How to Warm Up With Groove Scales (Part 1)
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Muchas gracias,por compartir tu manera única y original de tocar la guitarra,admiro mucho tu Swing es como si tuvieses a la orquesta de Stevie Wonder en tus dedos. No entiendo el idioma inglés,pero la música sí. Saludos
Thanks very much Adam, I play by ear and started reading music. For a long time I wanted to know why scales are good, and you’ve posted several good reasons.
They’ll help for sure!
Adam,
I have searched for many lessons online. You have become the best so far. I think what sets you apart is how important groove is to you and to the guitarist. I hadn’t ever heard someone say that before. And doing a scale exercise that way TOTALLY opens up the creative side of music. Wow!
I dig the huge headphones. lol
Thanks, Adam. I guess this is among the best guitar lessons I ever had – certainly the best one about how to practice scales with purpose and in a meaningful way. I also enjoyed some of your articles very much. Hope to return home soon to work on some of your DVDs which are sitting on the shelf waiting for me…. All the best and good luck in your endeavors, T.
Tbone! Thank you.
Hey Adam! You know what I’d like to see and what I imagine most of your loyal fans and true students of the guitar might also enjoy and benefit from, is in watching you demonstrate one of your own complete daily practice routines uncut, un-interupted and unsensored. lol In other words, I’d love to see you maybe set up the camera (just a suggestion) then watch you go through a typical Adam Rafferty daily practice routine, so that we may observe some of the more finer points that you consider important and necessary for the musical progress and growth of the student, applied in full color. I just happen to think that the “How to practice,” part of many students education is often over looked, to the students detriment. I think to see this, would be invaluable for students of the guitar to observe. We don’t often get to see our teachers in the middle of one of their own practice sessions and how they problem solve and what their over all process is while they practice. You know what I’m saying? I think most students have this idea about us as teachers, that it all comes so easy and that since we’ are teachers, that we couldn’t possibly understand what our students are struggling with any longer, because of course we’re teachers, so we already know it all right? RRRRight. lol Anyway like I said, just a suggestion, but also something I’ve never seen done or if it has been done by someone, I must have missed it. lol Anyway it’s definitely something I’d think about. I see more and more guitar students everyday, who were never really taught HOW to practice, but instead just the what, We see the “what” everywhere on the web, but I don’t really see too much materiel out there, whose sole purpose is to educate the guitar student on how to properly practice and get the most out of your practice session. I could go on, but I know you understand. Anyway thanks for a great lesson Adam and looking forward to more as always. Peace and God bless to you and yours always. 🙂
August that’s a great idea. I’d have to cut out the 1000 repetitions though 🙂
Desde Costa Rica
Muchas gracias Adam
Aprendo mucho con tus lecciones y las difundo con mis amigos
Millones de gracias por tus aportes a la comunidad guitarrística del mundo entero !!!
Groove Scales are very good to warm up , i have used them with some of my students,but only one did well,or two maybe. Today i have recorded a videos doing it , Grooves Scales ,12 keys , beggining in G , in 5th , and i have make some mistakes,because i have not used the grooves scales with a flat pick for a long,long time.But today has been the D day , Thank You Adam . And also long time ago from now,i only play with my fingers , not picks , ANY , but i have a lot of them, but man, i feel confortable, today,without pick,but i promise to use them ,and to work out with them ,flat pick(wegen) and also Thumbpick ( dunlop medium) . Maybe ill upload the video of Groove scales i just recorded right now,and tell to the people play with my video,good lesson,and only my foot in 2 and 4 . NO metronome , like you say ,also . Good Luck ,and keep grooving.Like you say. And this is FYEO , i have been in the HOSPITAL , 6 to 27 of august 2014 , without any guitar, i could not play the guitar because i was in a very Special place. Good Day ,from Spain,Guadalajara. I got the whole Enchilada,and also i bought your last on demand video,but no time to see it yet . 😉 I am working hard in the guitar,and also in YT ,and also in FB , oh man,i feel alone,but i live with a wife and a 11 son,close to 12,and he plays the piano,very well.And he got perfect pitch,and he read piano things a lot better than me.I am very grateful.The Music is wonderful.Powerful,and also curative.
i wanted to say video,only one. And also today ,and for a long,long time i have not students.Maybe in a close future i’ll do Skype. ¿Skype? I speak 3 languages ,and my english is better when i write or read , but when i speak maybe i looks like tarzan , and for sure you can listen strong spanish accent. 🙂
Carlos,
In case you’re still around this site. You could try the Saddle Thumb Pick (saddlethumbpicks.com/). It allows you to pick up/down without falling off your thumb. For fingerstyle I use natural nails plus a Saddle thumb pick. I find the picking motion of a thumb pick more natural than a thumbnail – the thumbpick moves in the same direction as the fingers, across the strings.. Of course if you learned Classical Style, you’ve already learned to twist your thumb around to hit the strings at something like 90 degrees.
Saddle stays on your thumb by fitting properly. The Dunlop style (all the others) fits by pinching your thumb. Play a Saddle pick for 3-4 hours, and you’ll realize there’s no wear or pain in your thumb at all
Nice and helpful. I appreciate your help. A suggestion: Although the information you give is very important, you start actually doing the warm-up at 4:48 min. (the whole video lasts 5:46 min.). What that means is that the credo of “Show, don’t tell” could perhaps be partially applied here; if only modified into “Show AND tell”-which is even better. In other words, do something earlier [much earlier] and then tell us why you do it that way. This minivideo was more suspenseful than a Hitchcock movie.
Cheers,
Dave
Dave I will keep that in mind and try to shut my mouth more! 🙂 Thanks for commenting and sorry for the late reply! – AR