What constitutes mastery?

robertsaunders

Michael,

On p.33 you talk about completely mastering the basic picking patterns (before moving on to the next chapter of musical examples). Does this mean that I should not only achieve smooth, perfect execution, but also work each one up to a high speed?

-Rob

MichaelHorowitz

Hi Robert, good question.

Since we need a definition of "mastery," how about this:

Ability to play a given pattern flawlessly at a medium tempo (120 BPM).

This means absolutely no mistakes. And your execution should feel relaxed and natural. Once you can do this you're ready to move on and play the patterns.

This sort of careful attention pays off later on. If you practice carefully and meticulously from the get go, then then your muscle memory gets programmed correctly and you don't have to worry about it much after that. If you get lazy and cheat, then you'll never really get it right.

good luck!

-Michael

dennis

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Hi Robert, good question.

Since we need a definition of "mastery," how about this:

Ability to play a given pattern flawlessly at a medium tempo (120 BPM).


-Michael

i don't know if i agree with that, i'm leaning more towards 121.87 bpm

robertsaunders

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Hi Robert, good question.

Since we need a definition of "mastery," how about this:

Ability to play a given pattern flawlessly at a medium tempo (120 BPM).

This means absolutely no mistakes. And your execution should feel relaxed and natural. Once you can do this you're ready to move on and play the patterns.

This sort of careful attention pays off later on. If you practice carefully and meticulously from the get go, then then your muscle memory gets programmed correctly and you don't have to worry about it much after that. If you get lazy and cheat, then you'll never really get it right.

good luck!

-Michael

Michael,

Thanks, this sounds like a reasonable standard. 120 bpm is a benchmark that's not unattainable and wouldn't depress the hell out of me. Although my personal preference would be around 120.7 bpm.


-Rob

MichaelHorowitz

dennis wrote:

i don't know if i agree with that, i'm leaning more towards 121.87 bpm

Sorry...we're a little slow here in the US. That's just too fast for us!

Jack

dennis wrote:

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Hi Robert, good question.

Since we need a definition of "mastery," how about this:

Ability to play a given pattern flawlessly at a medium tempo (120 BPM).


-Michael

i don't know if i agree with that, i'm leaning more towards 121.87 bpm

But Dennis, you're forgetting the Canadian conversion rate.