Practice Method

I've received two conflicting methods on doing scales and wanted to know which is best.

Method One: Practice really really slowly to get the muscle memory as good as possible

Method Two: Constantly bump up the metronome past your limit and keep reaching for higher speeds.

I suspect a combination of the two is what is actually trying to be conveyed - ie Practice at 50bpm for a session, then practice near limit for a session, then go as high as possible, then back down to near limit. But I dunno, any suggestions?

Never practice something doing it with mistakes.

In this respect, "bump up the metronome past your limit" might be misleading. If this causes you to repreat a phrase wrongly, it is not the way to go.

I think the intent of that advice is to rather to try to find a smaller part of the phrase that you can do past your current limit for the whole thing.

Take the classic "1234" finger/alternate picking exercise.

I can go


-----------
-----------
-----------
-----------
------5678
-5678------5678


much faster than I can go


--------------------------5678
---------------------5678
----------------5678
-----------5678
------5678
-5678------


It is useful to both

1) Work on the second thing bumping up the metronome till you make a mistake then back off. This is like your method 1. This makes sure that your skills are consolidating

2) Find smaller things like my first example that you can do much faster, and push the envelope. Expand them gradually (like in this case adding a string).
This makes sure you are actually pushing the envelope and getting better. "reaching for higher speeds" as you said.

IMHO. YMMV. HTH.

GaJ

"Never practice something doing it with mistakes."
AMEN.

In any learning situation it is much easier to learn it right the first time.

Most of my guitar and golf practice sessions are based on "unlearning" something so I can learn how to do it correctly.

It takes twice as long to do it this way.

Originally Posted by: RiskyNZ
Method Two: Constantly bump up the metronome past your limit and keep reaching for higher speeds.

The other posts above pretty much hit, I would only add with the above emphasis changed to pushing your limit. Always be sure, as the others said, that you are plying it the right way. If it is a faster riff you seek to play, you do want to practice your way to getting up to speed. First, get it nailed at a slower speed, then move to the next 'speed step' and continue to bang it out until you can play it at a new speed comfortably and correct and move up.

You do have to push upwards but never really past your limit.

Risky,

You should consider both slow and faster things but I would go for realistically faster. I know how it is to want to play super fast and yet not be ready.

The main thing is that you are accurate and extremely clean in both your playing slow or fast. Crank your distortion very high and try to play as cleanly as possible.

Playing outside your comfort zone is always a good thing. You just don't want to stay there too long if you realize it could be much cleaner.

Originally Posted by: RiskyNZI've received two conflicting methods on doing scales and wanted to know which is best.

Method One: Practice really really slowly to get the muscle memory as good as possible

Method Two: Constantly bump up the metronome past your limit and keep reaching for higher speeds.

I suspect a combination of the two is what is actually trying to be conveyed - ie Practice at 50bpm for a session, then practice near limit for a session, then go as high as possible, then back down to near limit. But I dunno, any suggestions?

What matters honestly is that you know how to use the scales. I honestly feel there is too much focus on playing fast, where there should be a good amount of focus on knowing how to use the scales. You want to make music with them, and that is what they are for. I agree; you want to use scale patterns as a means to develop muscle memory, but take it beyond that and allow yourself in your routine to play those scales over progressions and to develop licks to put them into application.

As far as metronome use, that is something we can all always stand to practice more of. You are killing two birds with one stuff by integrating your scale patterns into routine practice along with moving your speed up. But! Don't let this be all your focus on. This is not weight lifting, and at the end of the day you want to MAKE MUSIC!