I need advice on practising

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Howard

Posts: 22
Joined: Dec. 7 2007

I need advice on practising 5 votes

I got a lot of questions. So here's the first one. Since I'm a "beginner", I need some help. I was always able to pluck chords, and do arpeggios ok, and I think my thumb work was pretty good. But I always sucked at doing the rest stroke. I mean I can do it, but it's painfully slow. How can I get to the lightning fast melody lines I hear? I think I need to go back to basics and practice like I'm a newbie. What is your advice on how to get fast and accurate with this technique? Thanks.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 0:24:18

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

im in a hurry for th ebuss but i think i´ll manage a little advice.

for a basic reststroke, practice this untill its feels conforteble.

---0-0-0-0-
--------------0-0-0-0
------------------------0-0-0-0- on all 6 strings.

then play some simpel scale like this maybe

----------------------------------5-7-8--E
-------5-6-8-6-5--------5-6-8----------B repeat slow and for a long time.
--5-7-------------7-5-7-----------------G

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 1:26:02

alan

Posts: 7
Joined: Dec. 14 2007

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

Hello Howard

I agree with Duende's suggestions, but my massive important important piece of advice is to use a metronome. Make sure your hand is in the right place to start with - you don't want to injure yourself!

You can do 1 note per click, or 2 or 3 or 4, or a mixture going from one to the other - this is very good for compas and timing. Also little and often is the key. 5 or 10 minutes a day every day. Write down the metronome speed in a little book each day and increase until it is just uncomfortable. I DOUBLED my speed like this in 6 months - 10 minutes a day. I just got up 10 minutes earlier. I still can't believe how effective it was.

Alan

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 2:27:34

Howard

Posts: 22
Joined: Dec. 7 2007

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard) 5 votes

I looked at this website called the "five mistakes classical guitarers make" or something similar. This guy calls his **** the "Sakari Method."
Has anyone heard of that? He seems to promote practicing on the open strings at a slow pace, with a metronome, and increasing speed as you go. At least thats the idea I got after reading volumes of crap on his website, and downloading his free "mini course" (also ****) Now I would think that that would be a good thing to do. But it seems that any advice beyond that , you have to pay for. Now I am definitely not the greatest classical guitar player in the world, but I think this guy goes too far. I am talking about advice on how to play the damn thing, and this guy wants to sell you some ****. I think that is not right. I think that we as classical/flamenco players should stick together and offer advice freely without any pricetag involved. Am I wrong?

I appreciate the comments so far. I have ordered a cheapo guitar from an online store, about $90 or so, and after I get it, I am going to really give you flamenco purist ****s a run for your money. Believe me. The negativitity in this forun is unbelievable. I am going to set you MFer's straight. I sense a lot of egotiical crap on here. I am not into that. If you want to give me a bunch of egotistical crap, I will not listen to you. Remember I have been playing the instrument for 32 years, and I will not be intimidated. You son of a bi-atches can fire away at my choices and my methods, but, you know what? Until you come over to my house in Atlanta and blow my doors off with your paying, don't give me no ****.

I seem to get the feeling that there are a few people on here who think they are good. Well maybe they are, but the superior attitude crap has got to go. So what you can play the guitar like a madman. Does that make you a better person? If it turns you into an ****, then, no, in my opinion, it does not make you a better person. It just makes you into an ****. I am sending this message out there to all of you. Never mind the technique question. I think a lot of you people on this forum need to re-evaluate your goals and ambitions. I willl go on with my normal crap, but will you?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 3:29:33

Howard

Posts: 22
Joined: Dec. 7 2007

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard) 5 votes

Sorry for the rant. I AM genuienly looking for some advice.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 3:32:35

NormanKliman

Posts: 1143
Joined: Sep. 1 2007

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard) 1 votes

Hi Howard,

I've always felt that basic soleá falsetas (and siguiriyas, I suppose) help to build up thumbed rest strokes. Most falsetas will work, but I'm thinking about things like this:

---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------0----------------
----------------0--2--3------3------------
-----0--2--3-------------------------------
-1--------------------------------0---------

There shouldn't be any kind of struggle involved in keeping your right-hand fingers close to the strings. Accomplished guitarists don't seem to move their right hands very much at all. It's very important to minimize the distance between your fingers and the strings.

Quick single-note thumbed lines are not just played with the thumb because there's also a very slight amount of movement from the two bones in your forearm, between the elbow and the hand. One rotates around the other. You don't want to make an effort to move your arm in this way, but you certainly won't be able to play quickly if all of the movement takes place from the joint that attaches your thumb to the rest of the hand.

As with any technique, you can't go wrong if you start off practicing rest strokes slowly and gently and, maybe 30 minutes later, playing faster and harder. Conversely, if you try to do too much too soon, you'll definitely run the risk of reinforcing improper technique or even injury.

Monotonic (single note) ideas are fine, but you might also want to try exercises and/or falsetas that involve simultaneous playing of trebles and basses. Here's one from my website:

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/norman/pmiexc.htm#pim

Oh, I've just read your last post... Well. Considering that flamenco guitarists are nearly superhuman, I really don't see too much egocentricity on this forum.

_____________________________

Be here now.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 3:38:19

Ricardo

Posts: 14821
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

quote:

If you want to give me a bunch of egotistical crap, I will not listen to you. Remember I have been playing the instrument for 32 years, and I will not be intimidated.

I was going to give some technical advice, but it seems the main problem you will have learning flamenco, especially coming from some other guitar genre where you must think you are some bad ass or something, is you think you know something already about flamenco, while give the false humility "i am just a beginner". For a lot of us, getting into flamenco after playing an other style was like 'starting over', literally. Without a sense of TRUE humility and respect, you won't get very far, as far as the "real" stuff is concerned, and forever hanging on the fringes of it. So you need to make a choice if you are serious about this challenge or you just want to "tackle" yet another style like you have for the last 32 years. It is your choice, time is running out.

Ricardo

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 5:46:11

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

quote:

The negativitity in this forun is unbelievable. I am going to set you MFer's straight. I sense a lot of egotiical crap on here.

are you sure you ever been to this foro before?!??

what negativity? what ego crap?

happy santa, and stay of the booze

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 6:26:57

koella

Posts: 2194
Joined: Sep. 10 2005
From: holland

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

I get it.
Howard is in fact Juan Martin trying to teach us a lesson.
You should adapt your accent.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 6:52:25

Kate

Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to koella)

I think he is Florian under cover !!!!!!

Kate

_____________________________

Emilio Maya Temple
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000CA6OBC
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/emiliomaya

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 7:30:47

koella

Posts: 2194
Joined: Sep. 10 2005
From: holland

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

Oh yes, or Dominic

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 7:38:12

Guest

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to koella)

no, its probably todd

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 18:34:19

Florian

Posts: 9282
Joined: Jul. 14 2003
From: Adelaide/Australia

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Kate)

quote:

I think he is Florian under cover !!!!!!

Kate

Please dont insult me.

Let me save you the time of ever having to guess in the future Kate, i will never here or have I ever in the past posted under, anonymous or different name.

even if i tried i couldnt be this stupid

Howard ..!! baby..!!

have you missplaced your medicine again ?

lol noone needs to say a word to make you look stupid, about time that the Us got theyr own Billy Jack

as much as i enjoy watching you make a dick of yourself, i cant help but wonder, why are you here ? you seem to know everything about everything and everybody...why not take comfort in that ?

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 18:42:54

Kate

Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Florian)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Florian
Please dont insult me.

Sorry sweetheart it was a joke

Kate

_____________________________

Emilio Maya Temple
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000CA6OBC
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/emiliomaya

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 20:35:03

Stu

Posts: 2536
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Kate) 2 votes

before i read any of his posts i noticed that howard had a minus 56 score. Now all becomes clear! I like arash also rescind my welcome. I think andresito said 'you're not a troll unless you just come and stir up trouble' well guess what..... you're a big ****ing troll with warts. This forum is sometimes a bit negative but i've never noticed big egos, just helpful folk. The only negative posts i see are jm issues or the recent lurker posts. (With good reason by the looks of things) (look what you've done rom)this isn't some faceless forum where the members just insult each other mindlessly. Its actually a very democratic community where everyone is accepted provided they know how to behave. Its seems you don't so my two bits of advice are shut up and/or **** off.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 22 2007 22:03:06

johnguitars

Posts: 72
Joined: Jul. 27 2007
From: Michigan,USA

RE: I need advice on practising (in reply to Howard)

First off, everyone have "Happy Holidays". I am new to Flamenco and also to the Foro and actually have been playing one form or another on guitar for almost 40 years. Mind you, I am not any good at at it, but, I love it! Just thought I would tell you all that I appreciate your banter and advice etc. I liked the Foro so much at first that I made it my "home page" with an auto-sign-on" (probably made me appear to be the mother-of-all-lurkers). Anyway, I don't have a clue to this Howard guy's insincerity or attitude. Flush him. That's my two cents worth. Please keep up the kind and thoughtful advice to us real beginners @ Flamenco. You are all appreciated.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2007 4:39:13