Golden exercise for the right hand

Yuri Nikitin
This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If you take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you’ll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages. The given principle of development of techniques “was tested” not by just one generation of guitarists and not by only guitarists…In this lesson we shall concern ourselves only with high-speed technics. Skilled guitarists alredy know that the basic brake in development of guitar high-speed technics is the right hand. Therefore when playing the most ultra-high-speed passages for simplification guitarists play legato (i.e.

the right hand does not take some notes, it is done with fingers of the left hand by receptions pull-off, hammer-on). How to achieve speed? For this purpose it is necessary for guitarist to develop technics of the right hand - fast alternation of pick stroke upwards-downwards (a variable stroke). The more quickly the right hand will make alternating strokes, the quicker the playing will be.

It is necessary to begin from the most usual tremolo (fast recurrence of one note). Triplets are the most effective way of learning to play a tremolo. Try to begin each of your lessons with a tremolo.

It develops (and warms up) the right hand. The tremolo notes must sound dynamically equal (all sounding notes of equal loudness) and with equal tempo. For example, you wish to learn a high-speed passage. I offer the following simple blues phrase in “A” as an example:___

5_________________

8___

5_______

5____________________________

8___

5__________________

7______

8___

5_____________________________

8__

7_________________________

8___

5______________________________________________________

7__________________________________________________________

First you need to learn in slow tempo and in convenient key with rational pick strokes.

 

After you’ve done it, play a tremolo of each note, i.e. each note in a passage

it is necessary to take three times (if it is the eighth) like this:___

5_5_5________________________________

8_8_8___

5_5_5___________

8_8_8___

5_5_5_______________________________________________________

8_8_8___

7_7_7_______________________________________________________

The tremolo should be loud (a silent tremolo does not make effect). Play thus 10 - 15 minutes (with small breaks) up to feeling of weariness in your right hand. The weariness speaks that muscles work as they must do. In my experience each student playing given technique, develops his own nuances. The right hand as though itself finds the most convenient position while playing, - it is only necessary ” to force it to work”.

When you are good at playing this passage with tremolo, try to play it in the original. I often hear a question: ” How many times is it necessary to be thus engaged so that allows you to come to high speed?” - It’s individually.

For some it’s necessary 2 hours, for another 2 days, and for others it is not necessary at all (i’m kidding :-).

Here introspection is necessary, that is you should feel improvement of technics. Clearly the one that is effective is the way - “gold” exercise for the right hand.

Play your own passages by this principle, solos, improvizations, rock, jazz and blues phrases… If you have great patience, you will see the huge advantage of this technique and feel the results. If you do not see any result most likely you were engaged either incorrectly or insufficiently long. Though it is possible to play legato or tapping, but it sounds less brightly and energetically.
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