A bit outtopic here… anyway
I’ve been talking to some japanese guitar guys and I found out interesting cultural differences. For western culture the goal is to beat someone while in eastern culture (japanese at least) it’s about beating yourself. They practice to become better then they were a day ago, a year ago. Though they have their idols obviously. I even have that strange feeling that Masmsteen is more popular in Japan then in other countries )
We are all human. Focusing on others is focusing on ourselves.
another offtopic…
a huge amount of japanese guitarists use fingers actively while picking. Could that be related with the fact that they had to write a lot of kanji (hierogkyphs) due their school time? Unlike latin cursive which is smooth, kanji are complex and angular (though they have speedwriting too)
I don’t understand what you mean? Their fingers wiggle?
Oh, like thumb motion. Lol no idea, fuckin japanese thats why. Love em.
I’ve literally posted the scientific texts hinting at what I’m saying…
Yes. Like this guy which was discussed in one of CtC topics
On second video his speed is ridiculous. I can’t understand how he manage to use his fingers so fast. My wrist is faster than my fingers, and my elbow is faster than my wrist. So for me fingers pickingwas always an example of ineffectivnes. But…
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There is also evidence of females holding the pick with three fingers evh style. Vs men who mostly grip with just index.
Quite interesting.
I would imagine the wrist use we in the west have is because we’re a bunch of wankers.
Go with what you know right.
What i take away from this is that chicks like it when you can play at 220Bpm+. Noted, thx!
Hey, a dozen or so of very special people which you’ll never meet.
Edit: Ok, that wasnt a very productive post…
I ll try to save whats left to save: For a while i was obsessed with wrist-size. Yes. I literally asked friends if i could check how thick their wrists are. This is no weird fetish, i was just obsessed by the thought that wrist size (among other factors) somehow limits our capacity to built muscle. I’ve been training and dieting for 5 years now but hit a plateau two years ago. I was so afraid that this is my natural limit that i developed that wrist-tick, looking at guys who where heavier thinking “yaaaa, no wonder he gets results with those godlike treetrunk WRISTS”. Took me a while to see how much i limited myself. Changed my diet half a year ago and managed to gain two more kgs.
Moral of the story, imo: Having a scientific discussion is all nice and fine, and we were for sure equipped differently by mother nature but we shouldnt let that affect a positive can-do-attitude towards what we do, otherwise we kill all the fun and risk belitteling ourselves. So i very much sympathise with Tom_Gilroy’s perspective here.
Yeah, i don’t care is bullshit, look at all your posts bro
Evidence? Like that there are youtube videos of female guitarists who hold the pick differently?
Idk where this boo hoo I can’t do this crap is coming from.
Projecting…
I’m talking about a pretty unique individual, doesn’t mean I’m saying you can’t improve.
This is a total deflection.
I’ve seen it in person, read it online, and there was a study I read about it, I can’t remember where tho so take it with a grain of salt. Need I even say that…
And based on how no one cares about the scientific literature I posted I’m not going to bother searching for it. I’m not a prodigy in memory unfortunately. To stressful for me.
I know you didnt, i just had the overall impression that we are having the old “practice-vs-talent”-Discussion, without anyone arguing for the extremes, as usual.
I guess that makes two of us.
By show it easily, you mean go to the trouble of setting aside some time to record myself playing some piece that meets your particular standards. Time I could spend doing something I would actually enjoy more. Time I could spend working on something more important to me, or something that I actually need to do.
I say I can’t be bothered because I’m not bothered.
Nor do I believe you to be a dummy.
That’s not my position at all. I absolutely believe in innate, natural variation which manifests as differences in performance across every activity. I also believe that most people are absolutely terrible at accurately judging their own particular advantages or disadvantages. Some mistakenly believe that literally nothing is beyond them to their own detriment, and that accomplishing wild goals is their destiny, something they are entitled to only because of how badly they want it. Others with high potential believe they can achieve far less than they could.
All I’m saying is, keep an open mind and keep trying. Whoever you are, whatever your potential, the moment you stop trying, the moment you close your mind to the possibilities of what you might achieve, you deny yourself any chance you had of succeeding, however slim that chance may have been. Unlikely events happen all the time. People win lotteries. It could be you.
It’s honestly a fascinating subject in it’s own right, but it’s not related to fast guitar playing.
I never said there wasn’t. I even said that I felt Jason had a high degree of natural dexterity and a strong intuition for the guitar. I said I don’t believe any claims about freakish nervous systems, which I don’t.
No, you’ve posted a few scientific texts which suggest correlations which are still largely unexplained. You’ve recognized a coincidence between what they suggest and one particular example, namely Jason Becker’s guitar playing and his present condition. You’ve then taken the suggested correlation as evidence that there is a direct, causal link between Jason’s extreme playing and his present condition.
Correlation is not causation, nor is it evidence of such.
This guy. This guy gets it.
Correction taken. Very special people indeed.
Your story is exactly in line with the point I was trying to make.
That wasn’t my intention at all. I’ve just noticed a fairly common theme of “us and them” or “normal people” vs “special people” on guitar forums in the past, including here. I think it’s a dangerous mindset to start falling into, and I felt it made sense to discuss those feelings here. If I’ve derailed your thread from it’s intended topic, I’m happy to bow out and let you get the discussion back on it’s intended track.
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You are totally ignoring the research I posted.
Shame, I was looking forward to a BJ
The papers have info on soldiers, athletes and handiness. You must of missed it, that text has a large number of citations.
No it’s cool, I do think you’re willfully ignoring parts of what I’ve posted due to the “normal people” vs “special people” concept, but that’s not what I’m doing.
In my experience of watching guitar players, Jason is an anomaly. A guitars players player. The sheer flash of what’s going on can in general go over people heads. Such as great comics that don’t have mass appeal yet are lauded by their peers.
We can agree to disagree, I am in no doubt infatuated with Jason.
His personality, demeanor, skill, composition. All aspects of highly interconnected motor cortex btw.
And look I’m even following your example of quoted posts 
This is not acceptable. Please see the forum guidelines. Disagreement is fine; personal attacks / shit talking is never okay here. I’m not getting involved in the substance of this discussion but I’ll close the topic if we can’t keep it a civil discussion.
Sorry Brendan, I am only being playful. Zero attacking going on.
Just banter.
I Apologize if it’s taken the wrong way, but fairly obvious joke lol. I will re read the guidelines.
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Not a fair assessment. I read it.
The research suggests correlations which are coincident with the focus of this thread. the do demonstrate a causal link. Correlation is not causation. Correlation is not evidence of causation.
A paper clearly demonstrating a causal link between heightened nervous activity and degenerative disease, with a clearly described mechanism of action, that would be evidence, and could be used as support for the claim that Jason’s playing may have contributed to his present condition. That’s not what was shared.
Again, not willfully ignoring. Skeptical. I don’t think the research you’ve referenced implies what you think it implies. Different interpretation maybe. Maybe there’s something in there I haven’t fully understood. That’s entirely possible too.
Anyway, I’ve said my part and I’ve nothing more to add to it.
Cool, I’ll leave it there then. Jason was an awesome player with a distinctive, personal style. We can agree on that much at least.
It’s a good feature. I think it helps make long posts more intelligible when responding.
Peace.
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Unfortunately the money’s not there for proper als research. Leaving us all in the dark.
I don’t mind the topic going off topic or whatever, that’s why I posted it in GMD.
Something I’ve always wondered is why he won’t use eye tracking tech to use a pc.
I imagine he likes that someone has to be there for translation. Must be so insane to lose control of your body. Like those dreams where you try to run and can barely move.
And from a high of being touted as one of the best at such a young age.
But I guess in many ways he’s lucky, it would be horrible to have that condition without the recognition. So in many ways I feel so much more for people like drews uncle. He must be a damn strong person.