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WELCOME TO THE VAULT "Doug's Dirty Little Secrets" The Archive of Douglas Niedt's Guitar Technique Tips of the Month |
I subtitled my Tech Tip "Doug's Dirty Little Secrets" after
reading someone's posted message on a guitar web forum.
The writer asserted that professional virtuoso guitarists all
had secrets they kept to themselves and wouldn't tell anyone
else, so no one would play as well as them!
reading someone's posted message on a guitar web forum.
The writer asserted that professional virtuoso guitarists all
had secrets they kept to themselves and wouldn't tell anyone
else, so no one would play as well as them!
Photo by Robin Gentile, NYC
Type your email address in box above and click GO.
The "Guitar Technique Tip of the Month" is available in newsletter form, which can be emailed to you every month. FREE, no muss no fuss. No more checking to see if the new tip is out each month. VERY convenient.
We promise you will NOT be sent anything else. This is just the Tech Tip.
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■ Technique Tip of the Month ■ The Vault of Tech Tips ■ Fun Stuff ■ House Concerts ■ Guitar Lessons
■ University of Missouri Kansas City Guitar Program ■ Book a Douglas Niedt Concert ■ Contact
■ Technique Tip of the Month ■ The Vault of Tech Tips ■ Fun Stuff ■ House Concerts ■ Guitar Lessons
■ University of Missouri Kansas City Guitar Program ■ Book a Douglas Niedt Concert ■ Contact
Type your email address in box above and click GO.
The "Guitar Technique Tip of the Month" is available in newsletter form, which can be emailed to you every month. FREE, no muss no fuss. No more checking to see if the new tip is out each month. VERY convenient.
We promise you will NOT be sent anything else. This is just the Tech Tip.
LEFT-HAND TECHNIQUE TOPICS
1. The Secret (Little Jennifer's Secret) of How to Play Clear Bar Chords
2. The Little-Known Secret of Connecting Your Chord Changes Smoothly
3. More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About: Guide Fingers
4. Slurs ("Hammer-Ons" and "Pull-offs")
5. Conquering Guitar Acrophobia: Playing in the High Positions Past the 12th Fret
6. Top Ten Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 1: Allowing Left-hand Fingers to help a bar
7. Ten Top Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 2. Allowing the Helpless Pinky to be Pushed Around
8. String Squeaks and Romeo and Juliet. (How to get rid of string squeaks.)
9. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 1
10. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 2
11. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato,Part 3
The stunning conclusion--includes what to do if confronted by a HIPPLF. A must read!
12. "Hey Bud, Look Where You're Going" or Look Before You Leap
Here is a technique tip that is very simple but has the potential to improve your playing a lot.
It is one of those things you think, "Wait, that's too simple. There has to be more to it than that."
13. An Underused but Valuable Body Part
14. Nailing Harmonics Past the19th Fret. (It's really simple.)
RIGHT-HAND TECHNIQUE TOPICS
1. Interval and Chord Balance part 1 (of 4)
Part 1 describes how to learn to control the relative volume between two notes played
simultaneously as an interval.
2. Interval and Chord Balance part 2 (of 4)
Part 2 describes how to bring out an individual note of a three or four-note chord.
3. Interval and Chord Balance part 3 (of 4)
Part 3 describes techniques using the thumb to bring out an individual note of an interval or chord.
4. Interval and Chord Balance part 4 (of 4)
Part 4 shows how to use the techniques described in Parts 1-3 on Luis Milan's Pavane No. 1
5. Right-Hand Finger Alternation. To Alternate or Not to Alternate--THAT Is the Question
6. Rest stroke follow-through.
7. Right hand String Crosses. Good String Crosses Gone Bad
Setting up your right-hand fingering to produce good string crosses.
8. Best Artificial Nail System Yet.
You say you broke a nail? Can't grow nails? You have bad nails, period? Man up. It isn't a big
deal any more.
9. Right-Hand Planting Technique for Arpeggios
10. The Tambor percussion effect
Watch the high def video demos.
11. The anchor-finger technique
More than you may want to know.
12. Fast scales with "ami"
Do you dream of one day being able to play lightning-fast scales like nobody's business? Well,
lucky you, your day has come!
PRACTICING
1. How to Never Ever Forget a Piece of Music Again
How to memorize a piece using mental practice.
2. Another New Year's Resolution? Not Quite. How About A Life's Resolution!
Inspirational essay to help you get on track with practicing the guitar every day.
3. Set Goals for Every Practice Session
Practice smart. To get great results out of your practice session, it must have focus. Here's how
to do it.
4. Practicing in Altered Rhythms
Learn how Itzhak Perlman's accompanist practiced. Practicing In Altered Rhythms will turn your
playing around!
5. Practice With Your Eyes Closed
There's a reason people close their eyes when they kiss
6. "The Old Kleenex Trick"
A very LOW-tech solution to hearing yourself better.
7. Talent is NOT the Answer
This month I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that if you follow all my tech
tips and do everything I recommend, you can master the guitar.
The bad news is that it will take 10,000+ hours of focused, deliberate practice to do it. Face the
brutal facts of reality here.
8. Sight-reading
"How do you get a guitarist to be quiet? Put a piece of sheet music in front of him." Not good.
Develop your sight-reading skill. This is a must for every guitarist.
9. "I've Practiced That Spot A Hundred Times. But when I play for someone, I still mess it up."
Heard yourself say this a few times? This may be the solution for you.
PERFORMING
1. What Do Yo-Yo Ma, Christina Aguilera, and The Pussycat Dolls have in common?
Performing With Energy, Passion, and Excitement: It's All About Communication.
2. Pre-Planting At The Beginning of a Piece
Want to have a boffo beginning? Prep the fingers AND the brain. This one is obvious, but VERY
useful.
3. Adrenaline and Altered Perception of Tempo
4. FOR MEN ONLY: No Hairy Arms (or ankles) (Well, ladies may read the last paragraph)
5. Yes, I Exaggerate
One of the elements of performance magic is the use of dynamics. But you must exaggerate your
dynamics.
6. Where Do I Put The Darn Dynamics?
A followup to the previous article above (#5).
7. How to Give a Performance Without Making a Complete Fool of Yourself
TUNING
1. How to Stabilize Scordatura Tunings
EXERCISES
1. How to Practice Scales and Why.
Do you really need to practice scales? Doug has 19 reasons why you probably should.
2. No Girly-Men Guitarists Here
Develop your hand strength by practicing Macho-Monster Bar Chords
3. Stretching Exercises
Making life easier for the player with short or stiff fingers.
4. Arpeggio Exercises--There's A Better Way.
Want to DRAMATICALLY improve your right-hand arpeggio technique? Forget the Giuliani 120
studies or the Carlevaro 230—they're for people who enjoy root canals and filling out income tax
forms. There is a much better way.
CHRISTMAS
1. A Christmas Gift: Doug's beautiful (and relatively easy) arrangement of Away In A Manger
Print out the arrangement and listen to his recording of it.
2. A Christmas Gift: Doug's beautiful and very playable arrangement of The First Noel
3. A Christmas Gift: Doug's easy but very nice arrangement of Silent Night
4. A Christmas Gift: Doug's customizable arrangement of We Three Kings
And listen to Doug play it!
5. Special Christmas Gift!
A very playable and nice arrangement (with recordings) of I Saw Three Ships
6. A Christmas Gift: Doug's intermediate arrangement of Greensleeves
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS
1. Marsha to Doug: "You need a bath."
Hand Contrast Baths. Having problems with muscle or tendon pain? Try this.
2. Put An End To Your Guitar's Lap Dance Now
A great way to keep your guitar in a stable playing position.
3. Should I Listen to Recordings and Performances of Other Guitarists
4. Metronome Tempo Markings
File Under: "Lies My Music Teacher Told Me." Or, more charitably, "Things My Music Teacher
Forgot to Mention--Or Assumed I Knew."
5. Connecting A Single Melody Note To A Strummed Or Arpeggiated Chord
Not too many guitarists do this correctly.
6. Doug's Rule of Life #17
This rule can be applied to your entire life.
7. Transcriptions and Arrangements
What is essential, is invisible to the eye.
1. The Secret (Little Jennifer's Secret) of How to Play Clear Bar Chords
2. The Little-Known Secret of Connecting Your Chord Changes Smoothly
3. More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About: Guide Fingers
4. Slurs ("Hammer-Ons" and "Pull-offs")
5. Conquering Guitar Acrophobia: Playing in the High Positions Past the 12th Fret
6. Top Ten Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 1: Allowing Left-hand Fingers to help a bar
7. Ten Top Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 2. Allowing the Helpless Pinky to be Pushed Around
8. String Squeaks and Romeo and Juliet. (How to get rid of string squeaks.)
9. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 1
10. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 2
11. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato,Part 3
The stunning conclusion--includes what to do if confronted by a HIPPLF. A must read!
12. "Hey Bud, Look Where You're Going" or Look Before You Leap
Here is a technique tip that is very simple but has the potential to improve your playing a lot.
It is one of those things you think, "Wait, that's too simple. There has to be more to it than that."
13. An Underused but Valuable Body Part
14. Nailing Harmonics Past the19th Fret. (It's really simple.)
RIGHT-HAND TECHNIQUE TOPICS
1. Interval and Chord Balance part 1 (of 4)
Part 1 describes how to learn to control the relative volume between two notes played
simultaneously as an interval.
2. Interval and Chord Balance part 2 (of 4)
Part 2 describes how to bring out an individual note of a three or four-note chord.
3. Interval and Chord Balance part 3 (of 4)
Part 3 describes techniques using the thumb to bring out an individual note of an interval or chord.
4. Interval and Chord Balance part 4 (of 4)
Part 4 shows how to use the techniques described in Parts 1-3 on Luis Milan's Pavane No. 1
5. Right-Hand Finger Alternation. To Alternate or Not to Alternate--THAT Is the Question
6. Rest stroke follow-through.
7. Right hand String Crosses. Good String Crosses Gone Bad
Setting up your right-hand fingering to produce good string crosses.
8. Best Artificial Nail System Yet.
You say you broke a nail? Can't grow nails? You have bad nails, period? Man up. It isn't a big
deal any more.
9. Right-Hand Planting Technique for Arpeggios
10. The Tambor percussion effect
Watch the high def video demos.
11. The anchor-finger technique
More than you may want to know.
12. Fast scales with "ami"
Do you dream of one day being able to play lightning-fast scales like nobody's business? Well,
lucky you, your day has come!
PRACTICING
1. How to Never Ever Forget a Piece of Music Again
How to memorize a piece using mental practice.
2. Another New Year's Resolution? Not Quite. How About A Life's Resolution!
Inspirational essay to help you get on track with practicing the guitar every day.
3. Set Goals for Every Practice Session
Practice smart. To get great results out of your practice session, it must have focus. Here's how
to do it.
4. Practicing in Altered Rhythms
Learn how Itzhak Perlman's accompanist practiced. Practicing In Altered Rhythms will turn your
playing around!
5. Practice With Your Eyes Closed
There's a reason people close their eyes when they kiss
6. "The Old Kleenex Trick"
A very LOW-tech solution to hearing yourself better.
7. Talent is NOT the Answer
This month I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that if you follow all my tech
tips and do everything I recommend, you can master the guitar.
The bad news is that it will take 10,000+ hours of focused, deliberate practice to do it. Face the
brutal facts of reality here.
8. Sight-reading
"How do you get a guitarist to be quiet? Put a piece of sheet music in front of him." Not good.
Develop your sight-reading skill. This is a must for every guitarist.
9. "I've Practiced That Spot A Hundred Times. But when I play for someone, I still mess it up."
Heard yourself say this a few times? This may be the solution for you.
PERFORMING
1. What Do Yo-Yo Ma, Christina Aguilera, and The Pussycat Dolls have in common?
Performing With Energy, Passion, and Excitement: It's All About Communication.
2. Pre-Planting At The Beginning of a Piece
Want to have a boffo beginning? Prep the fingers AND the brain. This one is obvious, but VERY
useful.
3. Adrenaline and Altered Perception of Tempo
4. FOR MEN ONLY: No Hairy Arms (or ankles) (Well, ladies may read the last paragraph)
5. Yes, I Exaggerate
One of the elements of performance magic is the use of dynamics. But you must exaggerate your
dynamics.
6. Where Do I Put The Darn Dynamics?
A followup to the previous article above (#5).
7. How to Give a Performance Without Making a Complete Fool of Yourself
TUNING
1. How to Stabilize Scordatura Tunings
EXERCISES
1. How to Practice Scales and Why.
Do you really need to practice scales? Doug has 19 reasons why you probably should.
2. No Girly-Men Guitarists Here
Develop your hand strength by practicing Macho-Monster Bar Chords
3. Stretching Exercises
Making life easier for the player with short or stiff fingers.
4. Arpeggio Exercises--There's A Better Way.
Want to DRAMATICALLY improve your right-hand arpeggio technique? Forget the Giuliani 120
studies or the Carlevaro 230—they're for people who enjoy root canals and filling out income tax
forms. There is a much better way.
CHRISTMAS
1. A Christmas Gift: Doug's beautiful (and relatively easy) arrangement of Away In A Manger
Print out the arrangement and listen to his recording of it.
2. A Christmas Gift: Doug's beautiful and very playable arrangement of The First Noel
3. A Christmas Gift: Doug's easy but very nice arrangement of Silent Night
4. A Christmas Gift: Doug's customizable arrangement of We Three Kings
And listen to Doug play it!
5. Special Christmas Gift!
A very playable and nice arrangement (with recordings) of I Saw Three Ships
6. A Christmas Gift: Doug's intermediate arrangement of Greensleeves
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS
1. Marsha to Doug: "You need a bath."
Hand Contrast Baths. Having problems with muscle or tendon pain? Try this.
2. Put An End To Your Guitar's Lap Dance Now
A great way to keep your guitar in a stable playing position.
3. Should I Listen to Recordings and Performances of Other Guitarists
4. Metronome Tempo Markings
File Under: "Lies My Music Teacher Told Me." Or, more charitably, "Things My Music Teacher
Forgot to Mention--Or Assumed I Knew."
5. Connecting A Single Melody Note To A Strummed Or Arpeggiated Chord
Not too many guitarists do this correctly.
6. Doug's Rule of Life #17
This rule can be applied to your entire life.
7. Transcriptions and Arrangements
What is essential, is invisible to the eye.
