Guitar Lessons in Bed Stuy Brooklyn

Guitar Lessons in Long Island City, Queens & Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Tag: Technique

  • Best Way To Hold A Guitar Pick? You Be The Judge…

    Best Way To Hold A Guitar Pick? You Be The Judge…

    Strumming Series – The Pick’s Angle

    Queens & Brooklyn Guitar Lessons - Strumming Series 1
    Take it easy, Man!

    There is no one way to hold a guitar pick. Well I guess there would be if you played the same song over and over! The angle you hold it has quite an effect on how easy it is to use and what sound you get out of it.

    Experiment with it:

    Ex. 1: Try holding it perfectly parallel with the string, pointed straight into the hole of the guitar. Strum while holding the pick in that position. Is it easy or difficult to strum? How about picking a single string? What does it sound like? Bright? Dull? Smooth? Rough? Loud? Quiet?

    Ex 2: Rotate it, spin it slightly forward (like you’re using the pick to turn a screw) so that it hits the string on the front edge instead of flat like Ex 1. Is it easier or harder to strum? How does that effect the sound? Thin? Warm? Silky? Harsh? Brash? Wispy? How about when you’re picking just one string?

    Ex 3: Go back to the parallel position of Ex. 1 but instead of holding the pick pointed straight into the hole of the guitar, change the angle toward the ceiling or floor about halfway, so that the pick slides over the the strings. Swivel your arm and wrist to change the angle when strumming up and then down so that it feels like you’re using a wide paintbrush to brush the strings. Is it easy or difficult to strum? What does it sound like? How Would you describe the sound?

    The truth is, there is no “right” way to hold the pick. The way you hold it is going to make it easier or harder to play and it will effect the sound. Sometimes, you need something to be as easy as possible in order to play it. Other times you want what you’re playing to have a certain effect, a specific feel that can be conveyed by the way you set the strings in motion. This is why players sound different from each other, why many guitarists can play the same song, with the same chords, and each have their own unique feel. It’s very personal and you can find your own sound by having fun with these different effects.

    Go For It!

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC

  • How to Play To a Metronome? Do it Wrong!

    How to Play To a Metronome? Do it Wrong!

    How To Use a Metronome to Practice GuitarNo joke. Try it:

      • Set the metronome to a slow, comfortable pace.
      • Play just one note on each beat.
      • Then speed up just a tiny bit WITHOUT CHANGING THE METRONOME…. Feel that tense, rushing feeling.
      • Slow back down to the beat… Feel that smoothness.
      • Now slow down just a tiny bit… Feel that sluggish pull.
      Speed up just enough to get synchronized again… Feel that smoothness again.

    Playing in time is a matter of constantly feeling for this anxious or dopey energy and then adjusting until you feel that sense of relaxing into the beat. It’s not a thinking thing. It’s a feel thing.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Don’t Like Repetitive Guitar Practice?

    Don’t Like Repetitive Guitar Practice?

    Springsteen-Bored-by-Repetitive-Practice Repetition is one of the most effective tools in learning music. Yes, it can be boring, but it helps you memorize the technical stuff so your mind can be free to emphasize the cool parts of the music when you perform.
    If you hate it, try this:
    Every day set a timer for 3-8 minutes. Practice one repetitive thing until the timer goes off. Stop.

    Play something fun.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Guitar Pull-offs Were Named Wrong

    Guitar Pull-offs Were Named Wrong

    a guitar pull-off should be a POP-off

    They should have been called “pop-offs”.

    I don’t mean any disrespect to the great Pete Seeger who brought us modern tablature and named the pull-off, it’s just that if you only pull your finger off of the string, it may not ring. If you pop the string with the edge of your fingertip, you’ll hear it ring out.

    Try it.

    Play a note on the first string (bottom) and instead of lifting your finger up and away from the string, pop the string by pulling down and away, sort of plucking it with your fingertip.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • We Don’t Really Play Guitar With Our Fingers

    We Don’t Really Play Guitar With Our Fingers

    Brooklyn-Guitar-Lessons-FingertipsWe play with our finger TIPS.
    I know that seems obvious, but we often don’t do it. If we spend some time getting used to this weird use of our hand, playing guitar becomes easier. The reason is this:

    The bone does 70% of the work.

    When the finger gradually curves to come straight down onto the string, much less energy is needed. The bones of your finger form an arch, which taps down onto the string like a C-clamp with half the effort than if we use the padded bottom of our finger.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Why Practice Guitar Slow?

    Why Practice Guitar Slow?

     

    Snail GuitarWell, you may have heard several reasons, but this is my favorite:

    To witness what you actually do instead of what you think you should be doing.

    We are usually so caught up in trying to match some ideal in our head that we can’t hear what we actually sound like.
    Play slowly so you can notice what you notice. Then you can fix things.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Playing Tough Chord Changes on Guitar, Method 2

    Playing Tough Chord Changes on Guitar, Method 2

    Difficult-Guitar-ChordsYeah, it’s a killer. Try this:

    Don’t strum all the way to the moment that the tough chord should be played and then changing chords (that’s like pressing pause while you’re playing, and even the tone-deaf know that ain’t right).

    When you’re headed straight for a tough chord, say Q#minor14 (see pic), only play on the first beat of the easy chord before it (G). Use the next 3 beats to change to Q#minor14. You’ll only hear G on the first beat beat, but if you keep the count going in your head while you change, you’ll play Q#minor14 right on time, keeping the song together.
    This is a lot better than the “Wait just a, I’ve almost..I’ve…” approach.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC