https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:43:03 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72682 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 21:08:31 +0000
If you only practice fast you won't be able to play slow as well because when you play slow it shows off every little problem you have. You have to sustain notes longer, attack them cleaner, everything has to be damn well perfect or it sticks out like a sore thumb. When playing fast these things can be masked and you might not even notice them.

To put it another way, the techniques are similar but different. So do both.]]> Guitar Players Discussion nroberts https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72682 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72679 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 19:50:51 +0000
But on those problem spots, yeah, I always start slow and work up, every single time.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72679 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72676 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 19:38:14 +0000
I guess the question I would have to everyone and be honest, do you really practice at some riduculously low speed and then only move up in small increments (as long as you play it perfectly) before moving on.

I think I'd quit playing if I did it that way. I guess my method is to play it at as fast a tempo as possible regardless of mistakes as long I'm somewhere close. Then it's a matter of eliminating the mistakes rather than slowly increasing the speed.]]> Guitar Players Discussion cnev https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72676 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72662 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 17:06:39 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion fdsaevad https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72662 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72659 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:51:30 +0000
My previous post was a speculation based on what I see many (dare I say it) younger persons who are picking up the guitar saying. Namely that faster is better in the eyes of many. This also seems to pervade our society here in North America at times.

I don't have the energy left to very many things fast anymore (my wife seems to think this is a good thing).]]> Guitar Players Discussion Narn https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72659 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72657 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:40:21 +0000
Personally I really only practice slow while I'm learning a new solo or something once I've memorized the notes I play as fast as I can until I get it. I rarely start off so slow that I do it without any mistakes I pick a reasonable speed and give it a shot, mistakes and all. Then I'll just keep playing it as close to tempo as I can until I get it.

Hey, I just figured out why I suck!!!

Seriously, I think it's like anything else everyone responds to learning differently, to some people practicing slowly would not be fun and I think in some ways actually slow their progress for others going slowly is the only way to learn.]]> Guitar Players Discussion cnev https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72657 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72656 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:39:21 +0000

Kido]]> Guitar Players Discussion Call_me_kido https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72656 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72655 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:09:29 +0000
On the deepest level, music is an art form - a means of communication and creativity. On another level, music is a craft, a technical skill. Yes, I'm impressed by chops like Yngwie's, and I have an appreciation for his technical ability... but the chill runs up my spine when I hear one perfect bend crying out at just the right time by some unknown in a blues dive.

I don't care how fast or slow someone talks... I want to know if they have something worthwhile to say.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/paged/2/#post-72655 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/#post-72653 Thu, 14 Oct 2004 15:01:54 +0000
Going slow is no fun for most people. It is not, in and of itself, a rewarding experience. Thus it would seem that any "correct" actions acheived as a result of going slowly would be less intrinsicaly rewarding. Very often people think "As slow as that was a monkey could have done it!" or some such thing when a passage is played slowly, but entirely correctly. The reward value of each correct action is lessened by the reduced intrinsic value associated with doing things slowly. With the lessened "value" of each reward (ie. correct note) the learning we ahceive with each trial is limited by that reduced value.

Going through a passage fast, which most would agree is more fun, can be a much more intrinsically rewarding expereince than doing it slowly. Thus the correct notes we acheive may be fewer for each trial, but these notes carry more intrinic value for us as we place much more value on doing things fast. As a result the amount of learning we achieve , per reward (ie. correct note), is higher because of the higher "value" of the reward we perceive because it was done quickly.

In the example I gave above a person may be able to acheive the same amount of learning in either case. I am making the assumptions that faster feels better for most people (in some situations at least), rewrard value is based on perceived difficulty of a task in relation to speed, and that learning may be based on the intrinsic value of the reward. All other factor in each case are assumed to be equal (for arguement sake).

If we could say:

Rate of Learning = Value of the reward x number of rewards

It may explain similarity of result in terms of learning speed that Arjen has pointed out. Just some thoughts.

(Arjen, do you still have your Dean? I just ordered one and can't wait. I'm finally taking the plunge and going electric)]]> Guitar Players Discussion Narn https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/#post-72653 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/#post-72573 Wed, 13 Oct 2004 15:41:48 +0000
Improvised guitar parts are really composed of segments of scales and arpeggios. Practicing those makes them rote... I don't think about the scalar part, I think about where I'm going to differ from it. If I'm zipping along in a solo, I don't think 'A-C-E-G-B-C-B-A-G-A-B-C#-E-G'... I just picture the sounds I want from the Am9 apreggio and the Am scale. The only note I'd actually think about there is the C# - I'm probably thinking about that (by note name and visualizing it on the fretboard) as I start into that section.

I don't practice mistakes, so I can't say with certainty that doing so won't work in the end. But the idea that muscle memory plays as much role in speed as the brain does I can reason it out:

The C major scale, open position, has strings fingered 0-2-3, and the C major scale uses fingering 1-2 on the 1st string in the 7th position. Those two fingerings are all that's needed to play a one-octave Am scale in open position. If you can play those two C major scales at a quick tempo, but you don't know harmonic minor scales, you should be able to play the Am scale at the same tempo as soon as its shown to you... there are no new motions.

But it turns out that's not the case. The major scale doesn't have 0-2-3 followed by 1-2, so you actually have to think about where that combination has to happen. Even though the individual string picking patterns are nothing new, combining them can't be done without practice (think of any new scale you've ever worked on - did you start out at speed?)

There's one other factor that I can give personal testimony to: every once in a while, maybe 2-3 times a year, I'll be cross-picking a passage and 'over-pick' or 'under-pick' a string so that my pick is out of position for the next note. I'll know my pick is in the wrong place by feel, and I'll have to do an up-stroke instead of a planned downstroke (or vice versa) to get the next note right. I'm usually able to accomplish that on the fly... but there's a moment of panic, and a conscious effort to correct. While I'm busy thinking about getting that note right, I'm not thinking about where I'm going with the next segment of the solo... they tend to be less than memorable when that happens. I'm also so focused on getting the right pitch that I lose some dynamic control - the recovered note will probably be too loud in comparison to the surrounding ones. That leads me to believe that if you're busy trying to react to negative influences while you practice, you'll be ignoring a lot of big-picture stuff, and you won't play up to your potential.

Undercat, you're right - I misunderstood you. If it's flawless at speed, you could reduce in steps to get it perfect at slower tempos.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/odd-i-can-play-something-fast-but-not-slow/#post-72573