GUITAR
THREE ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES TO PRACTICE | Chris Rocha & Jonathan Diaz
Improving your guitar skills is a continuous process and I haven ’ t even gotten close to be as good as I ’ d like to be , but it doesn ’ t stop me from trying to get where I want . Below Johnathan and I have come up with three essential techniques that ’ ll get you on your way to your end goal as a guitarist .
PRECISE CHORD CHANGES
No matter the level of the musician , this is always going to be a little bit of a problem . To the beginner simple chord changes from open chords to bar chords can be a challenge , to the intermediate learning 7 chords or shell voicings can be a challenge because of a new approach to finger placement , or learning the different voicings available to play . To the advanced player maybe it ’ s playing chord and melody at the same time . No matter the level everyone has to practice their chord changes , and every time we try something new it always feels like going back to step one .
As I ’ m writing this , I am texting one of my students that ’ s having a problem with switching from B minor to G major . And no matter the level of the player I always give them the same advice - play just the chord changes slow , focus on what fingers have the smallest movement , and what fingers have the biggest movement , and then use the metronome to start slow and move up . It ’ s almost like learning a new dance but just hyper focused on your fingers .
CONFIDENT RHYTHM
Rhythm for the beginner is always a little bit of a hiccup . Most of the times when we start playing guitar , we have a tendency of just playing downstrokes . Over time we start to use our hands more like a metronome , where we strum down on the downbeats , up on the up beats , and so on and so forth . Still , if we ’ re not careful we can fall back into the trap where our strumming technique becomes an inconvenience .
For example , in songs like “ Etched ” by Lakewood the guitar only plays a specific part , it doesn ’ t really diverge from its original part too much . The guitar has to be as ‘ in the pocket ’ as the drummer and not add any extra rhythmic parts . Songs like that can be a challenge to many people , the only real advice anyone can offer in a song like that is to be disciplined and not add any extra playing , even if we really want to . As someone who needs to cover both rhythm and lead parts , I sometimes struggle with not playing more than I have to .
ARTICULATION
Every guitarist loves to play solos , and there is nothing wrong with that , but one important detail that gets overlooked a lot is the right kind of articulation . For example , if we ’ re playing a melody and the dynamic level of the song is low , we should probably play softer . If there ’ s a high point on a song then obviously we can
play harder . But one place where articulation is important is how it interacts with your amplifiers and distortions , especially when the amp is on the edge of break up kind of sound . If we play harder , the distortion of the amp will come out more , if we play a little softer we can hear more of the natural compressed sound and the chimy top end of the amp .
But where it ’ s most important is when the way we play a melodic line and it doesn ’ t sound choppy and broken up , and not like a melodic singable line . Holding on to notes for the right amount of time , choosing the right dynamic to play , making notes either sound staccato or legato , that ’ s all important . The best way to practice and improve this is by singing the part that you need to learn , and practice singing and playing at the same time .
These three simple concepts will help any guitarist sound more mature over the course of their playing . I know I try to practice this every day and it has helped me get better over time .
Chris Rocha Lives in Houston , TX , and is the guitarist and producer for Miel San Marcos
Jonathan Diaz Jonathan is a guitarist who is not only involved with his local church , but is the director of School of Rock Cocowalk , and an instructor for CR online .