Help required with the challenging phrases

Buco

It is. Strange that it works like that but it does.

Jim Kaznosky

@Buco how slow is slow?

Jazzaferri

For me it depends, but it's slow enough that my mind never loses the zone working out a fingering or a picking pattern

Sometimes for triplets to a chord shot it might be down around 40......most of the time if eighths, between 60 and 80. REALLY LAZY SLOW. If you can get the feel and the groove at that speed, no garbZge between notes ....always with a metronome or band in a box or iRealPro .....ALWAYS....something keeping accurate time that you have to LISTEN to.

Jim Kaznosky

Ok. That's pretty slow, but I've been trying it this week just for the heck of it with playalongs at about 35% speed in Transcribe. It is not easy.

Jazzaferri

Nope it's not, but it is really worth it.

You'll know you are at the right speed if your hands, wrists, arms AND brain feel totally relaxed, no stress, no thinking, able to hear, feel and see everything going on.

Jazzaferri

Don't forget, work on small bits, one phrase, get it totally grooved before the next....and at the end of working on that phrase try it a couple of times at speed. If you get it right at speed move on to the next hit....repeat....then try both together, first slow then at speed.

Jim Kaznosky

I've just learned Gonzalo's Coquette solo from Djangophonic last week and have been running it through this. In particular, there are three pretty ridiculous phrases, including that 16th note chromatic thing does at the end of the second A.

Buco

Jim Kaznosky wrote: »

@Buco how slow is slow?

What Jay said, 60 sometimes 40.
When I'm just learning something new I'll do it half of what I'm trying to learn from, practice for a while and attempt it at full speed and go back and forth like. Once I know the piece I'll settle at what I'm comfortable with for my own performance attempting this target tempo occasionally.

Buco

For example like this.
At less than a quarter of it's original speed it's not easy.
180bpm not easy, 90bpm easy, 40bpm not easy again.
Don't fall asleep as you watch it...

Jim Kaznosky

That makes sense and thank you for sharing. When do you feel it is appropriate to move up in tempo? I'm guessing that you learn the piece and then you put it through this cycle where you are slow practicing and moving then to half speed, then to full speed? Are you automatically going to full speed?