Alternating Thumb Speed?

[DagerRande]

I thought I had posted this yesterday but apparently not. My bottom line question is what is your max bpm for alternating thumb speed. I figured out that mine is about 250 bpm smoothly and continuously without messing up. I want to know about the rest of you because this isn't fast enough to keep up with some of the recordings made by Chet, Richard Smith, and others. Any feedback would be appreciate!

[gmoseley]

Rande - Up in Chet's office years ago, I made the same comment to him. He said to slow it down until you could play it comfortably and not worry about the blazing speed, just try to play the tune right and get in all the lead notes without flubbin' it. Paul used to tell me the same thing. Chet even added another comment,,,,he said that in his early years he actually played things too fast just to see if he could do it. He said, "I listen to some of my early recordings and I think they would have been better if I had slowed them down a bit". Today I hear some of the "young guns" who are starting out and they will take a tune like Cannonball Rag or The Claw and when they perform it, it sounds like a 33 1/3 RPM played at 78 RPM, to me, it takes all the feeling out of the tune. Maybe I'm just jealous because I can't play it that fast . . Gayle

[Norm]

It's kinda like some of these guys you see on YouTube that will take a Chet or Jerry Reed tune and play it faster than the record. When they get done they look all smug because "if they can play it faster than the original then it stands to reason they are a better guitarist." That may not be on their mind but I can't help but think it is.

Same thing when Earl Scruggs lit the woods on fire with his banjo playing style. Suddenly there were all these young hot-shots acting like faster is better.

There was a clip I saw of Travis playing 'Cannonball Rag' awfully fast. For a long time I thought he was just fed up with having to play that song so much but now I think some TV producer probably told him to compress his time on camera to make the show fit the schedule.

The great musicians may sometimes play things fast but they play with taste and there lies the difference.

[Richard Hudson]

I agree that playing with feeling and taste is much more important than playing fast. Maybe what Rande is talking about is that some tunes are just naturally played pretty fast, such as Alabama Jubilee and Tiger Rag, just for a couple of examples.

My suggestion would be the same as trying to learn a new tune. Start slowly and slowly build up the speed until you are comfortable. Don't go beyond your limits just for the sake of going fast.

Playing The Claw, Cannonball Rag, and others at breakneck speed always causes a head shake for me. But, I just chalk it up that some guitarists do that for attention or whatever, but if they are dedicated the difference will soon be obvious to them and they will eventually learn that faster is not always better. There is a groove for every tune. That groove may be a little different for different players, but when they settle in that groove, that's when it gets better.

I need to play more.

Thanks,
Richard