[AxSlinger]

I thought this forum was the most appropriate for this question, even though it's not an acoustic GUITAR.

I need some excercises for building some speed with my fretting hand. And I mean extreme speed, shredding speed. The cool and fun songs on this instrument depend on great speed that goes up and down the 25 fret fingerboard. I have tried doing scales over and over again for about a week, and I've gotten a little faster, but not even half as fast as I need to go. I'm also using a metronome. What I need are some other basic excercises other than just playing scales over and over again. Can anyone suggest anything?

The instrument I have is called a bouzouki. It's has 4 pairs of double strings, so it's harder to play the note quickly, and without making a dead note.

Any help would be appreciated. I would have posted this in the Other Instrument Q&A, but I thought I would get more responses here.

Thanks in advance

Demetrios

[tapelator]

i wrote some excercises on the guitar q&a yesterday, i think for eulogy, check it out.

[AxSlinger]

I searched but cant find it.....help please?

[tapelator]

i just seen that instrument on the website

i think if one can play a guitar, he/she could actually be familiar with "bouzouki"

for left hand exercise method.
always remember, it's the muscles, in your fingers, so to develope them, what would a player do? do some exercises, like those who like to work out and grow muscles, i ain't an expert on guitar nor bouzouki or even weightlifting, so anything or everything i say could be considered bunch of bs..however..

common sense kicks in, to grow muscles, a strong one, you must take it slow and slow through out the years or practicing.i heard russian technique something like the secret of grow stronger muscle fiber, that is a book, but there are no short
cuts.
give it another week, and you will be growing speed, if not give it another week and so on..sound like you are in a hurry to gain speed, but gaining speed in faster time is unsafe, and bad for the future, i know because i am re-doing every single step in electric/acoustic guitar playing.

"left hand exercise methods" are basically overflowing on the net, you shoud try to find some and carry on the idea for you to become good through out the years.
don't overlook right hand picking either..

good luck and practice right!

[AxSlinger]

Thanks, that was very informative.

And you could pick up the bouzouki if your a good guitarist. The bouzouki is tuned 2 whole step down. CFAD. You wouldn't play chords really, and there are some cool scales that fit nicely with the style of playing. The most popular is just the Am scale.......actually, it would be the Dm scale (tuning).... Anyway, there are some cool tunes for this instrument.

Traditionally, if you want to learn the bouzouki, you're supposed to learn the instrument and scales well enough, so you can figure out any song you wanna play by ear. The songs aren't extremely difficult or anything, but it's the speed in most songs that is cool. This instrument is also more improvisational. I mean, you make up your own stuff.

It's fun though, I just need some major speed. You can find some videos at www.skeezo.com , if you're interested. I don't know why you would be though.

[wannalearn01]

If you practice...your gaining muscle...practicing is like the weight lifting of music...the more you do it the better you are when you need to be.

Just like when you lift, you will get a lot better results if you right down and can see areas that you have imporved and areas where you need to work more. But jsut like when lifting, I love bicep curls...but those are a strong point for me...now my back isn't the strongest..really if I lift I should be focusing on what I need to work on not what I already am happy with...but it is hard!

I would suggest getting a metronome, then you aer able to count your beats per minute and see if you are getting faster, if not then your not practicing the right exercises. Just like if your benching isnt going up, your not improving...

Not too mention the muscles used in guitar are muscles that normally aren't used...I mean how often do you have to hold a C shape other than playing guitar

I agree there is no cheating your body...if you were to just squeeze a tennis ball 10,000 times a day your hand will be stronger...but that isn't going o make you play faster...remember it isn't only going fast, but accurate too!

Well thats my .02 cents

T^roy

*edit*
The only exercise I would do other than practicing is where you hold the chord shape above the strings...once your able to do that with most chords(I know some jsut happen when you need them) try going through the chord and playing each note separate....but aslo very very slow...lowering and then lifting the finger slowly to play the note...you know how some people tap/roll there fingers...like that but slow and calculated...

This post has been edited by wannalearn01: 03 August 2004 - 09:53 AM

[sunday_girl]

the thing is taking time and lots of the dreaded p word.
I'm really tiny and have had to take a lot of time to learn to play simple chords and things even G's and C's.
Now I am having reasonable success with A shaped barrs and fingerpicking not just strumming.
Its been a long long road and I have a long way to go still.
But rome wasnt build in a day and thats the way I look at guitar playing.
there are things i will never be able to do but what I can do I will do well in the end.
Rachel

[grzegorz_panek]

It depends on how you want to approach speed. Unless you want to play some crazy flamenco the speed is generally built up with the right hand on acoustic.

You can do chromatic excercises, all that 1234 stuff. You can pick it with the pick, but fingers are always better on acoustic. It's good to have quite long nails and base fast scale runs on them, picking alternately with two fingers, index and middle, or middle and ring.

Apart from chromatics you can play some scales in 3 notes per string boxes, ascending and descending.

Or you can take some electric ssongs and practice them on acoustics.

Anyway, chromatics are like the basis for building up left hand speed.

[tapelator]

I mean how often do you have to hold a C shape other than playing guitar

when cop talks into a walky talky, they got that c shape going, right?

[wannalearn01]

I mean how often do you have to hold a C shape other than playing guitar

when cop talks into a walky talky, they got that c shape going, right?

Yup and while eating and apple...lol

T^roy

[tapelator]

oh yeah haha...

[AxSlinger]

It depends on how you want to approach speed. Unless you want to play some crazy flamenco the speed is generally built up with the right hand on acoustic.

You can do chromatic excercises, all that 1234 stuff. You can pick it with the pick, but fingers are always better on acoustic. It's good to have quite long nails and base fast scale runs on them, picking alternately with two fingers, index and middle, or middle and ring.

Apart from chromatics you can play some scales in 3 notes per string boxes, ascending and descending.

Or you can take some electric ssongs and practice them on acoustics.

Anyway, chromatics are like the basis for building up left hand speed.

Yeah, the instrument i'm playing on, you can't really fingerpick with. Well, you're really NOT supposed to. It's purely a pick instrument.

I'm not strumming, it's more of a learning how to shred on this instrument.

Thanks everyone for their input

[sunday_girl]

My main problem is that being left-handed and playing right I am a bit weak of the strumming hand.
I just cant play fast at all and lose momentum, slow songs are ok but anything faster and I fall apart.
any advice on speeding up the old right hand.
Rachel

[tapelator]

just re-string and re-learn

look, recentely i had to learn how to play left handed (cos of my left hand skin disease), i can write with both hands, or pitch but i feel secure with right hand..

the main problem i had, was the fingering, it was confusing to play purple haze chords, or other various augmented, diminished..etc..but teen spirit i've got that intro part down pretty good.

just go at it slowly, i would advise you to play left handed asap, because more you'll do stuff, the stuff will grow on you, but if it becomes a weak growth you will be suffering to fix that problem, and it could take you years to fix that error..

but some players like joe parry(aerosmith), billy corgan(smashing pumpkins) are both supposedly left handers, but plays in right..they are good players, maybe since their strong hand frets the neck of the guitar.. their bends, vibratos etc. will be stronger don't you think?