Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
People can be strange. We can keep asking the same question hoping that we will get a different answer. I saw this most recently at Frank Vignola’s workshop, where he fielded that same basic question over and over: “How do you learn to play that so fast?” Only the “that” kept changing - the answer was always the same. And not only does it apply to different songs, it applies to virtually any instrument.
Frank’s reply to the question was always: “Got a metronome?” While a metronome is useful to help speed things up, at the start it helps to slow us down. Playing at a manageable tempo allows us to concentrate on proper fingering, phrasing, and tone. Then slowly, day after day, increase the tempo until you are playing as fast as you wish.
Many of us already know this, but how many of us actually practise it day after day? Frank’s “secret” for gaining the incredible speed he has is quite simple: a metronome and daily discipline to use it.
Tags: Frank Vignola