TE-004 • Minimum Movement

[Joe_Twitch]

Does it matter if I use a pentatonic or other scale rather than the major scale, when practicing Minimum Movement?

[Qu33r]

Hello folks.

I have been playing for 3,5 years by now and my fingers movement seems kinda average, they are not really 'flying', so do I have to bother with this exercise or just play scales trying not to move my fingers too much? The same I would like to ask about 'The Spider' exercise, as my alternate picking seems ok.

Thanks in advance 

[mouser9169]

Hello folks.

I have been playing for 3,5 years by now and my fingers movement seems kinda average, they are not really 'flying', so do I have to bother with this exercise or just play scales trying not to move my fingers too much? The same I would like to ask about 'The Spider' exercise, as my alternate picking seems ok.

Thanks in advance 

How good do you want to be?

[Qu33r]

As good as possible, a now rock star I could say . So it's worth doing these exercises to the perfection, right?

[misterg]

As good as possible, a now rock star I could say . So it's worth doing these exercises to the perfection, right?

Yes.

Andy

[DeathMagnetic]

What do you guys think about working with minimum movement at the same time as alternate picking speed exercices? I mean it's kind of weird to first play 10 minutes minimum movement, and then right after practice alternate picking in a scale, and let the fingers fly a lot more again.

[jacksroadhouse]

And why shouldn't you try to minimize your finger movenments while practicing a scale with alternate picking? For me, the two belong together.

[mumbles]

@DeathMagnetic:

The full speed control takes time to catch up with slower speed control. See Justin's answer at reply #12 on this thread.

[DeathMagnetic]

@jacksroadhouse

Well, I do try to minimize the movements when I play faster, but they don't get as minimizes as when I play slow.

So, should I keep playing faster with as small movements as I can, or should I only play slow with minimum movements and then just slowly speed up.

@mumbles

Thanks.

[misterg]

So, should I keep playing faster with as small movements as I can, or should I only play slow with minimum movements and then just slowly speed up.

I think they are separate, but complementary exercises. Do your minimum movement r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y, then play faster with a metronome, nudging the speed up when you can play flawlessly at your set speed. I found it really helped.

Andy

[DeathMagnetic]

So, should I keep playing faster with as small movements as I can, or should I only play slow with minimum movements and then just slowly speed up.

I think they are separate, but complementary exercises. Do your minimum movement r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y, then play faster with a metronome, nudging the speed up when you can play flawlessly at your set speed. I found it really helped.

Andy

I do still wonder though. When I play it faster, should the movements still be small before I speed up? And when are the movements too big? When I practice small movements Justin said 0.5 cm is a good max, but what about when I play faster?

[misterg]

Doing minimum movement schools your fingers into being more precise. This should carry over into your normal playing and allow you to play faster and/or more accurately without concentrating on finger movement (you should have other things to think about!).

If you're looking to increase your speed, then play as fast as can go without making mistakes. In practice, if you're anything like me, when you get close to your maximum speed, your finger movements will get bigger and sloppier which will be one of the things that stops you going faster.

So:

When I play it faster, should the movements still be small before I speed up?

No - speed up if you can play without making mistakes.

When are the movements too big?

When you start making mistakes

Andy

[radomirsubzero]

Hi everyone!

Great lesson, realy boosts your accuracy and speed, not only for scales, but for chords and any movement over the fretboard.

I have noticed one thing while practicing this one, and I hope it will help many of you.

I started to do this exercise in a slightly different way (can't remember why  ) and noticed a big improvement.
Instead of pressing down on fret, I started to play muted notes. So, try just to touch strings with your left hand while doing this exercise, and then, after a while, start applying the pressure (play notes regulary).

Hope it helps.

Regards from Serbia,
Radomir

[artonsafari]

Been re-visiting this for 5-15min a day over the last two weeks on all 5 positions of the G Maj scale. I've noticed a lot less tension in my hand/forearm and progress as far as "flying" fingers while playing scales. Doing the movements very slowly is more difficult than playing at a quicker pace, but it IS working.

[Night Guitarist]

hi i've been doing this with my g major scale position 1 for an hour a day.
my question is when i'm doing it i find that my ring finger seems to not fly but it's not close to the fretboard as i'll like and when i try to bring it closer it quivers should i continue to try and bring it closer to the fretboard or will it fix itself over time?