I wouldn't say there is a trick, but... for me playing a chord and then getting my chunka chunka chunk in time with freting the chord properly again due to my fingers being spastic when not pressing down the chord.
Learn the main riff to either Smells like teen spirit or Santa Monica. Hell, pick any 90's song pretty much that you love. You'll get them down quick.
So speed is an interesting topic that doesn't seem to have a whole lot of scientific or in-depth study to it. The general consensus seems to be, "Practice, practice, practice" play really slow to start and then gradually build up speed over time. Part of that, I think, comes from muscle memory and familiarization with the fretboard. But what I'm really trying to get at is speed + synchronization and that seems to be a hard thing to improve quickly or dramatically.
It just seems like its something you practice at over and over until you slowly build up the reflexes to play quickly. I'm sitting here just so envious of those metal solos.
So speed is an interesting topic that doesn't seem to have a whole lot of scientific or in-depth study to it. The general consensus seems to be, "Practice, practice, practice" play really slow to start and then gradually build up speed over time. Part of that, I think, comes from muscle memory and familiarization with the fretboard. But what I'm really trying to get at is speed + synchronization and that seems to be a hard thing to improve quickly or dramatically.
It just seems like its something you practice at over and over until you slowly build up the reflexes to play quickly. I'm sitting here just so envious of those metal solos.
That's pretty much exactly what it is. I havn't quite got there myself, but it is a matter of muscle memory. When working on your scales, do the pinky, ring finger, index finger pull off. Really slow it sounds like nothing, but speed it up and repeat it, you're pulling off a sweet metal lick. I really like this video for a practice technique
but it really is just practice sadly. Get your fingers used to doing it so that they do it, and being able to sync up both hands to work together. If you want to, check out this tab on songster for 18 and life I'm trying to learn. http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/skid-row-18-and-life-tab-s382t2
The solo starts around measure 60, but it's measure 65 where I start tripping up. It's a basic scale pattern, but it's so fast, my hands just can't do it. It really is just a matter of practice and building up to being able to do it.
actually that's a cool video and i'm going to start doing that because my pull offs suck.
also if anyone was wondering, you can tune normally with a capo on... i've been taking them off all my life.
but this means i finally played all the Eb standard songs! They're pretty fun. Also that mastadon track in D standard. that was incredibly painful.
I'm liking the jag in D so far. I even played a few songs capo'd to E because i didn't want to switch guitars. it went fairly well once my brain caught up and quit telling me how wrong i was. there was one instance of it telling me to hit a 22nd fret and i just laughed at it (is that why 24 fret guitars are around?)
actually that's a cool video and i'm going to start doing that because my pull offs suck.
also if anyone was wondering, you can tune normally with a capo on... i've been taking them off all my life.
but this means i finally played all the Eb standard songs! They're pretty fun. Also that mastadon track in D standard. that was incredibly painful.
I'm liking the jag in D so far. I even played a few songs capo'd to E because i didn't want to switch guitars. it went fairly well once my brain caught up and quit telling me how wrong i was. there was one instance of it telling me to hit a 22nd fret and i just laughed at it (is that why 24 fret guitars are around?)
Ya I can't remember what I was playing, but there was a note on the High E on the 22nd fret, maybe even a bend. I looked at my guitar and just said ya right lol.
And I really do like this video and practice technique. It's boring, but to build up speed it really is practice and muscle memory. Plus, many of us don't play with a metronome and concentrate on staying on beat/rhythm. Most solo's and lead play is just being able to do these simple techniques, fast and without thinking about. Next time you listen to a solo, listen for the scale, you'll be surprised how often they are just doing a simple little scale run. but their fingers go so fast!
Also, I can't remember which lesson, but rocksmith actually has a good lesson on some of this stuff. It starts out with picked notes, then shows some hammer ons and pull offs in it, and just kind of changes up what your doing. It really changes the sound and adds dynamics even though you're playing the same boring thing. I think it's one of the master classes near the end.
Went to Guitar Center over lunch. Talked to an employee about decent practice amps. He walked me through every single feature on three separate amps based on price. Took an hour and a half to do it. I walked out with a Vox VT20+. I really liked the sound from it. Can't wait to get it home and run through some justinguitar stuff with it.
I am sort of proud of myself. I now have my main practice space in the living room with my bigass amp of doom for when I'm jamming alone, but I've also set up a tiny practice space in a corner of the top, storage floor. with a basic amp This space makes it so I can never get out of practicing just because my wife is watching tv and doesn't want to be disturbed.
@Dasnoob, that is a sweet looking amp. Now you need some pedals!
I still use my line-6 spyder I got in '96. Works great! I was thinking about grabbing a new amp and just disconnecting the digital amp portion because I just love the effects it makes. Do those work as a psuedo pedal by using the 3.5mm jacks? It is only like a 15 or 30 W amp so it isnt worth much more than an 8 or 10 inch driver.
The load from the amp still has to go somewhere. If it's not hooked up to a speaker you will more than likely fry the output transformer. Well, I know tube amps need a load. And some solid state amps need a load as well. So, it depends. Look up the manual for your particular amp. If that's not helpful, call Line-6 and ask.
Just finished running through the yacht songs. Feel like I'd do better if I had a really cheesy late 70s mustache and maybe a white open-collared shirt.
I've been having a pain trying to get down and practice some chords, since I prefer playing songs over the guitarcade when I load up Rocksmith.
So while watching a documentary on Firefly, they were discussing finding the guitar music for the theme song, which I promptly searched and printed.
The song itself is just the 5 most basic chords, with an intro that has a hammer on and pull off. Which is the perfect song for practicing getting my finger positioning.
i just realized i hadn't played any single song long enough since switching to steam version to get 100% yet.
thanks Angela. You're always there for me
Sweet, sweet Angela! Alas that I still haven't managed a perfect score attack master mode -- I keep missing the pick-up after that long pause after the solo. Still, I think it's the song I've played most in both games.
yup that was the one! I also didn't realize the differences between muting or know that those were chord arpeggios... So i think i need to pay better attention
That should have whatever you're referring to, there are a lot of similar symbols. I still almost always fret-hand mute when it tells me to palm mute.
I'm wondering if you're confusing g the two techniques or describing what your are doing incorectly. Palm muting and fret hand muting are two different techniques that create very unique sounds. One is high pitched metallic scratching, and is often use in between chord changes, especially at fast speeds. This was done a lot in 90's grunge, and you can almost always hear it when it's done.
Palm muting in the other hand slightly deadens the string at the bridge, to kind of muffle the sound giving a deeper tone to it. This is used in a lot of metal music and the easiest way to hear it would be the sound dynamic. Often with palm mutes it'll be a few palm muted notes/chords and then the same note/chord un palm muted so that it really rings out bright and clear. Often it'll be a duh duh DUNNN!
The symbols for them in game can look kind of similar at times.
That should have whatever you're referring to, there are a lot of similar symbols. I still almost always fret-hand mute when it tells me to palm mute.
I'm wondering if you're confusing g the two techniques or describing what your are doing incorectly. Palm muting and fret hand muting are two different techniques that create very unique sounds. One is high pitched metallic scratching, and is often use in between chord changes, especially at fast speeds. This was done a lot in 90's grunge, and you can almost always hear it when it's done.
Palm muting in the other hand slightly deadens the string at the bridge, to kind of muffle the sound giving a deeper tone to it. This is used in a lot of metal music and the easiest way to hear it would be the sound dynamic. Often with palm mutes it'll be a few palm muted notes/chords and then the same note/chord un palm muted so that it really rings out bright and clear. Often it'll be a duh duh DUNNN!
The symbols for them in game can look kind of similar at times.
I appreciate the effort but I understand the difference between the techniques, we were talking about the in game symbols.
That should have whatever you're referring to, there are a lot of similar symbols. I still almost always fret-hand mute when it tells me to palm mute.
I'm wondering if you're confusing g the two techniques or describing what your are doing incorectly. Palm muting and fret hand muting are two different techniques that create very unique sounds. One is high pitched metallic scratching, and is often use in between chord changes, especially at fast speeds. This was done a lot in 90's grunge, and you can almost always hear it when it's done.
Palm muting in the other hand slightly deadens the string at the bridge, to kind of muffle the sound giving a deeper tone to it. This is used in a lot of metal music and the easiest way to hear it would be the sound dynamic. Often with palm mutes it'll be a few palm muted notes/chords and then the same note/chord un palm muted so that it really rings out bright and clear. Often it'll be a duh duh DUNNN!
The symbols for them in game can look kind of similar at times.
I appreciate the effort but I understand the difference between the techniques, we were talking about the in game symbols.
Oh, I gotcha. Ya, sometimes I can't tell if it wants me to frethand mute or palm mute in game. If I'm just playing the symbols are really close to each other.
I'm having a hell of a time palm muting and while I know just practicing more will help I kinda wonder if part of that is the guitar I'm using (the RB3 Squier)
Is there some hangup with the Uplay store on PC? I was considering picking up some new stuff, but the in-game store just shows up as empty. I assume I can buy the DLC through Steam with no problems, but it's odd that the store hooks are present in-game and unused.
Edit: Also, I gave session mode a shot after ignoring it for a good while. That's a hell of a lot of fun, even if your fake back up band can be a bit slow on the uptake.
i finally busted through some of the songs i haven't hit yet (having the alt tuning second guitar helped) for that achievement of playing them all.
notes: Slayer. i don't know what they're on but maybe one day I can be on that.
SoaD. hypnotize. Oh my god it's so much fun!
I've been focusing heavily on the Titus Andronicus song. I love the band and this is a great album opener (even though rocksmith has a shorter version) and the track is so much fun to play. I almost have it all maxed out except one section like 2/3 in i'm still trying to figure. I had to turn off master mode though because i leveled it up way before i had it down in memory. Anyone have any project tracks? I like to start and end with that currently, then play a bunch of other stuff in the middle and do some session mode to relax. I probably should play the games more or try more score attacks too. at first i hated how freeform 2014 was compared to the original's sets but it's really nice as a practice thing this way
So I'm wondering what the proper 3-note power chord technique is supposed to be. Maybe it's because they're so prevalent in Rocksmith and all subsequently marked the same, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to follow their recommendation, or if my fingers just like to do weird things or if it doesn't matter as long as the notes are clear (...still working on that part).
Am I supposed to use index, ring and pinky or index (1 frets E, 3 frets A, 4 frets D) and a barre ring or barre pinky (1 covers E, 3 or 4 covers A and D? Or does it not actually matter (other than the transition to full, actual barre chord, which needs the 2nd set up since your ring/pinky can't lean across the G, B or e strings)?
I find that moving all 3 fingers down one string (or across the string to a different fret) doesn't work very well with the three-finger setup. Mostly because my ring finger doesn't like to move as much as my pinky. But I've also found my hand tends to want to put my pinky under the guitar neck (or with the knuckle resting against the edge of the neck). But I'm pretty sure that is weird.
And because I have no idea if that description makes any sense, these are the various things I have been trying:
The ring barre.
The pinky barre
The natural abomination claw (it is hard to take a selfie where both A and D are properly fretted)
Not something with a hard and fast best option, just do whatever feels best to you. I just do index+ring so that my pinky is free to mute strings if I need to, but that's just what came most natural to me after a whole lot of practice.
Doesn't matter really except when it comes to transitions. If it goes from a power chord to an actual bar chord it will be easier to have your ring/pinky both in the shape already.
The only time I use index/pinky is on that green day song in the base game (x-day?) because that has a strange transition.
A lot of basic stuff I'll just use index/ring though
I snagged a Baby Boom Tri Reverb RV-10 pedal yesterday. It's pretty decent, seems like, considering it was only $50, but holy shit does it devour battery. I might need to pick up one of the pedal setups with 9V power after all.
Posts
Learn the main riff to either Smells like teen spirit or Santa Monica. Hell, pick any 90's song pretty much that you love. You'll get them down quick.
*EDIT*
DLC explanation of "Yacht club"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLBEB75B6A1F9C1D01&v=YNTARSM-Fjc
It just seems like its something you practice at over and over until you slowly build up the reflexes to play quickly. I'm sitting here just so envious of those metal solos.
That's pretty much exactly what it is. I havn't quite got there myself, but it is a matter of muscle memory. When working on your scales, do the pinky, ring finger, index finger pull off. Really slow it sounds like nothing, but speed it up and repeat it, you're pulling off a sweet metal lick. I really like this video for a practice technique
but it really is just practice sadly. Get your fingers used to doing it so that they do it, and being able to sync up both hands to work together. If you want to, check out this tab on songster for 18 and life I'm trying to learn.
http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/skid-row-18-and-life-tab-s382t2
The solo starts around measure 60, but it's measure 65 where I start tripping up. It's a basic scale pattern, but it's so fast, my hands just can't do it. It really is just a matter of practice and building up to being able to do it.
also if anyone was wondering, you can tune normally with a capo on... i've been taking them off all my life.
but this means i finally played all the Eb standard songs! They're pretty fun. Also that mastadon track in D standard. that was incredibly painful.
I'm liking the jag in D so far. I even played a few songs capo'd to E because i didn't want to switch guitars. it went fairly well once my brain caught up and quit telling me how wrong i was. there was one instance of it telling me to hit a 22nd fret and i just laughed at it (is that why 24 fret guitars are around?)
Ya I can't remember what I was playing, but there was a note on the High E on the 22nd fret, maybe even a bend. I looked at my guitar and just said ya right lol.
And I really do like this video and practice technique. It's boring, but to build up speed it really is practice and muscle memory. Plus, many of us don't play with a metronome and concentrate on staying on beat/rhythm. Most solo's and lead play is just being able to do these simple techniques, fast and without thinking about. Next time you listen to a solo, listen for the scale, you'll be surprised how often they are just doing a simple little scale run. but their fingers go so fast!
Also, I can't remember which lesson, but rocksmith actually has a good lesson on some of this stuff. It starts out with picked notes, then shows some hammer ons and pull offs in it, and just kind of changes up what your doing. It really changes the sound and adds dynamics even though you're playing the same boring thing. I think it's one of the master classes near the end.
Also that Toto song isn't up.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
@Dasnoob, that is a sweet looking amp. Now you need some pedals!
PSN : Bolthorn
thanks Angela. You're always there for me
I've been having a pain trying to get down and practice some chords, since I prefer playing songs over the guitarcade when I load up Rocksmith.
So while watching a documentary on Firefly, they were discussing finding the guitar music for the theme song, which I promptly searched and printed.
The song itself is just the 5 most basic chords, with an intro that has a hammer on and pull off. Which is the perfect song for practicing getting my finger positioning.
MWO: Adamski
but whatever i'm super out of practice, it all builds the callouses back
Sweet, sweet Angela! Alas that I still haven't managed a perfect score attack master mode -- I keep missing the pick-up after that long pause after the solo. Still, I think it's the song I've played most in both games.
I thought they were harmonics or something then i remembered the harmonic symbol was a circle.
then one section in a song wanted me to do those v notes and also pull offs from like 16 to 6ish.
is that tapping? it's the only thing I can think of that would make that remotely possible
I believe so, yes. Let me look up that visual guide I found once.
steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=209561339
That should have whatever you're referring to, there are a lot of similar symbols. I still almost always fret-hand mute when it tells me to palm mute.
I'm wondering if you're confusing g the two techniques or describing what your are doing incorectly. Palm muting and fret hand muting are two different techniques that create very unique sounds. One is high pitched metallic scratching, and is often use in between chord changes, especially at fast speeds. This was done a lot in 90's grunge, and you can almost always hear it when it's done.
Palm muting in the other hand slightly deadens the string at the bridge, to kind of muffle the sound giving a deeper tone to it. This is used in a lot of metal music and the easiest way to hear it would be the sound dynamic. Often with palm mutes it'll be a few palm muted notes/chords and then the same note/chord un palm muted so that it really rings out bright and clear. Often it'll be a duh duh DUNNN!
The symbols for them in game can look kind of similar at times.
I appreciate the effort but I understand the difference between the techniques, we were talking about the in game symbols.
Oh, I gotcha. Ya, sometimes I can't tell if it wants me to frethand mute or palm mute in game. If I'm just playing the symbols are really close to each other.
Edit: Also, I gave session mode a shot after ignoring it for a good while. That's a hell of a lot of fun, even if your fake back up band can be a bit slow on the uptake.
Lamb of God
-Laid to Rest
-Walk with Me In Hell
-Ghost Walking
notes: Slayer. i don't know what they're on but maybe one day I can be on that.
SoaD. hypnotize. Oh my god it's so much fun!
I've been focusing heavily on the Titus Andronicus song. I love the band and this is a great album opener (even though rocksmith has a shorter version) and the track is so much fun to play. I almost have it all maxed out except one section like 2/3 in i'm still trying to figure. I had to turn off master mode though because i leveled it up way before i had it down in memory. Anyone have any project tracks? I like to start and end with that currently, then play a bunch of other stuff in the middle and do some session mode to relax. I probably should play the games more or try more score attacks too. at first i hated how freeform 2014 was compared to the original's sets but it's really nice as a practice thing this way
MWO: Adamski
thx for the heads up, grabbed this. Don't feel bad about double dipping on this at all at that price.
edit: Also how does it not include Cherub Rock?
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
It's 5 songs so probably $11.99
Cherub rock was a pre-order bonus so it's separate from the pack.
Battle.net: IronSquirrel#1462
Am I supposed to use index, ring and pinky or index (1 frets E, 3 frets A, 4 frets D) and a barre ring or barre pinky (1 covers E, 3 or 4 covers A and D? Or does it not actually matter (other than the transition to full, actual barre chord, which needs the 2nd set up since your ring/pinky can't lean across the G, B or e strings)?
I find that moving all 3 fingers down one string (or across the string to a different fret) doesn't work very well with the three-finger setup. Mostly because my ring finger doesn't like to move as much as my pinky. But I've also found my hand tends to want to put my pinky under the guitar neck (or with the knuckle resting against the edge of the neck). But I'm pretty sure that is weird.
And because I have no idea if that description makes any sense, these are the various things I have been trying:
The ring barre.
The pinky barre
The natural abomination claw (it is hard to take a selfie where both A and D are properly fretted)
The Rocksmith play chart recommendation
The only time I use index/pinky is on that green day song in the base game (x-day?) because that has a strange transition.
A lot of basic stuff I'll just use index/ring though
That G is getting unpleasant.