OK, hold your horses, let me clarify that a bit…

You see, over the past week, I’ve really been focusing in on my own playing accuracy. I mean, there’s outright speed as one thing, but it’s a bit useless as a measure on it’s own. Imagine a racing car. Now, the car has a huge engine, and it’s pretty light- in other words, it’s extremely fast! That wont make it win races, though- not even close! It needs a few more ingredients: a good driver (for one), and good handling to match that speed. Without those things you’re still going to lose every time- no matter the speed.

So, as I was working on my spider exercises, and string skipping- the usual, standard stuff. As I said, I was really focusing on making each note ring out- not just hitting the right notes, but hitting them well. I just think it sounds so much better when every single note is as clear as it can be- none muted, muffled, or “cut short”. Well, I noticed a pattern- and it kinda flys in the face of the perceived wisdom about little finger strength being the main issue.

What did I notice?

When I was going through fingers in this order: “1, 2, 3, 4″ I found that the most difficult notes to make sound clear were the ones under my 4th finger. No surprise there…BUT when I played in the opposite order: “4, 3, 2, 1″ (coming down from the little finger to the first finger), the problem note was under my third finger!

So…What does This mean?

First, let me explain a bit of basic anatomy (sorry in advance for the technical jargon). I’m not a physicist or anything, and this quote is taken from Yahoo Education (here), but it seems in depth enough for our purposes (any doctors out there feel free to correct me…). I’ve highlighted the interesting parts.

The Lumbricales (Fig. 427) are four small fleshy fasciculi [a small bundle or cluster, of nerve, tendon, or muscle fibers], associated with the tendons of the Flexor digitorum profundus. The first and second arise from the radial sides and volar surfaces of the tendons of the index and middle fingers respectively; the third, from the contiguous sides of the tendons of the middle and ring fingers; and the fourth, from the contiguous sides of the tendons of the ring and little fingers. Each passes to the radial side of the corresponding finger, and opposite the metacarpophalangeal articulation is inserted into the tendinous expansion of the Extensor digitorum communis covering the dorsal aspect of the finger.

The Lumbricales are a group of muscles that you use to move your fingers when you’re playing guitar. From the same source:

the Interossei, in conjunction with the Lumbricales, flex the first phalanges at the metacarpophalangeal joints, and extend the second and third phalanges in consequence of their insertions into the expansions of the Extensor tendons

Translation: The Interossei and Lumbricales (both groups of muscles) move your fingers at the knuckle joint.

So, why is this important? Notice how they are attached (the first quote). There are four tendons (tendons attach muscles to the things they need to move): the first goes to the index finger; the second goes to the middle finger. All good so far, yes?

Well, the third tendon goes to the middle AND ring fingers, and the fourth goes to the ring AND the little finger. So the first finger has a muscle all to it’s own, and the third finger has to share with the middle and pinky fingers (obviously there are more muscles involved, but this is a guitar blog, not a medical lesson!).

Now, as we evolved from tree-climbing apes, it would have obviously been more useful for the thumb and first finger to be the strongest digits (for gripping and pulling us up when climbing). However, we’re not monkeys, we’re guitar players [insert drummer joke here], and so what’s happened is: we’ve been left with a weak little finger, and a compromised ring finger (in terms of independance).

Who is to blame?

That’s “who” as in which finger. Try this yourself, play some of those spider, or specific finger independance exercises, and notice which fingers are the most difficult to separate. I bet it’s between the 2nd and 3rd, and/or the 3rd and 4th fingers that you have the most trouble with!

This makes sense, if you consider the science from earlier- the third finger is the real problem finger when playing the guitar, not the pinky! The pinky is only small and weak, it can be trained up, but the third finger is always going to be a bit stuck, due to design.

So, the solution is to work on your third finger independance a little bit more than the others- with trills, and independance exercises. The little finger has had a bad press for long enough!

If you have any questions, please leave them as comments below.
Rob.

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Most of the confusion is causes by people thinking about these two things as specific guitar techniques…and they’re not! The words only relate to the type of sound produced, regardless of the technique.

So, “staccato”- which means “detached”- means notes that are cut short (such as palm muted notes, or chord stabbs etc.), whereas “legato”- which means “tied”- means that the notes should sound smooth and flow together (pretty much the opposite of staccato- e.g. sweep picking, tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs). Either staccato or legato techniques can be done on any instrument.

I’ll say that again (it’s important!):

Terms like “Legato” and “Staccato” are talking about the way the notes sound (either smooth and flowing, or short and cut off), NOT the technique you’ll use to play them!

I hope that clears things up.
Rob.

• Slippery Legato Lick
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Any questions? Please post them below. I’ll also try and do a video on how to set up a guitar with this kind of bridge in the future!
Rob.

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• Slippery Legato Lick
  I describe this lick as "slippery" because when you're playing it, it really feels like your fingers are just "Slipping" off the notes! Legato can be great to get that very fluid and smooth sound out ...

Here are the main things to think about when practising this technique:

1. Don’t Tense Up

   I’ve said this so many times, I almost feel like a broken record! Tensing up will not only kill your speed, it’ll also mean your hand will want to “lock up” and stick to one string! Try it- when you tense up your hand, your fingers will tend to lock together (especially across the knuckle- the joint where you probably need the most flexiblity!).

   So, remember to relax!

2. Muting

   Again, something you should always been doing in one form or another as it stops any potential stray strings causing havok. With string skipping, you should be hitting the right strings anyway, but just in case your pick is travelling over a string an slightly catches it, you should be muting properly. Even if it’s just as a kind of “safety net”.

   Then hitting random, unwanted stings is just one less thing to go wrong!

3. Take the Shortest Route with your Pick

   This works nicely with the last tip. Obvioulsy, the shortest (and therefore, quickest) distance between two points is a straight line, right? So, try not to lift your pick too far away from the strings at any one point.

   Going from the low E to the D string, as I do in the video, I only need to move my pick enough to just miss the A string- any more would be inefficient and a waste of time. Of course, if you do make the mistake of catching the string, you’re already muting it, right?

4. Accuracy

   This almost goes without saying: make sure you work on your picking accuracy across the strings! Try practising as I show in the video- by jumping from string to string using just the picking hand. You can, of course, practise this using the fretting hand too, but I think picking accuracy is very important and probably not practised as much.

   Try playing the open, low E followed quickly by the B string, then the E again, then the D string. All the time you’re doing this, you should be avoiding anchoring your hand to the guitar. It’s really quite hard, but it’ll also really help your picking accuracy!

I hope at least some of these things help with your string skipping technique!
Rob.

• String Skipping “Slalom”
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• Staccato and Legato
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The first part of the lick combines the G major scale (at the 5th fret) in the fretting hand, with the E minor pentatonic scale (on the 12th fret) in the picking hand. It’s really a combination of G major and E minor ideas, but the overall key of the lick is G major.

…and no, those aren’t just random choices of scales! Both E minor pentatonic and G major have similar notes (actually all the notes of E minor pentatonic are in the G major scale).

The lick starts by tapping the 15th fret on the B string with your picking hand- and you’ll need to have your fretting hand ready over the 5th, 7th and 8th frets of the same string because that’s where you’re going next (hint: use your first, third and fourth fingers on your picking hand). So you tap the 15th fret, pull-off to the 5th, then hammer on the 7th. followed by the 8th fret. Then repeat the same pattern on the high E string.

After you hammer-on the 8th fret on the E string, tap the 12th with your first or second fingers (either finger will do). As you are tapping with one hand, move your fretting hand up to cover the 7th, 8th and 10th frets as the next part of the lick is like a shortened version of the previous pattern. Pull-off from the tapped note the the 10th, 8th and then 7th frets.

Next, we descend down an E minor triad (in the order: B, G, E) which is taken from an E minor chord in A shape. This chord works because E minor is a chord in the key of G major (technically called the “relative minor”). Then slide up to the 12th fret on the G string to end the lick on the root note- G.

Definitely end this lick with a bit of vibrato if you want it to really sound sweet!

Rob.

• Staccato and Legato
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You see, there are no mistakes in improvisation, as long as everyone is listening and aware of what’s going on around them. Everyone just adapts to the new direction implied by the “mistake”.

Actually, it’s one of the great things about jamming, I think. You really never know where things are going to go! Just listen to the start of the video, where he starts playing something off the top of his head and then rest of the band just join in. Nobody knows which way it’s going to go- but it works out because everyone is paying attention to one another and communicating.

Just something that I hope will help and inspire you!

Until next time,
Rob.

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• Intervals: The Major 7th
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According to Facebook (there’s something I never thought I’d say):

“With the news that Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma, his bandmates would like everyone to send positive vibes to the guitarist at this time. Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan–the “IRON MAN” of Rock & Roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery.”

…and it goes on to say that the original line up of Black Sabbath (Ozzy, Iommi, Bill ward, and Geezer) are producing their first together album in 33 years with producer, Rick Rubin. The album is due to come out this year.

Lets all wish Tony a very speedy recovery!
Rob.

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The Grunge movement happened about 20 years ago now- bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden- and kids today are still listening to these bands as if they were recent! Just look at all the YouTube comments on rock and metal videos along the lines of “I’m only 12 years old and I love this band! I was born too late!”.

I am- in no way- trying to say that rock music is somehow old hat! I love it myself! What is worrying, though, is that there seems to be relatively few modern rock bands that are really pushing the boundaries and coming out with something new. Has Rock music hit a dead end?!

Rock Clubs

One of the things that inspired me to write this post was that my own, local rock club/venue have been saying they might not be able to stay alive until the end of the year at this rate! Apparently, people just aren’t listening to rock or metal anymore. To be honest, I can see why- the new music today just isn’t the same as it used to be.

Oh, and I’m not talking about some small little local club, The Agincourt in Camberley is the UK’s longest running rock club (been going since 1964!). Bands that have played there include: The Who, The Rolling Stones, Hawkwind, Enter Shikari, The Levellers, Pitchschifter and (more recently) Skindred (also, my own band Frost Hammer, there is a huge list of bands…). If a place with that kind of history is struggling, what does that really say about the music industry at the moment?!

Have People stopped listening to Rock?

It might just be that times have moved on, and people just aren’t interested anymore. There are less rock songs in the charts than ever before- only 27% of the album charts, and 3% of the singles charts were comprised of rock or metal songs. This compares to 47% of the singles charts being taken up by R’n'B and Hip-Hop. I mean, have you turned on Scuzz, Kerrang or MTV recently? If not, try it. How many really great rock songs do you hear? Actually, don’t try it. The answer is: virtually none. Nowhere near enough!

Does this all mean that Rock is finally dying? Or is it just that the music being advertised and promoted now isn’t actually the best of the rock scene? There is definitely a rock/metal scene around somewhere, maybe it’s just not getting on TV and radio these days? I say that because I know plenty of rock and metal bands in my area playing gigs and bringing out new music all the time- but if you’re not searching for it, you’ll never find that out!

In Conclusion…

These things can happen in cycles, things go in and out of fashion all the time. We’ve seen this happen with rock before- at the end of the 70′s with punk (at the time the antithesis of rock), and at the end of the 80′s with grunge (again, as a reaction against the flamboyance of rock). Maybe that’s what’s going on now? Maybe if we wait for a bit, rock music will again return to it’s former glory? Maybe it really is dying.

Music has always been a reflection of the society that creates it. The modern world is full of iPods, PCs and Playstations- things which promote the notion of instant gratification. Is it just me who has noticed that the increase in computers and TV has coincided directly with the decline of the quality of new music?

What will future historians make of the world today? Is today’s society accurately represented by repetitive, computerised drum beats overlayed with extremely autotuned singers? Is Justin Beiber the current generation’s Michael Jackson? It’s a scary thought! However, not quite as scary as the one where we’re living in a world that no longer values musical ability, or true, meaningful lyrics- and would rather get rich quick than work to create something of beauty!

What are your thoughts? Is Rock dead?

Rob.

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Here’s the clip:

The song’s actual name is, of course: “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and is actually a heavy rock song, and Larry “Rhino” Reinhardt didn’t actually play on the original recording. He didn’t join the band until 1969, playing on the album “Metamorphosis” in 1970- which was after the above song was recorded.

After Iron Butterfly broke up, Larry went on to play in the band “Captain Beyond” with Lee Dorman and Rod Evans. He has since playing in Iron Butterfly re-union concerts.

Cause of Death

Reinhardt had been suffering from sclerosis of the liver (something you can get by drinking too much…), and it finally caught up with him on the 2nd January 2012, at the age of 63. In his own words (taken from his Facebook page):

“Doc says don’t have sex, don’t smoke, don’t drink, just lay like a slug until you are well. If I live like she wants me to, then it’s certain for me. Please say a kind word for me my friends, this could be the end.”

A great sense there of the Rock’n'Roll spirit- what’s the point of life if you can’t do the things you love? It’s just unfortunate that things had to end the way they have.

Here’s an example of his work playing with Iron Butterfly. It’s called “Butterfly Bleu” from the “Metamorphosis” album mentioned earlier:

Goodbye, Larry, you will be missed.
Rob.

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…but, I do actually want to talk about new years today.

This is the next in the series of posts about making exercises fun- which was originally supposed to be only one post, but it then turned into two, and this is the third and final installment.

So, here are four more ways that you can turn boring exercises into something a bit more interesting. The first one here is what ties in to the whole “New Year’s resolution” idea…

1. Set Yourself Goals

That’s right! I’ve talked about setting goals before, and they can be a great way to motivate yourself forwards. Although, the similarity to a New Years resolution kinda breaks down…I mean, with a resolution it tends to be about giving something up, or doing something regularly- i.e. trying to massively change your life in some way. Most resolutions are given up in the first month, can you think why?

I’ll tell you why! It’s because if you set yourself huge, almost impossible goals…and the struggle to even come close to achieving them, all you’ve succeeded in doing is de-motivating yourself. You put a huge amount of effort in, and get nowhere near where you thought you should be by now! That’s got to be the fastest way to make yourself give up, right?

Instead, try smaller- acheivable goals. Do you think you could work your legato (hammer-ons and pull-offs) for just 5 minutes more this week? Come on, it’s only for a week! Maybe you could aim to play that lick 5bpm faster by the end of today? 5bpm really isn’t that fast- in fact it’s probably barely noticeable to the untrained eye- but if you could do that every day for a week, that’s 35bpm faster- and that IS noticeable!

2. Change your Routine

   Repetition is boring, isn’t it? Repetition is boring, isn’t it? See, I can see you start to yawn already! Changing your practise routine is not only good for holding your attention, it’ll also help in making sure you get the best, all round exercise for your guitar muscles.

   The main problem is that if you constantly play the same thing over and over it will (besides being boring) gradually sink in and become second nature- even to the point where your playing becomes repetitive and stale because you’ve memorised the same 10 licks and exercises that you play every time you pick up a guitar! This is obviously not good! So try mixing things up, and spend some time every now and then searching out new exercises, licks, or chords to add to your routine.

3. Go and Listen to Music

   A great way to find new chords or licks- and to stave off boredom- is to go and listen to some new music. This could be anything from a new band, to a new album by a band you already like. If you’re listening to the same stuff over and over, your guitar playing is going to feel the effects and you will end up playing the same thing over and over. This is repetition again. This is repe…OK, you get it!

   Go out, find some new tunes, and let yourself become inspired!

4. Finger Weights

   These things will definitly make your practise time more interesting, and the can help your guitar muscles too! These weights are basically just little metal bars which strap onto your fingers, adding weight (as you might guess by the name). This will help train up your finger muscles and can eventually increase your dexterity.

   They will at least make things a bit more challenging and fun! Read my full reveiw of finger weights here.

So I hope these ideas have given you some ideas…or something like that! Anyway, until next time…

Rob.

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