(heavy metal guitar)
- What's up everyone? My name is Chris Garza,
and today we're going to be talking about one of my favorite
and most used techniques, and that's down picking.
This will be a part one to two-part series,
so I hope these tips help you
as much as they helped me.
It's crazy to say, but here we have
a Fender 7-string Strat.
Extended scale. Drop A tuning.
Master built by my dude Carlos Lopez.
In my heart, I'm a Fender Strat guy,
but I'm also a 7-string player.
So I'm honored and grateful for everyone at Fender
that brought those two worlds together.
Pretty cool. (laughs)
(percussive guitar strumming)
I like to keep things super simple.
It really helps me get the most out of
practicing and playing,
because those two are actually separate.
I've found that especially, us rhythm players,
are also very drawn to the percussive aspect
of the instrument.
Getting the strings to do what you want them to do,
is actually super hard.
'Cause you wanna get the strings to resonate
in a certain way.
So that goes through the pickup,
through the wiring
through the cable,
goes through the amp.
And then, whatever you're trying to say,
hopefully comes out of the speaker because,
you know, your voice as a guitar player, is this.
Is the pickup. Is that sound.
It's the speaker saying what you're feeling,
or what emotion you're trying to get across.
Even if it's something that's simple as...
(percussive guitar strumming)
You know, getting even that, like, all right
I didn't play it how I want to play it (laughs).
But getting the strings just to yell,
and truly
just express your emotion is super tough.
I'm going to give you the two routines that have helped me.
One is the first one I think is the most important
because it helps you get to part two,
which we'll explain in the next part, obviously.
So, first off we need a click.
Thankfully, they're free now.
You can just go on your phone,
download a free click app or something.
And then basically just,
either out loud or,
what I do, I use headphones,
and start off at 100 beats per minute.
And for 30 seconds,
just chug.
(percussive guitar strumming)
5 bpm faster.
(percussive guitar strumming)
And faster.
(percussive guitar strumming)
Etc.
(percussive guitar strumming)
If 100 beats per minute is too much,
all good, just roll back on the tempo
and find a speed that works best for you,
that you could play cleanly,
comfortable and without any strain.
So once our arms feel like they're gonna burn off,
then you wanna roll back the tempo 15 and 20 bpm.
And then do one last set of 30.
(fast guitar strumming)
And that's it.
So you wanna do that every day.
I try to, but you know, I get it, life happens
and it ends up being like five days a week.
But, if you do at least five days a week,
you'll find after three to four weeks,
you'll see a big improvement and your playing.
I know that's what happened for me.
The lesson, super simple, but I found that
that helps you stay laser focused
on really building your foundation
and having something to build off of.
Anyways, that's it for me.
Thank you, Fender, for having me.
Thank you for listening and watching.
I know I'm not exactly a teacher,
but I do have experiences
and techniques that has worked for me.
So I hope these help you.
And until next time, part two,
I'll see you then.
Later!
(percussive guitar strumming)