Program Director of

www.eliteguitarcoaching.com

Today we are going to go “back to Basics”, and talk about the technique of alternate picking. Even though alternate picking is usually the first technique one gets acquainted with when starting out with his guitar, few people can really master it and consistently better/faster/cleaner at performing it.

The main reason for that is that most guitarists are not able to identify or isolate their problem areas. Therefore, they cannot solve their problems through practice – since this practice is not well-targeted.

Today’s lesson is designed to solve one of the most common technical problems guitarists face – the coordination between the left hand 3^rd and 4^th fingers. I have used this specific exercise for several years with my own students and it has proven extremely helpful in hundreds of cases of students that had uneven development of independence between their fingers, as well as coordination challenges

Practicing Philosophy

In my lessons, Philosophy of Practicing is really NOT philosophical at all. It’s an essential part of your lesson and you should ALWAYS READ it BEFORE starting to work on the actual exercise. It is the reason each lesson is made up for, and therefore it is critical because it helps you understand why you’re doing it, how you should go about it and what the desirable goal is.

The coordination between the 3^rd and the 4^th is always trouble. The reason is pure physiology, since these fingers are the only pair of fingers that share the same tendon. For this reason, we emphasize working out almost all the exercises with this pair of fingers.

If you can play a pattern that requires cooperation from these two fingers, then this pattern is in your muscle memory; there’s no other possible combination of fingers in the same pattern that can make it harder for you to play it.

So we have a double goal here:

1. Build up your 3^rd and 4^th fingers’ stamina, so you don’t get tired when using 16^th notes regardless of the fret board location you’re in and regardless of the amount of time you are supposed to play these notes!
2. Get this pattern recorded in your muscle memory, so that you’ll be able to use that in your playing whenever you feel like it!

Important

You should familiarize yourself with the concept of isolating and practicing on your problem areas both on a mental AND an emotional level.

Basically you should understand you are working ON YOUR WEAKER POSSIBLE SPOTS. This means:

1. on the musical/mental level – you are not going to sound cool in the beginning. You’re not even going to sound good the first day or the first week. Don’t expect to reach full speed overnight. The idea is completely different: STAMINA. You don’t build stamina by running at your full speed. You do it by mastering your body movements and by putting the hours in to make these movements your second nature.
2. on the emotional level – A LOT OF FRUSTRATION. Don’t deny or fight this feeling. It’s a very important one. Every time frustration kicks in, progress is right around the corner. Frustration is just another name for your comfort zone screaming out of the top of its voice to let it be; you don’t want that of course. If you did, you wouldn’t be reading these lines.

Maximum frustration point is in many cases a sound indication of betterment. Embrace it. If you can somehow manage it emotionally and practice your way out of it, you will have done a very big step towards guitar mastery.

Guidelines

Consistency is #1 rule to follow here. This exercise is meant to build up your left hand’s stamina while maintaining rhythm, clarity and fluency. So, make sure to:

1. NOT play this at full speed! It’s both meaningless AND dangerous.
   1. Meaningless, because we’re after stamina, not speed. As we’ve already explained, stamina does not get built by speeding, but by repetition of the pattern, so that they become your second nature.
   2. Dangerous, because this lesson, no matter how simple it may seem to you, is a very good way to suffer an injury if you push yourself too much!
2. STOP if you feel pain! If you start hurting, stop and stretch for a few minutes, then resume. Getting injured is NOT going to help you become a virtuoso any faster!
3. Always make sure the notes you play sound crystal clear. If you don’t, you’re not on the right track, and this lesson won’t do you any good at all.
4. Do this with a metronome! Keeping check of the rhythm when fatigue sets in is a very important part of the lesson. Not ignoring your beat under ABSOLUTELY ANY circumstances is a biggie here!

Finally, make sure you work this pattern in all other strings as well. But always make sure you follow the aforementioned guidelines (1-4)

Have fun!

Ioannis

As I frequently mention in my Guitar Mastery Blueprint speaking presentations, I have been coaching guitarists pretty much full time for 20+ years. After spending this kind of time, 30-40 hours per week with all kinds of different personalities that have an almost identical goal in mind, it really becomes quite easy to start identifying certain behavioral patterns and traits that invariably lead to VERY specific results – either positive (rarely) or negative (much more often…)

So, I will start a series of posts dealing with the issue of being a self-taught guitarist. However, before I continue, I want to make 2 very important clarifications

1)      This post refers to people that are self-taught by CHOICE – not for any other reason

2)      I am referring to those that wish to become excellent at the specific art form – not to people that are cool with being “just ok” with it, play a few songs for their friends etc.

So, I get very often the question about whether is it possible to learn guitar by yourself – that is be Self-Taught. We are talking about reaching a high-quality, contemporary level guitar playing, similar to the skillset of the top professional in the field, people like John Petrucci, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, etc… You get the idea.

The problem with this question is first of all the PHRASING of the question. Let me illustrate.

Just a few weeks ago, I read that during the last 25 years, around 20 (more or less) people have survived jumping from high flying airplanes, either WITHOUT a parachute, or (in most cases) with a parachute that FAILED to open.

These people SURVIVED (having sustained various heavy injuries, obviously).

So, it is very clear that, it is POSSIBLE to jump from a flying airplane without a parachute and survive

Is it PROBABLE to survive this, though?  Not really…I forget the exact statistics, but I think I remember the chances being roughly around 1 out of 200,000 to survive this kind of thing. Which brings me to my next point…

Is it ADVISABLE to TRY this? Obviously, the answer here is DEFINITELY not! And , if you are wondering, think what you would say if your child, or any person you love came to you and told you that they are planning to jump out of a high flying plane without a parachute….

“But”, I hear 4,672 self-taught guitarists cry, “I have heard that Yngwie/Marty/Steve were self taught!!! How do you explain that?!?!?!”

Guys (and girls)…these are the ones that JUMPED and SURVIVED.

Before you start “cheering” of the validity and efficiency their method – PLEASE inquire about  the vast numbers of those that “jumped” and did not survive…

The same argument can be made about all kinds of really dangerous stunts and even totally freaky stuff, like running multiple times across 8 lanes of traffic blindfolded or shooting yourself in the head.

A (very) small percentage of people will survive these activities (even being shot in the head)…

Feel free to cheer for them and make them feel really good for themselves that they made it.

But don’t forget the ones that did not…

To be Continued

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]]> http://ioannis.org/play-the-guitar-part-1/feed/ 7 http://ioannis.org/food-for-thought-a-favorite-story/ http://ioannis.org/food-for-thought-a-favorite-story/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:12:52 +0000 admin http://ioannisblog.com/?p=640   [ Read More ]]]> A farmer had only one horse.  One day, his horse ran away.

All the neighbors came by saying, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”   The man just said, “We’ll see.”

A few days later, his horse came back with twenty wild horses.  The man and his son corraled all 21 horses.

All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”   The man just said, “We’ll see.”

One of the wild horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs.

All the neighbors came by saying, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”   The man just said, “We’ll see.”

The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.

All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”   The man just said, “We’ll see.”

Therefore, I decided to write a short series of mini-posts on the most usual mistakes people will do when learning to play guitar. These are mistake that will SERIOUSLY hinder your progress, and I suggest you find ways to avoid them at pretty much all costs…. So, in essence, this is something similar to FAQ – or rather an “F.M.” – Frequent mistakes. You literally CANNOT believe how many times I’ve heard these exact stories… so let’s see if I can help a little bit in “preventing” these from happening again…

Mistake #1: Waiting to get “good” before you start lessons

What usually happens:

Young kid finds out about me and my guitar coaching and wants to have private lessons with me. Even though he REALLY wants that a lot (which is the thing that is MOST important), he does not DARE to call/email/chat with me because he feels he is not GOOD enough on the instrument to have my attention…(which is not the case)

So he stays home practicing (mostly useless stuff) for THREE YEARS, before he feels “worthy” of my attention…meanwhile 3 years of what could have been QUALITY tuition and practice time is lost…plus now I have to undo 3 ADDITIONAL years of damage of all the bad habits, now much more deeply ingrained in his playing!

FAQuestion:

“But, Ioannis, don’t you screen your potential students for ability BEFORE you teach them”?

Answer:

“I do not screen for ability – it is MY responsibility to CREATE that ability. I DO screen for ATTITUDE. I want a student that will be motivated and willing to follow instructions“

What SHOULD happen:

1. Don’t wait. If you have found out the teacher you want to study with, if you feel you can depend on that person and that you can trust him, contact him NOW. Not next week , Not tomorrow. NOW. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME – it is the ONLY non renewable resource in your life!
2. Do not care about how “good” you are BEFORE you start your lessons. Are you going to a top teacher to GET GOOD? Or are you going there so that he can tell you how GOOD you ALREADY are? Honestly, if you were THAT good, people would already be talking about you all around. So, chances are, you are not THAT good – YET! Keep in mind – you are going to a teacher and PAYING him to help you GET good – NOT tell you how awesome you already are… So, care a lot about if he can help you GET good!

http://ping.fm/0ZbRu

Well, from my experience, the main reason why most people fail, is

LACK OF BALANCE!

(in their skills and approach to music)

This lack of Balance manifests itself in many different areas that manifest in a multitude of ways eg.

• going CRAZY on technique and never learning the other important skills in music…
• Focusing SOLELY on lead guitar and neglecting the craft of rhythm guitar…
• playing only by ear and never learning any theory…
• learning ONLY one musical style and not diversify your approach…

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]]> http://ioannis.org/why-most-guitarists-fail/feed/ 0 http://ioannis.org/january-2009-month-overview/ http://ioannis.org/january-2009-month-overview/#comments Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:54:37 +0000 Ioannis Anastassakis http://ioannisanastassakis.wordpress.com/?p=517 This  was a very exciting month!

Organised 2 Greek Guitar Power Festivals - at Volos and Athens,

Finished all the mixing and masterings for my Orbital Attempt CD,

Finished recording the CD and creating the DVD for my upcoming “Sweeping Licks” book/CD/DVD for MEl Bay Publications,

Met Greg Howe and spent quite some time talking music & Music Business with him,

and FINALLY getting my sponsoring from Roland and my Roland VG 99!

Colour me VERY happy!

The answer is VERY simple, really

ATTITUDE.

1% of the aspiring guitar players will be insanely talented at the instrument – learning really fast without a lot of effort.

1%-3% of the aspiring guitar players will be “lost causes” – due to lack of ability related to finger mechanics and lack of ANY kind of musical sense & direction

That leaves 97%…

The vast majority of people will obviously be in that 97%…

ATTITUDE is what will determine the outcome.

What do I mean by attitude? There’s  a LONG list of qualities, desirable qualities that will help significantly.

But that’s for another post….

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://ioannis.org/music-success-mechanisms-part-1-of-many/feed/ 0 http://ioannis.org/detailed-info-for-the-january-ggp-athens-electric-guitar-festival/ http://ioannis.org/detailed-info-for-the-january-ggp-athens-electric-guitar-festival/#comments Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:15:53 +0000 Ioannis Anastassakis http://ioannisanastassakis.wordpress.com/?p=512

My sponsored Visual Sound Effect Pedals for myself (and Greek Guitar Power) had arrived in a nice hefty box !

I did not even have to carry it – my brother dropped it off at my studio…

Everything I wanted to use and try out was included - 8 packages all together

Many sincere thanks to Visual Sound for trusting me with their equipment !

Stay tuned for photos from the unboxing – Christmas is EARLY this year!!!

·        Alternate Picking

·        Crosspicking

·        Chordal Picking

·        Legato

·        Sweeping

·        Tapping

·        Pick & Fingers

·        Wide Stretches

·        String Skipping

·        Left-hand Tapping

·        8-Finger Tapping

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://ioannis.org/instruction-listing-of-contemporary-guitar-techniques/feed/ 0 http://ioannis.org/audio-track-the-promised-land-cd-orbital-attempt/ http://ioannis.org/audio-track-the-promised-land-cd-orbital-attempt/#comments Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:00:56 +0000 Ioannis Anastassakis http://ioannisanastassakis.wordpress.com/?p=482 Let’s get thing rolling , as far as my new Instrumental CD is concerned!

Here’s an audio track for your listening & downloading Pleasure!

The Promised Land

at least as far as various Sponsoring and collaborations with major music-related companies!

Just received a BRAND new, smashing SCHECTER guitar – to be used by my students during our guitar lessons!

I am VERY excited about it – not to mention how excited my students are!

Pics are forthcoming!

Ioannis, I am confused! WHERE are YOU located currently?

“I am in Greece – specifically in Athens. That’s where I live and teach. Although I enjoy travelling and performing around Europe, I DO have a stable “base of operations”!

Ioannis, I was wondering if you could give me some GUITAR LESSONS….

“Probably – at the very least, we can definitely meet, chat and do some guitar playing together. I’ll assess your playing level & discuss your music goals and we’ll either work together or I will refer you to one of my MORE ADVANCED students that teach using my method”

Hi! I am a big fan of your music and I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to get REALLY good on guitar…
“Yes! GET A COMPETENT GUITAR TEACHER! That’s the best advice anyone can give you at any level of playing. Make sure you note that I said COMPETENT – that means STAY AWAY from imaginary-rock-star has-beens and the like and get someone that enjoys teaching and communicating his/her knowledge to you! Also, make sure he is proficient in the style you want to learn. Don’t buy the crap that “you need to learn classical guitar firstto learn electric” or that “you need to get good in Jazz if you want to become a better rock player”

Ioannis, I have an AMAZING CD recording and I am looking for a record company! I see that you are heavily involved in Wild Rose Angel Productions! Can you help release my CD with this record company?
“Probably not…  This is something that I do ONLY for my advanced guitar students. These are ALL young guys that I have been working with for at least 2-6 years and I have invested a lot of time in their musical development (plus we are good friends)!
Please , do not take it personally, it has NOTHING to do with your playing level or technique – this is a “service” that is only available to my advanced students”

Ioannis, I am looking for a manager and I see that you are professionally managing some guitar players! Can you manage me?

“Again, probably not…  This is something that I do ONLY for my advanced guitar students. !

Please , do not take it personally, it has NOTHING to do with your playing level or technique – this is a “service” that is only available to my advanced students ”

Ioannis, I am a professional player looking for some sponsorings and I see that you have managed to abtain an AMAZING number of sponsorings for an instrumental guitarist! Can you help me get some sponsorings for myself and/or my band?

“Once again, this is something that I do ONLY for my advanced guitar students.
Please, do not take it personally, it has NOTHING to do with your playing level or technique – this is a “service” that is only available to my advanced students.
However, if you send me your demo I can make some suggestions on which companies to approach for sponsoring, depending on your style of music ”

Ioannis, YOU SUCK! I am 10,000 times guitarist better than you!
“Well, good for you – the world needs as many great guitarists as possible! Good luck with your career!”

My sponsored EMG pickups for myself (and Greek Guitar Power) had arrived in a nice hefty box !

Everything was included – 81s, 85s, 707s and more !

These are amazing pickups and I honestly cannot wait to install them on my guitars!

Many thanks to EMG for trusting me with their equipment !

Here are some photos from the unboxing – Christmas is EARLY this year!!!!

These are amazing pedals, and I could not wait to get my hands on them!!

The specific wah pedals I got are the Zakk Wylde Wah and the

Dime Cry Baby from Hell!

Pictures from the unboxing coming soon!

Many thanks to Jim Dunlop for trusting us with their equipment and

to Anastassis Kagmakis for his help!

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://ioannis.org/sponsors-jim-dunlop/feed/ 0 http://ioannis.org/ggp-posters-for-the-first-ggp-festivals-of-2009/ http://ioannis.org/ggp-posters-for-the-first-ggp-festivals-of-2009/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:35:22 +0000 Ioannis Anastassakis http://ioannisanastassakis.wordpress.com/?p=388 Just ordered the first posters for the January 2009 GGP festivals. They should be here in a couple of days!

Stathis has done  a great job in updating the design of the posters with the new members and it’s good timing that we get them now, just before Christmas season!

It seems we decided we will be makign a nice banch of custom Greek Guitar Power guitar picks to be giving away at out festivals!

As soon as we come up wth a couple of cool designs, i’ll be posting them here for everybody to comment on!

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://ioannis.org/ggp-custom-guitar-picks/feed/ 0 http://ioannis.org/lick-of-the-week-pick-fingers-pentatonics/ http://ioannis.org/lick-of-the-week-pick-fingers-pentatonics/#comments Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:21:18 +0000 Ioannis Anastassakis http://ioannisanastassakis.wordpress.com/?p=331

Theodore seems to think that having a very stylish, ambroidered t-shirt would be the best choice – I am torn between that and a regular heavy-metal style of T-shirt, featuring our handome faces and our guitars!

No definitive desicion yet!

an excellent Australian guitarist that plays a mean progressive style of electric guitar!

Check out his WWW site and tell me what you think of his playing!

[youtube=http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=k-vROaEmgcs&feature=channel_page]

Greek Guitar Power, Vol.1 CD!

I keep thinking that even though this upcoming CD is my 4th (or my 5th? I’m losing track here…), it NEVER ceases to amaze me how much hard work and how

much micro-management of a million little damn details is needed to produce a final result that reached acceptable standards!

Honestly, artists that continuously nag about the “record companies doing nothing”  should really try to produce their own CDs for a change!

I can (almost) guarantee that most of them will finish this project with newfound respect of the quantity of man-hours it takes to produce this!

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