Guitar playing is a Winter sport. I say that as it is easy to stay indoors while the evenings are long and the weather is cold. Once the warm months arrive, many players trade their instruments for beach flip flops. I, however always used the Summer months as opportunities to put in extra work while my guitar playing friends were at the beach partying.

For whatever reason, I always had guitar playing friends who were more advanced than me and who played guitar way longer that I did. And, in turn, I did anything I could to catch up and try to surpass them. And, the warm days were my secret weapon. I used these days to catch up and get better.

When school finished and everyone went their separate ways for the Summer break, I went straight to the basement ready to play the guitar all day long. Once school started many of my friends were no longer better guitarists.

Remember this tip and I hope it does great things for you.

Today, I want to share a cool tip that definitely applies to the guitar.

When we run a marathon (Let’s pretend) how do we do it? We usually start off at a slow pace and run towards to the finish line. Since the finish line is far off, it makes little sense to sprint since we’d be out of breath after a mile. We are in for a long haul.

In guitar playing, however, our playing goals such as better fluidity, better dextrerity, a part of a solo that should be mastered or a new recording can be achieved with better results if we pick-up the pace a bit. Think of these things as a sprint. Set the target and go like hell to the finish line.

Because, unlike a marathon, we are closer to great results than we give ourselves credit for.

I think it’s a wise move to approach guitar playing as a sprint and not a marathon. Or, at least as a marathon that is composed of little sprints. Let’s pick up the pace and be in a bigger hurry to get to the results. That means less goofing around when playing and getting to what we need to work on. Establish razor sharp focus, pick up the pace and lock in.

Things we want to achieve often are closer to us than what we sometimes think.
Anything we watch and stay on top of improves.

Lastly, don’t analyze your playing achievements once a year or every few months. Measure them more often! Perhaps even weekly. What have you done with your playing this week? Was it a day of good practice, 3 days of noodling and 3 days off? Again, if we think goals are far way (Marathon mentality) we don’t press enough. Think sprint and measure often.

I have a strong belief that people who perform at high levels measure their progress very often, perhaps daily if not hourly.

Last week I had a chance to talk with a pro bastketball player who also teaches and mentors young students. We discussed how when we both (me as a guitar coach) show someone something new, the students often begin to play or simluate what we are teaching them BEFORE we are done showing them what it is that we want them to do. Apparently, this is not exclusive to guitar players 🙂

So, we laughed about that because when you are on the other side of the table – it’s true.

He then told me something about mastering new techniques that he sticks by:

SLOW To SMOOTH, SMOOTH = FAST

With guitar playing, this goes something like this. When learning, we often want to play anything new fairly up to speed and then we slowly adjust something if a part of the riff, lick does not sound good or clean. This is a LONG way to getting something to sound right because we are “feeling out” what is wrong – we’re guessing. With enough time in and with enough guesses will you clean up your riff, lick or whatever? Probably yes! But it takes a loooong time and we don’t have that much time now versus when we were 15.

Even if you are 15 and are reading this – start doing it the right way!

The way to get anything fast is to play is SLOW until you can play it at a slow tempo SMOOTH. The trick is that once you are able to play anything new SLOW & SMOOTH – the speed finds YOU. In other words, you don’t have to work hasrd on getting faster. It’s amost is if, if you take the time to put in the work to learn something slow … speed shows up BECAUSE you no longer have any “ifs”, “not sures”, or “gray areas” that internally (in your mind) stop you from beinfg (or feeling) free to play faster or fast.

One of the worst things to hear is someone not get the intricacies of a lick or riff down and hear him play it lightning fast. Uh, no thanks.

Lessons, studying – yes, we all learn and make mistakes, make adjustments. It’s all good. But, I’m talking about the music store heroes playing stuff they’re not ready for.

So, I want you to think about the above and really stop yourself if you feel you’re not following the above advice. I’m confident is saying that because I’m 100% certain that it works.

Today, I want to talk about Overdrives and Distortion pedals because I feel some players are still confused about this a little bit.

I guess I’ll start to say that I never used a Distortion pedal in its true sense of the word. In order to get a good use out of a distortion pedal, you would have to play through a clean amp as the pedal adds just that – lots of distortion.

Since I use an amp that has an overdrive built in already (as I am sure all of you guys do as well), I choose to go with an Overdrive. What separates an Overdrive from the Distirtion pedal, is that the Overdrive gives your sound that little extra, that sweet boost needed for chunky tight rhythms and signing leads without throwing a ton and ton of gain on your amp. It works differently from a Distortion pedal. You can think of it as a milder version of a Distortion, although this is not exactly it, either.

If I plugged in a Distortion pedal in front of my head, the sound would be way overdriven and saturated. Not a good thing.

Here is how I use the Overdive to get a good sound and I’m pretty sure that most pro players do something in the ballpark.

When I play through a Marshall head (or, any high gain head or a combo) that already has a decent amount of gain, I leave the gain on the head at just about anywhere between 7 and 8.5. I don’t make the head work 100%.

In front of it, I run an Overdrive pedal which is always a Maxon OD-9. (Maxon OD-9 is closely associated with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, so if you are familiar with that pedal, then you might know what I’m referring to) But, any good Overdrive works depending on your taste. In the past, I also used the classic yellow Boss SuperOverdrive and Maxon OD808 which is very similar to the OD-9, but with less bass and more straight cut.

On the Maxon Overdrive, I keep the Gain/Overdrive just at around 10:30/11:00 O-Clock, Tone straight up at 12 and the Level pretty much just like the tone at 10:30/11. No matter what I’m using amp wise, this Overdrive setting works just as good. If the amp’s gain is weak, I might crank up the gain on the pedal.

So, amp’s gain not full tilt and you use the Overdrive to warm up/hot rod the sound. As you can see, I do not make any component work full tilt, which I think helps keep things in check.

See how it works for you. Of course, there can be variations of this depending on amps, guitars, style, etc., but this is pretty sure-fire way to get a cool sound.

In case anyone wants to know how my pedalboard looks like, it is also very simple.

Guitar goes into my pedals in this order:

1. Boss TU-2 Tuner

2. Dunlop Q95 Wah (This Wah is automatically turned on when you step on it. As soon as you take your foot off – it automatically switches off. I like that, because sometimes I don’t have time to worry about clicking it On/Off. It also has a button for 4db boost which is great for solos)

3. Maxon OD-9 Overdrive

4. Some sort of Chorus (Often a Maxon, or a simple Boss Super Chorus). Sometimes I bypass this step all together.

5.Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor, but if my rig is quiet, I even bypass that.

Any delay runs through the effects loop in the head. For the delay, I use a simple Boss Digital Delay stomp box. Many people are suprised when they hear me say that, but that Boss Delay pedal sounds good to me and I just leave it alone.

This is all fairly simple, to the point approach and I always think that the less stuff I got going on, the better the result.

Today, I want to talk about winding strings as I think many players are frustrated with keeping their guitars in tune. We all, at least at some point, experience frustration with keeping it in tune.

A lot of the time this has to do with (a) how we put the strings on the guitar and (b) the winding of the string on the tuning keys.

As a general rule, I like to have 2 windings of the string on the tuning key post. I feel that too many windings and you just add too much string and the numerous windings keep stretching (very slightly) as you play and you loose some tension. You NEVER want to double up on the windings so they lay on top of each other of course, but I think everyone here knows that already.

I never feel comfortable with only one loop of the string around the key peg not because it would not work in theory, but it just does not seem “enough” for me. So, I stay at the 2 loops method. Sometimes I get get it exact, sometimes it’s close. (As you can see in the pic, the string below has 3 loops. I am also ok with that. I strive for 2 or 3 loops – this seems to be the happy medium.)

One thing everyone should keep in mind is that when you are tuning – you should always come up to pitch. What I mean is that when, for example, you are tuning your 4th string “D” and you are a little sharp, do not lower your string so it hits D exactly. What you want to do is actually lower the pitch so it is slightly lower than D and tune into the exact D. This method keeps the string nice and tight and it helps to keep your guitar nicely in tune.This is the only way to tune successfully.

Last thought. I used to tie my top 3 strings (G, B and E) on the little pegs, but I never do that that anymore and have not done it in 10 years. I never experienced tuning issues because of it, in case anyone wondered about that.

Here are a couple of quick tips that I hope will help you in getting the best out of your instrument.

Number one. Remember that your live performance will usually never be better than your best practice session. Use this fact to gauge how much work you or your band might still need to truly be great.

Number two. Picking up your instrument is similar to starting a car. It takes the most juice out of the car’s battery to crank the engine. Once it is running … things go a lot smoother. Same principle applies to playing your instrument. It takes the most energy to simply pick up your guitar, drum sticks, etc. Once you are playing and in the zone (this usually happens when you are 15 minutes into it), you will see time simply disappear while you make some amazing progress.

Good luck and practice hard.

Every year, I spend time with metalheads aged 12 to 22 at a destination Metal Heroes Summer Camp in Up-State, New York.

These camps are a fantastic, positive experience on several levels, fueled by young energy, enthusiasm and “go get ‘em” attitude from the young rockers. Many of them want to make metal music their life. While I am at the camp, I always start to collect my thoughts on the definition of “success,” and what it could mean to these young people as metal musicians.

There are countless thoughts and possibilities that come to mind, because success is a very personal thing. It means something different to everyone. To top it off, the vision of success often changes as you travel along on your journey.

Here are a few ideas that can help you ponder the meaning of success:

What Do You Want? Be Honest About It.

What is your current vision of success? It cannot be your teacher’s or your best friend’s. This is just for you. What is it that you want to get out of being a musician right now? How do you think it could look in five years? You don’t need to know every detail, but capture the picture that appears in your mind.

You have to be honest with yourself because the path you choose will be often traveled by you alone, so you’d better be sure it is the one you want to take. No dream is too wild or too big, simply because if somebody else is doing it, it is possible.

There are many ways someone can be successful as a musician.

It can mean you signing your name next to “musician” as your occupation on your tax return. You’ve achieved success at being a full-time musician. It certainly takes guts to do it, and many people fill out that line every year.

Being successful also can mean having a guitar in your hands every day, playing the style of music you love. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you make your living doing something else. There’s no rule that says you can’t. As a matter of fact, hats off to you for having skills to do two things amazingly well. If a pop singer can have a jewelry line, own a restaurant and be a recording artist, why can’t you fix cars during the day and play the music you love at night? That sounds pretty successful to me.

I think it is important not to cave under the social conditioning that you must be a full-time musician so you can tell so to people you meet. In all honesty, some of the full-time musicians I have come across were some of the most complaining, unmotivated people I’ve ever met. They played gigs and music they didn’t care for just so they wouldn’t have to get a job. This distorted their view of what they loved in the first place.

Others find jobs within the music industry just to stay in the biz. Yes, it does work for many as it allows them to make contacts. For me, it makes little sense. I prefer to spend my time with people who don’t wish they were somewhere else. Why not use other non-musical skills to make money if you have to (Yes, you have other skills outside of playing your instrument) and save the music part only to the type you love?

Some musicians find a lot of satisfaction in the DIY approach.

They might work during the day to save enough money in order to get in a van and tour two months out of the year, which also allows them to sell their music across the US or whatever. It has its challenges, but for many young metal musicians, it also can mean the time of their life. Traveling across the country while spending time with people who love the same thing you do sounds pretty successful to me.

There are many types of success.

All I wanted to do was support myself while playing and teaching heavy metal. That’s all I wanted. I also wanted to release records of my own music, which I still do, and the hard-core love for what I did later on lead me to work with many of my heroes within the genre. That was icing on the cake. With the new opportunities, however, my dream grew to include tour bus arena tours, in-store appearances, album release parties, meeting more of my heroes, a visit to the Playboy mansion and buying a fine-tuned Italian automobile.

This is what my vision was. I am not telling you this to yank my own chain. I am telling you to simply explain that I was (and still am) very precise about what it is that I’m shooting for. You can’t find things unless you know what you’re looking for. Once you obtain your goals, you’ll get bored unless you set new ones. As you obtain them you’ll be fulfilling your own vision of success. You don’t need to tell your dream to everyone. As a matter a fact, the closer you keep it to your heart, the more it means to you.

As I have achieved many things I wanted to do, my own vision of success has taken another dimension. In addition to recording and touring, I also found out that I want to share my experience with others, and I do this through blogs, guitar clinics, videos and metal camps. I find it satisfying to spend time with young metal players and share ideas with them while helping them with their dreams. I concentrate on creating as much value for others while being true to my visions.

Ultimately, it’s an amazing feeling to use your musical talent in order to help others. That sounds pretty successful to me, too.

Carpe diem!

Summer is always an interesting time of the year as the weather gets nice and family and personal activities, trips and events kind of pop-up. Frankly, it is hard to sometimes keep up with the guitar in the warm months unless you are a working professional. So, I am here to just bring that up and give you heads up that things will compete for your guitar time just about now.

I remember when I was younger, I’d literally lock myself in the basement and I’d play and play. While all of my friends where on the Jersey Boardwalk, I’d be practicing on my B.C. Rich Platinum Warlock. I remember clearly when a couple of my friends showed up at my house and wanted me to go to the park and I told them no because I was deep into learning Ozzy’s Killer Of Giants song. This happened quiete often. One of the great things about this approach back then is that when the school started again, I would seriously have a leg up on many guys who were better than me on the guitar.

I had 6 musical notebooks filled with scales and licks and I would go through everything in each one. That was good enough for back then.

I still have them.

When players ask me how I practice these days I say that it depends what I’m trying to do. So, in short, I do not have a set practice schedule.

When I am working on lessons for students, I plan them out and work out the examples that I want to show. When I have to do a clinic somewhere, I work on the live material (relearning music) and I work on what I will cover.

In othe older days, I’d set out 30 minutes for exercises (like playing my technique building licks for 3 minutes each), working on chords, scales for another 30. I would then work on songs that I knew and I’d spend another half hour trying to come up with riffs. I’d put a cassette recorder by my amp and tape what I came up with. I’d finish each session with another 30 minutes of exercises. Back then, I practiced constantly. I’d keep a planner and I’d write down how many hours I played each day,

One thing I do today is when I feel that my playing is feeling little off is that I sit down and work on different scales. Playing them 3 notes per string, in thirds, fifths, etc. I feel then like my whole playing gets glued together. This sounds very simple, but it works. I kind of got this little regiment out of an interview I watched with Billy Sheehan, who is one of my favorite bass players.

For practicing, if you have a hard time getting a full hour in, break up your sessions into 15-20 minute jams. Do a couple of them per day. This approach works well.

On the weekends, it is a lot of fun to wake up early, brew some coffee (strong in my case) and just play before anyone wakes up.

And, sometimes you have to bribe yourself. If you hit 5 hours of practice per week (just an example), you can get something, be it a CD, a tuner, etc. Us humans, we respond to this.

Lastly, and most importantly, in order to keep wanting to do anything, we must keep fueling the fire. Just like an old school locomotive, we must keep that furnace going with coal. For us, it is spending time here, listening to great music or reading about music. When we move away from something and stop fueling it, very often the interest dims. And, we lose focus.

Loosing focus is the #1 killer of why people fail at accomplishing something they set out to do.