Here is another Friday 10-second tip for you to enjoy…
It’s all about getting better musicality in your riffs and melodies, but first…
What do “dating” and the guitar have in common?
Well, in dating, and when playing the guitar, we always want to avoid awkward silences.
Over the past nine months or so, I’ve been on a fair few dates.
It’s been interesting, to say the least.
Thankfully, one thing that hasn’t happened very often is those moments of awkward silence (but when they do happen, it’s not fun!).
…And as guitarists, we have to watch out for awkward silences too.
Awkward silences ruin the flow of dates, but they also ruin the flow of the music on the guitar.
One reason awkward silences happen is because of not coordinating both hands properly.
Let’s say you’re playing two notes in a scale (e.g., frets 3 and 5 of the low E string).
In a situation like this, I often see students doing this…
They play the first note, move a fretting hand finger to play the second note, they check the finger is in the right place, and then pluck.
There are often pauses at each of those stages and these cause all that awkward musicality-destroying silence.
So, what should you do instead?
- First, slow down the overall tempo of the piece
- As you play, mentally think ahead about the next movement in advance…
- Then make sure the fretting hand movement is a fast one, and as soon as the fretting hand movement is made, don’t hesitate, pluck.
Slow tempo and fast movements are key.
It can be tricky to do this.
…But slowing down the overall tempo will help you hear where these tiny moments of silence occur.
The above is important advice that is the tip of the iceberg of what I teach in the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy.
For specific help on improving your technique, musicality, and much more, you can check it out below.
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Enjoy your Friday and keep paying attention to those moments of silence!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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