Any tips on how to get tighter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Spaceboy
  • Start date Start date
Spaceboy

Spaceboy

Well-known member
I feel I'm a sloppy player, although I regularly practice to a metronome. I'm not really sure of what else can be done to get tighter, besides repetition.
 
Been there, never left.

I am slowly improving and one of things I have done is picked up a funk book. That has improved my tightness tremendously. Still has a long way to go but I have seen noticeable improvement. I like the Funk Guitar: The Essential Guide by Ross Bolton. Its a cheap short book but has some great material.
 
Dehumanize":1oq064w2 said:
I feel I'm a sloppy player, although I regularly practice to a metronome. I'm not really sure of what else can be done to get tighter, besides repetition.
Click to expand...

Practicing to a metronome is a good idea ... But if you are practicing sloppy, you will play sloppy at the gig. For your practice sessions, SLOW it down! Listen to what you are playing. Sounds silly I know ... but really listen to each note. Make every note count. Don't fall asleep. Find a tempo where every note is perfect with a good tone. Record yourself practicing, and scrutinize what you hear.

Carl
 
^^^^ This, plus play in different time signatures. Get out of the 4/4 pocket and play some 7/8, or 5/4. It's hard to do if you only have a metronome because you've got to be able to count it off in your head, but if you can get a practice trainer, like a Fender G-DEC or some computer software, this will help you IMMENSELY! I know my timing was garbage until I did a stint in a jazz trio. There was one piece that went from 4/4 to 7/8 to 2/4 to 3/4 then back to 4/4. Had to get my shit straight riki-tick.

Hope this helps,
 
Recording stuff can be a huge help. To take it a step further, I'd try recording to a click & try & double track it. That will really force you to disect how exactly you are playing parts in order to get it to sound tight.
 
I just drink beer .... before long I do not notice my sloppy playing or care.

All kidding aside ..... slow it down and for me playing with a amp set a lot cleaner than I would use live makes me clean up my playing a lot. I also thing the funk advise is good ..... funk players are all about the groove and getting in the pocket. Play this stuff for a bit and when you play other styles it well improve the way you approach the instrument. Besides throwing in a few funk licks into any style can be pretty cool.
 
Practice on a clean channel. Always. Even if it's heavy style music, listening to the notes really ring is something that's always helped me. And slow - I found myself always subject to doing the same or semi-same lightning fast runs, but guess what? After a couple years, that's all I did - the same lightning fast runs. Somebody would demonstrate something else and I was like a fish out of water. So I canned the 'runs of the year' and got into stuff I didn't normally play.

Picking. Real good technique for alternate picking and NEVER screw up your timing - always always always down up down up down up (or up down up down, you get the idea). Do this slow, and the surgical precision you'll get after 20 hours in is pretty awesome.

When jamming or gigging, less gain. Sounds much better to the audience (or mics for that matter), cuts through, and due to the roundness and color of the notes not being mashed with tons of compression, when you DO go through a fast, perfectly plucked run or hard-down legato, the notes are super percussive and tight.

Funny, I write ALL this down yet I am my own worst enemy. I still do all my bad habits when I've got limited time with the guitar. Funny that... Also, if you do allocate practice time, section it off with a clock or a timer; don't dawdle on stuff - go through it, do the best you can, and then move on to the next step. A friend of mine who's an INCREDIBLE guitarist (classically trained, just fn SICK!!) told me this - and I couldn't quite understand what he was getting at. But bottom line, we learn nothing by repeating shit we already know - warm up, do 20 minutes of arpeggios, do 20 minutes of alternate picking scales; do 20 minutes of long stretch classical chords; and do 20 minutes of noodling. And whenever LEARNING a song, LEARN IT from front to back - no matter HOW boring it gets in between (as it's how you maintain these boring in between bits that really works on your tempo, consistency and - tightness!!).

Peace,
V.

PS - and last but not least, less grip on the neck - less pressure on the finger tips - makes for smoother runs, less fatigue and better accuracy when you're relaxed.
 
What helped me the most is when my best friend/guitar teacher told me to roll back on the gain and increase the volume, and make sure every note is clear and concise with no bridge or string noise. The rule was if I couldn't play it clean, I couldn't play it fast.
The only other thing is to play live and (For me at least) learn how to lock in to different drummers. I got kind of spoiled with metronomes because the beat is always there and always perfect.
 
all of these are excellent tips.

play on the clean channel

get some volume playing

learn to concentrate on what you are playing, not what is coming through your amplifier.

get out of the normal 4/4 timing pattern. get an electric metronome and mess around with it.

picking is subjective - however look up paul gilbert's picking technique for how i hold it and learned to hold it.

i have three different picking styles - one for solo's, one for rhythms, and one for tapping with my fingers. figure out what works best for you.
 
My tips for getting tighter:
First the obvious-slow down and play to a metronome. Play things slowly and cleanly and don't worry about speed at first.
-Play often with an acoustic guitar or unplugged electric. Helps you hear what you're doing without distortion covering up your mistakes.

But just as important IMO is to play with a variety of drummers! Playing to a cd or a metronome is one thing, but adapting to small timing and dynamics changes of a live drummer brings your skills up to a whole new level. There's some kind of magic that happens when you lock in with a live bands groove. You learn how to make minute changes in your playing to sync up with the band. IMO just as important or maybe more so than just sitting at home with a metronome.
 
Play leads on a acoustic a bit. The heavier and higher strings take a bit more deliberate effort. I think there is something to be said for just doing something different to keep your mind and fingers challenged.
 
glassjaw7":1olw0dcs said:
But just as important IMO is to play with a variety of drummers! Playing to a cd or a metronome is one thing, but adapting to small timing and dynamics changes of a live drummer brings your skills up to a whole new level. There's some kind of magic that happens when you lock in with a live bands groove. You learn how to make minute changes in your playing to sync up with the band. IMO just as important or maybe more so than just sitting at home with a metronome.
Click to expand...

This is a interesting statement and very true. I think part of it is drummers speed up and slow down a lot. If analyzed even the better ones well vary 10 bpm.

Not a bad idea to learn how to play in front of the beat, behind the beat as well as on top of the beat.

Just like dancing ..... for some people this whole thing comes much more natural. I believe relaxing is very important to do just about anything on the guitar.
 
+100 on turning down the gain/playing clean. . .

Not really a high gain dude but certain amps punish sloppy playing.. I play through a Matchless and theres no room for sloppiness. Been crucified by it a few times live and it always makes me practice more!

Not sure how all the high gain amps deal with "cover ups"... I guess gain hides a lot of stuff but then again with modern metal amps and their variable dampening etc (which I know nothing about) maybe they dont lol...
Anyways, yup, drop the gain play clean...
 
stephen sawall":3d36kh2l said:
glassjaw7":3d36kh2l said:
But just as important IMO is to play with a variety of drummers! Playing to a cd or a metronome is one thing, but adapting to small timing and dynamics changes of a live drummer brings your skills up to a whole new level. There's some kind of magic that happens when you lock in with a live bands groove. You learn how to make minute changes in your playing to sync up with the band. IMO just as important or maybe more so than just sitting at home with a metronome.
Click to expand...

This is a interesting statement and very true. I think part of it is drummers speed up and slow down a lot. If analyzed even the better ones well vary 10 bpm.

Not a bad idea to learn how to play in front of the beat, behind the beat as well as on top of the beat.

Just like dancing ..... for some people this whole thing comes much more natural. I believe relaxing is very important to do just about anything on the guitar.
Click to expand...
10bpm is a bit much...Fritz, the guy I played with in Seattle for almost 15 years despises click tracks and he usually fluctuates 5 bpm over a tune. And he has a tendency to hit the kick on top of the beat and the snare behind. Which I like.
But the reason I'm actually responding to it is that I don't believe keeping time is the drummer's gig, bu rather a communal thing. That's why IMO guitar player's as a rule have crap time. Because for some reason we seem to think we just follow whoever keeps time. Not gonna work, because you're always reacting instead of just grooving.

As for getting tighter, nothing beats a metronome used well. By that I mean don't have it clicking away at quarter notes. Start on the back beat. Only clicking on the 2 and 4. Then have click on on the 1. then only every other bar, then every 4 bars. That will teach you more about time then anything else. Especially if it gets recorded and one spends time analyzing ones shortcomings. Jus' sayin'
 
I'm about to grab a drum program and begin recording some solo material, which should lead the way towards improvement. I actually have a hard time finding drummers who can keep up and stay tighter than me, but I still feel sloppy. I'm a very high-gain dude (I'm tragically guilty of having too much gain/highs dialed in to sound clean), but playing cleanly on some arpeggio and other runs has been revealing about how much I'm relying on the gain to sound the note properly.
 
I really like your idea about how to use a metronome Ed. I have done the back beat and (2 and 4).

I should have stated the 10 BPM thing was only based on some of the people I have worked with. Not of samples of a lot of players.
 
everybody practices down picking/straight picking to tighten up a rhythm. the next level is shuffle picking/galloping/etc. few ever practice the upstroke only. i know this sounds crazy, but if you practice your upstroke only (like down picking/straight picking but only hitting the strings on the up stroke), you will be amazed at what happens. at first you will feel as awkward as the first time you got laid. it will be slow, sloppy, and you will sound like shit trying to do it too quickly. obviously, practice to a metronome. but as time goes on, it becomes easier and better. darrell showed me this back in the day. he said the back stroke was stronger/louder than the down stroke. i didn't believe him until he showed me unplugged.
 
And before I forget...screw picking exercises, those belong on the couch while watching TV. Learn tunes and go play those with other people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top