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Chord Technique on Guitar and Bass
Sun, 2011-06-12 14:47 — buttwinickDoes it take you a long time to learn a new chord?
Do you want the secret to quickly learning new chord shapes?
Applying this write-up could dramatically speed your progress!
Contrary to common belief, fingering chords is a matter of control, not strength. While your first bar chords takes some strength development, control is what you need. And control is developed with slow and focused repetition.
Learning chords on a guitar or bass is simply a matter of muscle memory. According to a physical therapist student of mine, it can take up to 3,000 repetitions to establish the muscle memory of a specific motion. That’s a lot of repetitions! I’ve had students learn new chords in a shorter period of time as well, because they already knew many of them, or they had very coordinated hands. There is always a time variable, and nothing is absolute.
(I once had a beginning guitar student who learned every technique point perfectly the first time which was quite impressive. He was a slight-of-hand magician and could shuffle a deck of cards in each hand at the same time so his hand/finger dexterity was unbelievable. Wow!)
The following exercise is a technique for learning chords I’ve used for years that works like a charm. (If you are left-handed just reverse the instructions.)
1. Press and release on each chord.
(a) With the left hand, form the chord, then press and release the fingers onto the neck. Leave the fingers touching the string and only press the string down to the frets. You don’t have to press very hard as this is not developing strength: it’s developing control. (Though certain muscles will become stronger.)
(b) Once you are able to do this, let the fingers slightly come off the strings, staying in the exact chord position. Have the fingers remain fairly close to the strings, but slightly lift them off.
After each chord becomes “grooved in”:
2. Chord Changing. Change back and forth between a pair of chords, having all the fingers touchdown at the same time. It is common to anchor one finger in place then move the other fingers to their position. You might do this when playing, but for this exercise it is best to have them all land at the same time.
(a) Only use the left hand without any strumming. Slowly move from one chord to the next having all fingers land at the same time. If you are a beginner this can take weeks, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away. I’ve had some students learn a new chord in a few days whereas most take a few weeks to months.
(b) Repeat, only strum each chord once getting each note to ring out.
(c) When you are ready, strum a groove on the chords or play a song with them. If you are not ready for this just continue the above exercises until you are.
The major barrier to learning chords is trying to do the motions too fast! My article, Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument, explains all the fine points about practicing. Applying these nine points should speed up your progress.
And if you think your hands are too small to play guitar, check out this video!!!!
Related articles:
The Famous F Chord on Guitar
Am I Too Old to Learn an Instrument?
Marty B.
(818) 242-7551
Email
http://buttwinickmusic.com
http://Personalized Music Lessons Facebook Page
http://Musicians’ How-To Series Facebook Page
Buttwinick Musical Services Update ~ July 2011
Sun, 2011-06-12 14:47 — buttwinick
Greetings!
As 2011 roles along, activity is activated and production is purposeful!
I hope all is well with you, and here is an update from my zones of creation:
Composing
I just finished four mixes of original music with my engineer, Richard Robinson. The music covers rock-fusion and swing, along with a cool funk ballad and romantic Bolero. I wrote the Bolero and swing tune for a concert I put on a few years back, and the other two were from my catalog. These pieces will soon be at iTunes as well as other Internet music sites. They are posted at my music page so... take a listen! (There other music at this site, but you've probably heard those pieces already ;-)
Teaching
My student's are winning like crazy. (Sometimes ya have to brag...) My personalized curriculum continues to expand, and every lesson is really fun. Two songwriter students have finished tracks in major studios, while another just played the "Whiskey" on the famous Sunset Strip. A piano student went from focusing on reading to grooving and playing blues while an alto sax is being assaulted by another! You can see a list of current students here, success stories here, and more about what I do here.
Also, anyone you know who is bogged with their current musical studies or wants to start some enhancement yet doesn't know what, should click here. I'm a good trouble shooter/consultant and this page will tell you more about it.
Musicians' How-To Series
Book publishing continues to expand. We recently developed a new customer who purchased all 15 titles and is getting ready for his band consultations.
And what is this about? Read on...
"There is more to being a musician than fingering notes on an instrument. There are the subtleties of group interaction, musicianship, repertoire, the business side (if you are a professional), and many additional subjects.
The Musicians' How-To Series consists of short- to medium-length e-books about a variety of music-related topics. This series provides musicians and singers with supplemental information that for the most part isn't taught in schools and might or might not be learned on one's own or from a private instructor. Much of this information has never before been in print.They are designed to throw in your bag or instrument case, take to your gig, rehearsal or jam, and PUT TO USE!"
That's all folks!
Well, there's always more: gigging, new books, blogs, a regular rock-band-teaching gig I have, copywork, etc. But the above are the main points I wanted to tell you about.
So I did.
And thank you for reading this!
Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. OK?
Marty B.
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Marty Buttwinick
(818) 242-7551
http://buttwinickmusic.com
http://musicianshowtoseries.com
The Secret to Walking Bass Lines
Thu, 2011-01-06 21:11 — buttwinickA “Walking Bass Line” is a type of bass part playing a specific series of notes on the pulse of the song.
The primary functions of a walking bass line are to outline the chords while supporting the rhythm by playing the pulse of the music. There are many books on the musical specifics, and here is the “bottom line”:
A walking bass line needs to be:
1. Theoretically perfect
2. Musically appropriate
3. Artistically played
Theoretical perfection can start with arpeggios, expanded by adding consecutive scale tones then elaborated with chromatic passing tones. (All of these terms are defined in the glossary at buttwinickmusic.com.)
Musical appropriateness is determined by the style of music, i.e., Broadway, swing, jazz, blues, etc. And the artistic execution is determined by how the musician puts it all together according to his sense of pitch, rhythm and group dynamic.
Trying to be artistic or musically appropriate before having theoretical perfection is a waste of time simply because it can’t be done. Certain styles of music can be “faked” while other styles cannot. (Though I did have a student once who was theoretically illiterate and musical brilliant.)
Walking bass lines are a skill that needs to be developed and nurtured. They are a joy to play and listen to. Ray Brown is probably the God of this, and listening to him play will give you good examples of all three levels mentioned above.
Marty B.
Email
(818) 242-7551
http://buttwinickmusic.com
Guitar & Bass: Which Way is Up?
Thu, 2011-01-06 21:11 — buttwinickLearning what “up or down the neck” means is one of the funniest things about learning beginning bass and guitar. This has perplexed and embarrassed more adult students then almost any other point! (Almost…)
Musically, the words “up” and “down” most often refer to pitch. “Pitch” is the highness or lowness of a note determined by how fast the string is vibrating. (More about pitch at the glossary at my website.)
An open guitar or bass string vibrates at a certain speed. When you press the string down to a fret, it shortens the string thereby making the string vibrate faster and the pitch higher. When you play notes going from the head of the instrument towards the sound hole, or pickups, the pitch’s are getting higher and is called going “up” the neck. Using a vertical guitar as an example, going up the neck is going down in gravity, and going down the neck is going up in gravity! So down is up and up is down!
It can take a while to get used to this when learning to play. Often enough I’ll say “move your finger down one fret” and the student moves it according to gravity instead of pitch, laughs then corrects the motion. This becomes rather humorous after the 20th or 30th time it happens. Some people get used to this after a few weeks, though most actually take a few months to stabilize this concept.
After all, we’ve been dealing with gravity longer than dealing with vibrating strings!
Marty B.
How Music Lessons Relate to Live Performance
Thu, 2010-07-08 21:52 — buttwinickI thought you might find it interesting to know how music lessons can directly relate to live performance in ways that might not seem obvious. I’ve been wanting to write something about this for years, one of my gigs last December sparked my interest in getting this done.
I played a gig in Redondo Beach with my singer/songwriter pal, Ron Rutherford. Really good talent. We opened for Leon Russel, so it wasn’t just “any ole’ gig.”
It was a little last minute with only a handful of rehearsals, and my job as musical director was to slam the band into shape! (Which I did.) To me, this meant: exact rehearsal times, efficient rehearsals and nothing missed. This entailed a complete overview of what needed to be done, a correct evaluation of how much time was needed for each point and ensuring that everything needing rehearsal was rehearsed—and things not needing rehearsal were not. It’s easy and fun to rehearse things one likes to play, but if that time spent neglects rehearsing what you NEED to rehearse, it’s not only wasted time but detrimental by neglecting what needs to be done and diminishing the possibility of playing a great show.
Here is a brief list of the corresponding points that compare lessons to live performance:
~ Learning personal skills translate into playing well at gigs (or any performance, for fun or pro).Knowing how to practice one musical aspect on a lesson translates into knowing how to break a song down and rehearse it — as a group. You learn how to do the same, isolated thing repetitively until finished with it. And more importantly, it gives one the tolerance and ability to persist on something until it’s complete.
~ Taking directions from an instructor can translate to taking instruction from a bandleader, producer or stage manager. This is an important skill to have. (Ever work with someone who always has to have things his way—when he’s not in charge? This does not work.) You have to know how to take directions without fussing about things.
~ And lastly, when you have been through good music instruction to the point of actually achieving a musical goal, you gain certainty that you can do it! This certainty builds confidence which carries over to the bandstand.
A few band members who hadn’t had much private instruction were amazed at how fast the show came together.
You want to have as much certainty and confidence as possible when you are performing. This develops mainly from performing a lot, but these roots begin by having certainty as a musician — at whatever level you are at.
Practicing at the Right Speed
Thu, 2010-07-08 21:52 — buttwinickThe purpose of practicing is to gain control over some element of music, whether ear training, technique or an isolated passage or riff. Part of gaining control is eliminating hesitations, jerkiness and uncertainty. The goal is having complete “ownership” over what you are doing: you want to “know” that thing in and out.
For ear training, chose the speed that allows you to listen, duplicate and understand what you are hearing. Repetition and focus are key. You might need to play and listen to something hundreds of times before really getting it, and you will improve to the degree you are focused. When you are focused you are “there.” Only when you are there can you duplicate or learn something.
For technique, isolated passages and pieces of music, finding the speed that you can grab a hold of what you are doing is the key. Going too fast can be overly difficult and going too slow can be boring and gruesome. Between too fast and too slow you can find a comfort zone that allows you to be aware of your motions and implement control. Adjust your speed to your awareness level. Find the speed where you can play the passage as best as you can and repeat it, noticing hesitations and uncertainties. Repeat it until it’s smooth and certain. This process could take between five and twenty-five times or more. This is accomplished by noticing the glitches and repeating it until comfortable. Your playing will smooth out simply by putting your attention on these areas and repeating them over and over. If your attention is not focused on what’s happening, improvement can be slow. What works for me, is going over the passage until smooth, then slowing it down a bit and repeating the process. Then, slowing it down a little more and going through the steps again. At this point I like to speed things up and see how comfortable it’s getting. Then I go back to a slower tempo and repeat the process. This continues every day until the passage is smooth and certain.
Learning something new seldom happens in one sitting (though it could). Here is a normal progression: (The time lengths are arbitrary and will vary according to the difficulty of the passage and level of focus.
Day 1 takes 30 minutes to groove a step in until comfortable.
Day 2 takes 30 minutes and feels like you haven’t progressed.
Day 3 takes 28 minutes to groove it in.
Day 4 takes 15 minutes to groove in.
Day 5 takes 10 minutes to groove in.
You miss three days of practicing.
Day 7 takes 15 minutes.
Day 8 takes 10 minutes.
Day 9 takes 5 minutes.
Day 10 takes 5 minutes.
Day 11 takes 5 minutes.
Day 12, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.
Day 13, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.
Day 14, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.
Chances are that passage is finished.
Go for complete ownership over what you are playing and you can’t go wrong.
Marty Buttwinick
Buttwinick Teaching Studio
Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument
Thu, 2010-07-08 21:52 — buttwinick- Be there. Have your attention on what you are doing.
- Be willing to learn something and accept the fact that it probably won’t happen over a weekend. You could learn something specific in a few minutes, but application to your overall playing takes some time. (Though certain things can happen quickly depending on your current skill level. Different people progress at different speeds according to current ability levels, past experience and the subject being studied.)
- Understand what you are practicing and why you are practicing it. Keep you personal goals in mind and practice for that result.
- Learn to relax your body when playing. Accumulated tension is one of the biggest causes of body problems, rough playing and a host of ills. There are about 120 muscles, bones and tendons in both forearms and hands, and all of these “parts” are learning new coordinations. While you are learning control you will get tense. It can be natural to use force to do something until control is developed. Not being relaxed when you play is like driving a car with the brakes slightly depressed. The brake pads are going to wear out real fast and you’re in for a bumpy ride. Notice and release tension when you play. Tension can occur in any part of your body: hands, wrists, arms, neck, shoulders, lower back, face, mouth, legs, feet.
- Learn how to practice at the “right” speed. To play anything well, you need to develop complete control over what you are doing. Control is developed by repetitive actions at the speed that you can actually do the thing you are suppose to be doing. If you go too fast you can’t “grab a hold” of whatever it is and it’s like screeching around a corner in a car while driving too fast in the mountains. Go too fast and you end up in the trees. (If you ever got mad and frustrated while practicing I bet you were just going to fast!)
- Understand the words and symbols on any written materials you are using. (I was giving a kid a piano lesson recently and she almost fell asleep in the middle of her lesson, but was bright and awake when she walked in. I snooped around and discovered that there was one symbol in a song book that her dad got her that sent her under the table. I found the symbol, defined it for her and she instantly brightened up and came back to life.)
- Learn to sing in tune if you don’t already. If you can’t, this is easier to learn then you might think. It’s almost impossible to fully enjoy playing music if your ears aren’t working.
- Develop a good sense of rhythm. Having good rhythm is vital, probably the most vital aspect of being a musician. Good rhythm can be developed with the proper drills. If your sense of rhythm is really bad it could take some time; however, you CAN develop good rhythmic ability with efficient instruction and drilling.
- Have fun. Music isn’t worth doing if you can’t have some fun while doing it. Not all studies are fun — many things aren’t. But there is always a way to make some part of what you are doing fun and rewarding.
Making Time to Play Music
Thu, 2010-07-08 21:52 — buttwinickTime, money, work, family obligations; when do I have time to play? Let’s see, well, ah… I don’t know!!!
Have you ever gone through this routine? Unless playing or practicing music is the major priority in life, finding time to fit in this personal enjoyment can be a challenge.
If you’re in this category, the following steps might help:
1. Work out exactly what you want to do: what you want to play and what you want to get out of it. Shoot for your dreams, but be honest with yourself and keep it realistic. If you haven’t already put enough (or any) music into your life, if you start to broad or too big you could crash. Choose something that’s concise and looks doable.
2. Look over your life activities, plans and schedules. Create a concise overview of everything you do. Write this out on one or two pages. If you already have a clear life plan use it as a guide.
3. Decide on about how many hours a week you think you could spend on music. Keep in mind that playing for ten minutes a day can be more workable then playing for five hours on a day off. Keep in mind that you don’t want to start off too small or too big. It needs to be a “realistic” amount.
4. Have a blank weekly calendar to write on as a schedule template.
5. Write in ONE, set-stone-activity as a aligning factor. Use what ever is the most stable and predictable activity such as work hours, going to school or driving your kids to school.
6. Create some regular times to play music. Choose what might be the most workable times, while keeping in mind your other activities. (I practice the best first thing in the morning.)
7. Write in your other regular activities. You might need to adjust some priorities if you have hobbies, read a lot or watch TV.
8. Work over your basic schedule template and adjust activities as needed.
Now, at the beginning of each week create a weekly schedule including your personal music time and any thing else you need. Each week can be a little different so this should be done at the beginning of each week.
As you proceed through your new schedule, work out the kinks. If music is going to work it has to be made a priority to a certain degree—even if it’s ten minutes a night four days a week. The idea is to be at your instrument at the scheduled time and DO SOMETHING ! If you don’t get in all your time right away don’t worry about it. Just get some motion occurring and have fun.
There are many productivity concepts around. Find or develop the ones that work best for you. Playing music adds some sparkle to life. It’s an opportunity to create your own universe.
Now go play something!
About Reading Music
Thu, 2010-07-08 21:52 — buttwinickThis article lays out some various gradients to reading music. A gradient to learning is a step-by-step approach starting with the easiest thing and progressing to more difficult levels.
Many musicians read music fluidly while others are either stumped by it all, are mildly confused or just don’t really know what’s it’s all about . I’ve been teaching people to read music for years and it’s actually not that difficult a subject. To read well takes a lot of practice, of course, but if approached correctly is a very understandable subject.
There is a hierarchy of things to learn. When you start with the easiest aspect of reading and proceed from there one can learn smoothly. A common difficulty students have is simply not drilling each level of skill long enough to get comfortable before advancing to the next level: too much too soon. When you learn things one step at a time and become proficient with each element before going on to the next element, learning to read well is quite doable.
One of the common difficulties people have isn’t the notes on the page but the notes on their instrument! In order to read well you need to first understand your instrument and, ideally, have a basic foundation about how music is put together. The most basic “theory” is simply knowing what the notes on the instrument are called. How could you read notes on the page and transfer that visual to playing those notes on the instrument without knowing what they are? Well, I’ve had many students who “had trouble reading” when they actually read just fine: they simply didn’t know their instrument well enough. So when they learned their instrument better, like magic they could read. It’s very interesting.
Another common difficulty is lacking basic musical skills such as being able to feel the rhythms they are looking at and playing. Ultimately one should look at a piece of music and hear and feel what one sees. There are many levels of this and the most fundamental skills needed to enjoy reading music can be readily learned with some good instruction.
This is a suggested order of things to learn to get your reading skills up to par:
1. Knowing the definitions of the words and symbols used.
3. Understanding pitch notation. A “pitch,” for this example, is just a note. There are five lines and four spaces that big dots (note heads) go on that tell you what note to play. If you know the notes on your instrument it is easy to learn what note on the page means what note on the instrument, and the more you know about music the easier it is. When you can speak a word and know how it’s spelled you can easily recognize it on the written page: so it goes with music. When you can play a certain thing you can recognize it when you see it.
About Reading Music by Marty Buttwinick
