Is there a personal limitation for speed?

[sblock]

Helping verbs?! Here are some: help, assist, aid, succor, abet, lend a hand, relieve, rally round, ameliorate, match, support, facilitate. Hey, we can all use a few helping verbs here on the MC, regardless of our fluency in English!

[Alex Orr]

Yes - there are limits, but you'd be surprised how lots of practice (YEARS of practice) can bump your personal limit up. That said, there are simply limits that are off-limits for all but the greatest...the guys who are just freaks, and as such, are many of our idols. Speaking personally, I am waaaay faster than I ever imagined I'd be when I started playing. Hell, I started out learning "Southern Flavor" back in January and playing it fifteen minutes a day for nearly four months has gotten me to being only about 10 BPM away from the live Monroe version. I kind've thought maybe I'd get to this point, but it's still wonderfully shocking. On the other hand, I'm currently learning "Quicksburg Rendezvous" and I truly don't understand how Ronnie is capable of moving any part of his body that fast, much less with such precision. There is simply no way I could even come close to what he's doing. So...yeah...there are limits that you will surprise yourself at surpassing if you work hard at it with focused practice for a loooong time, but there are also limits beyond those limits that you are just never going to cross.

[pops1]

I don't know if it has been mentioned, but playing lighter will help you play faster. Playing hard slow you down.

[stevedenver]

Op, like holding your breath, running, etc use incremental increases.

?
Play with a metronome.
Do this daily, and add say five bpm, playing cleanly. Increase.
This works.
Skys the limit...


Not actually


for me its sometimes as high as 275.....

But i have improved.
Also working scales, scales in intervalic steps, will help with muscle coordination between left and right.

All it takes is a bit of time and consistent effort.
And, do not underestimate the huge value in very slow metronome work. Like 40-60 bpm range. Start each session in this range. Work scales and arpeggios to warm up, dial in.


I dont know why it does, but it too will help increase your speed in the long run. Its a lot more painful too.

[Manfred Hacker]

Yes - there are limits, but you'd be surprised how lots of practice (YEARS of practice) can bump your personal limit up. That said, there are simply limits that are off-limits for all but the greatest...the guys who are just freaks, and as such, are many of our idols. Speaking personally, I am waaaay faster than I ever imagined I'd be when I started playing. Hell, I started out learning "Southern Flavor" back in January and playing it fifteen minutes a day for nearly four months has gotten me to being only about 10 BPM away from the live Monroe version. I kind've thought maybe I'd get to this point, but it's still wonderfully shocking. On the other hand, I'm currently learning "Quicksburg Rendezvous" and I truly don't understand how Ronnie is capable of moving any part of his body that fast, much less with such precision. There is simply no way I could even come close to what he's doing. So...yeah...there are limits that you will surprise yourself at surpassing if you work hard at it with focused practice for a loooong time, but there are also limits beyond those limits that you are just never going to cross.

Alex, you speed demon! I hope you slow down Southern Flavor a bit when we play this at a jam together (soon?). I only have it up to about 235 (quarter notes) when playing in my basement. So I will most certainly blow it at the jam at this speed.

[Sherry Cadenhead]

My teacher says those printed speeds are generally too fast.

[PhilGox]

Hi café friends!

Many good advices here that already improved my playing.
Since I know that limits can be pushed with practice I didn't give up working.
And I see my tempo increased from 100bpm to 112 in a few weeks.
(I mean 100 to 112 or 200 to 224, depending on how you think the bar)
I don't mind if I'll never be a very fast player, it has never been my goal anyway.
But at least I know that I will one of this days be able to play Irish or trad tunes in the way I hear it's played.
This was very important for me to know.

You gave me motivation!

I profit to say that Mandolin Café is always great help for me.
There are always people here to pay serious attention to any question, mandolin or not, and give accurate answers.

Thanks to all!
Et vive le Mandolin Café!

[Alex Orr]

Alex, you speed demon! I hope you slow down Southern Flavor a bit when we play this at a jam together (soon?). I only have it up to about 235 (quarter notes) when playing in my basement. So I will most certainly blow it at the jam at this speed.

I'm not saying I sound good at top speed

Seriously, though, the album version is significantly slower than that live clip (with Marty Stuart) that Chris Henry teaches. It was interesting to play along to that version after spending nearly four months obsessively learning Henry's version and then trying to (unsuccessfully) match his speed. The version Henry teaches is so fast that it makes playing along to the album version quite comfortable. As far as the Henry lesson goes, I've got to the point where I can play along note-for-note most of the time with the final version Henry plays in his video if I set the video to about 88% of the normal speed. The best I've gotten is pulling it off successfully a handful of times at 90% final speed, but my crash-and-burn rate at that speed is REALLY high right now. Considering how rarely the song gets played I'm more-or-less resigning myself to the speed I'm at right now. I'm not sure it's worth it to try and force myself to play it faster when I could be using the time for learning something else. At any rate...yeah...I look forward to playing it with you soon! Actually, I'll probably see you at that thing next weekend

[Mandoplumb]

Speed is just another " tool". While we can play good music, and have fun without every tool in our toolbox, we improve our playing and add varirity with every tool we acquire. I have just recently worked on my cross picking which I had the basic for my style for years but I was limited to D and G chords. I can now use it in just about any chord but like any tool it can be overused. You can drive a nail with a big wrench but a hammer works better. Speed is great if used properly and not overused. Rawhide can not be played too fast if it is not played beyond the bands ability, Home Sweet Home can be and often is.

[Sherry Cadenhead]

Phil, your English is pretty darn good - and I love the accent!

[peterleyenaar]

I prefer clean picking, good timing, musicality and medium speed tremolo over speed, there are many songs in bluegrass jams that don't require breakneck speed 120bpm+, like ballads, bluesy songs, for example, Hills of Roan County, or Wayfaring Stranger, sound better at their intended speed, rather than played fast.

[Dave Sheets]

You have to stay relaxed to play fast, tensing up will slow you down. You can work with a metronome to practice staying relaxed at high speeds. Move the tempo up and stay aware of when you start to tense up. Once you get used to playing faster, it is easier to stay loose, and you can then play even faster. This also helps greatly in avoiding fatigue, which is an issue playing for dances as one example.