In this blog post we are going to be diving a little deeper into how you can practice, and eventually improve, your dynamic control on the guitar. I discussed the topic of how and when you should use more or less force when picking - this is what dynamics on the guitar is, more or less - you can read that blog post here. I will be explaining the process behind some exercises I use myself, some that my students practice at my instruction and some other helpful hints I have picked up whilst on my guitar playing journey.
Around the same time as the publication of this blog post, there should also be an accompanying YouTube short video to demonstrate the exercises.
The Exercises
The first exercise is one I discussed in the other blog post that I linked above. The exercise in questions starts by asking you to identify your quietest picking level, where the note is barely audible, and the loudest you can achieve without forcing the string to temporarily go out of tune. The finer details you can read in the other post, but the idea is to go between those two extreme points - sounds easy enough, and with some practice is not too difficult. Let us call this Fig. 1a - just a simple G note on the fifth fret of the D string, played in eighth notes starting from quiet to loud (feel free to flip this around if you wish!). Fig. 1b is basically the same, but we will be using an inversion of an Am triad on the G, B and E strings.
Do not forget that these can be changed according to your preferences - I recommend trying other chord shapes and notes all over the neck!
These two variations will allow you to find your feet and know how your limits and how you can move between them.
Fig. 2 is derived from the first exercise. However, the differences are in the specific areas that you are increasing the volume in - the exercise does not work quite so well other way around, though you are welcome to try it!
I think this pattern works particularly well when you combine it with a wah pedal and use the eighth note pattern as lots of individual little swells. Check out my blog post on using a wah pedal here if you are interested!
Another skill you may notice improving as a result of this exercise is not only a more skilled use of the wah pedal as mentioned previously, but also with your strumming. You can get more use out of a normal strumming pattern if you can mix things up with playing louder or softer.
Fig. 3a uses many 16th notes, which immediately gives it that funky sound. The thing you need to watch out for here is not making a number of notes, or chords if you so wish, louder, but rather ‘accenting’ each note that has been marked with the > symbol.
Whereas Fig. 3a uses rest notes, Fig. 3b uses solid 16th notes all the way through, but the accented beats give the rhythm a cool, syncopated feel - try the exercise first without the accents and then try it with. You will quickly see how drastic the feel changes!
Playing funk guitar is very fun, and simple in many ways but equally as difficult in others. These two variations help strengthen your skills in that area, and help you quickly increase the volume of your playing whilst keeping it controlled.
Finally, we come to the last exercise for this blog post. As mentioned before, there is a lot of freedom with these exercises. This one especially will also give you an alternative way to practice your scales. In Fig. 4 you will see an exercise that is an A Major scale, played in a three note per string pattern and over two octaves - nothing groundbreaking. The phrasing might be a little tricky to grasp to begin with, as it changes from eighth notes to 16th notes whilst still on the same string and in the middle of the bar.
Other Considerations
There are certain things that can make your dynamic control better, worse or simply impossible. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list by any means!
When using a pick (see my blog post on them here!), we often get complacent with an attitude of “that will do” being commonplace. Something worth thinking about when trying to settle on the best all round pick for you is how the material, thickness and texture can affect your dynamic playing. For example, I find it nearly impossible to play with a lot of force if I am using a very thin pick. There is nothing wrong with using different picks for different applications!
Whilst amplifiers and modelers may have a part to play here, it might depend more on the effects chain leading into the amplifier. For example, if you have a really hard, quick acting noise gate with a high threshold, the quieter parts of your playing are simply not going to be heard - noise gate will not allow it!
As mentioned in the other blog post, playing harder or softer could result in a different tone depending on the guitar you use, and anything else in your signal chain - there is no strict rule. However, I recommend incorporating this whole process into your practice routine on any iteration of our chosen instrument. The techniques are going to be roughly the same, but the thicker strings commonly used on acoustic guitars might need a bit more of a push to get going. On the opposite side of the spectrum, how much control do you think Billy Gibbons needs to have when playing with his signature set of 07 gauge strings.
Although this following style is completely out of my comfort zone, I still think it is worth mentioning. Percussive acoustic guitarists like Preston Reed, Andy McKee and Mike Dawes can achieve a multitude of sounds by striking both the strings and the body of the guitar in different places, and with differing amounts of force. It makes the beat much more human, especially when you consider how terrible MIDI drums sound with each velocity at 127!
Check out this performance!
Preston Reed - Tractor Pull
Final Thoughts
One of the biggest sticking points for beginner and intermediate players… and most others in reality, is consistency. You should be able to play exactly what you need to every single time. Can you play each of these exercises flawlessly? Congratulations. Now try it ten times in a row, each repetition as good as the last.
Those of you with experience in reading music, or at least being exposed to standard notation in some way, might recognise the forte and piano instructions - the former means to play with more force, the latter is to play with less. It is not possible to have a standardized volume in this situation, so a conductor or musical director will be looking for a dynamic in that direction. Essentially, you should play louder or softer than you were before. If you start playing too loudly, there is not much room to move beyond that. The same is true for the opposite. There is something to be said for those with an innate ability to play at exactly the right level in all situations - this comes from experience. Of course, the skill of knowing exactly how hard to play whatever it is you are supposed to be playing is harder when there are no dynamic instructions at all.
That is one of the many wonderful, unique things about playing the guitar! Every player has a different approach and an equally different connection to the guitar itself. You should ask your teacher how they would interpret a piece of music, focusing on the dynamics of their playing, and then do the same yourself - the results will be worlds apart!
Different styles have different requirements, and fortunately, all of the teachers at the American Guitar Academy have experience in nearly every style imaginable - there is always something for you to learn, so definitely get in touch if you have any questions!
Alex
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