Improving technical ability

[Slone]

Players like Buckethead and Malmsteen have amazing technique, I remember someone saying Buckethead's playing sounded almost like a synth because of how perfect and fluent each of his notes were and I agree..

Besides years of practice, how do I get my ability up to par with these guys?

[JasonC]

Right now I'm working on really focusing on the amount of movement my fingers do when I'm playing scales and such. It's rough after 10 years of playing sloppy as hell! My pinky used to snap like 2 inches off the fretboard but it's getting pretty low now. I've heard this is a really crucial thing... just barely have your finger move off the string. I started to feel like I was progressing after just a couple of 20 minute sessions where I really focused on it.

The amount of force you use in your fret fingers is crucial too, you want to fret just hard enough to keep the notes from buzzing. No more, no less.

[Deftone]

Originally Posted by JasonC

Right now I'm working on really focusing on the amount of movement my fingers do when I'm playing scales and such. It's rough after 10 years of playing sloppy as hell! My pinky used to snap like 2 inches off the fretboard but it's getting pretty low now. I've heard this is a really crucial thing... just barely have your finger move off the string. I started to feel like I was progressing after just a couple of 20 minute sessions where I really focused on it.

The amount of force you use in your fret fingers is crucial too, you want to fret just hard enough to keep the notes from buzzing. No more, no less.

good points. I honestly have no desire to play like this, but I totally appreciate the ability.

[JasonC]

Another thing to think about is getting the guitar set up for the style that you play. This includes your string gauge and action. If you're just starting out you may not have a particular style of playing yet, but pay close attention to the amount of force you generally use with both hands. It's going to vary, obviously, but you can probably average it out. You also want to consider the speed at which you want to play. A lot of the super elite shredders will use very thin gauge strings like 8's because it allows you to set the action super low and just barely have to touch the strings to get a good note. This seems to work best with a very distorted sound. (someone will correct me if I'm wrong)

Thicker strings will give you (in my opinion) a much nicer clean tone. It's much fatter sounding and a bit snappier (think along the lines of a bass). You can still play pretty fast with them, but you're going to have to have a slightly higher action and press quite a bit harder to get a buzz-free note.

Getting the instrument set up for what you want to accomplish and your own personal style will go a long way toward helping you achieve your specific goals.

[Slone]

I was actually just thinking about that Jason, great minds think alike!

I use 10's with the action set pretty high and I play with a heavy fret hand, I need to get my action lowered, a replacement nut and start focusing on how much energy I put in to fretting each note.

I recently got in to a lot of Zappa stuff which is pretty fast paced and I'm looking for a luthier to have some work done on my SG to better suit my needs.

Thanks for the tips. If I practice enough maybe you guys will see me on tv one day or something

[JasonC]

Yeah, if you can take it into the shop and talk it over with a luthier in person he'll be able to figure out something just right for you. Good luck!