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Author Topic:  Practice Technique
Jim Saunders


From:
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 11:34 am    
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I am but a just a hobbyist player, but I have found that when my practicing gets boring on a song, I do it in a different key. That gives it a new flavor. Like, My Shoes Keep Walking, do it in E, then G, or A etc. Or Crazy done in C, then drop to A. Makes it fun and teaches me the neck.

I recall when Bobby Bowman was still with us, in our monthly jams he would do Amazing Grace and each player would modulate up to the next key as it passed around the room.
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Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 2:05 pm    
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It's good not to get stuck in one key.
You never know when you might need to play in a different one.
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 3:58 pm    
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Good idea Jim! Another idea is to play the same song using different strings. Play a whole just using strings 3,4,5, and then play the same song using just strings 5,6,8, or 4,5,6. Many times, it's far more musical to go up and down the neck than it is to play a whole bunch of notes at the same fret. I know some players who brag about being able to play a whole scale or even a whole song at one fret...but I've never really cared for that style of playing. Neutral

Last edited by Donny Hinson on 8 Aug 2020 4:59 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dom Franco


From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 4:37 pm    
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I like this idea! On steel guitar it is fairly easy to play a song you know well, up or down a few frets, but what really sounds interesting to me is moving the song to a key where using open strings in combination with barred notes makes some cool chords possible and hammer-ons and pull-offs offer some fast licks and moving harmonies...

In the past I have avoided some keys because they would force me up an octave or require "open" chords. Now I would like to try that on purpose and see what new things I can learn.
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Jim Saunders


From:
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 6:59 pm     Hey There
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Dom, I listened to your playing and vocals and you are really good! I have always been amazed at someone who could sing and accompany him or herself. I think it takes two brains to pull it off. You do it effortlessly.
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Jack Stanton


From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 8:42 pm    
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When learning a lick I I frequently practice it in the cycle of fourths or the cycle of fifths
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Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 7 Aug 2020 11:43 pm    
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That's good on any instrument.
Helps with theory.
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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 8 Aug 2020 12:33 am    
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good reminder Jim. Practicing across several root keys is a standard routine. Many feel playing root scales or stock phrases in multiple keys is not necessary or a waste time, it is not. It allows us to SEE the fretboard ( or whatever instrument we are playing ) both practically and visually.
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