beginners will never guess how massively important is this issues with tension and one day they will get frustrated with their lack speed and quilt praying altogether. This is the single most crucial thing to comprehend, so that countless hours of practice does not go to waste....
Im begginer (for quite to long now) and understand. trying to learn playing relaxed. Came here because of super tens lip, but whole body need to learn to relax too
Ive been playing since the late 80s and tension is my biggest issue. I didnt realize how bad it was until I recorded a video of me playing in my house.
I didn't know about this tension thing for years, and now suddenly everywhere I look I see videos by folk who know about it. I heard one exercise to deal with it: set metronome to 60. Real slow. Pick a string beat 1. Beat 2 r-e-l-a-x. Beat 3 pick again. Beat 4 relax again. The slowness gives you time to get the relax bit to work. What happens is you start to like being relaxed in between each pick during the exercise and you really notice how tense you get when playing normally at full speed and get pissed off about it. So you're really motivated to practice the exercise a lot more and speed it up so you can be like that all the time you're playing. Meanwhile you're getting the muscle memory in there for shorter and shorter between pick relaxes.
unnecessary tension is responsible for 90% of mistakes. It sometimes changes from too, when I started playing guitar, I had this habit of having my mouth open. Now I actually have tension around my eyes
you are absolutely correct. I have played 38 years the wrong way and my muscles are almost shot not to mention I lost the tendon on my left bicep last year that did not help my playing situation at all but it is very important to play relaxed. The Technique I use now works well for me. when Im playing I stop and put my elbows shoulder height arm bent 90 deg angle with hands above head while keeping them relaxed shake them till they feel like pillows then staying relaxed and trying to focus on keeping that pillow feeling I do scales and hammer on and pull off excersizes stopping when I feel myself tensing up. its almost like you tell yourself im to lazy to do this and play with limp relaxed hands, kinda hard to explain but this has worked great for me. try it, It's like keeping yourself in a state of meditation.
Breathing is important. Whenever i try difficult licks i breath in. When i change gears while driving i do it on breathing in too, somehow i tense my body when i change gears.
Interesting Things I also tense when changing gears, breath gets tight & laboured. Think its something to do with going from a relaxed state into performing an action that demands precise concentration, can be a shock to the system... demands.
KNOWER are unreal. Saw them play here in Dublin in November. They're even better live. Already have tickets for their return show in March. Can't wait! 🤘🤘
The tension part really resonates with me. As someone who plays death metal there's a lot of tremolo picking in my bands music and I'm starting to develop tension issues as a result (16th not trems at 240bpm are hard man!). I'm definitely incorporating the tension chug into my practice regime.
I'll do my best... It's especially hard because I can play considerably faster and more accuratlely with my arm than my wrist. But I'm definitely feeling the painful effects of it (tennis elbow).
Unnecessary tension has been kind of a problem for me, and only recently I’ve begun to address it. Thanks for the exercise and book recommendation uncle Ben!
Uncle Ben! I’ve referred so many folks to watch your videos because while you seem like you haven’t forgotten what it is like to be a beginner. After playing for almost 30 years, there is still so much to learn. I look forward to another 30, and with hilarious videos and titles like FAQ You and Why You Suck...you’re Stepson personality is just what all players need to not take themselves too seriously! Thanks Step Brother... My sister say Hi!
This is the ONE video that I haven't found of your's & its something I've needed for 2 YEARS!!! I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I MISSED IT! I was practicing just then & not long into it my hand & arm started killing me to the point I had to quit. It takes bad pain for me to stop. I'm desperate to find out what I AM DOING WRONG!!! Its holding me back big time. THANKS SO MUCH UNCLE BEN!!!! TAKE CARE:)
Back of my elbow, too. I tried a song with much faster down-picking than I normally do, and I've been sore for a week. Partly because I'm over 50, most likely. Now I have a new area to work on keeping relaxed when I practice. It's good to know that a badass like you has worked through a problem that I have now.
Thanks Ben, I'm ordering the zen guitar book as I'm typing this. I've been struggling with tension and muscle pain since a couple of years now. I hope to see more of those topics on your channel ! Cheers!
thanks for the advice dude!I am actually seeing a specialist since a few months... but it's a slow and frustrating process (it almost feels like re-learning how to play the guitar from scratch)
Hey Ben Love your approach to playing and life in general! I am an aspiring lead player at age 62 and one thing I have found that seems to work is that I talk to myself while I play leads. It can be nonsense stuff and unrelated to the lyrics or theme of the actual song, just make up little ditties in my head that go with the rhythm. It takes the focus off of the notes and puts it on the timing and groove. Thanks for helping us out!
Great advice Ben..i can tell your viewers that i am struggling with injuries from over 40 years of high tension..i struggle now with longevity and stamina playing through songs with alot of fast lead lines throughout..Guys its real important to take what Ben's saying seriously..when I was learning in the 80's there wasn't any focus or awareness on the effects..learning from Paul Gilbert,Yngwie..etc..it wasn't until late 90's I found an article with Steve Vai that talked about the importance of relaxation and how your breathing...
45 years playing acoustic and you just told me why my neck is screwed. The tension is actually on my left. I'm tensing my shoulder/neck when I'm above the third fret or so for no good reason. I probably thought it looked cool when I was a kid.
I can never stop thinking of Guitar, especially when listening the genres that have no guitar, usually I m thinking where I can add shreddy or chugging parts lol.......I still fight tension...used to stick my three fingers out for years because I noticed George lynch did it and it really got me no where, once I just relaxed and stopped that, playing got so much better.
the shoulder tension can be eliminated by playing with the guitar on the other leg, but not many people play like this, can you elaborate on why the guitar should lie on the right leg(for right hand pickers)?
That's actually something i noticed in myself, when i started playing master of puppets for a bit, i noticed i was like shaking as all hell, gotta work on this tention thingy...
I had some small vinyl stickers made that say "RELAX" and I put them on the front top edge of all my guitars so only I can see it. It helps remind me not to tense up.
The tension is in my eating muscles including my tongue. I don't know how and why, but it's there. Thanks to this video, I've discovered it and I'm sure I will find more. I will work on it to relax, wish me luck!
Bom dia Ben! Estou com 66 anos e não sabia desse detalhe. Muito obrigado pela sua dica. Sempre toquei minha guitarra muito tencionado. Grande abraço e que Deus continue iluminando a sua vida
Hey Ben, I use to play really light, and could play really fast, but I started adding a bit more tension in my right hand so I can pick more aggressively, and the tone just sounds way better. It seems that when I play harder, I can play faster as well. I think its not just about reducing tension, but the main thing being economy of motion. Either way my picking went from 200bpm triplets to 250, and Im stoked. This comment was kind of pointless, but im not going to remove it. Lol
Here's a point on the tension thing maybe someone can help me out, whenever I start picking or sweeping even, soloing, at my absolute limit, which not to toot my own horn, but is pretty fast (toot fucking toot), I start almost hyperventilating, like my breathing just fucks up and I start breathing incredibly deeply, or for some reason I feel overcomed with anger, I'm being dead serious, I'm in complete control of what I'm playing just my breathing gets all weird. What the fuck is wrong with me.
Very Relative , I used to Tense up walking on Stage , Fatigue, and other unnecessary physical & Mental , Shit , I Realized Tension Of Any Type Wasn't going work , Realization of A problem Allows Us Correct It ! As Usual , Great Info !
The tension part is so interesting. Because yes, I try to play as lightly as possible when practicing stuff like scale runs and sweeping (to good effect as well!) but when it comes to my rhythms, I just don't get that extra tight, chunky James Hetfield chug down. It's been months since I tried easing my playing muscles, but rhythms still seem as soft and lacking in balls as ever. Do I just keep up the light approach and practice rhythms even more? Or should I try to find the balance between going more tense for rhythms and chugging but not too tense to make my picking hand wear down?
I have the same problem, and i think you should try this (which i'm gonna try this) : - to get as much picking power as possible from just fingers/wrist (try to not use arm/shoulder power) (also think about picking angle/technique to get the right sound with less effort) - use power when you pick, but learn to relax right after See the exercise mentioned in a comment above for that : "1234gregor 5 months ago I didn't know about this tension thing for years, and now suddenly everywhere I look I see videos by folk who know about it. I heard one exercise to deal with it: set metronome to 60. Real slow. Pick a string beat 1. Beat 2 r-e-l-a-x. Beat 3 pick again. Beat 4 relax again. The slowness gives you time to get the relax bit to work. What happens is you start to like being relaxed in between each pick during the exercise and you really notice how tense you get when playing normally at full speed and get pissed off about it. So you're really motivated to practice the exercise a lot more and speed it up so you can be like that all the time you're playing. Meanwhile you're getting the muscle memory in there for shorter and shorter between pick relaxes. "
I tense up as soon as I start downpicking at about 100BPM. Otherwise I'm fine but the second I do some heavy downpicking, I might as well put the guitar in the case and take a few days off lol. My shoulder gets so tense that sometimes I'll just have to stop playing all together for a few minutes before coming back and the rest of that playing session I'm a few BPM slower than normal. Slowly trying to do speed exercises without tensing to correct it.
A thing I’ve found extremely helpful for battling tension is to do learn how to give your body a signal of “relax” - meaning for example every four or eight bars of improvising you allow brain power for an internal “engine check” whether there’s any tension and where it is, and correct accordingly.
When ever I’m play super fast bpm songs I don’t know how to not tense my shoulder because if I don’t keep it tense I can’t move my pick as fast because it takes a lot of effort (I use .88 picks and 10/46’s) what can I do to play fast like 200bpm and not be praying for the song to end because of my shoulder
Hi there, Uncle Ben. My question for you is: how difficult was it to earn a living while doing only music related stuff? Or do you still have a job or a trade (maybe not full time) that you do to support yourself? If you're only making a living off of music, how long did it take you to get to that point?
Dear Uncle Ben, I've been having this issue with the upper part of my guitar's body not lying flat against my body which makes my picking arm move away as well. When I do palm-muted rapid downpicking or alternate picking, it really becomes a bitch since either my tricep starts to ache from the tension and awkwardness or, if I try to push the guitar against my body, the whole arm gets tense and tired. I don't have any archtop to make it more comfy and the slanted part on a Strat seems badly placed (how high must you hang a guitar, damnit?). Could you help me out on this or is it something to bear with? Cheers
Still thinking about doing beginner series? my friend is just starting out and I would definitely recommend your channel to her! you are best guitar teacher on youtube
Thanks for both the tension trick AND for recommending Knower. I play both guitar and keys and love to program drums in various weird and wacky ways, so this is extremely useful for inspiration in many ways for me. Thanks uncle Ben!
I have a spinal injury in my neck and can only play for about 15 minutes without incurring severe pain for hours. So I play for hours every day anyway.
Hey, thanks for the video. My problem is not the right shoulder but the left. After playing chords for a few minutes, my shoulder gradually starts to hurt. After about a month of playing, I got to the point where I had to give it up completely for two months. Then I started relexing again, but the tightness is still there. What would you recommend for the left shoulder and chords? Thank you
Great lesson. I have a question about the 7th string. I have a hard time to dampen the open B with my left hand when playing djenty stuff. It seem where ever I try to put my fingers I get an overtone/flageolett. 1,2,3,4th fret doesn't matter. I use gates but it doesn't get it all. Well, if there is a solution to that I will be grateful.
my neck is buggered, but it's not tension, when I hit a good groove I lose track of my posture and the time and when I stop an Hour later I will have a migraine, sucks.
I thought the thing that is happening on my shoulder is unnecessary tension but because of this video I'm already enlighten that it's only necessary because after I play a solo my shoulder just relaxes on it's own when I stop playing, but still confuses me if it's unnecessary or necessary tension haha.
What are some essential skills/knowledge that you think a guitar teacher should have? And do you have any advice for someone like me wanting to pursue teaching as a career? Thanks for all the great videos Ben. \m/
Hello, just want to mention, you seem to only play on stratocasters, so the thing with the right shoulder being tense to keep the arm up on strings is always there. But i recently got a second guitar with Rhoads shape, and it doesn't require that tension. And overall, playing in classical position feels very natural and i can relax much more. Please try that some time and share how it feels!
Is there a better order to learn guitar in? As in chords, scales, theory, technique, playing along to songs, soling and the rest. My goal is to perform live. Love your work, learnt a lot from you already
Workout your induvidual fingers. You have a specific muscle for pulling off your pinky (extensor digiti minimi) that goes all the way up your forearm. I suggest holding a note with your ring finger and hammer-on/pull-off with your pinky at a fast set speed for as long as you can. Kinda like going for a run. You can train your other fingers like this as well. Good luck :)
This should be taken with a grain of salt, but I've found that holding the guitar in a classical position created less tension because I could relax my picking hand more and I didn't have to lean in or raise the guitar for higher notes.
i have played for 35 years now last summer i started doing much faster picking i always used my fingers now i cant use my fingers at all i was a finger picker and good at it now i cant play with out a pick cause i cant open my fingers any more i cant even open my hand i think i messed up a nerve man i can close my hand but i can not open it very week opening have you ever had this happen
@@BenEller thats what im going to do thank you though for answering me . i have been whatching you for some time now and your awsome man . its just strange cause it dont hurt at all now my left and its getting old and stiff esp in winter but ill let ya know what dr says . thanks ben thanks for all the great videos !
greetings uncle Ben... i need this videos because i play metallica songs and my arm die playing songs like mop, blackened or other songs that are very fast, i hope this help me and even without understand 100 the english, your videos help me a lot. I hope in a future i can understand your videos completly. anyway, thank you so much and i hope this video help me when i play metallica and my arms gets tired ( and if you can do another video talking about this i will love you
TheMaverick13 just play the songs, after a while you'll build up dexterity and arm strength.....lift some weights for a few and stretch before at rating to play. That's what I do and it helps. I can play for hours and not worry about hurting.
Ben can you do a tremolo picking vid? The high strings ala Eruption. Once i get up to a certain speed, I tense up when trying to increase speed. thanks man!
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beginners will never guess how massively important is this issues with tension and one day they will get frustrated with their lack speed and quilt praying altogether. This is the single most crucial thing to comprehend, so that countless hours of practice does not go to waste....
Wish I'd accepted this 15 years ago!
Im begginer (for quite to long now) and understand. trying to learn playing relaxed. Came here because of super tens lip, but whole body need to learn to relax too
Ive been playing since the late 80s and tension is my biggest issue. I didnt realize how bad it was until I recorded a video of me playing in my house.
I didn't know about this tension thing for years, and now suddenly everywhere I look I see videos by folk who know about it. I heard one exercise to deal with it: set metronome to 60. Real slow. Pick a string beat 1. Beat 2 r-e-l-a-x. Beat 3 pick again. Beat 4 relax again. The slowness gives you time to get the relax bit to work. What happens is you start to like being relaxed in between each pick during the exercise and you really notice how tense you get when playing normally at full speed and get pissed off about it. So you're really motivated to practice the exercise a lot more and speed it up so you can be like that all the time you're playing. Meanwhile you're getting the muscle memory in there for shorter and shorter between pick relaxes.
Interesting. I will give this a try
Nice ! Will try that :
Uncle Ben even has the best video on tension control for guitar players.
You are one heck of a teacher, brother. \m/
unnecessary tension is responsible for 90% of mistakes. It sometimes changes from too, when I started playing guitar, I had this habit of having my mouth open. Now I actually have tension around my eyes
Did it ever get better? I'm having this issue
@@samsammy95 no, it progressed to focal dystonia
@@ubershredder1989 oh sorry, about that
@@BlakeSpohn thanks very much for the kind words. I am almost cured... been a hell of ride tho...
@@ubershredder1989 good to hear man
you are absolutely correct. I have played 38 years the wrong way and my muscles are almost shot not to mention I lost the tendon on my left bicep last year that did not help my playing situation at all but it is very important to play relaxed. The Technique I use now works well for me. when Im playing I stop and put my elbows shoulder height arm bent 90 deg angle with hands above head while keeping them relaxed shake them till they feel like pillows then staying relaxed and trying to focus on keeping that pillow feeling I do scales and hammer on and pull off excersizes stopping when I feel myself tensing up. its almost like you tell yourself im to lazy to do this and play with limp relaxed hands, kinda hard to explain but this has worked great for me. try it, It's like keeping yourself in a state of meditation.
Breathing is important. Whenever i try difficult licks i breath in. When i change gears while driving i do it on breathing in too, somehow i tense my body when i change gears.
Interesting Things
I also tense when changing gears, breath gets tight & laboured.
Think its something to do with going from a relaxed state into performing an action that demands precise concentration, can be a shock to the system... demands.
I've realised I hold my breath sometimes and the tension is unreal. Hope yours got better after this. I'm gonna relaaaaaax
KNOWER are unreal. Saw them play here in Dublin in November. They're even better live. Already have tickets for their return show in March. Can't wait! 🤘🤘
The tension part really resonates with me. As someone who plays death metal there's a lot of tremolo picking in my bands music and I'm starting to develop tension issues as a result (16th not trems at 240bpm are hard man!). I'm definitely incorporating the tension chug into my practice regime.
theo goslett how did u reach 240bpm 16th notes speed having a tension in your body?
Probably by using the forearm and not the wrist, same problem used to occur in my trem picking.
Jhanzen is on the money. I'm definitely using my forearm. I'm trying to transition over to a wrist based technique though.
theo goslett Good luck man, that problem is a bitch to fix, but it is possible after many tedious hours...
I'll do my best... It's especially hard because I can play considerably faster and more accuratlely with my arm than my wrist. But I'm definitely feeling the painful effects of it (tennis elbow).
Unnecessary tension has been kind of a problem for me, and only recently I’ve begun to address it. Thanks for the exercise and book recommendation uncle Ben!
Yeah I didnt realize how bad mine is until I recorded a video of me playing.
Uncle Ben! I’ve referred so many folks to watch your videos because while you seem like you haven’t forgotten what it is like to be a beginner. After playing for almost 30 years, there is still so much to learn. I look forward to another 30, and with hilarious videos and titles like FAQ You and Why You Suck...you’re Stepson personality is just what all players need to not take themselves too seriously! Thanks Step Brother... My sister say Hi!
This is the ONE video that I haven't found of your's & its something I've needed for 2 YEARS!!! I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I MISSED IT! I was practicing just then & not long into it my hand & arm started killing me to the point I had to quit. It takes bad pain for me to stop. I'm desperate to find out what I AM DOING WRONG!!! Its holding me back big time. THANKS SO MUCH UNCLE BEN!!!! TAKE CARE:)
Very true about tension i used to hold my breath in at times when played a difficult part of a song.
Ditto!!!!
Back of my elbow, too. I tried a song with much faster down-picking than I normally do, and I've been sore for a week. Partly because I'm over 50, most likely.
Now I have a new area to work on keeping relaxed when I practice.
It's good to know that a badass like you has worked through a problem that I have now.
Thanks Ben, I'm ordering the zen guitar book as I'm typing this. I've been struggling with tension and muscle pain since a couple of years now. I hope to see more of those topics on your channel !
Cheers!
thanks for the advice dude!I am actually seeing a specialist since a few months... but it's a slow and frustrating process (it almost feels like re-learning how to play the guitar from scratch)
I have tennis elbow and know exactly how you feel, Don't worry brother, you will win.
@@jm0122 same here mate, been on and off for nearly 6 years now. Can you play guitar again?
Exactly what i needed! my forearm is really tense since yesterday after playing all the afternoon nonstop (which i shouldn't) thanks uncle Ben!
I've had major issues with that muscle tension. I hate it. I'll try this.
Hey Ben
Love your approach to playing and life in general!
I am an aspiring lead player at age 62 and one thing I have found that seems to work is that I talk to myself while I play leads. It can be nonsense stuff and unrelated to the lyrics or theme of the actual song, just make up little ditties in my head that go with the rhythm. It takes the focus off of the notes and puts it on the timing and groove.
Thanks for helping us out!
Great advice Ben..i can tell your viewers that i am struggling with injuries from over 40 years of high tension..i struggle now with longevity and stamina playing through songs with alot of fast lead lines throughout..Guys its real important to take what Ben's saying seriously..when I was learning in the 80's there wasn't any focus or awareness on the effects..learning from Paul Gilbert,Yngwie..etc..it wasn't until late 90's I found an article with Steve Vai that talked about the importance of relaxation and how your breathing...
Thank you for posting the information on how to relax while playing.
Also...Valid lesson. You are one of my favorite people Ann Perkins.
45 years playing acoustic and you just told me why my neck is screwed. The tension is actually on my left. I'm tensing my shoulder/neck when I'm above the third fret or so for no good reason. I probably thought it looked cool when I was a kid.
I can never stop thinking of Guitar, especially when listening the genres that have no guitar, usually I m thinking where I can add shreddy or chugging parts lol.......I still fight tension...used to stick my three fingers out for years because I noticed George lynch did it and it really got me no where, once I just relaxed and stopped that, playing got so much better.
I bought and read “Zen guitar” years ago and I completely forgot about this point. I’m definitely going to read that again. Great book.
the shoulder tension can be eliminated by playing with the guitar on the other leg, but not many people play like this, can you elaborate on why the guitar should lie on the right leg(for right hand pickers)?
@Question Everything most people practice on chair, and this does not answer my question..
Thanks for addressing tension Ben!
That's actually something i noticed in myself, when i started playing master of puppets for a bit, i noticed i was like shaking as all hell, gotta work on this tention thingy...
I had some small vinyl stickers made that say "RELAX" and I put them on the front top edge of all my guitars so only I can see it. It helps remind me not to tense up.
Hey Ben. Knower is GREAT. Thanks for the heads up. I play guitar but I cheat with dance music. Gonna be my new fav band for awhile!
Absolutely love Knower!!!
Love your videos Ben, great stuff. The info on tension really has helped me a lot. Thanks again and hope to see a lot more in the future!
The tension is in my eating muscles including my tongue. I don't know how and why, but it's there. Thanks to this video, I've discovered it and I'm sure I will find more. I will work on it to relax, wish me luck!
Bom dia Ben!
Estou com 66 anos e não sabia desse detalhe. Muito obrigado pela sua dica. Sempre toquei minha guitarra muito tencionado.
Grande abraço e que Deus continue iluminando a sua vida
Alexander Technique is king. Great video
Knower - YES! And this album is amazing. You just went up even further in my estimation Ben lol.
Ya! 🌞⛈️🌈
Very helpful video! Thanks!
Hey Ben, I use to play really light, and could play really fast, but I started adding a bit more tension in my right hand so I can pick more aggressively, and the tone just sounds way better. It seems that when I play harder, I can play faster as well. I think its not just about reducing tension, but the main thing being economy of motion. Either way my picking went from 200bpm triplets to 250, and Im stoked. This comment was kind of pointless, but im not going to remove it. Lol
Nice dude
This is a very important video!
Thanks a lot dude!
Also for the book !!
Here's a point on the tension thing maybe someone can help me out, whenever I start picking or sweeping even, soloing, at my absolute limit, which not to toot my own horn, but is pretty fast (toot fucking toot), I start almost hyperventilating, like my breathing just fucks up and I start breathing incredibly deeply, or for some reason I feel overcomed with anger, I'm being dead serious, I'm in complete control of what I'm playing just my breathing gets all weird. What the fuck is wrong with me.
you always have the best advices on yt
Very Relative , I used to Tense up walking on Stage , Fatigue, and other unnecessary physical & Mental
, Shit , I Realized Tension Of Any Type Wasn't going work , Realization of A problem Allows Us Correct It ! As Usual , Great Info !
This was an extremely helpful video! Thanks uncle Ben!
Ok Ben, at first I thought Knower kind of sucked, then I listened to Hanging On, and couldn't turn it off...pretty cool stuff!
That intro is killer.
that book is fantastic! everyone should read it!
Still of the night guitar solo please
Been having running issues with guitar tension injuries. Gunna order Zen Guitar, thx for the tip.
The tension part is so interesting. Because yes, I try to play as lightly as possible when practicing stuff like scale runs and sweeping (to good effect as well!) but when it comes to my rhythms, I just don't get that extra tight, chunky James Hetfield chug down.
It's been months since I tried easing my playing muscles, but rhythms still seem as soft and lacking in balls as ever. Do I just keep up the light approach and practice rhythms even more? Or should I try to find the balance between going more tense for rhythms and chugging but not too tense to make my picking hand wear down?
I have the same problem, and i think you should try this (which i'm gonna try this) :
- to get as much picking power as possible from just fingers/wrist (try to not use arm/shoulder power)
(also think about picking angle/technique to get the right sound with less effort)
- use power when you pick, but learn to relax right after
See the exercise mentioned in a comment above for that :
"1234gregor
5 months ago
I didn't know about this tension thing for years, and now suddenly everywhere I look I see videos by folk who know about it. I heard one exercise to deal with it: set metronome to 60. Real slow. Pick a string beat 1. Beat 2 r-e-l-a-x. Beat 3 pick again. Beat 4 relax again. The slowness gives you time to get the relax bit to work. What happens is you start to like being relaxed in between each pick during the exercise and you really notice how tense you get when playing normally at full speed and get pissed off about it. So you're really motivated to practice the exercise a lot more and speed it up so you can be like that all the time you're playing. Meanwhile you're getting the muscle memory in there for shorter and shorter between pick relaxes. "
Thinking I have to stop playing when all this time I was exaggerating the movements great sounds and speed has improved
I tense up as soon as I start downpicking at about 100BPM. Otherwise I'm fine but the second I do some heavy downpicking, I might as well put the guitar in the case and take a few days off lol. My shoulder gets so tense that sometimes I'll just have to stop playing all together for a few minutes before coming back and the rest of that playing session I'm a few BPM slower than normal. Slowly trying to do speed exercises without tensing to correct it.
aww yess!!! i tagged you in one of their vids! im sure im not the first one lol. but damn its soooo good!!!
A thing I’ve found extremely helpful for battling tension is to do learn how to give your body a signal of “relax” - meaning for example every four or eight bars of improvising you allow brain power for an internal “engine check” whether there’s any tension and where it is, and correct accordingly.
Totally get that. Omd - if you leave is one of my favourite songs and has pretty much no guitar
When ever I’m play super fast bpm songs I don’t know how to not tense my shoulder because if I don’t keep it tense I can’t move my pick as fast because it takes a lot of effort (I use .88 picks and 10/46’s) what can I do to play fast like 200bpm and not be praying for the song to end because of my shoulder
That carrying stress tip is fantastic. Something I've never thought of, but I'm sure I do. Lol.
I've been playing quite a long time. Digging your lesson approaches, having a fresh look at my own chops👍
Thank u 4 the valuable info.i seem to carry alot of tension on the underside of my picking wrist
Great tip!
Exactly what I was looking for, thanks so much.
This channel is just Amazing.
Good teacher, great lesson, very very useful.
Hi there, Uncle Ben. My question for you is: how difficult was it to earn a living while doing only music related stuff? Or do you still have a job or a trade (maybe not full time) that you do to support yourself? If you're only making a living off of music, how long did it take you to get to that point?
Dear Uncle Ben, I've been having this issue with the upper part of my guitar's body not lying flat against my body which makes my picking arm move away as well. When I do palm-muted rapid downpicking or alternate picking, it really becomes a bitch since either my tricep starts to ache from the tension and awkwardness or, if I try to push the guitar against my body, the whole arm gets tense and tired. I don't have any archtop to make it more comfy and the slanted part on a Strat seems badly placed (how high must you hang a guitar, damnit?). Could you help me out on this or is it something to bear with? Cheers
Based on the two main brands of guitars we see you with on here, you must be over the moon with the new Ibanez Suhr model.
Still thinking about doing beginner series? my friend is just starting out and I would definitely recommend your channel to her! you are best guitar teacher on youtube
Thanks for both the tension trick AND for recommending Knower. I play both guitar and keys and love to program drums in various weird and wacky ways, so this is extremely useful for inspiration in many ways for me. Thanks uncle Ben!
The new intro is cool
Hi! I have a problem of tension on my left shoulder, it makes the fingering very tense , Im working on it.
The last question helped me so much
I have a spinal injury in my neck and can only play for about 15 minutes without incurring severe pain for hours. So I play for hours every day anyway.
Pop music baby. That's why Ben is the man
Is it sacriledge to enjoy shredding on a strat (american vintage 65)?
Jacob Mortensen I hope not!!!!
Everyone hears about 7.25 radius and goes "oh no you can't shred on that". I just love it though. Can't put it down.
Nah man
If so, Yngwie would be out of a career.
Absolutely not.
Hey, thanks for the video. My problem is not the right shoulder but the left. After playing chords for a few minutes, my shoulder gradually starts to hurt. After about a month of playing, I got to the point where I had to give it up completely for two months. Then I started relexing again, but the tightness is still there. What would you recommend for the left shoulder and chords? Thank you
ayo im 3 years late but this seriously helped me a lot. i’ve been out of practice for about 3-4 months now and i am not used to holding the guitar lol
Great lesson. I have a question about the 7th string. I have a hard time to dampen the open B with my left hand when playing djenty stuff. It seem where ever I try to put my fingers I get an overtone/flageolett. 1,2,3,4th fret doesn't matter. I use gates but it doesn't get it all. Well, if there is a solution to that I will be grateful.
there are much guitar teachers but i really like your flow talking and playing
my neck is buggered, but it's not tension, when I hit a good groove I lose track of my posture and the time and when I stop an Hour later I will have a migraine, sucks.
I thought the thing that is happening on my shoulder is unnecessary tension but because of this video I'm already enlighten that it's only necessary because after I play a solo my shoulder just relaxes on it's own when I stop playing, but still confuses me if it's unnecessary or necessary tension haha.
Hey Ben. Can you tell us about the artwork on the wall behind you?
What are some essential skills/knowledge that you think a guitar teacher should have? And do you have any advice for someone like me wanting to pursue teaching as a career? Thanks for all the great videos Ben. \m/
Hello, just want to mention, you seem to only play on stratocasters, so the thing with the right shoulder being tense to keep the arm up on strings is always there. But i recently got a second guitar with Rhoads shape, and it doesn't require that tension. And overall, playing in classical position feels very natural and i can relax much more. Please try that some time and share how it feels!
Is there a better order to learn guitar in?
As in chords, scales, theory, technique, playing along to songs, soling and the rest. My goal is to perform live.
Love your work, learnt a lot from you already
my left hand gets tired very quickly after fast hammer-on\pull-off stuff. I don`t press hard. Any tips for reducing this tension?
Workout your induvidual fingers. You have a specific muscle for pulling off your pinky (extensor digiti minimi) that goes all the way up your forearm. I suggest holding a note with your ring finger and hammer-on/pull-off with your pinky at a fast set speed for as long as you can. Kinda like going for a run. You can train your other fingers like this as well. Good luck :)
that`s an interesting concept, many thanks!
Hope it works for you :)
I think it will in time
@@omgwtfbbqwarftw Thanks for the advice !
Well brother, I guess I've been sorted into Ravenclaw also (65.5% match). Great idea.
Sometimes when I'm really focused during practice, I forget to breathe properly. :)
Opinion on the look (not functionality) of headless guitars?
thank you I needed this one bad
Is that an original 550 behind you?I had that same guitar mid to late 80's..nice
good channel you have Ben.
Thanks Ben! Kyle Renfro says hi!
Thank you for this video! 🤘
This should be taken with a grain of salt, but I've found that holding the guitar in a classical position created less tension because I could relax my picking hand more and I didn't have to lean in or raise the guitar for higher notes.
Awesome lesson! 👍
very useful tips I like it
i have played for 35 years now last summer i started doing much faster picking i always used my fingers now i cant use my fingers at all i was a finger picker and good at it now i cant play with out a pick cause i cant open my fingers any more i cant even open my hand i think i messed up a nerve man i can close my hand but i can not open it very week opening
have you ever had this happen
Nope, I would definitely have that looked at.
@@BenEller thats what im going to do thank you though for answering me . i have been whatching you for some time now and your awsome man . its just strange cause it dont hurt at all now my left and its getting old and stiff esp in winter but ill let ya know what dr says . thanks ben thanks for all the great videos !
Great advice, thanks! Btw, how do you keep your fretting hand agile, like flexibility of fingers and all that?
Hey, I'm Ravenclaw too!
Great subject and rarely covered
Oh man, I saw that live house session a while back; totally blew my mind, they're so fucking tight and FUNKY, _HNGHH!_
greetings uncle Ben... i need this videos because i play metallica songs and my arm die playing songs like mop, blackened or other songs that are very fast, i hope this help me and even without understand 100 the english, your videos help me a lot.
I hope in a future i can understand your videos completly. anyway, thank you so much and i hope this video help me when i play metallica and my arms gets tired ( and if you can do another video talking about this i will love you
TheMaverick13 just play the songs, after a while you'll build up dexterity and arm strength.....lift some weights for a few and stretch before at rating to play. That's what I do and it helps. I can play for hours and not worry about hurting.
Ben can you do a tremolo picking vid? The high strings ala Eruption. Once i get up to a certain speed, I tense up when trying to increase speed. thanks man!