Why You Won't Build Finger Independence With Guitar Exercises

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  • Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
  • practiceguitarn...
    Now that you've seen how to 'really' build your fretting hand finger independence, go to the page above to learn how to make the most progress out of 'any' exercise you practice on guitar.
    • Why You Won't Build Fi...
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Комментарии • 144

  • @Aaron-or7bs
    @Aaron-or7bs 2 года назад +36

    Summary:
    Practice mindfully and fix every single fretting hand mistakes(eg: flying pinky) u notice during your WHOLE practice session and isolate that problem. Practice that isolated part really SLOWLY until its integrated into your muscle memory. Also, don't expect results that soon, give yourself at least a few MONTHS time to get it down.

  • @orange-rv9ek
    @orange-rv9ek 3 года назад +20

    I love that part about how all the practice compounds and then eventually it's sort of all connects and things explode because that's been me someone who was born with no natural talent but has played for 17 years I'll go years practicing daily when suddenly the epiphany occurs like I had a modal system epiphany lately and ever since it's like I now have some gift..it's all logical to me now whereas it was so confusing before. Took looking at it in just the right way and being gifted with clarity and understanding.

  • @HowToPracticeGuitar
    @HowToPracticeGuitar  11 лет назад +35

    @guitarrock58, yes, you repeat the motions to make the new habit ingrained into your technique. Do this for as long as it takes until it becomes a subconscious habit. Allocate a portion of your daily practice time to work on this, then move on to play/practice whatever is next in your practice schedule

  • @andtothewestamerica
    @andtothewestamerica 8 лет назад +17

    INCREDIBLY VALUABLE VIDEO. I watched this one year ago and I can't believe what a change it has made in my playing. I never imagined that I'd be able to learn crazy jazz chords as easily as I now can. Thank you.

  • @bloodyexec
    @bloodyexec 9 лет назад +201

    "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." -- Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi.

  • @2nmingo
    @2nmingo Год назад +2

    that is true i broke through 2 plateau already when i didnt think i was going to get better. i couldnt express melodies before. my ear could keep up with it but my fingers just couldnt. im getting better though i learned that slowly is golden to playing guitar.

  • @fiogrady
    @fiogrady 9 лет назад +383

    it literally feels like my ring and pinkie are the same finger, I can't make them move independently aggh!

    • @mojolama4597
      @mojolama4597 3 года назад +5

      you must have improved

    • @TheRageCommenter
      @TheRageCommenter 2 года назад +4

      @@mojolama4597 or they gave up. We can only hope they improved

    • @Eryk.Burkharth
      @Eryk.Burkharth 2 года назад +6

      And you won’t at all cause they are attached, the only way is rip of your tendons 😂😂

    • @lexx708
      @lexx708 2 года назад

      @@Eryk.Burkharth 💀💀

    • @Sravanraz
      @Sravanraz 2 года назад +3

      It's because those have Common tendon sheath..

  • @psychedguitar2716
    @psychedguitar2716 9 лет назад +102

    i see this breakthrough he is talking about. its like a "holy shit did i just do that" feeling, it makes all the exercise well worth it

  • @omegapsiphi1911
    @omegapsiphi1911 10 лет назад +4

    WOW! Best video I've seen yet about practice or finger independence. I've been playing guitar for about 4 months and this has helped me TREMENDOUSLY!! Many Thanks Mike!

  • @jks3613
    @jks3613 10 лет назад +7

    Best advice I have gotten yet! As a beginner working on building the proper technique from the beginning, I found your advice very helpful. My bad case of the flying fingers is getting better everday. Thanks for pointing out the importance of correcting a bad habit before moving on!

  • @Richard-cq4kv
    @Richard-cq4kv Год назад +1

    The point you made about compounding practice resulting in explosive gains, it's like you're struggling playing and all of a sudden, it goes from, you feel like you're struggling, to, it becomes really easy.

  • @Avensur
    @Avensur 3 года назад +1

    My man, you've absolutely right! The metronome kind of makes you feel like, " hey, come on, hurry up, gonna miss the train.." , and it wants to guide you instead of your brain. Your brain take over and slow down to the lowest or crank up a notch, that makes me feel comfortable. Thx my friend.

  • @justinmorgan4568
    @justinmorgan4568 3 года назад +11

    I JUST started playing the guitar this week. And somehow I just instinctly knew that the thing I was going to have to laser focus on FIRST was my left hand finger independence. It's fun but damn it's a workout.

  • @LighterNumber300
    @LighterNumber300 11 лет назад +2

    His approach to tackling guitar playing and practicing is art within itself. Great video.

  • @Chainsawmaniacguitar
    @Chainsawmaniacguitar 8 лет назад +11

    You're brought up some good points here for sure! You're dead right about it being more important to know HOW to practise, than to know WHAT to practise.
    However, I think to a certain extent it depends on the person. Some students do well with this approach and have the patience to focus on the details...others do better with playing pieces and improving that way.
    That's my experience with my students, anyway. What do you think?

  • @shaha9
    @shaha9 3 года назад +1

    Probably the best lesson I have ever heard in my entire life. Thanks man.

  • @Micscience
    @Micscience 9 лет назад +2

    I agree with you and I am no expert I am a beginner however with that being said when I place my fingers in a chord position such c or g I will pick one finger out of my fret hand and walk up the fret board while the rest of my fingers remain in place. This makes my hand hurt and forearm hurt but I feel that it helps with finger independence because what I am doing feels so unatural so foreign and I usually go for the fingers that are hardest to move. Once I am done with this exercise I notice how it increases my ability to play by a noticeable difference. Maybe this helps when you are new to guitar and doesn't help much as you progress but I felt the need to mention it take care. I like your videos because you get really in depth.

  • @CryptoSlice
    @CryptoSlice 10 лет назад +60

    This is beautiful. Grand thanks! When you said the pinky shoots up, I was ohhh yea thats me lol

  • @alienac5433
    @alienac5433 3 года назад +2

    Thank you ive been so frustrated with my playing lately, you are a godsend!!! Xx

  • @djaouedzioueche7133
    @djaouedzioueche7133 Год назад

    This is the best advice I found about finger independence. Thank you so much!

  • @_jw_harper
    @_jw_harper Год назад

    Excellent advice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    The neurological connection is primary👍

  • @delicrux
    @delicrux 10 лет назад +30

    this is genius i just subscribed because that pinky isolation thing is the exact problem i have , and its been keeping me from sweep picking properly also this saves me alot of time figuring out my problems because i was actually wasting time making up finger exercises thinking it was because my pinky was to weak. now all i have to do is run through my scales while muting my strings looking for errors like missplaced fingers or unnecessary movements. thank you. are the any techniques you recomend for practising scales? i have a book with more scales than can be learned.

    • @HowToPracticeGuitar
      @HowToPracticeGuitar  10 лет назад +3

      delicrux , yes check this out (how to correctly practice scales): practiceguitarnow.com/guitarscalesandsequences.html

  • @SyberiusRex
    @SyberiusRex 8 лет назад +17

    Only in this video did I realized my pinky rising up when I use my midle finger to press on the strings. Im actually learning!

  • @Graveoffeces666
    @Graveoffeces666 10 лет назад +1

    And thanks a lot for the lesson Mike, you're one of the best online guitar teachers I've come across.

  • @damiansonofsantana
    @damiansonofsantana 10 лет назад +15

    Probably the best guitar vid I've seen on RUclips. Subscribed.

  • @sinphonyh
    @sinphonyh 11 лет назад +2

    Congrats man, you are a Total Monster -like Tom says- at playing guitar and you've become a great teacher also.

  • @johnnga4496
    @johnnga4496 2 года назад

    Smart man , I'm just beginning and I've seen a lot of videos out here actually too many I've been focusing on I'm going to focus on what you just told me for as long as it takes to get my Independence as you say thanks for your help

  • @merto5582
    @merto5582 3 года назад

    Check pumping nylon fingers exercises, helps a lot! And yes, it takes lots of time, I’m still not there but since PN I’m much better.

  • @porconedio
    @porconedio 9 лет назад +2

    Thank you very much, i am a bass player and still i found this extremely useful!
    Also like your relaxing and plain explanation.

  • @sochixx
    @sochixx 10 лет назад

    clear, tight and full of common sense.... thanks for this video

  • @black_squall
    @black_squall 10 лет назад +11

    hot damn, i'm not even a guitar player and i found this to be pretty useful general information.

  • @screamingtoastproductions3609
    @screamingtoastproductions3609 9 лет назад +2

    Sound advice my friend. May I also add to practice what makes u happy n sounds good to u. That helps as well but as u say...patience!

  • @jericopaoloignacio8603
    @jericopaoloignacio8603 10 лет назад +1

    this is true :) everytime i practice. i always feel that im not getting all my goals in playing guitar. but thats because of my hands is adjusting to what im doin, or it is getting tired, and when i take a short rest and try again,i can notice the changes :)

  • @silversongwriter5193
    @silversongwriter5193 10 лет назад +82

    Even if I physically hold my pinkie in place, I still can't keep it from rising

  • @samiazaman5240
    @samiazaman5240 9 лет назад +2

    You just spoke my mind
    Thanks so much.
    Exactly what I needed ! :')

  • @matvenable9386
    @matvenable9386 8 лет назад

    Very well presented. Concise and clear. Thank you. Infinitely more helpful than 90% of what's out there.

  • @nikhilck629
    @nikhilck629 3 года назад

    This makes complete sense. Thanks so much. Also, you're a very good speaker.

  • @LostSoulAscension
    @LostSoulAscension 10 лет назад +4

    quick question, do you have to continue to keep up the practices to keep finger independence? or does it at some point just become muscle memory habit after you've developed it well enough, and of course, any time you'd run into a hindering of dependency, just practice again, but does it remain a muscle memory permanence? given that you play every day anyway.

  • @RickyRevorc
    @RickyRevorc 10 лет назад +1

    super helpful thanks so much bro! your so right dude my pinky finger flicks up every time its so hard to stop it. thanks again bro! I got some work to do!!

  • @expat2010
    @expat2010 9 лет назад

    Radically different instructions from most teachers, but it makes and is extremely well presented. I will try it and subscribe as well. Thanks.

  • @SimgoWood
    @SimgoWood 9 лет назад +1

    I really appreciate your channel: It's not "do this and do that" it's more like an approach and a philosophy, that's what i'm looking for

  • @chadwickpainter8212
    @chadwickpainter8212 2 года назад

    Thank you for this video. This helps a lot.

  • @saladinallah5299
    @saladinallah5299 3 года назад

    I’ve come to believe your theory of how to practice. Scales are very difficult for fret hand but I make great music practicing to play music. Fingers are acclimating to chord progression much better.

  • @LostSoulAscension
    @LostSoulAscension 10 лет назад +7

    At 0:02 you have your pinky curled... Please do a video on how finger independence and bending strings, and hammer ons can be better executed. PLEASE... Seriously no one does it... It would be cool if you answered my question below as well.

  • @kennyjb42
    @kennyjb42 Год назад

    I have a question about increasing speed and I am not sure it is even a 'thing'. I am not at all fast at playing guitar and have been muddling along for decades but finally started trying to fix my speed issues. I picked what I thought would be a pretty straight forward solo to play (Queens These are the days of our lives) which is more or less a run down a pentatonic with hammer ons and pull offs on the way. And I was wondering , should I be lining up my index finger early when my ring finger does a pull off to the index finger (as in , all on the same string). Because trying to get my index finger to the string just prior to the pull off occurring means I don't get there in time. This seems really tricky as the finger would have to move independent of the timing of the song just moving as soon as it is no longer ringing on the previous string instead of just as it is needed. Sorry for the long explanation.

  • @1961jscofield
    @1961jscofield 10 лет назад

    Thanks for all your helpful videos

  • @kittenro6362
    @kittenro6362 2 года назад

    I don't really see anyone talking about the "little finger independence function" as a problem on you arm/hand muscles. What I mean it's, personally i don't have independence on my little finger because of something on my arm muscles that doesn't allow me to move my ring and pinky fingers independendently from each other. I don't see anyone talking about this and read it's not thaaat rare. So I don't know what to do

  • @jacksaintjack2844
    @jacksaintjack2844 3 года назад

    I have fair independence with the ring and pinky, but as I work across the fretboard from the high e to the low e, my pinky wants to curl UNDERNEATH my ring finger. It doesn't want to reach towards the next fret towards the end of the fret board.

  • @donovanduguay9176
    @donovanduguay9176 9 лет назад +2

    wise advice. great lesson.

  • @melmel6253
    @melmel6253 Год назад

    1st Step: Patience
    2nd Step: Focus on a specific problem
    3rd Step: Take out the metronome

  • @Sazabiiiiii
    @Sazabiiiiii 11 лет назад +3

    Mike, is your course downloadable or is it only on DVD?

  • @ArtjomPorsh
    @ArtjomPorsh 10 лет назад

    @HowToPracticeGuitar, I totally agree with what you are explaining here. I am not a guitar player, but I do yoga. And same approach/mindset applies to doing yoga postures. And I assume same approach applies to everything you want to get/achieve in life.
    Thank you, @HowToPracticeGuitar

  • @Huge4Fish
    @Huge4Fish 10 лет назад +14

    I have that pinky rising issues...along with a host of others! LOL!

  • @vijaybhaskar799
    @vijaybhaskar799 10 лет назад

    Wonderful guitar technique, a necessity

  • @blairefox
    @blairefox 10 лет назад +1

    These are the advice every beginner guitar players are looking for including me. Very simple yet very detailed. As I watch this video I realized lots of things. More power to your channel!

  • @MarkAndrewZwartynski
    @MarkAndrewZwartynski 10 лет назад

    Very good information! Realistic and true!

  • @Matchless48
    @Matchless48 10 лет назад

    Yes! I agree totally
    Thank you very much

  • @steveblake144
    @steveblake144 10 лет назад +2

    you repeat the motions to make the new habit ingrained into your technique. Do this for as long as it takes until it becomes a subconscious habit. Allocate a portion of your daily practice time to work on this, then move on to play/practice whatever is next in your practice schedule. Your words can also be applied to speech therapy, that of which I'm going through.
    I have subscribed to your channel but on hearing this I'm definitely going to apply your guitaring theory to my speech therapy.
    Just a thought. Is my speech influency linked to my guitar influency?

  • @yudipitre5720
    @yudipitre5720 Год назад

    He holds his guitar like a classical player. Awesome

  • @joeheape221
    @joeheape221 10 лет назад

    Thanks, Mike - that pretty helpful and good common sense.

  • @AdityaVerma-br3im
    @AdityaVerma-br3im Год назад

    Great video!

  • @tomference4618
    @tomference4618 2 года назад

    ..helpful, very helpful.

  • @marknorman706
    @marknorman706 3 года назад

    what kind of Ibanez are you playing? it seems like an OD set-neck -through design RG

  • @mesabman
    @mesabman 10 лет назад +2

    Is keeping your pinky from flipping up really a significant issue? The reason I ask is because I do it frequently and yet still have extremely fast playing abilities. I've also noticed a lot of world-class players have the pinky problem but still are phenomenol players. What do you think?

    • @HowToPracticeGuitar
      @HowToPracticeGuitar  10 лет назад +9

      Good Joe , if you are happy with your technique and can play whatever you want to play, then you don't need to do anything at all. If, however, you are not able to play something and the lack of finger independence is the reason why you aren't able to do it, then you do need to fix the problem in that case.

  • @gorcrow
    @gorcrow 7 лет назад +149

    damn dude you can shred
    you look like you work in a computer engineering though

  • @thanoseolios8281
    @thanoseolios8281 9 лет назад

    Great tips! Well done bro and many thanks!

  • @leeb55
    @leeb55 9 лет назад +6

    what he says about it seeming like going nowhere is right tbh its like lifting weights if you're bulking you get to a certain point and you hit a wall and you can't move past it for weeks or months then bang your strong as shit and the weights you lift go up and up and up

  • @dougtelfer6686
    @dougtelfer6686 9 лет назад

    You make some controversial statements, but you make a lot of sense. I suffer from FPS - flying pinky syndrome, and I've been playing over 30 years. I'm going to give your suggestions a try!

  • @Barbro247
    @Barbro247 10 лет назад

    Could you just tell me really quick. When playing lets say a chromatic type scale or whatever you should "frankenstein" your fingers while playing from the first fret of the first string downwards but how about when you go up "backwards" on the guitar. Do you understand? How should i approach lifting the fingers then, im trying to play a solo with some triplets in it and i just want to know how to approach it.

  • @neiljcunningham
    @neiljcunningham 9 лет назад

    Thats a really intuitive video.Thanks.
    i have a huge problem hitting the wrong string on my picking hand, its been happening since I started about 4 years ago,in the middle of a solo and BANG hit the wrong string, then get lost as to my hand position on the strings,solo over. Any ideas on how to fix this ?

  • @halfabee
    @halfabee 4 месяца назад

    My issue is. :- My fingers close sideways together as they wrap around the fretboard. With the fingers outstretched I can spread them. As soon as the hand is closed the fingers all come together.

  •  5 лет назад

    Good practical advice.

  • @MrHikkikomori
    @MrHikkikomori 11 лет назад +3

    Do you have advice for legato playing? i don't have any questions in particular, just looking for advice in general. I'm learning songs by this band Psycroptic, and the guitarist utilizes legato quite a bit in his playing, which i haven't encountered much. An example of what i'm trying to do
    Psycroptic - Unmasking the Traitors (2012)
    Right at the beginning and at 43 secs are good examples. Thank you

    • @JordanTheImpaler69
      @JordanTheImpaler69 11 лет назад

      1] That song is awesome and 2] I would also like to see a good legato video.

    • @Graveoffeces666
      @Graveoffeces666 10 лет назад +1

      Psycroptic is the shit.

    • @HowToPracticeGuitar
      @HowToPracticeGuitar  10 лет назад +4

      MrHikkikomori , Yes watch this video about legato: 3 Mistakes To Avoid When Playing Legato On Guitar

  • @DanielDeakin
    @DanielDeakin 9 лет назад

    When you are first getting started how would you recommend practising to get good guitar skills as well as playing lots of songs? What do you need to allocate sections of your practise for?

  • @domagoj19zg
    @domagoj19zg 9 лет назад

    We train our nerve system and our brain to control muscles of our hand...so max concentracion during playing does give best results. But still it takes a long time to develop. I learned that using too much force or should I say pushing strings too hard with fingers may drasticly slow you down. That s what I ve experienced.Playin guitar should not be hard work.

  • @pizzalovingtrashpanda8604
    @pizzalovingtrashpanda8604 8 лет назад

    awesome advice brother thank you

  • @zappasmoustache23
    @zappasmoustache23 10 лет назад

    is there any advantage at all to the chromatic exercise, even just for warming up, or is it just a total waste of time?

  • @caesq_r
    @caesq_r 3 года назад

    why is my left pinky always inclined towards me when it's curved on the guitar fretboard? why won't my pinky be straight? because when its inclined it hits the other strings

  • @ray3mondo
    @ray3mondo 11 лет назад

    Very good. Thanks.

  • @songbook1625
    @songbook1625 9 лет назад

    all well and good , but i do think you should do finger stretching exercises it inturn aids finger independence

  • @DJOrbitable
    @DJOrbitable 10 лет назад +4

    when you said pinky I was yup I need this lesson. what happens when your pinky is too stiff?

  • @Sztermel
    @Sztermel 10 лет назад

    Could you please give us some more advices or exercises on pinky shooting up, going too high off the fretboard while playing certain patterns?
    I've been searching a lot about it and found very little of information, I even saw some recordings of guitarists having the same issue and thought about abandoning this topic, but it still bothers me.

  • @hectortorres-ramos260
    @hectortorres-ramos260 10 лет назад

    Good advice.

  • @zoofiliaconsofia
    @zoofiliaconsofia 9 лет назад

    Thanks mike, very useful

  • @rishidiwute3604
    @rishidiwute3604 Год назад

    that breakthrough I think is application.

  • @guitarrock58
    @guitarrock58 11 лет назад

    okay so we need to isolate our movement problems, and fix them, but once that is done do we just repeat patterns? or play just anything with all 4 fingers, or like improvising on a certain tempo. I would like to know exactly what to do during a practise time. thank you

  • @reddylakshmimanohar4785
    @reddylakshmimanohar4785 9 лет назад

    My ring finger and middle finger are too close i triebut what to do can u please help

  • @taylorphillips5189
    @taylorphillips5189 3 года назад

    Practice makes permanent

  • @jadm110
    @jadm110 5 лет назад

    I have been working on the pinkie finger problem for some time now, and it seems when ever I move on to the next part of my practice the pinkie finger problem returns.o I stop and go back to focusing on the pinkie. this seems to be an endless circle

  • @NexxZt
    @NexxZt 8 лет назад +2

    I know this sounds stupid as hell, but would you consider an expert Guitar Hero player a person with good finger independence? :P (And not the easy GH-songs. Through the Fire and Flames etc.)

  • @tracylankford7617
    @tracylankford7617 9 лет назад +1

    Thank you so much .I learned so much from you ,and I am taking my time .slow and easy ..It works ...lol

  • @benhart2973
    @benhart2973 10 лет назад

    Awesome video dude!

  • @thordiesel6.7
    @thordiesel6.7 9 лет назад

    I think you have the best guitar teaching videos I have seen so far. \m/

  • @MarcG7424
    @MarcG7424 2 года назад

    I literally have to look at and will my left ring finger to move like Uma Thurman did with her toe in Kill Bill and sometimes I still wont move

  • @ibanezguitars360
    @ibanezguitars360 10 лет назад

    for me. i have trouble becausw when i put my ring finger down, my middle finger wants to go doen this especially occurs when im descending. Can that be fixed with this?

    • @givemeajackson
      @givemeajackson 10 лет назад

      as stupid as it sounds, try as hard as you can to simply not do it. first practice not doing it slow, then speed up and focus on not doing that.

    • @blayblaw
      @blayblaw 9 лет назад

      I've got the same thing your. My thought is cut some skin apart then it won't go anymore lol

  • @ACABSTUDIOS
    @ACABSTUDIOS 9 лет назад

    Start out with the lightest stings possible and work your way up

  • @Disrup7or
    @Disrup7or 9 лет назад

    how do i know what's a problem and what isn't?

  • @bladecribb
    @bladecribb 10 лет назад

    Hey,
    Do you do online lessons?

  • @xdvantx
    @xdvantx 10 лет назад

    I just wanted first to thank u your instruction has given me a whole new perspective on how to practice u made me realize I wasn't actually practicing at all thanx again...

  • @robrippen
    @robrippen 3 года назад

    I dont fully agree that there are not techniques that teach players finger independence. Spanish flamenco players are taught finger independence. Im not in any way undermining this teacher. Pinky issues are very common with many guitar players. In my playing over the years, I learned alot of finger style songs and I'm certain that helped me with dexterity yet I still had the pinky issues when playing scales and I'd say my speed is average & not as polished as im determined to achieve. I started doing spider walks and I stress correctly as I had done them incorrectly previous with absolutely no improvement. After realizing I was doing it incorrectly I've began to do them correctly and have made more improvement in 4 months than I did in 5 years. I think just to dismiss that there are exercises & yet they are ineffective is just not all together accurate at least not for me as an individual. Spanish flamenco players focus on finger independence on both hands and their playing is very percussive and rhythmic. There dosent seem to be much indepth focus on this topic on RUclips. Very little. I do know it's a discussion in classical playing and there's some videos on here that show young students as young as 7 years old that display amazing finger independence skills. I think it a very important topic to be addressed among novice players as bad technique or bad habits are very difficult to reverse down the road. This teacher seems like a very good teacher and I'm not here to suggest he's wrong in his ideas. Every player is different. All I can say is every great player I've seen has talked about finger independence. I will also stress I am not there yet but I've played for a long time and only recently started seeing improvement with spider walks moving one finger at a time. Im determined to research this intensively. I have considered paying for a lesson from an amazing Flamenco player on you tube named Lucas imbradda.. ?? I'm sure I didn't spell his last name correctly but he is truly inspiring to watch. Plays with much passion, very expressively, and extremely precise. Again I'm not here to undermine this teacher as it is very kind to invest time teaching free lessons. And I can say as good as the spider walk is, it's not the only exercise that will get you there yet in my opinion and from my experience it is an extremely effective exercise to get that pinky under control. 2 months of practicing made huge improvements for me. And I've played for a very long time. Also speed is not required to play well but it is something that will help all aspects of your playing as it requires precision that can only be achieved with proper hand position and economy of motion. As a student you can't efficiently progress if you don't realize your technique is off. You can't get from point a to point b advancing with guitar if you don't have a solid map to get there. To suggest that it will just happen with time hasn't been the case with me.

    • @robrippen
      @robrippen 3 года назад

      I have to add that in watching this teacher play, his playing is solid and his technique seems solid