Weekend guitar workout

This was actually a lame re-visit of a practice routine. OK, so I'm working out the digits for yet another 4-notes-per-string adventure. Keeping things simple is they key; the Schecter KR & Seymour Duncan's Killing Floor boost were it for the input side.

I had the Blackstar HT metal going over at the output end. Seen here, the kitty enjoying some tube warmth even after I've switched the amp off.

Here's the itinerary:

1. Clean fingering exercises. Nothing specific, just to get all fretting fingers warmed up. Slow is the way to go.
2. Driven fingering exercises. A repeat of what was done clean but this time, up went the tempo so the picking hand get worked up as well.
3. Scales. Routine stuff with muting focus. No songs, nothing. Just scales. What I like to play: Harmonic minor, Malmsteen vibe & it's something that would end up well with metal type ideas along the way. What I dislike playing: Pentatonic. I get boxed up pretty quickly & ended up mutating it into some tapping exercise to avoid being floored by boredom.
4. In the style of. That's right, I'd imagine I'm a particular pro player & think of a lick or two that I'd play in that particular style or approach. I don't reproduce other people's stuff- no. I try to think like them & concoct something of my own. That's right, the key word there is try.
5. 4-notes-per-string. By now, half of my mind is in need of inspiration because it tended to stray into repetition. I'd pause & listen to some music & in this case, Brett Garsed & Tom Quayle were chosen. FYI, Garsed actually employ 5-notes-per-string passages into his ideas & that would work me up sometime. Darn, how did he do that?
6. End. In conclusion, I'd usually churn out riffs more than solos which are of the metal variety. You'd realize that riffs are the way to go for winding down moments; lesser notes involved & they kinda move you into a song structure.

Done. Wipe guitar down & grab a drink.

4 fingers death shred

Hello, Monday. But I'm not gonna talk about Monday. This was what happened last weekend- more 4-notes-per-string workout. Current obsession? Not really, it's my attempt to address boredom & the need to try something that's out of my comfort zone. I've always been a 3-notes-per-string person till I keep listening to Tom Quayle, Alan Holdsworth, Brett Garsed, et al. 

I sounded worse than a noob, completely helpless & stupid-sounding when I started out. All the fumbling & mistakes reduced me to nothing. But like all good education (self-education included), there is a need for a plan & the essential plan here is to start things slow which I'm completely not used to. The slow approach worked wonders & the next step to it was the reduction of unnecessary tension in my fretting fingers. It's more psychological than anything else, keep telling yourselves to stop forcing your fingers down too hard because you are not a beginner- it should work. Develop some exercises to see this through & on to the final aspect of all this- muting. I sounded bad with all those extraneous noise in the way. Sometimes when one places too much focus on the left hand, the right hand gets neglected. I repeated whatever rubbish lick I played with those awful noises in the way. Discipline is key.

OK done. I'm not saying I'm up there when it comes to 4-notes-per-string playing but I have properly incorporated something that was never a part of my playing. It had always been a part-tapping approach when four notes needed to be played in quick successions but I'm glad I have another perspective in addressing the same delivery. One can never stop learning, keep that in mind :-)