Chops

[Danafellow]

Hey anthony.

One thing that i consistently find troubling in my playing is developing chops. On both hands. On some songs my left hand can't keep up with my right hand and vise versa i was wondering a good way to develope chops on both hands because often when people talk about inproving chops their only talking about the left hand.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Ant Wellington]

Hey Dan,

By 'chops' I take it you mean 'technique'? To me, 'chops' just means playing fast. It doesn't have a positive or negative connotation. But technique(to me) is a different word. It implies refinement.

To refine my dexterity I practice exercises that are just based moving my fingers in all possible combinations(permutations). Om my left hand I practice the permutations of my 4 fingers(24 of them) on single strings and multiple strings in all possible directional and time permutations.

On my right hand I practice strictly alternating my fingers starting with the 1st finger and the 2nd finger. And I do my right hand exercises with left hand sequences that don't always line up numerically with the right hand(displacement).

I hope this helps.

peace,
anthony