Tension

[Subjugate]

I posted this on the ROG forums but may be some other people ehre can help out with this...
holy crap. I finally have found out what has been holding my playing ability back a lot and it is tension. Theres so much to know about tension and certain ways to do techniques on guitar. ive taught myself, never bothered with lessons so basically i learned somewhat incorrectly. Im noticing that my change in playing is gonna get me a whole lot better. Like when i recognize and then minimize the amount of tension in my hands, its harder to play fast because my muscles arent used to that. So i cant play as super fast as i used to be able to but now once i develop that speed again i will be able to play that speed for long periods of time and do even more shit. This is a common problem for guitar players, and if some of you are having trouble learning songs that you feel you should be able to play, or you can play it correctly but not consistently, look into tension. Figuring out how to relieve tension will help a fuck load. I just really wish i learned this a while ago cause ive been playing for nearly 5 years, and ive gotta take like 2 steps back and slowly develop my muscles' abilities the right way. But fuck it, if thats what it takes to get better im willing to do it. This is also why the songs i create on guitar are too hard for me to play. So slowly but surely ill be able to get up to that level the right way.

anyone else have experiences or problems with tension in their hands?

[Shred The Ganja]

Yes, I realized this about a year ago and have gotten alot quicker and my tone sounds much more full and powerful.

[GrindYourMind]

I've always found that it's all about a nice median between stiff muscles that seem to fight your guitar and loose, flaccid muscles that don't give you the attack you need.

[Axlaf]

Yes, I experience it sometimes. But how can I avoid it? Push lighter on the string? or loosening the grip or whatever? Any practice routines you guys know of that can solve this problem for me??

[GrindYourMind]

Google up "Economic guitar technique" I'm sure there are tons and tons of lessons floating around.

[Axlaf]

Thanks bro!

[Shred The Ganja]

Warm up is the first thing. don't pick up your guitar and start playing full speed....One thing i do everytime before i play is practice some alternate picking without using my fretting hand whatsoever.

1. pick up the guitar and get set in the right, comftorable posture.

2. i rest my fretting hand on my leg.

3. Start alternat picking on the E string while palm muting.

4.start real slow and build up really fast....all alternates...up,down,up,down,don, etc.

5. start alternating between the E and A string, same concept start slow and build up real fast.

6. make sure to use your wrist only and fingers, your arm should not be moving at all.

7. Now start string skipping, alternate from E to D with the same concept. Then E to G, E to B, E to E.

8. after you've done all the e's move down and start doing more string skipping on different combos of strings.....A-D, A-G, D-G...ETC.

9. Start adding in your left hand after that and doing simple patterns and start adding in un-palm muted notes to and mixing it up, and make sure you are getting a great full tone going slow before going fast or other wise this whole thing is pointless.....you want to be able to get a great tone going slow and fast.

10. Make sure your picking hand is relaxed at all times, thats the point of doing this.

I usually do this for 10-12 minutes before i start jamming, hope this helps.

[InertialGrind]

Thats where the whole playing slow thing comes in. Guitar is almost all muscle memory. I know everyone on here thinks I suck and what not but I know my shit. Metronome and slow=shredder. I also pay a lot of attention to how I position my pick for certain techniques. Mr. Gilbert should probably elaborate on this, as I picked that up from him. But yes tension is like a huge part of playing. Musicians in this day have so many tools to use too. Power tab is an amazing practice/writing tool.