Great tips thank you!
@Hdx64
Жыл бұрын
I have an electric guitar that i have played on and off for about 5 months... Nothing serious some anime riffs here and there and chunks of game music, but i stumbled upon your vid and when you said the exercise was boring i agreed, but i knew my own skill won't allow to make it all that much engaging either. But then i had a genius idea... If i could make the exercise less dull than playing with a metronome, then i could play for hours. And i did. Most of my spotify playlist consist in EDM/Rock/Metal music that naturally build up and have a fixed tempo aside from the drop. I have a Lekato which is a portable amplifier for headphones that's also a Bluetooth device so. I had spotify + my own guitar and since songs are metronomic in nature i just did all kinds of spider walks. ascending, descending, skipping, chromatic. If the bpm was too high then i just waited and made it slower for myself. For the most part it sounded awful but i was landing every beat (which was really cool) but when i happened to also land on the same key/note OHHHHH man the raw endorphins from that fueled me for another 30 min hahah so i ended up doing like a 2 hour of spider walks + chromatic jamming and i had a blast. Had to subscribe after that as your video gave me the motivation to take guitar seriously for once Thanks a lot and i will for sure try to build this into a routine to enhance my skills
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Haha interesting approach, but I couldn't stand the dissonance. You can practice to drum beats that people have uploaded to YT, that's pretty cool as well :)
@georgewasef2287
Жыл бұрын
This is awesome! I think I might try this cuz my left hand is very sloppy
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Give it a shot, let us know how it went :)
@ferro_nimo
4 ай бұрын
Watching this at work rn Made me want to go back home and go practice !! Very helpful and motivating
@downcode
3 ай бұрын
Go for it man :))
@thesurfjunkies
11 ай бұрын
Good job and excellent discipline. One of us quit guitar for five years at one point so making the commitment to get back in real playing shape is both hard and admirable.
@downcode
11 ай бұрын
Definitely hard to push yourself every day. But it 100% pays off.
@orbitaljellyfish808
Жыл бұрын
Personally I think I get more out of practicing with an acoustic, then switching to an electric and I’ve leveled up 5x
@kipponi
Жыл бұрын
It is true. Electric guitar is easiest to play.
@richardturbine1769
Жыл бұрын
Some of us have very short little fingers, mine is 3cm shorter than my ring finger and it makes the spider very hard indeed, not impossible, but extremely difficult, as having one’s little finger on constrains the third forcing it close to the second and off the fret. I found it helpful to start with three fingers only in order to strengthen my ring or third finger before moving to four, also to work on separating or stretching second and third. I notice than many pro guitarists have little fingers nearly as long as the others. I am thoroughly envious as it must be an advantage.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
There are epic guitar players who are even missing fingers. They can't do some stuff, but they're still awesome in their own way. If you work around your weaknesses you can develop a unique playing / writing style. Try looking at things this way, that's what helped me out :)
@e.s.r5809
Жыл бұрын
That's a good plan developing ring finger strength first. I have short pinkies too, with small hands to boot lol. I'll give this tip a try. (As people often say though, Segovia himself had stubby fingers. You can see from his hand casts that his pinkie barely came to his ring finger knuckle. So all's not lost for us. 🙂)
@richardturbine1769
Жыл бұрын
@@e.s.r5809 thanks. I have quite long fingers otherwise, but my pinkie is way below the top joint of my ring finger, perhaps 1cm worse than Segovia. I would love even an extra 1cm. I see from photos of him playing that he had to bend his middle two fingers backwards from the back of the hand in order compensate for his somewhat short pinkie. A good exercise for ring finger is dim arpeggios: one note per string, so I will just give the notes F, B F, G#, D, G#, one finger per fret, then you shift up one fret and return to the 6th string, shift up one fret and go back up… and so on, as far up fretboard as you can get, then you come back down again, stepping down one fret at each reversal. Or, you can just stay in first and second position alternating between them, which really does not let your ring finger off. The idea is to play legato at all speeds. Just a week or two of doing that as a warm up helped me a lot.
@timb350
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the upload. Good to be reminded of basics.
@spaidly
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for this video. When I do the spider exercise my fingers are flying all over the place. Now I know how to do it properly. Thanks again.
@drewnorth3816
Жыл бұрын
Are you doing it backwards too? I watched most of the video, but didn't see it going backwards, as in going pinky, ring, middle, index when you come back up. Highly recommend doing this variation as well. It's much harder, and may help you improve your overall control.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Hmm, I'll give it a try, thanks. There's an awful lot of these exercises that you can do. When I was younger I used to do Petrucci's Rock Discipline warmups... that was pretty crazy, but I didn't see much real world use of it.
@avalon3309
Жыл бұрын
I would rather stick needles in my eyes...but awesome commitment, Well done
@xhead75
11 ай бұрын
Great video. I would suggest to further your progress: close your eyes and focus on what you hear and feel. We lose so much to our vision and its only because of our dependency. Take that step and stick with it.
@potts7494
10 ай бұрын
This is just the motivation I needed to start doing those exercises I stopped trying 2 years ago
@downcode
10 ай бұрын
Just do it 😄
@ROOKTABULA
Жыл бұрын
How does it feel seeing that kind of improvement? I can't even play any of the leads on any of the albums I wrote and recorded 25 years ago.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
It's ok, I expected more TBH but it is what it is. Doing the exercises revealed a lot of other flaws in my playing that I had to correct. Yup, playing the old stuff from the time you were pushing yourself is hard... you have to practice really hard again to reach that level... I hate that as well :)
@cockoffgewgle4993
Жыл бұрын
You don't have to imagine you're recording, you are. Concentrating is really important. Although I found just "practicing" my left hand while watching TV etc was useful just moving between chord shapes etc. It was actually less frustrating than properly practicing because I didn't have to listen to all the mistakes my right hand would have made because my left hand was fucking up.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
That makes it easier I guess :D
@moxicana8412
Ай бұрын
Good job. I'm proud you.
@mohdnooradnin
Жыл бұрын
keep it up bro you doing well, i have been practicing these but still on slow tempo
@tps55555
Жыл бұрын
I do exercises like this. I get pretty fast and clean with them. The problem I have is what does it give me? I can do the exercises cleaner and faster but I rarely see how it impacts my playing.
@shinjiikari4629
Жыл бұрын
Exactly my thoughts, at the end of the day you’re better off practicing regular scales and licks you can actually use in a real life scenario.
@fatlenny9361
Жыл бұрын
its just building your foundation for other stuff. think of it like going to the gym. you do isolated body movements and get stronger, but it doesn’t necessarily make you better at fighting or using those muscles in complex movements. TLDR: it makes the harder stuff easier to do
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Depends on what your goal is, I wanted to improve my technique overall, so I could record guitar parts more quickly and in less takes. It served me well.
@MCLBC
Жыл бұрын
It builds your finger strength and marries your left and right hand together. If you play each note on the tips of your fingers, your hand will develop the muscle memory to retain correct positioning when you play. I can play a few Satriani songs and this simple exercise was vital for me to do that.
@mathiusq9128
Жыл бұрын
Did you notice substantial improvment during play time when practice was over?
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Definitely yes, the control was way better, also the overall awareness about the tone & timing was improved. I will do another month of this challenge this Feb, but maybe focus on the picking hand (alternate picking) this time.
@d4ddyK
9 ай бұрын
This is so amazing. I'm going to take the same lesson.
@lazyfloyd5476
Жыл бұрын
Super, vidi se razlika prvog i zadnjeg dana. Svaka čast
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Isplati se :)
@x13roger80
Жыл бұрын
More boring than actually doing it
@Jimmy-cv2js
Жыл бұрын
What else did you expect this video to be?
@shredgod6394
Жыл бұрын
Not really. IRL i can't fast-forward to see the results.
@orbitaljellyfish808
Жыл бұрын
Well played…
@iggymcgeek730
Жыл бұрын
Stupid comment.
@x13roger80
Жыл бұрын
@@iggymcgeek730 try an augmented minor 7th arpeggio with a dropped d tuning. Pop some false harmonics in the 14th position. Much more fun . Xxx
@troxmix8220
Жыл бұрын
This video made me quit guitar I have been playing for almost 10 years In the last 5 years I wanted to do 3 things things I wanted to do: -practice every day(even for 15 min) -learn guitar theory -generally get better at guitar Things I managed to do: -practice almost every day (I say almost because sometimes when I practice I fail again and again and again I would say that that isnt practice that a waste of time) -fail to learn the basics of music theory after trying 25 times on different sources of information (I would learn it and then forget it after a week even when I try to use and practice theory) -get worse at playing guitar (I dont know how or why but even when i practiced and played what I loved playing I only kept getting worse and worse to the point I couldnt learn to play new songs) I will probably try again in a month but for now Im done because my mental health is slowly turning into shit Edit: I played again today I couldn't help myself and it was ok I just didn't practice I played some stuff I wrote a year ago (its fun to play because its simple af) Ty all for the support and usually I would say I quit for that day but I had a mental breakdown so I thought I was gona quit forever :)
@bilarion
Жыл бұрын
Relax and return to the basics. Leave goals aside and just enjoy playing. Give yourself some time just enjoying playing for the sake of it, then slowly start setting small goals, like "learn about sus2 chords this week/month". Always remember to have fun.
@elvis5238
Жыл бұрын
Practice in 10min slots: 10min in the morning, 10min in the afternoon, preferably total of 20+mins a day. Do not multitask for best results, only think about the guitar and your fingers. Borrow a book or find a single credible website and learn bit by bit from that one source. Maybe paste a note somewhere that you always look at to make sure you remind yourself and not forget. Then change that note after a week for a new one. Write down your progress every week. It really helps you to stay motivated and wary of how your progress is going, even if a little. Personally, its a rocky beginning at first but gradually it became easier and easier. Treat adversity as challenges and take breaks when necessary. Do it sooner then a month, otherwise you’ll fall out of learning the instrument, good luck.
@troxmix8220
Жыл бұрын
@@elvis5238 I will probably play tomorrow Im staring to get an itch to play but I needed a break. I had mental breakdown when I wrote that
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Man, if I could only put into words the amount of frustration that I experienced when practicing guitar... For years & years I tried different techniques, which made me worse at first, and took months to get back to the level I was at previously. Spent countless hours reading the forums, talking to other guitar players etc. etc... On top of that, I broke my left hand in high school, it didn't heal the best, and that was fucking torturing me for years. All in all - a very, VERY frustrating experience. The exact same pain I felt during my Engineering studies, during my programming career, during my skateboarding practice... and what I kind of confirmed for myself is that we get better through pain & frustration. It is a "universal principle" I guess, so it's better to embrace it & push trough. Also - you don't have to be one of the best players, you can still create quality work, and that's where creativity comes into play - which is also very hard to develop & channel... Life is a struggle I guess haha, don't quit :)
@shakespeareaholic
9 ай бұрын
I love the honesty
@Love-is-action
21 күн бұрын
This is an excellent video 4 any beginners. This is everything I wish someone wudda told me about speed n clean and fluid playing
@downcode
21 күн бұрын
That's great to hear, I'm really glad it helps out :))
@Burzyk22
Жыл бұрын
Great job!
@typoclerk
Жыл бұрын
Getting better. I like your sweatshirt.
@FurtiveSkeptical
Жыл бұрын
Pretty neat effect how your guitar got better as you improved. 😁 Thanks for the video, it looked like a lot of dedication.👏
@dannytetreault
Жыл бұрын
Great job mate! I can’t believe I watched the whole damned thing. Practice!
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
I'm very surprised that this many people are watching it, a video that I made primarily for myself xD
@dannytetreault
Жыл бұрын
@@downcode you know what it is? We’re convicted of out own guilt. Your practice video reminds your viewers what they should be doing, the boring stuff like finger isolation exercises, spider routines and using a metronome! I should video myself practicing! Dan the Man. Sidney, BC.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
@@dannytetreault Rock on Dan :)
@thejoekage9499
Жыл бұрын
4:44 I feel this. I feel like in my subjective experience, it is because i am anticipating what comes next and trying to get to the 'end' as if my brain wants to let go of the tension it is holding. because your actions and thoughts are 'too' demanding. I think this is a trainable skill, to be able to hold that line before eventually crumbling, and get better and better at it pushing the time of collapse and over anticipation further away, staying 'present' for longer, keeping your confidence aswell because you are fighting off the natural response of potentially getting it wrong or not being on beat, the juggle is real. Going to give this a go! Thankyou for posting.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Yeah man, it's especially true if a "challenging" segment is coming :D
@theperpetuallyannoyed4074
Жыл бұрын
This is to be the most practical video i have seen about this
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
Yeah I actually went ahead and did it :D
@8300dvo
3 күн бұрын
This got me to pick up the guitar for the first time in 8 years. Really felt like I was done because the break was so long but thanks for giving me the motivation!!
@downcode
3 күн бұрын
Yesss !!
@VaGdude
4 ай бұрын
Very HELPFUL video ,I’m in the same position as you playing guitar the same amount of years but had a 5-7 years gap between and few days before i decided to picking up the guitar again ,accidentally fell in a video of YT Channel "Bernth"that really motivated me to go back playing.. So i started spider exercise 2 days ago ..
@downcode
4 ай бұрын
Nice man, stick to it and put in the work/hours. I'm trying to conquer alternate picking, putting in 3-4hrs a day, and twiddling my hands when commuting or doing whatever mundane activities. It's really starting to pay off finally :)
@xPr0DiiGyxLORDsh
Жыл бұрын
This video allows people to have a real understanding of how long certain skills are developed.
@downcode
Жыл бұрын
At least for us "regular" people haha
@stefankral1264
Ай бұрын
Very impressive!
@joshuatavares2384
Жыл бұрын
Another great way to help with fretting hand is to, play as light as possible and see where the tension hits the point of discomfort. I use .013 gauge flatwounds and I’m always watching how hard I fret notes because it’s easy to press too hard so you don’t mess up.
@Sirzacharia
3 ай бұрын
Watching this at double speed made it incredibly impressive.
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