Its the brain that plays guitar

Playing Technique
#1

The hands are just a tool, an extension, but the one who is actually playing is the brain. We all have very different brains. The brain is what makes you who you are. If I were to mention all the parts, and components from big to the cellular level that exist in the brain and differ in every person, we’d never finish.

This is an undeniable and irrefutable fact. Some people have brains that are more suited to certain activities than others.

This is why you have people who have a natural ability to dance, sports, etc,

What is practice?

Practice is nothing more than an activity done with the purpose of training a brain that is failing at something. Otherwise, why would you need practice at all?

Your brain is struggling and can’t hack it, that’s why you need practice, to train the brain to become better at doing something.

If someone has a more powerful brain that is more suited to a certain activity due to genetics, then this person will not need to practice as much, as his or her brain is not struggling as much, this is a simple concept to understand.

So this idea that every virtuoso practiced 8 hours a day and that’s what’s necessary is absurd.

This is why some people progress faster than others, they have a brain that has an easier time with these tasks. It comes easier for them. This is a reality and it exists in all aspects of life, not just instruments.

We all have physical and tangible limitations imposed by our own brains. With practice, you can train your brain to get better at doing something, but this can only get you so far. If the brain is not suited for it, not only it will take a really long time, but chances are you will encounter a wall of diminishing return where progress becomes almost non-existent because you have reached your genetic limitation.

There’s too much focus on picking technique these days, maybe because is easier to fix, what they should really be focusing is on the left hand. Between the picking technique and fretting technique, is the left hand takes the longest to develop, including 2 hand synchronization.

For most people, this is the case, their left hand simply can’t keep up, especially in sweep picking.

Look at sweep picking all you do is rake up and down, anyone can do that on open or muted strings, is the left hand shapes that are difficult and take a really long to get faster without creating unwanted noise

You’d think is about strength, but is not really, otherwise we wouldn’t see 8-year-old kids who can shred faster than most male adults with twice the strength. Its about the brain.

In fact, your left hand already has all the strength you need and more, is the brain that is struggling to make the fingers move faster. Its literally brain training.

This is maybe why kids have an easier time developing their left hands because their brains are pristine and like sponges, their brains are at their peak power.

So when you’re practicing, what you’re actually doing is brain training, you’re trying to make your brain better at something, in this case playing faster.

The fact that progress is slow and you haven’t achieved those speeds you seek yet, is a sign that your brain is having a very difficult time.

#2

I use downward brainslanting, anyone tried the opposite?

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#3

I disagree I believe ultimately what we are after is the soul playing or creating the music.

#4

When do we get to see/hear Rufian play? Looking forward to it!

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#5

Your posts are all very negative, but I’ll bite, anyway.

This is far too simplistic a view. For instance, let’s take one of the greatest boxers of all time - Mike Tyson. Had he not been discovered by Cus D’Amato, I can pretty much guarantee we would’ve never heard of him. Cus was able to give him… wait for it… proper training! And with that turned a troubled youth into a legend. Take that away, and you end up with nothing.

Are there differences in latent ability? Yes. I teach, I see it all the time - some people get things just a bit quicker than others. Is that more important than having an environment that can foster growth of a skill? No. Is proper training valuable? Of course - just look at every athlete in the Olympics, these are people with massive amounts of TRAINING.

What are the limits of your own brain? Without proper training, and the ability to follow through with that training (no circumstances preventing it) YOU DON’T KNOW. So starting from a place of “ohhhh, maybe my brain isn’t good enough” because some child somewhere in the world with zero responsibilities and proper training is good, is foolish. Find a reputable system/teacher, put in the time, and see. Or, in other words:

“Shut up 'n play yer guitar” - Frank Zappa

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#6

I agree that natural talent, i.e. genetics, affects rate of progression. But is it such a huge component that it imposes a hard ceiling on technique? That might be true in sports (think about the millions of kids that practice for 10+ years; only a very small fraction are good enough to play at the pro level), but I’m not sure we can say so for musical instruments.

#7

Some day, you’ll actually look at the resources available here. You’ll realize your insistence on left-hand techniques is discussed, and in great detail.

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#8

Quick note from smartphone, will add more later when I get to a keyboard.

As a moderator I’m not against this discussion (inherent speed limits, how much we can gain via training etc. - will also share what I think on it)

But can I please ask everyone to drop the confrontational tone (if any) / phrase things in a way that maximises information and minimises drama thanks!

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#9

This is why I suggested to go even higher than the brain, as rufian lays out it’s the hands working as tools. The same could be said of the brain as well, it is also just a tool. Wouldn’t you say that the music you have created, since I have heard first hand your amazing compositions that it comes from somewhere deeper from within. I would say heart, but I am a believer in a Supreme Creator (sound in general is why i ultimately believe in Him) so I suggested the soul. Even Tommo might could chime in as well, that it goes much deeper than the brain. Although sure the brain can process out the musical creation by understanding how certain progressions can portray a specific feeling. But you still have to add in your feeling to it, how you want the listener to understand what you are feeling, which goes beyond the brain.

#10

Totally serious here, not trying to be confrontational at all, just genuinely curious as to where Rufian’s coming from, his/her/it’s perspective… I have to say though, I think we had decades of “fretting hand leading” instructional emphasis. Troy’s angle is very unique in my opinion.

#11

Too kind, thanks so much - but the truth is that I am like a little kid just playing around with sonic legos! You know just kind of a little bit of this, bit of that. Smidge of this some of that and let’s see what it sounds like! Haha that sort of thing!

#12

Kids can learn perfect pitch, but adults apparently can’t; this ability is invaluable.

Your left-hand hypothesis is interesting but I suspect adults can learn with proper instruction. It’s easy to find out: we could ask a classical piano or violin teacher, as they have a high volume of students and would know. I’ll ask some that I know.

#13

I have a question! Is it (a) left follows right, (b) right follows left, or (c) BOTH follow the metronome? I find the first two options disturbing for some reason.

#14

Both follow your internal clock. You synchronise your internal clock to the metronome. That’s really all there is to it.

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#15

In my case I find the left hand much easier to master, and the right hand a major hurdle. It’s the reason I’m here of course. There are so many instances in the material here that when I finally understand technically what is being done with the right hand, I go wow, there’s absolutely no way I could ever have figured it out by myself.

#16

I was considering suggesting the brain is analogous to the Master Clock in a studio

but then I was also considering posting another gag post like “brains don’t kill people, people do”

also also I think it’s probably more common than the OP thinks to find players who are actually quite good with the left hand (i.e. can do lots of legato) but not so good with picking

#17

Ok here’s my opinion after doing quite a lot of critiques, both here on the forum and on the new platform:

There may well be genetic differences between people, and different maximum speeds at which each person can get to (For whatever reason: Neurons firing differently or something). Then, maybe there’s also different maximum speeds at which different persons can sync the two hands.

BUT! I think in most musical applications, these speed limits are probably irrelevant, because they are far higher than what you really need.

One person may have an absolute speed cap of 220 bpm 16th notes, another may have 300. You rarely need more than 200 except in very specialised genres. And when speed>200 is required, it’s very often with very simplified / mechanically optimized patterns.

But pretty much everyone I have seen in critiques* , has the potential to play a classic pattern like — say — Gilbert overlapping 6s, at160bpm 16th notes or higher.

And for all your left hand needs… just have a look at this :slight_smile:

*and I would guess also most people with healthy wrists / hands

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#18

I’d like to write up a proper response, but I’m not sure it’s honestly worth the effort. I’ve written a lot here on similar subjects before. @Rufian seems to be totally convinced that he’s correct, and I don’t get the impression that he’ll be particularly receptive to what I would have to say.

However, I will say this for other readers.

Based on my experience, I have come to believe more and more that when we encounter an expert whose capability and performance seems incomprehensible to us, it is extremely rare that they are doing what we are doing and simply “doing it better.” Most often, they are doing something different to what we have been doing, which is naturally more amenable to achieving their seemingly incredible results. They may not be consciously aware of this, they may even believe that what they do is no different to what is commonly done or taught.

I actually make a similar analogy to MIDI clock in lessons regularly. You connect your picking and fretting movements to your internal clock. You learn to synchronise your internal clock to something external (metronome, drummer, etc). You build a vocabularly of rhythmic coordinations of both hands (or “rudiments”). You trust your sense of time, set yourself a higher internal rate and go. You succeed or you fail. Your failures are the feedback that helps you to learn.

That’s the process. There is a lot more to be said about the details of how it’s done, but that’s the big picture.

I haven’t been teaching all that long, but I’ve seen both situations quite frequently.

Technique is informed by constraints. Performer constraints, environmental constraints and task constraints. I would say that the task constraints for the fretting hand are generally more complex than those for the picking hand, and I don’t think that’s controversial. I also believe that performer and environmental constraints are more significantly variable for the fretting hand that for the picking hand, though that might be more debatable.

This might turn into a rant. I think it’s fair to say that the “conventional wisdom” for fretting hand technique is either overly naive (lies to children, maybe) or just plain wrong. Once we filter out rubbish like “finger independence” and the typical conception of “economy of motion,” what is actually left?

At most, you’ll be told that it’s important to relax and minimise tension, but there’s no practical method given to actually achieve that goal. Moreover, the teacher will probably demonstrate some “canonically correct” form which doesn’t even facilitate that. Then it’s “try this exercise.” Just what guitar pedagogy needs. More “exercises” which don’t transfer into actual playing.

I’m sure some of you will have seen a recent YouTube short where a teacher criticised the fretting hand technique of another YouTuber. I won’t name names, but if I said it really PISSED ME OFF (but I’m not even mad), you might get the reference. The teacher puts out some good content (and I’m definitely not in his intended audience), but this video was the usual story about economy of motion with a demonstration of a “correct” form. More of the established dogma (this time weaponised). I’m wearied by it.

This is not what great players are actually doing. It’s just not it.

#19

General comment not directed at you. I’m just quoting you because you are correct!

If a user has already made up their mind and is not here to engage in actual discussion, or if they are not engaging in good faith and really just here to troll, nobody should be responding to the user or posting in the thread. Instead, flag the posts or thread and we’ll take a look.

In a similar fashion, please don’t post counter-troll replies that we then have to sift through to figure out which parts of a growing thread are actually genuine.

I get that it’s not always obvious — you see a topic, you’re like, hey, I have a thought about that! And you reply. Only later do you realize it was just bait. But when you do notice, just let us know and we’ll take care of it.

Thank you!

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#20

I have a question that is tangentially related to this thread regarding fretting hand speed:

When practicing pure legato, should I expect the speed to be there right off the bat (even if it sloppy with missed notes and/or lack of coordination), just like with the picking hand? For example, when I try to trill between my index and ring finger a minor third, it is pretty slow (same for all other finger combos). I’m wondering if this is an issue related to form, because I put in the hours doing exercises like this when I was a teenager and got nowhere. It isn’t a problem with my guitar setup, because I play with light strings and low action.

Or maybe it is a problem with how I practiced. How do you go about practicing legato? Start with speed and clean it up over time, or gradually build up?

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