The ceiling is tension, not talent. When you can play a tune clean but slow, or fast but falling apart, the limit is almost always how tight your hands are. Squeeze at about a 2 out of 10, just enough to seal the holes, and hinge each finger at the base knuckle without changing its shape.
Hand position sets the tension before you play a note. Top hand: ring finger first, then thumb, then drop the other two. Bottom hand: pinky first, index finger on its second pad, then the rest. Bottom thumb between the middle and ring fingers, not up high, so the hand balances instead of pinching.
Inching the metronome up is one way to build speed. It is not the only way. Try Willie McCallum's three speeds (really slow, medium-fast, full blast) and interval speed training (play a bar, rest two beats, play the next). Playing slow forever hides bad form; short bursts at speed show you what is really going on.
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Light & Fast Hands: How to Get Unstuck From Playing Slow
59m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
⏱️ In this class
01:06slow, Stuck: or falling but clean apart fast but🔒
02:46then Top the rest thumb, hand: ring finger,🔒
04:48free fingers, pinkies Short rotation little and a🔒
06:41cold hands crease, finger dry the on A and🔒
08:43the second pinky hand: Bottom first, index on pad🔒
10:11between goes the ring and middle fingers thumb bottom The🔒
12:22squeal painful thumb, reeds chanter A that practice and🔒
16:11back the A of pad foam on chanter the🔒
18:27choice reed chanter chanters, and Wet the Endurance🔒
23:40How inch unstuck? Isolate do bar, up you the metronome the get🔒
26:01Willie three McCallum's speeds🔒
30:25bad tempos hide form Slow🔒
32:39metronome: down and the it Drifting the spot off break find🔒
38:16play beats two Interval speed rest bar, training: a🔒
43:35use practice: Varied all methods the🔒
46:26puppy The hands squeeze and dog 2-out-of-10🔒
50:10note The before grace squeeze a anticipatory🔒
51:56it the better again; Half half before gets gets worse it pressure, then🔒
53:43at and change knuckle the never shape hinge Fingers🔒
55:37timing, tempo Recap: technique,🔒
About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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