Practice Log for Sunday, 6 May 2018
a look at pick attacks, plus more inside picking May 6, 2018 music| Topic | Notes |
|---|---|
| inside picking | make sure to clear string on the way back |
| pick attack | try to use as little of the pick as possible |
| improvisation | incorporate thirds patterns into lines |
| sight reading | use online generator for material |
I noticed that I use a lot of the pick when I play a lot of picked notes. While this can be useful as a tonal device, it makes passages sound a little choppy, and at higher speeds, it becomes inefficient. I focused on making these passages smoother at moderately fast speeds. In my improv, I tried to incorporate some of the less natural-feeling thirds patterns, specifically the descending 1-3.
ascending thirds down the A-flat scale
After practicing my picking and my patterns, I switched my focus to sight reading. I’m not sure why I felt like doing it, since rarely will I ever have to read a line of music in my line of work, but I felt like it. Since all my music books are in storage, I searched online for a random music generator, and found one that will do for most purposes.
I turned off whole notes, and tried to play the lines generated from the default 5-finger position starting on C. I added A on top of that for a little bit more of a challenge. I wasn’t able to play the lines perfectly, though, especially in the eighth note runs. Ineed to play more slowly next time, and do a better job of trying to read ahead in the music. It’s a difficult skill! The important thing is to learn to recognize intervalic patterns. I’ve still got a fair amount of work to do on sight reading.
For next time
I’ve heard “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers a lot lately, and after Connor sent me a text about how awesome Californication is, I figure I should take a listen to that album and add that song to my repertoire.