Good to great?

Hey everybody. This is a topic on my mind for a while, so would love a discussion. I've been playing a little over 4 years now, all the time with Guitar tricks lessons. I should say that I'm really happy with progress on both acoustic and electric, have learned quite a few '4 guitars ' difficulty songs, and love playing them.

Here's the thing though. For any medium or difficult songs, i hardly ever play them immaculately. Always a few small mistakes, e.g poor chord Voicing, duff note in solo, accidentally muted string etc etc.

So what does it take to get to that level? Watching the masters on stage, they look like they can play error free for hours (though my ear probably isn't good enough to pick up on any mistakes).

likewise, in most GT lessen videos, there are very few noticeable errors. (Any instructors reading? How many takes for a perfect lesson video on average?)

in short, should intermediate level players like me accept that perfection is most often out of reach, or is it just another barrier to break through?

regards, chris

It just takes practice. Back when I played bass in a band it always took practice to learn new songs, even songs that looked/sounded "easy". Granted, some songs took less time to learn than others. Sometimes it took something really simple to progress in a song. That thing was to just relax. Your fingers should know where to go for most chords, but if you're concentrating too hard on the chords, your fingers get a bit "stupid". But if you relax you may have some startling results.

I know that when I'm not actively concentrating on practicing chord changes they tend to go easier.

It works for me, maybe it'll work for you too.

+1 to wolfsmg! Relaxation is the most important part of playing any instrument. I find that when I'm having trouble playing a fast or difficult piece, it's either because I'm not relaxed enough, I don't know the music well enough and need to slow it down, or because my mind is getting in the way of my body by thinking about it too much.

First, great players make mistakes and often. It's just that you or I might not hear them unless they're really egregious. Part of being a pro is just moving on from a mistake.

Yet, how does a player get that 'super power', and they do make them. Having had enough contact with known and 'that level' guitar players the answer is this; practice. Ok, not a wow answer but the actual answer is, they practiced endlessly.

I'll share a story that isn't from someone I know but a (great) guitar playing friend who was friends with Zakk Wylde. What he told me was that Zakk, when he was coming up, practiced up to 12 hours a day. He was that dedicated. Whether or not it was actually 12 hours on any given day, he just practiced and practiced.

Same with a guy I had the chance to meet and attend a workshop with, Laurence Juber (McCartney's Wings and much more). I've seen him several times too but, throughout a couple of hours of this workshop (of about 8 other people), he talked about discipline. He's been playing for decades and still spends much time practicing.

So, is it a barrier to break through? More or less, yes. Even for me when I started playing in the 80's. By my 5th year, I was decent. But then I just wanted to get more command of the instrument. It was the 80's, so I wanted to shred. So, I would just drill on something until I got it down. I would also do hand stregthening stuff too that was't playing but just drills on the fretboard. My playing jumped leaps and bounds in that little window.

Someone I know posted a video of his band playing their first gig. I get the impression they practiced a bit but not a lot. I watched the guitar player (cuz that's what we do) and though he did a solid job, the guitar was playing him. At any given time his playing could have gone off the rails if he did not laser focus on what he was playing. The stuff wasn't super-complex, in a punkish sorta way. But he was on the razors edge. He practiced enough to be able to play but not enough to be that next level.

When I jumped leeps, I was practicing hours a day. Hours and it was physically obvious.

To me, there is no substitute for hands on the instrument...Today, I don't have time to practice like that so my playing is not exactly otherworldly (and can be a wee sloppy at times) but even now I can still have a command of the instrument simply because I went through the excersize of overcoming a physical limit years ago.

Originally Posted by: ctredwin

So what does it take to get to that level?

[/quote]

Practice. Hours a day, days a week, weeks a year. For years. :)

Originally Posted by: ctredwin

likewise, in most GT lessen videos, there are very few noticeable errors. (Any instructors reading? How many takes for a perfect lesson video on average?)

The mistakes are edited out.

Before I sit in front of a video camera I've spent at least a week constantly drilling the material I'm planning on teaching. Simple or hard. Doesn't matter. Hours & hours hands on machine.

I want to know & play it so well I can do it in my sleep. I drill it so much that it becomes second-nature. I need to be able to play & talk about it at the same time.

Some things require more prep (jazz & classical piece for example) so I'll spend a few hours a day for a couple of weeks. And I'll still make the occasional mistake! :)

[quote=ctredwin]

in short, should intermediate level players like me accept that perfection is most often out of reach, or is it just another barrier to break through?

Just another barrier. Takes some people longer than others. Certain physical motions come easier to some individuals. But it all comes down to practice.

Jeff said it all with this line:

"... there is no substitute for hands on the instrument."[br][br]That's the stone cold truth.

This is great. I think we all know deep down that there's no substitute for hard work and practice, but to hear that message from really strong players is a real inspiration for the rest of us.

I remember an interview with Kerry king a few years ago. Said he had to warm up for at least an hour before every show. Sort of makes it easier to relate to top players, they can't just pick up the guitar and go either.

btw, fair play to zack wylde if he could manage 12 hours practice per day. I aim for 1 or 2 after work, and even that makes my fingers hurt...

What you should do when you have a certain part that you mess up consistently, is SLOW it down, and STRIP it down until you only play the part slightly BEFORE the mistake, and/or slightly AFTER the mistake.

So what that would look like is:

say there's a riff in the song and you can play it well up to a certain point - this is the part that you mess up. Start at the beginning of the riff, and slow it down 10-20bpm or as much as you can so you can play it without making the mistake - then play ONLY that part of the song until the bar or riff is over. Once you start nailing it when it's slowed down, speed it up 10bpm. Practice this until you have it down and you don't make mistakes another 10bpm higher.

To integrate it into the full song, play a small section where the mistake you've been working on was, if it's in the verse, you will play ONLY the verse until you can get it down. Keep in mind that you may have to slow it down still.

That's exactly what I do when I'm learning a song. You may want to use a metronome so you can practice the problem areas more efficiently, but other than that, this should help you to never make those mistakes again.

Keep consistent with it and you'll have these parts down in no time. :)

Originally Posted by: ctredwinbtw, fair play to zack wylde if he could manage 12 hours practice per day. I aim for 1 or 2 after work, and even that makes my fingers hurt...

I think I joked (or made up in my head) that great guitar players are always so freakin' skinny cuz that don't have time to work or eat!

I've heard it said that Angus Young of ACDC first started wearing a school boy's uniform when he plays live because when he was first starting with guitar as a young fella he would rush home from school and didn't have time to change out of his uniform before grabbing his guitar to practice. True? Who knows, but it makes for an interesting story and supports the idea of practice as the path to greatness.