Also I tend to start off fast to identify problems then slow way down and practice many times then start to speed back up a bit towards the end of my session to see what I improved
I'm really amazed with the video and it's informative demonstrations.. but moreover, I'm so happy to see you taking care of replying people and helping them separately with their problems.. and the way you're addressing all the general problems we face, its actually helping us to build our confidence.. lots of love n respect from India 🇮🇳 Sir... will be waiting eagerly for videos of other methods and techniques... ❤ 🙏🙏
Thank you for such a nice comment! I’m very happy to know you find my videos helpful. My journey in guitar was challenging and one of my main goals as a teacher is to help other guitarists not have to struggle as much as I did. Happy to help!
Thank you. I have always been told to go up slowly, but this makes a great deal of sense. I was glad to see you actually doing it, that is very helpful.
Very inspiring. I dived my guitar directly after this video to try it. I'll put into my daily practice, and can't wait for video #2...!! :) BTW: Would love to see a (or several...) two finger picado speed practice with rest strokes.
I’m so glad to hear that you like the video! Just remember to take lots of breaks. It’s easy to overdo it with this exercise and get injured. There will definitely be more videos! Thanks so much for commenting!
Even when I was first learning guitar, my wife would pass through the room and say, "you need to slow down", speed was never my problem, slowing down and hand flexibility were my problems.
I’ll have to try this! I’m an adult beginner in classical and hit some brick walls with tempo markings on beginner pieces. Are the other methods you mention you’ll put in other videos targeted at phrases and passages more than specific techniques?
Hi, thanks for commenting! I do, but I tend to limit myself to 2 sets when I do that since it’s much more physically demanding. I also make sure to limit myself to only 2 speed building techniques (they are not the same or similar motion) in my sets. For example, Picado (speed), Rasgueado (tricky compás by Diego del Morao), Alzapúa (speed), Left-hand (difficult shift in a piece of music). I hope that helps!
That was honestly pretty impressive!😁 I kinda have a problem with picado when im midway climbing to the base strings. I'd start really well in treble, then screw it big time going up. Do you have some kind of a trick for it? Or like maybe do a vid about it. I'd appreciate it señor 🫡
Hi! Thank you so much for commenting. It’s very common to have difficulty when going from one string to the next (crossing). I would recommend starting a phrase with two notes on one string and then finish with two notes on the adjacent string so that you practice the actual string change. Little by little I would start adding notes to either end of the phrase. Example: 1st string (F-E) -> 2nd String (D-C). Then G-F-E-D-C -> G-F-E-D-C-B, etc. I found that the key is to stay as loose and light in the fingers as possible. Try to eliminate as much tension as possible. The other important thing to keep in mind is that when you’re traveling from the treble strings to the bass strings, you have to pull your right elbow back - not up - so that your fingers attack the string at about the same angle as they did for the trebles. I hope this helps!
@DiegoAlonsoMusic pulling my elbow back but not up! I should legit try doing it rn. Such a helpful comment sir. Thankyou so much and keep the vids comin up🫡🫡
I'd like to have thoughts on this: to work speed I've been doing finger combinations on one string and sliding half-steps every one 4/4 measure. I'm not using a metronome, I go as fast as possible and look for the "musclework" feel. I feel that one-string workout, allows for greater shoulder, arm and hand relaxation. Afterwards, I do as you say with the metronome, but applied to a the hardest fragment of a piece. (Historically I've never been fast, but since I started doing this I'm improving)
Hi! Thank you for commenting. Yes, I think it’s a great idea to start on a single string without the metronome first. But you’ll also want to work in some kind of string crossing. If that’s included in your hardest passage, then that’s perfect. Personally, I like to warm up my hardest passages without the metronome for a couple of repetitions and then use turn the metronome. Just remember to keep your repetition amount low if you’re not used to practicing this way. I hope this helps!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic yeah, also do that, if not with classical pieces fragments, practicing scales, interval scales and improvising jazz. Always avoiding metronome, unless I really need a fix. ...I'm the dude who commented on spanish your video about repetitions. I'm kind of a seasoned guitarist, that's why your advice worked for me so fast... I'd be glad if you make a video about this with research papers, I've tried tons of methods for speed. ...As always I'm.trying to get "more seasoned".
...I really try to work on my internal clock. I want to be faster, but sense of tempo and intuition on "how fast can I pull-it-out" is more important for me
@user-jq5pm7xq7u sounds great! Unfortunately, I have not seen any research on speed building techniques. The only thing I have to work with is experience from many of my colleagues and teachers. I’ll definitely make future videos on more speed building techniques that worked well for me and that worked tremendously well for my teachers. Thanks again for commenting!
Hi Raymond! Thank you for commenting and for your question. I use an arm sleeve to make it easier to slide my arm across the guitar when I’m shifting my right hand position. Makes it much easier to play if you want to wear short sleeves. I don’t wear a lot of long sleeve shirts where I live because it’s so hot most of the time! Here’s a link to the ones I use: amzn.to/3MBgBrB Thanks again! 🙏🏽
It would be absolutely great if you could post a method to build up Speed Endurance over time. I'm sure I'm not the only one with problems playing longer runs with speed. I checked my max speed/endurance abilities with a metronome (playing 2-finger picado): 4 notes: MM 190 8 notes: MM 170 12 notes: MM 150 16 notes: MM 140 24 notes (as you do in the video): MM 130 It's not a left/right hand sync problem - I get the same numbers playing on an open string. This is frustrating, to say the least. I've tried playing very long scales in a slower tempo to build sync and muscle endurance, I've tried bursts for speed. Not much result. (And how many notes is a burst anyway -4 notes, 6 notes? - before it ceases to be a burst?
Thanks so much for commenting! Yes, I’ll definitely keep that in mind for a future video. What you are experiencing is very normal. Playing long scales (or any passage) at a high tempo is difficult. I think of it kind of like training for a marathon. Some days we need short runs, some days long runs, and some days we need intervals (speed bursts). For me the key was to build my scales in chunks. Example: I would play the first five notes while working on increasing speed. Then the next five notes, followed by the next five notes, etc. Once that felt comfortable, I would do the same thing with a six note chunk. Each time a set of notes felt easier, I would add one note (or 2 notes) to the chunk. This is just one way to do it that worked for me. There are plenty of others that I will address in future videos. Thanks again! ** Another thing that i forgot to mention for long scales is to take the volume down when your fingers start feeling tense or tired. It’s good to practice scales with lots of dynamic variation. Hope this helps!
when practicing fast with mistakes, one is just practicing mistakes. I've seen a lot of fast players with lousy tone, which doesn't impress me. Perfect tone, aka John Williams, rules.
Started following you recently, and you're probably one of the most informative channels for guitarists! But I don't really get a thing, it feels like you say that "more repetitions" are harmful. Am I not understanding properly or is it true?
Hi! Thank you so much for your comment! More repetitions are not harmful but too many (esp. too many incorrect reps) can result in diminishing returns. I hope that helps. Thank you again! 🙏🏽
Thank you for supplying these tutorials, I find them invaluable. But I do find the background guitar playing a little irritating and distracting. Not sure if anyone else shares my view.
Hi! I’m glad to help! And thank you for your feedback on the background sound. Feedback like yours helps me make even better videos, so I greatly appreciate it and welcome more! I’ll definitely look into that. 🙏🏽 Thanks for commenting!
I hybrid pick so I can cheat and alternate pick you just have to be willing to sacrifice your dignity and commit sacrilege. at this point I’m not even really a classical guitarist anymore I mostly play steal string and I’ve even been committing the terrible crime of playing electric lately, wich is just easy mode btw. If you can get over the string tension, spacing and depth it’s a little hard at first but after u get over that it pretty much plays itself.
Seems I've been doing speed scales the wrong way...I do very long sequences of 5 scales linked into a single block of about 70 notes each....I see you do sets of 5 notes. Now it's hard to go fast on sets of 70, so is it like I'm trying to sprint a 400 meters?
Hi! Thank you so much for commenting. Yes, I think it is like you’re trying to sprint 400 m. What I like to do to build a scale length is two start with a small chunk of notes and then gradually add anywhere from one to five notes to the chunk. For example, I might start with ABCD as my first chunk and then add on EFG so that I get ABCDEFG as my new chunk. The other thing I find makes playing long scales difficult is playing them with too much volume. The hand tires out very quickly. I’d like to work on them with medium to low volume and very dynamic shape throughout the scale. I hope this helps!
Hi! Thank you for commenting. Yes, you’re right that my playing is not perfectly lined up quite yet. My purpose in making this video was simply to show one speed building technique that works very well for me and I wanted to use a work in progress to show how to use it. I still have a lot of work to do on this. Thanks again 🙏🏽
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Yes, actually at 75 there started to be significant compression of the beat. Everything said in the video is spot on, but the low standard of performance detracts from the effectiveness of the message. Obvoiusly Diego is a fine guitarist, and as a teacher I know how much harder it is to demonstrate high levels of precision on the fly sometimes when your focus is on the student (or the camera). Still worth the effort though. That said, I look forward to checking out more videos on this channel. The explanations are so good. Not a word wasted and all the important things are said. 3.5 stars on this one from me! ;)
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Insightful, methodical AND practical as ever. Thanks Diego!
Thank you so much for commenting !
these are the kind of videos i've been seeking for MONTHS. thank you!
Also I tend to start off fast to identify problems then slow way down and practice many times then start to speed back up a bit towards the end of my session to see what I improved
I'm really amazed with the video and it's informative demonstrations.. but moreover, I'm so happy to see you taking care of replying people and helping them separately with their problems.. and the way you're addressing all the general problems we face, its actually helping us to build our confidence.. lots of love n respect from India 🇮🇳 Sir... will be waiting eagerly for videos of other methods and techniques... ❤ 🙏🙏
Thank you for such a nice comment! I’m very happy to know you find my videos helpful. My journey in guitar was challenging and one of my main goals as a teacher is to help other guitarists not have to struggle as much as I did. Happy to help!
Thank you. I have always been told to go up slowly, but this makes a great deal of sense. I was glad to see you actually doing it, that is very helpful.
You're very welcome! Thank you so much for commenting 🙏🏽
Fantastic video!
Very helpful! What a great channel!
Thanks so much!
Eagerly waiting
Very inspiring. I dived my guitar directly after this video to try it. I'll put into my daily practice, and can't wait for video #2...!! :)
BTW: Would love to see a (or several...) two finger picado speed practice with rest strokes.
I’m so glad to hear that you like the video! Just remember to take lots of breaks. It’s easy to overdo it with this exercise and get injured.
There will definitely be more videos! Thanks so much for commenting!
Even when I was first learning guitar, my wife would pass through the room and say, "you need to slow down", speed was never my problem, slowing down and hand flexibility were my problems.
I’ll have to try this! I’m an adult beginner in classical and hit some brick walls with tempo markings on beginner pieces. Are the other methods you mention you’ll put in other videos targeted at phrases and passages more than specific techniques?
Sensible approach to speed. Thanks Diego
Glad you liked it! Thank you so much for commenting!
Do you apply interleaved practice when trying to build speed on a number of different techniques? Eg tremolo and Picardo speed.
Hi, thanks for commenting! I do, but I tend to limit myself to 2 sets when I do that since it’s much more physically demanding. I also make sure to limit myself to only 2 speed building techniques (they are not the same or similar motion) in my sets. For example, Picado (speed), Rasgueado (tricky compás by Diego del Morao), Alzapúa (speed), Left-hand (difficult shift in a piece of music). I hope that helps!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusicthis definitely helps. Thanks Diego.
That was honestly pretty impressive!😁
I kinda have a problem with picado when im midway climbing to the base strings. I'd start really well in treble, then screw it big time going up. Do you have some kind of a trick for it? Or like maybe do a vid about it. I'd appreciate it señor 🫡
Hi! Thank you so much for commenting. It’s very common to have difficulty when going from one string to the next (crossing). I would recommend starting a phrase with two notes on one string and then finish with two notes on the adjacent string so that you practice the actual string change. Little by little I would start adding notes to either end of the phrase. Example: 1st string (F-E) -> 2nd String (D-C). Then G-F-E-D-C -> G-F-E-D-C-B, etc. I found that the key is to stay as loose and light in the fingers as possible. Try to eliminate as much tension as possible.
The other important thing to keep in mind is that when you’re traveling from the treble strings to the bass strings, you have to pull your right elbow back - not up - so that your fingers attack the string at about the same angle as they did for the trebles. I hope this helps!
@DiegoAlonsoMusic pulling my elbow back but not up! I should legit try doing it rn. Such a helpful comment sir. Thankyou so much and keep the vids comin up🫡🫡
I'd like to have thoughts on this: to work speed I've been doing finger combinations on one string and sliding half-steps every one 4/4 measure. I'm not using a metronome, I go as fast as possible and look for the "musclework" feel. I feel that one-string workout, allows for greater shoulder, arm and hand relaxation.
Afterwards, I do as you say with the metronome, but applied to a the hardest fragment of a piece.
(Historically I've never been fast, but since I started doing this I'm improving)
Hi! Thank you for commenting. Yes, I think it’s a great idea to start on a single string without the metronome first. But you’ll also want to work in some kind of string crossing. If that’s included in your hardest passage, then that’s perfect. Personally, I like to warm up my hardest passages without the metronome for a couple of repetitions and then use turn the metronome. Just remember to keep your repetition amount low if you’re not used to practicing this way. I hope this helps!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic yeah, also do that, if not with classical pieces fragments, practicing scales, interval scales and improvising jazz. Always avoiding metronome, unless I really need a fix. ...I'm the dude who commented on spanish your video about repetitions. I'm kind of a seasoned guitarist, that's why your advice worked for me so fast... I'd be glad if you make a video about this with research papers, I've tried tons of methods for speed. ...As always I'm.trying to get "more seasoned".
...I really try to work on my internal clock. I want to be faster, but sense of tempo and intuition on "how fast can I pull-it-out" is more important for me
@user-jq5pm7xq7u sounds great! Unfortunately, I have not seen any research on speed building techniques. The only thing I have to work with is experience from many of my colleagues and teachers. I’ll definitely make future videos on more speed building techniques that worked well for me and that worked tremendously well for my teachers. Thanks again for commenting!
Hello Diego! What are you wearing on your arm? Is it for the elbow? Thank you for a very helpful video!
Hi Raymond! Thank you for commenting and for your question. I use an arm sleeve to make it easier to slide my arm across the guitar when I’m shifting my right hand position. Makes it much easier to play if you want to wear short sleeves. I don’t wear a lot of long sleeve shirts where I live because it’s so hot most of the time! Here’s a link to the ones I use:
amzn.to/3MBgBrB Thanks again! 🙏🏽
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Oh, I see. Thanks for replying!
Question, are you going on the actual beat of each click of the metronome?
Hello! Yes, each metronome click is a quarter note and I’m playing 16th notes. Thank you so much for commenting. 🙏🏽
It would be absolutely great if you could post a method to build up Speed Endurance over time. I'm sure I'm not the only one with problems playing longer runs with speed. I checked my max speed/endurance abilities with a metronome (playing 2-finger picado):
4 notes: MM 190
8 notes: MM 170
12 notes: MM 150
16 notes: MM 140
24 notes (as you do in the video): MM 130
It's not a left/right hand sync problem - I get the same numbers playing on an open string.
This is frustrating, to say the least. I've tried playing very long scales in a slower tempo to build sync and muscle endurance, I've tried bursts for speed. Not much result. (And how many notes is a burst anyway -4 notes, 6 notes? - before it ceases to be a burst?
Thanks so much for commenting! Yes, I’ll definitely keep that in mind for a future video. What you are experiencing is very normal. Playing long scales (or any passage) at a high tempo is difficult. I think of it kind of like training for a marathon. Some days we need short runs, some days long runs, and some days we need intervals (speed bursts). For me the key was to build my scales in chunks. Example: I would play the first five notes while working on increasing speed. Then the next five notes, followed by the next five notes, etc. Once that felt comfortable, I would do the same thing with a six note chunk. Each time a set of notes felt easier, I would add one note (or 2 notes) to the chunk.
This is just one way to do it that worked for me. There are plenty of others that I will address in future videos. Thanks again!
** Another thing that i forgot to mention for long scales is to take the volume down when your fingers start feeling tense or tired. It’s good to practice scales with lots of dynamic variation. Hope this helps!
Thank you , sir . I hv a question for you , so you just did tirando or apoyando in this case ?
I just used free strokes (tirando) for this example but you should definitely practice both. Thank you so much for commenting!
when practicing fast with mistakes, one is just practicing mistakes. I've seen a lot of fast players with lousy tone, which doesn't impress me. Perfect tone, aka John Williams, rules.
Started following you recently, and you're probably one of the most informative channels for guitarists! But I don't really get a thing, it feels like you say that "more repetitions" are harmful. Am I not understanding properly or is it true?
Hi! Thank you so much for your comment! More repetitions are not harmful but too many (esp. too many incorrect reps) can result in diminishing returns. I hope that helps. Thank you again! 🙏🏽
probably good to alternate rest stroke with free stroke
Yes, absolutely! Thank you so much for commenting 🙏🏽
Are you playing 16th notes where quarter notes are the clicks of the metronome?
Yes exactly! 🙏🏽
Thank you for supplying these tutorials, I find them invaluable.
But I do find the background guitar playing a little irritating and distracting.
Not sure if anyone else shares my view.
Hi! I’m glad to help! And thank you for your feedback on the background sound. Feedback like yours helps me make even better videos, so I greatly appreciate it and welcome more! I’ll definitely look into that. 🙏🏽 Thanks for commenting!
Me too.
I hybrid pick so I can cheat and alternate pick you just have to be willing to sacrifice your dignity and commit sacrilege. at this point I’m not even really a classical guitarist anymore I mostly play steal string and I’ve even been committing the terrible crime of playing electric lately, wich is just easy mode btw. If you can get over the string tension, spacing and depth it’s a little hard at first but after u get over that it pretty much plays itself.
are you plucking p-i-m-a? and on which finger are you starting
Hi! Thanks for commenting! I’m using A-M-I on repeat starting on the A finger. 🙏🏽
Seems I've been doing speed scales the wrong way...I do very long sequences of 5 scales linked into a single block of about 70 notes each....I see you do sets of 5 notes. Now it's hard to go fast on sets of 70, so is it like I'm trying to sprint a 400 meters?
Hi! Thank you so much for commenting. Yes, I think it is like you’re trying to sprint 400 m. What I like to do to build a scale length is two start with a small chunk of notes and then gradually add anywhere from one to five notes to the chunk. For example, I might start with ABCD as my first chunk and then add on EFG so that I get ABCDEFG as my new chunk. The other thing I find makes playing long scales difficult is playing them with too much volume. The hand tires out very quickly. I’d like to work on them with medium to low volume and very dynamic shape throughout the scale. I hope this helps!
Your timing is off for everything you played over 95bpm. You should have stopped there.
Hi! Thank you for commenting. Yes, you’re right that my playing is not perfectly lined up quite yet. My purpose in making this video was simply to show one speed building technique that works very well for me and I wanted to use a work in progress to show how to use it. I still have a lot of work to do on this. Thanks again 🙏🏽
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Yes, actually at 75 there started to be significant compression of the beat. Everything said in the video is spot on, but the low standard of performance detracts from the effectiveness of the message. Obvoiusly Diego is a fine guitarist, and as a teacher I know how much harder it is to demonstrate high levels of precision on the fly sometimes when your focus is on the student (or the camera). Still worth the effort though. That said, I look forward to checking out more videos on this channel. The explanations are so good. Not a word wasted and all the important things are said. 3.5 stars on this one from me! ;)