Little tricks that make big difference

ALWAYS practice guitar with a metronome/drum machine/sequencer. The reasons for this are too many to be mentioned here.

- Never push yourself to playing speeds that make your hands cramp. A controlled and relaxed technique is always the result of patient practicing at "comfortable" metronome speeds, in other words you should practice a long time with a slow/comfortable metronome speed, instead of a short time with a fast/uncomfortable speed.

- Always strive to minimize left and right hand motion, if you goal is to play faster.

- If you like to play with distortion you should also pratice with a distorted sound, or else you will get a sloppy technique.

- The opposite is also true: Even if you hate the sound of clean guitar you should practice with it once in a while to make sure you're note missing any notes in the faster runs.

Practicing 20 minutes every day is much more effective than 2 hours once a week. The best is, of course, practicing 20 hours every day ;-) .

- If you are tired of the way you play you should throw your standard repertoire out of the window and focus on learning as much new material as you can, may it be new licks, songs or guitar styles, even if it feels very uncomfortable in the beginning.

- For fast progress, you should mainly practice the things that are the hardest for you. Trust me, it's worth effort.

- If your goal is to increase your soloing skills, you should spend an equal amount of time on metronome practicing, improvising and transcribing ( = playing other's, more experienced, player's solos).

- Making a practice schedule is a good idea if you practice regularly.
Stop playing if you feel any pain.

SLASH Biography

SLASH was born in Hampstead (London), England on July 23, 1965, and he was raised in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His given name is Saul Hudson. His mother is a Black American, and his father is a white Englishman. Both parents are artistic and work in the entertainment field. His mother is a clothing designer for entertainers. She designed some of David Bowie's unforgettable costumes. His father provides art direction for record albums. Two notable clients are Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
At age 11 SLASH moved to Los Angeles with his mother while his father remained based in England. Born in the UK, SLASH was an immigrant in the United States and was to remain one for many years. The family eventually lived together again in L.A. where SLASH had a rough transition to conservative Southern California. The long hair, jeans and t-shirts that he wore even then didn't exactly fit with the other kids. An outsider at school, he lived a bohemian life at home. Surrounded by artistic friends of his parents, SLASH grew accustomed to the moods and eccentricities of those in the music world. Frequent visitors at the Hudson household included Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, David Bowie, Ron Wood and Iggy Pop. SLASH has said that these surroundings prepared him for coping with the stress of the music industry, the conflict between artistry and business.