Learn Guitar Faster by Hacking Sport Science Research

Summary

In this video, the host shares their experience improving guitar picking skills by applying sports science techniques to musical practice. Over five days, they focused on four exercises: tremolo technique, sweet picking, a descending scale, and a pentatonic pattern. Drawing insights from studies on Gaelic football players, surgeons, and hockey players, the host emphasizes the importance of deliberate practice on weaknesses, interleaving techniques, and prioritizing speed over accuracy for faster skill development. The summary of their practice plan includes chunking and chaining notes at speed, randomizing practice order, and targeting specific areas for improvement.

Takeaways

• 🎸 The speaker is a fingerstyle guitarist who wants to improve their picking skills.
• 📚 They have been reading sports science articles to find effective practice techniques.
• 🌟 The first takeaway is focusing on weaknesses rather than strengths for more efficient practice.
• 🔄 The second takeaway is the benefit of interleaved practice over blocked practice for skill improvement.
• ⚽ The third takeaway is that focusing on speed can improve accuracy later on, as seen in hockey players' training.
• 🎼 The speaker applied these concepts to four specific guitar exercises: tremolo technique, sweet picking, a four-note scale, and a pentatonic circling pattern.
• 📝 They created a practice plan with chunking and chaining techniques, focusing on playing at speed early in the learning process.
• 🎼 The practice sessions were structured with random ordering and timed segments to work on different exercises.
• 📈 The speaker documented their progress in a notebook, emphasizing the importance of deliberate practice planning.
• 🚀 They experienced noticeable progress in just five days and expect to continue improving with consistent practice.
• 🎉 The ultimate goal is to incorporate these improved picking skills into live performances in the new year.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to share the progress and techniques used by the speaker to improve their picking skills on the guitar, particularly focusing on fingerstyle techniques and applying sports science principles to musical practice.

What is the speaker's background in music?

The speaker is a fingerstyle guitarist by background, implying that they primarily play the guitar using their fingers rather than a pick.

What are the four specific picking techniques the speaker worked on during the five-day period?

The four picking techniques the speaker worked on are: 1) Tremolo technique using a simple lick from 'Highway Star' by Ritchie Blackmore, 2) Sweet picking with a fauna arpeggio, 3) Descending four notes over three notes per string scale, and 4) A four-note pentatonic circling pattern.

How did the speaker integrate sports science into their practice routine?

The speaker integrated sports science into their practice routine by reading articles on training techniques used by elite athletes and applying similar principles such as focusing on weaknesses, using interleaved practice, and prioritizing speed over accuracy initially.

What is the concept of 'interleaving' in the context of the script?

In the context of the script, 'interleaving' refers to the practice of mixing different skills or exercises in a random order during training, as opposed to focusing on a single skill for an extended period, which has been shown to improve learning efficiency.

What did the first study on Gaelic football players reveal about their practice approach?

The first study revealed that elite Gaelic football players made more significant improvements than intermediate players, largely due to their more efficient practice planning. Elite players focused more on their weaknesses and were more deliberate and random in their practice approach.

What was the key takeaway from the study on surgical skill training?

The key takeaway from the surgical skill training study was that the group that used an interleaved approach to training improved more than the group that used a blocked approach, suggesting that interleaving is an efficient way to learn complex skills.

How did the hockey study influence the speaker's approach to practicing guitar picking speed and accuracy?

The hockey study, which showed that focusing on speed first could later improve accuracy, influenced the speaker to practice guitar picking at the desired speed from the beginning, using techniques like chunking and chaining to gradually build up speed and accuracy.

What is the 'chunking and chaining' technique mentioned in the script?

The 'chunking and chaining' technique involves breaking down a complex sequence into smaller, manageable chunks, practicing each chunk until it can be played at the desired speed, and then gradually chaining these chunks together to play the entire sequence.

How did the speaker structure their practice sessions based on the studies?

The speaker structured their practice sessions into fine-grained segments, focusing on weak areas, and using the interleaved approach by changing the order of exercises each time. They also implemented chunking and chaining to build up speed and accuracy.

What was the speaker's overall assessment of their progress after the five-day practice period?

The speaker felt that they made decent progress in a short period of five days and expected to continue improving with consistent practice, with the goal of incorporating these techniques into their gigs in the new year.

Outlines

00:00

🎸 Improving Guitar Picking Skills with Sports Science Techniques

The speaker, a fingerstyle guitarist, shares their experience of applying sports science techniques to enhance picking skills over five days. They read various sports science articles to extract practice methods applicable to musical instruments. The focus was on four specific guitar techniques: tremolo, sweet picking, a four-note scale pattern, and a pentatonic circling pattern. The speaker also discusses three scientific studies that influenced their practice approach, emphasizing the importance of focusing on weaknesses, using interleaving for varied practice, and prioritizing speed over accuracy initially.

05:03

📚 Implementing Scientific Research into Guitar Practice Routine

Drawing insights from studies on Gaelic football players, surgeons, and hockey players, the speaker outlines a practice plan based on scientific findings. The plan involves segmenting practice into fine-grained chunks, focusing on weak areas, and interleaving different exercises to improve efficiency. The speaker also highlights the effectiveness of chunking and chaining techniques, where one starts with small sections of a piece and gradually builds up to playing at full speed, as a method to enhance both speed and accuracy in guitar playing.

10:05

🎵 Detailed Practice Techniques and Progress Review

The speaker details their practice routine, which includes working on specific exercises like tremolo, fauna arpeggio, pentatonic licks, and descending four-note patterns. They describe the process of breaking down these exercises into small chunks and gradually chaining them together while maintaining a fast pace. The speaker also reflects on their progress, noting improvements and areas that still require work, and expresses optimism about incorporating these techniques into their performances in the future.

Keywords

💡Picking Skills

Picking skills refer to the technique of plucking strings on a stringed instrument, such as a guitar, using a plectrum or finger. In the video's context, the speaker is focused on improving these skills to enhance their guitar playing. The script mentions various exercises aimed at developing picking efficiency and speed, which are crucial for fingerstyle guitarists transitioning to using a pick.

💡Fingerstyle Guitarist

A fingerstyle guitarist is a player who uses their fingers, rather than a pick, to pluck the strings of a guitar. The term is significant in the script as it establishes the speaker's background and the reason for their focus on improving picking skills. The speaker acknowledges their relative weakness in picking with a pick and outlines a plan to address this.

💡Sports Science

Sports science is an interdisciplinary field that applies scientific principles to improve athletic performance. In the script, the speaker has been reading sports science articles to extract techniques that can be applied to musical instrument practice. The research findings from these articles influence the speaker's approach to guitar practice, emphasizing efficiency and deliberate practice.

💡Tremolo Technique

Tremolo technique in guitar playing involves rapidly repeating a single note or a short sequence of notes. The script describes the speaker's efforts to improve this technique by practicing a simple lick from 'Highway Star' by Ritchie Blackmore. This technique is part of the speaker's practice plan to enhance picking skills.

💡Sweet Picking

Sweet picking is a guitar technique characterized by smooth, precise, and often rapid picking, often used in jazz and other styles. The script mentions a fauna arpeggio as an example of sweet picking that the speaker is working on, aiming to improve the fluidity and precision of their picking.

💡Interleaving

Interleaving is a learning method where different types of material or skills are alternated in the learning process. The script references a study on surgical skill training that found interleaved practice to be more effective than blocked practice. The speaker applies this concept to their guitar practice, alternating between different picking exercises.

💡Chunking and Chaining

Chunking and chaining is a learning strategy where complex information or tasks are broken down into smaller, manageable 'chunks' and then gradually connected or 'chained' together. The script describes how the speaker uses this method in their practice, starting with playing just a few notes at speed and gradually adding more notes to build up to the full sequence.

💡Pentatonic

Pentatonic refers to a musical scale with five notes per octave, commonly used in many musical genres. In the script, the speaker mentions practicing a four-note pentatonic circling pattern, which is part of their effort to improve picking skills and musical knowledge.

💡Deliberate Practice

Deliberate practice is a focused and structured approach to learning that emphasizes improving specific weaknesses and refining skills. The script discusses how elite athletes in a study focused more on their weaknesses during practice, which is a concept the speaker applies to their guitar practice, targeting areas that need improvement.

💡Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms. The script touches on the idea that playing an instrument at speed involves different biomechanics than playing slowly, which is why the speaker emphasizes the importance of practicing at speed to develop the necessary muscle memory and technique.

💡Practice Plan

A practice plan is a structured schedule or method for rehearsing and improving skills. The script details the speaker's practice plan, which includes setting goals, focusing on weaknesses, and using techniques like interleaving, chunking, and chaining to enhance picking skills on the guitar.

Highlights

The guitarist has been using powerful practice techniques to improve picking skills and shares progress.

Background as a fingerstyle guitarist led to the exploration of new techniques to enhance picking abilities.

Inspiration from sports science articles to apply to musical instrument practice.

Four specific practice areas identified for improvement: tremolo technique, sweet picking, descending four notes scale, and pentatonic circling pattern.

Research on Gaelic football players' practice efficiency influenced the guitarist's approach.

Elite players focus on weaknesses and practice more deliberately, unlike intermediate players.

Interleaved practice, as opposed to blocked practice, was found to be more effective in skill acquisition.

Chunking and chaining technique used to build speed and accuracy in playing.

Hockey players' study suggests focusing on speed first can improve accuracy later.

Biomechanics of playing at speed versus slowly are fundamentally different, emphasizing the need for speed in practice.

A practice plan incorporating random order, chunking, and interleaving was devised.

Daily practice sessions structured with timed segments for each exercise.

The tremolo exercise involved starting with bursts of notes and chaining them together for speed.

Sweet picking practice focused on synchronizing the picking hand with the left hand movements.

Pentatonic circling pattern presented a challenge in left-hand synchronization and speed.

Descending four notes per string exercise aimed to improve alternate picking skills.

Progress made in five days is promising, with expectations to use new skills in gigs in the new year.

Transcripts

in the last five days i've used some of

the most powerful practice techniques

that i could find to improve my picking

skills i feel like i've made a decent

progress and i want to show you what

i've been doing and why i've been doing

it now i'm a fingerstyle guitarist by

background so my skills with one of

these things is not that great

comparatively speaking so i thought this

week i'll try and do something about it

so what i've been doing is i've been

reading a whole series of articles whole

series of sports science articles and

seeing what i can pull out of those and

see if there are techniques ideas

and ways of approaching practice that i

can bring to learning to play a musical

instrument as well and so that's what i

want to cover in this video now i gave

myself four things that i wanted to work

on firstly there was just the

straightforward tremolo technique so i

just picked a really simple little lick

from highway style by richie blackmore

the the second thing i wanted to do is

to just see if i could get a hang of

sweet picking so i've got a little fauna

arpeggio that i had to go there as well

and then i thought i'd try a real

classic which is just the descending

four notes over three notes per string

scale so that was the third thing i did

and then the fourth thing i tried was a

just a little four note pentatonic

circling pattern as well

so those are the four licks that i

wanted to see if i could improve on over

the course of these last five days so

let's start with the sciences stuff

there are actually three papers that i i

took ideas from and applied to my

practice planning this week and i'll put

a link to the abstracts the articles

that i can find below so you can read

them for yourself but just to quickly

summarize them the first one was

about training gaelic football players

so they had a group of elite football

players and a group of intermediate

football players what they did was they

tested all of the

the two groups

on a specific skill

and then they sent them away

for four weeks to to practice it before

bringing them back together again to to

test them again and see what their

improvement was

now the elite players made quite a

bigger improvement than the intermediate

players

and and the researchers put this down to

their their approach to their planning

their plan their practice plan was that

much more efficient than the

intermediate players and so what they

were interested in is what are the elite

players doing that the intermediate

players are not doing

so the first thing that they noted

was that the elite players were focusing

much more on their weaknesses whereas

the intermediate players tended to focus

on the skills that they they could do

now this meant for the elite players

they did they did fewer overall reps if

you see what i mean but what they did

was they thought more about what they

wanted to plan and they were much more

deliberate about how they approached

their practice planning as well and so

that was a big part of what the elite

players were doing

the other thing they noticed was that

the intermediate players were much more

blocked out in how they approach their

practice so they they've tended to focus

on a single skill for a much longer

period whereas the elite players were

much more random in how they approached

their practice

now this kind of figures fits with what

i talked about last week if you remember

last week i was talking about how you

can use

a technique called interleaving to

memorize scales going up and down the

neck

and what was interesting is the approach

that the elite players were using

fitted somewhat with with the concept of

interleaving even though

they were training a skill rather than

memorizing a set of shapes if you see

what i mean so there's a slight

difference

and actually this leads to the the

second study that i was looking at

now the second study focused on a group

of people training to be surgeons and

they were learning a particular set of

surgical skills

and the the researchers split these

these guys up into two groups so one

group

interleaved their training so there were

i think there were four different

disciplines that they had to work on in

order to do this particular surgical

procedure

and they interleave these the training

on these in a much finer grain to the

other team the other group they did much

more block that took a much more blocked

approach to their practice

and when they brought them back together

and retested them retested them for the

improvement they found that the

interleaved group improved much more

than the guys who did the blocked

practice and again that leads leads me

to the to thinking that when you're

practicing the guitar or practicing a

musical instrument taking that

interleaved approach to your practice

plan seems to be a more efficient way of

doing it and so that was one of the

things that i wanted to bring to my

practice plan this week the third study

i looked at was based on a group of kids

playing hockey or learning to play

hockey

and what they the researchers did was

they split these

kids learned to play hockey into two

groups

one group they had focused on accuracy

so they were specifically teaching them

to hit a ball against a target and

teaching them how to be as accurate as

possible in hitting that target

the other group

they taught how to hit the ball as hard

as possible but they didn't focus at all

on accuracy so there was no target

involved

and then after a period of time they

brought them back together and tested

two groups as well

so not surprisingly the group that

focused on hitting the ball as hard as

possible was able to hit the ball much

harder than the other group i think they

were hitting it twice as hard or twice

as fast or something

but interestingly when they compared

accuracy on both groups both groups

tended to fare about as well as each

other

and this is interesting because it makes

me think that if we focus on on speed

first and we can bring up the technique

we can bring up the accuracy at a later

date

and that kind of fits with with other

research that i've read in this area as

well

where where it seems to be easier if you

spoke focus on speed it's easier to

introduce the accuracy than it is to try

and bring up the speed from first

principles

and the the thinking behind this that

i've heard in the past is for example

the

the

biomechanics of playing at speed or

doing something at speed can be really

quite different to do something slowly

and the the obvious example is

you don't learn to run fast by starting

walking and walking faster and walking

faster and walking faster the

biomechanics of running are really quite

different to the bio mechanics of

walking therefore you need to be at a

certain speed before you're actually

using your muscles in the way that

you're going to be using when you're

playing at speed

now how do you do that when you're

playing an instrument

well what what you have to do or one way

that i've used in the past has worked

pretty well for me

is to

to start to play the piece or the the

scale of the fragment at speed at the

speed that you want to play it or at

least

try to do that but break it down into

sections

use a technique called chunking and

chaining and what you do here is you

start with just the first two notes and

you get you you develop the ability to

play those two notes at speed and then

you add a third and then you add the

fourth and you build the phrases up in a

series of chunks series of sections so

you could just take the next four notes

and build those up and then join the

first four to the second four

and that's the approach that i wanted to

take to my practice plan this week as

well

so let's pull all of that together into

a practice plan what i want to do is to

split my practice routine into a series

of segments that i i can chunk together

something fine-grained that i can work

on

and then when i'm working on these

segments what i want to do is focus on

my weak areas

and what i want to do is to use this

concept of chunking and chaining so

playing at speed as quickly as i can as

early on in the process

and start to add notes as i described

before

so all i did was i i

got a notebook actually and just created

rough notes in that so if i have a look

at one of the pages that are created you

can see i just split it up into four

columns

and each row all i did was i i quite

like the idea of random practice

actually and that was something that

came out of the very first study

and so as you can see i just

i did them in different orders every

time round but i was spending two

minutes on one exercise two minutes on

the next and you can see the ordering i

wrote one two three four and then i

swapped the ordering round as well as i

was doing this through the day

and so

you could see on that on that sheet of

paper how how i went about structuring

my plan

so so let's have a look at the exercises

that i were doing in a bit more detail

and i can talk about how is using

chunking and chaining in these as well

okay so the first exercise is just a

simple tremolo

on one string and all i'm doing

is repeating those four notes

yeah so

[Music]

and that's really all i was working on

and and just like i say what i did was i

started with little bursts

[Music]

and then started to add them together

chain them together

[Music]

and with this i set the metronome to 175

which for me is pretty fast it's a speed

that i can't necessarily get when i

first start playing with the pick but

once i'm warmed up and kind of there so

it's right on that threshold for me and

that's where i kept my metronome for all

of this exercise

but really all i was doing was just

chaining as i described before starting

with one note

doing second adding a third and adding a

fourth and trying to maintain that pace

with the metronome so the next one was

just a kind of a simple fauna arpeggio

which is just that

and the trick here is the is the picking

so i'm sweeping down for two notes and

swooping up for two notes

and practicing this was just like i did

with the tremolo so i set the metronome

to 175

and i just started working on pairs of

notes

and then

until i could join

[Laughter]

[Music]

join the patterns together the other

thing i did was start on a different

note as well

[Music]

and if that was a phrase that i was

struggling with like that then that

would be something i'd dwell on for the

half a minute or so

[Music]

[Music]

the pentatonic lick

really simple in concept is just that

the picking

is just like we did with the four note

arpeggio so

[Music]

you can see i sweep

down between the strings and sweep up

between the strings

so from that point of view it is is

identical to former art

the the real problem though is that is

the left hand

and for me i've never been a

particularly fast person from a trill

point of view

so this

became much more of a challenge for me

in terms of synchronizing in my left

hand keeping it within right

as you can hear there

so what and you can hear it's uneven as

well so again what helped with that

is that starting from different notes in

the sequence

and breaking down and doing it in chunks

as well

[Music]

but this is definitely one that's

working progress the final one is a bit

of a classic one it's just descending

fours over three notes per string shape

[Music]

and you can see here my picking is just

alternate picking

[Music]

and just like before i just started with

pairs of strings

as a note

[Music]

and you can hear it's that

that second phrase second group of four

is where i'm struggling with this

and so

that second group of four is where i'm

going to put the effort

so i'm pretty happy with my progress as

i say i've only done five days so you

can't expect brilliance in five days but

it feels like i made good progress over

that period of time and it feels like

i'll continue to make good progress if i

keep doing this so i fully expect to be

able to use these in gigs and things in

the new year so that's a big win for me

anyway that's it for this week and we'll

chat next time goodbye