MandoTom2 - Posted - 12/02/2019:  05:35:51

In the course of teaching and picking for close to 40 years, it occurred to me along the line that some people are simply 'gifted' with certain things, hand-eye coordination among them.

Others, not so much.

Just as some are gifted runners, cooks, mathematicians, auto mechanics, etc.

Now, I fully believe that good quality study and practice will certainly help anyone get from zero to somewhere better than zero.

I'm not a speed picker by anyone's perspective, but, after having studied for many years as a much younger man, I found that playing with others and especially playing in the spotlight (and often) dramatically improved my picking accuracy and speed.

Where speed is concerned, you have to know the tune well enough that you don't have to 'think' about much while playing it. Your fingers are following the same or similar path as they have before, many times.

So, it's more a matter of 'going through the motions' while you're playing.

Playing with others (often, as occasionally doesn't help noticeably) is a great way to get a tune you already are familiar with, well into your head to the point that you can let loose and improvise a bit.

Now, let's say you've played a particular song so often that you don't have to think about it at all, it just goes smoothly every time you play it.

Put yourself at a gig where people will be passing by watching.

You're going to get a lot of picking time in front of people in the course of 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours.

This kind of actual 'practice' (putting your skills to the test under fire or in the spotlight) hammers in everything that you know very tightly.

At this point, you're at a high level of performance, meaning you can perform while watching the audience, in other words, you're multi-tasking, i.e., picking, thinking, feeling, responding all at the same time.

Compare that to the first time you played with another person.

You may have been so busy just trying to remember the chords, notes, melody, etc., that you didn't have time or the ability at that point, to multi-task.

I've never been fond of 'metronomes' for anything...

I'd much prefer to use an electronic keyboard and run a line out to a practice amp.

I like the sound of drums MUCH MORE than the 'sterile' clicking of a metronome.

They serve a useful purpose, but the music doesn't seem to 'breathe' when anchored by a mechanical piece of equipment.

I've seen bands play live gigs to the loose metronomic sound of an old tractor thumping along in the background... Hilarious, but practical as well as entertaining...

So, preparation is vitally important to speed.

Knowing the song well enough, that the song itself (or your memory of it) isn't slowing you down or holding you back.

Playing with other people in a casual setting is a good warm up and good way to build yourself up to playing faster and faster...

Ultimately, once you've got the tune and playing with people under your belt, playing in public (with your natural adrenaline and maybe a soda or cup of coffee in your system) is the final step (in my opinion) to getting yourself up the the highest speed that YOU are capable of.

BTW: I sure do like Mr. Carr's mandolins! Collings... fine instruments... very fine...

MandoTom2 (12/2/2019)