Archives for October 2011

Finding Solid Confidence on Stage

May 15, 2019 by Klaus Crow

Photo by Niklas Hellerstedt
As is our confidence, so is our capacity. ~ William Hazlitt

When I first started out playing on stage I was quite a shy person.

Sometimes I could be totally the opposite but many times I was just a wreck because of a lack of confidence.

I usually wasn’t at ease.

Through the years I discovered with trial and error why I always felt this nerve racking. I eventually learned to be totally happy, at ease and enjoying the experience on stage. So can you.

Here are the keys to find solid confidence on stage:

Know your material
Make sure you know your songs by heart. Know your chords, progressions, keys, scales and solos thoroughly, from top to bottom, inside out, 110%. Practice as much as possible. Get it down! If you really know your stuff you are half way there. Continue Reading

9 Effective Ways to Increase Your Guitar Picking Speed

By Klaus Crow 21 Comments

March 29, 2021 by Klaus Crow

Working on increasing your picking speed is not just for the hell fire speed wannabe’s.

Once your speed increases your whole style of playing loosens up. Your fingers will feel light and flexible and you’ll gain much more freedom in your playing.

Your fingers will float easily across the strings without trying so hard. It’s an important skill to work on and to maintain.

Increasing your picking speed comes with obstacles, victories, ups and downs, lots of patience and hard work. It’s all about practicing and equally important “the right way of practicing”. Just practicing a lot of hours doesn’t necessarily increase your picking speed if you don’t do it the right way.

Every individual has it’s own specific hurdles to overcome, but if you focus on these tips you are already off to a great start.

You can do it too!
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6 Cool Major Scale Sequences to Get Better

By Klaus Crow 10 Comments

May 15, 2019 by Klaus Crow

Photo by mikelao26

If you’re new to scale sequences I suggest you check out “6 Basic Major Scale Sequences / Melodic Patterns” first. That’s where I explain why and how you should practice scale sequences.

This is Part II of the previous post and if you got the basic scale sequences under your belt you’re pretty much up for this challenge.

I recommend you play these sequenses along with a metronome: “www.metronomeonline.com” It’s the best way to make progress in accuracy and speed. Start out really slow and gradually build up your speed. Only go faster when you can play each note clear and correctly.

The sequences are for the intermediate and advanced. They are tricky but incredibly fun to play.

Enjoy and improve!


SEQUENCE #1 ascending
e:-----------------|-------------------|
B:-----------------|-------------------|
G:-----------------|-------------------|
D:---------------2-|-------4-----2-5---|
A:-----2-5---2-3---|-2-3-5---3-5-------|
E:-3-5-----5-------|-------------------|
 
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