I figured to spark some discussion by asking what kind of projects and foci you are currently working on to improve your playing?
Lately, sheet music. I picked up a few classical and Spanish guitar books from the local library and have been working on a tune here and there.
I learned to read notes sometime in the mid 80s but I’ve always been slow. I also never really got very good at finding notes on the fretboard quickly. So far it looks like this is doing wonders for both as well as putting some thought into chords and harmony. That will be another thing to focus on eventually. Among many.
Also, I bought a nylon string acoustic that’s older than I am and only fairly lightly damaged for quite cheap, so there’s that. See, GAS had to be involved somehow.
Sucking it up and actually learning the fretboard and how to spell chords so I can do cool voice leading stuff with inversions and upper structure triads. Painful, but already paying dividends!
Cool! Interested in learning what kind of approaches you are taking in tackling that massive project
I got tired of being sloppy chunking out power chords and generally being really stiff when playing fast rhythm guitar, so a couple of weeks ago I decided to start working on a couple of Iron Maiden songs through Rocksmith, building up the speed and consistency in rhythm guitar.
So far I think I’ve got some pretty good results already, although most songs aren’t really clean at full speed yet. Rocksmith seems to be a really good platform for this kind of practice, since it makes looping sections at slower speeds so easy.
Currently I’m psyched about Rime of the ancient mariner, it’s got such a nice combination of medium-speed gallop and single note lines. Be quick or be dead and 2 minutes to midnight main riffs also make me feel awesomeI’ve been thinking of trying out Rocksmith as a practice tool. Does it give good feedback as you’re playing? Like if your timing starts to drift, will it let you know?
Rocksmith is, I would say, more forgiving of timing issues than incorrect note issues. I’ve seen it pop up a little “LATE” on some notes/chords, but not as often as “MISSED.” Things like string muting and proper tension in your fretting hand (I went from a Strat to a PRS and was fretting chords out of tune due to gripping too tight).
