Dynamics

[daveinspain]

Dynamics... So important and could be the difference between and average player and a good player... What do you do to keep your subtle parts subtle, your rhythms solid and your leads fat and present? I'm not talking about stomp boxes and electronics only. I mean more the way you play, hold the pic, hit the strings....etc.

 

I have the tendency to thrash though everything, I play too hard and grip the neck too tight. I need to lighten up... Anybody have any thoughts on breaking those bad habits?

[damian]

Less coffee; just kidding.......With a guitar collection like yours, that alone is a good start. I'll wait to see what the others say, then I'll add my comments, which will be serious, as I have recently been spanked gently by the powers that be.

[Kimbabig]

I had a very harsh touch until I started my Fusion.

[Sinner 13]

being aware of these is a start. I tend to over grip while fretting.

when I catch my self doing this(usually struggling with new material)

I'll ease up and usually nail whatever the riff or part is.

 

Attack,

What can you say accept that right hand technique is just as important as clean fretting, and limber digits.

 

my two cents.

 

[MrNylon]

Get yourself in the frame of mind that you are starting guitar playing new. Start back into it slowly. Most bad habits aren't picked up over night. For years I made the bass harder for me to play than it really is. I feel more comfortable playing now than I ever have. Have fun with the giutar like you did when the world was a simpler place.

[saturn]

Like sinner13 says, just being aware is a big part.

 

Aside from varying how tight you hold your pick or attack the strings, there are a few other simple things you can do to add some dynamics.

 

* Strum UP occasionally at just the right spot. A nice low strum, almost like a raking motion.

* Quickly hammer-on to some notes from a whole or half step below the target note, but still sounds like one note, not two.

* Strum or pick a note exactly between where you're fretting and the bridge. This gives a harmonic or bell-like effect.

[daveinspain]

Very cool tips Saturn, thanks...

[L5Larry]

Like sinner13 says, just being aware is a big part.

 

Let me take this concept one step farther.

 

PAY ATTENTION and LISTEN to what's going on around you. The best musical collaborations and improvisations are CONVERSATIONS. It doesn't matter whether you're the soloist or the accompanist, if you don't listen what's being said, how can you answer.

 

That's the conceptual idea, now let me tell what you can do mechanically/physically as a guitar player.

 

When most people talk about dynamics, they're talking about bring the volume/energy DOWN for soft passages. Have a DEFAULT procedure for instantly bringing your volume down. Many guitar players want to go for the volume knob, and that's fine. BUT, most soft passages will benefit from more than just a volume change. Try tone and texture changes as well.

 

A flip of a switch from one pickup position to another can not only give you volume change, but also a change in flavor and texture. If you're Rockin' along balls-to-the-wall in the neck position, a simple flip of the switch to the "both" pickup position will give you a nice drop in volume and a completely different tonal spectrum. On my 345, the Varitone knob also works very well for this. Dynamics are not ONLY about volume.

 

OK, here's my secret weapon for dynamics changes, PALM YOUR PICK. Unless your thumbnail protrudes 1/4" out from your thumb, the simple change of strumming with a plectrum, or strumming with your thumb, will make a HUGE difference in volume, texture and tone. Years ago I developed a way to tuck the pick between the second knuckles of the my index and middle fingers in such a way that I can put it there and retrieve it in milliseconds. There are many other ways to do this, the most common is to "press" the pick into the palm of your hand with your ring and/or little fingers, whatever works for you is the "right" way.

 

The main thing is to know your "tools", and how to use them. You've got the guitar and all it's volume and tone controls, plus pickup selector switch, plus the plectrum, plus the five fingers on your right hand. Without a single pedal or effects processor you have MANY options.

[daveinspain]

Thanks for sharing Larry.... great stuff!!

[charlie brown]

This may sound to obvious, but playing with people,

that are willing, even eager to use dynamics, is critical...IMHO.

I'm struggling with that very thing, right now. I want to, and DO

use dynamics, in all the above mentioned ways, as often as possible.

However, the people I'm playing with, don't, more often, than not.

Especially the other guitar player, and drummer. It's a volume war,

with them. Which is quite frustrating, for me...and the bass player

as well, quite often. I would go elsewhere, but there's precious

little choice, of people to play with, around here. I bring this

"dynamics" subject up, at every rehearsal, and before (and after)

every gig we play. I've recieved, at best, patient (on their part)

indulgence, and at worst (most of the time), utter indifference.

And, we're not talking about very young, or inexperienced players...

"immature," for sure...maybe even a bit egotistical, but not inexperienced.

So, it's really important, to be on the same page, dynamically, as it is

in what you want to do, musically, as well. Again...IMHO.

 

And yes, I will still keep at them! IF we can (finally) come to an understanding,

it will only be beneficial, for all concerned, and the music itself.

 

CB

[Versatile]

An ongoing challenge to infuse one's playing with taste and musicality.

Listening to great players is a start.

Connecting head with hands and controlling the instrument is important.

Tremolo picking and strumming is a skill to develop...playing as quietly as possible without turning the volume down.

 

 

 

 

 

[surfpup]

I play too hard and grip the neck too tight. I need to lighten up... Anybody have any thoughts on breaking those bad habits?

 

Lots of good advice here regarding listening etc. I too am very heavy handed. That's the reason I need 11 gauge. Otherwise I will play sharp. Anyhow, back to your question... how to achieve dynamics when you play with heavy hands... palm muting. That helps me tremendously. The heel of my right hand is rarely far from the bridge.

 

I've also learned over time to back off the pick attack for lighter parts, but this is hard when you are heavy handed and I forget sometimes.

 

My own worst problem regarding dynamics is diving in full speed to lead breaks - no build up, no foreplay as the wife might say - just full speed ahead. I need to slow down and build some drama.

[G McBride]

In times when you are playing in a group, you can sometimes change your dynamics and still be heard by using a different voicing of the same notes and chords. Your guitar has many voices all up and down the neck and sometimes we forget to use them.

[brundaddy]

Dynamics... So important and could be the difference between and average player and a good player... What do you do to keep your subtle parts subtle, your rhythms solid and your leads fat and present? I'm not talking about stomp boxes and electronics only. I mean more the way you play, hold the pic, hit the strings....etc.

 

I have the tendency to thrash though everything, I play too hard and grip the neck too tight. I need to lighten up... Anybody have any thoughts on breaking those bad habits?

 

Break from your normal style and learn something different. Try "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang, for starters. Seriously.

[duane v]

It really all depends on the type of music.

 

If we are talking about rock or hard rock, where the guitar is out in the fore-front. Then just get yourself a volume pedal to help with your dynamics. There is no reason to change your playing style.... Your "bad habits" are probably what makes your playing style unique.

 

I have the worst habits when it comes to being a player, but those habits never get in the way of a song when I'm playing with a group.

[Bowdiddley]

It really all depends on the type of music.

 

If we are talking about rock or hard rock, where the guitar is out in the fore-front. Then just get yourself a volume pedal to help with your dynamics. There is no reason to change your playing style.... Your "bad habits" are probably what makes your playing style unique.

 

I have the worst habits when it comes to being a player, but those habits never get in the way of a song when I'm playing with a group.

 

Very true.

[ShredAstaire]

Yeah i am heavy handed for sure, but it works most of the time for my tunes....heavier rock, on the brink of metal...

 

I have trouble sometimes with an opening riff, or a light bridge, but i almost always figure it out.

[Golem]

`

 

 

... the difference between and average player and a good player...

 

You do realize, don't you, that your phrasing clearly indicates

that you see the average player and the good player as being

different entities .... IOW, the average player is NOT "good".

 

Hey, I'm not trying to pick an argument. I'm just checking that

you really mean what you say. No point in tossing an "Amen"

to someone that perhaps didn't mean what I thought I heard.

 

Defining "good" would be a lengthy, sketchy enterprise. But I

can define "player" : "Someone who plays for an audience,

either directly or via recordings."

 

Now ..... you might maybe have been critical of the "average

player" [and I'd agree with you], but here I am being just as

critical of "average" audiences. One hand washeth t'othern.

 

 

 

 

 

`

[LPguitarman]

The attack with your pick is everything. My amp and Les Paul combination give me clean on the clean channel when I ease up with the pick. Loosen your grip a little and pick softly. But a good hard attack, still on the clean channel, gives me a nice tube distortion. Of course I can always crank it with the dirty channel.

 

Also the way you hold the pick and the angle you pick the strings is a big factor. Pick with a little angle and you get a good bite. Flatten the pick and you get smooth deep sounds. Don't squeeze the neck too hard either. Lighten up and you'll find you can move up and down the neck easier too.

 

As Larry said earlier, use your different pickups too. I usually use the bridge, switch to the middle position for mellow and rich cleans, and switch to the neck position for good bluesy sounds.

[milod]

I think there have been a lot of good ideas passed on here so far.

 

I sat and thought about this while I drank a cuppa coffee...

 

Here's where I come in on it. Yes, probably the major factor of technique to use for the sorts of dynamics involved here will be varied by the style of music as much as anything.

 

In the really olden days of baroque music, a favored technique on all sorts of instruments was to have more playing at a given time since they didn't have much in the way of volume controls. We might vary that in a way by playing fewer strings and different chord inversions. On any sort of guitar that also might force a bit of greater accuracy with your pick and/or inclusion of various hand muting techniques.

 

For example, even on a solo gig, you don't have to have a strum going every instant of a given performance. Sometimes what isn't played is as important as anything that is. That's true of a band and equally true of each individual member as long as there's communication and agreement on the "sound" produced in a given piece.

 

Another potential used by a lotta acoustic pickers might be playing closer to the neck than even at the soundhole. Since the strings vibrate a lot more there, but with a different tone, that really kinda hits your head as to what you're doing and I think it, combined again with some light hand muting, can make differences, too. This works on electrics, too.

 

I personally tend to overdo when I'm on an isolated stage, solo. I think I'm probably doing my best in a more intimate stage setting with an audience or with band members close enough to hear and watch the interaction among us.

 

I haven't played with others in a bit more than a year, but as a guy who mostly fingerpicks, I still found playing rhythm for rock, blues and country pretty easy to do as long as nobody expects a "cover" of a specific band that has a specific sound. The "dynamics" come from a combination of how many strings I pick, where I pick them on the string (closer or farther from the neck or bridge) and how hard I pick them - and in ways <grin> how often I pick them.

 

Again, as has been mentioned, assuming you have sufficient "monitor" of what you and the other band members are doing, playing should be an ongoing communication among band members even more than any individual band member with "the crowd." <grin> That's one reason I always loved doing boy-girl duets because that kind of musical communication adds to the performance as well as making the performance communication far easier.

 

BTW, playing with an experienced blind guy - he can see kinda shapes depending on the light - was really kinda enlightening along lines of performance communication. It confirmed my observation that if musicians really want to communicate during an ensemble performance, it can happen. In bigger bands, that's kinda the job of the conductor - but the advantage of the combo is that you reeeeeally can make it work together, or you can all kinda play separately and hope for the best.

 

m

[Riffster]

The way I have been working on lightening my touch is to use the neck pickup, play it too hard and it does not sound good IMO. It is hard to hold back but very much possible. I recorded a clip with light touch a while back and I was happy with the result.

 

The best lesson I've had on playing dynamics was courtesy of the Unknown Hinson, by being right in front of him and see him play I simply learned just how much a right hand can do along with the left hand, damn that dude is good.

[FirstMeasure]

Lotsa good advice so far.

 

For the left hand, remember to "Feel" the neck, not "Grip" it. You don't want to press down any harder than you need to, just enough to get a clear and accurate note. If you can't lighten up your grip try using heavier strings.

 

Right Hand, when you're practicing at home (aka, wood shedding), start a backing track or bass track and start leading (even if you're struggling with rhythm dynamics), use your pick for a few bars, then use your fingers, then both, then back to the pick, then fingers, then both. Keep that up until you can "Palm" your pick without missing a beat. I tend to tuck it between my Ring and Middle Finger.

 

Any exercise that improves right hand dexterity is a plus. Try passing a Quarter from finger to finger over the top of your hand ala W.C. Fields.

 

But, as mentioned before, knowing you need dynamics and trying to play them is half the battle, nothign worse than trying to explain dynamics to "Musicians" who don't know what you're talking about. They're even notated in written music as <=accent, >=Legato, .=Staccato, and a few that escape me right now. Playing dynamics is not a choice, it's part of the deal.

 

{edit} Don't forget, palm muting is not just for Metal, it's a very important Dynamic Tool. Charlie Christian was a very adept palm muter.

[sparky scott 29]

Might sound kinda stupid, but, I kick playing in the dark sometimes, it makes you use you senses more, cuz your more aware if you get my drift?

[Duende]

Firstly hello and long time no see ;

 

(Yes, Milod's mentioning of the Baroque period is very interesting , as there are loads of parallels with say 'shred' guitar and playing an instrument like the harpsichord, that doesn't have the ability to play loud or soft. Trills and mordants made up for the lack of dynamics and also the lack of sustain in both styles; but more so in Baroque keyboard. Good mention!)

 

Re dynamics

 

When I introduce dynamics to pupils for the first time, I approach it in two ways (depending on their nature). in a practical way, to demonstrate the 'shape' of the phrase, I find encouraging them to sing/hum is very helpful, as often it becomes evident straight away which part increases/decreases in volume etc. They feel the music, as they haven't the barrier of considering the guitar and then the dynamics, but rather can go straight to the heart of the matter, literally!

Also asking yourself the question "what part's of the music are really special" ie what parts sound like they convey drama, anger or sadness etc and what can I do to bring that out here?

 

One of my favourite electric players who understands dynamics( and is so musical to me) is Jeff beck. He knows how to use the pick up selector settings and uses the volume and tone controls to express himself through his guitar as much as his picking and fretting and whammy use.

 

There are some very interesting bits of advice here. Thank you.

 

Matt

[milod]

Matt!!!!!

 

Great to have you back...

 

Folks, if you don't know who this player is, you should. Perhaps one of the finest all-around guitarists and musicians ever on the list, and one who knows the theory as well as practice...

 

m