I believed in this as well for many years, but I've taken some lessons with famous bluegrass guitarists and all three of them said that you can't really play fast (which in bluegrass is "blistering") unless your body has a feeling for what it's like to be moving quickly at speed without tensing up. All three recommended occasionally taking a swing a tempo that was too fast just to get the feel there.
I've ended up on the following practicing diet, all to metronome:
CYCLE THROUGH:
- 1 rep Slow, No Mistakes (you can think really deliberately about what comes next)
- 1 rep Medium, 1 Mistake Max (you're using mostly muscle memory)
- 1 rep Fast, 3-5 Mistakes Max (focusing on how your body feels moving this quickly without tensing)
Then at the end of the practice session I'll take one or two (or admittedly five or six) inappropriately fast just for fun. I've been informed that this is possibly undoing some of the work I did in the practice session, but I'm playing music to enjoy myself, not to get as good as possible as quickly as possible.
I believed in this as well for many years, but I've taken some lessons with famous bluegrass guitarists and all three of them said that you can't really play fast (which in bluegrass is "blistering") unless your body has a feeling for what it's like to be moving quickly at speed without tensing up. All three recommended occasionally taking a swing a tempo that was too fast just to get the feel there.
I've ended up on the following practicing diet, all to metronome:
CYCLE THROUGH:
- 1 rep Slow, No Mistakes (you can think really deliberately about what comes next)
- 1 rep Medium, 1 Mistake Max (you're using mostly muscle memory)
- 1 rep Fast, 3-5 Mistakes Max (focusing on how your body feels moving this quickly without tensing)
Then at the end of the practice session I'll take one or two (or admittedly five or six) inappropriately fast just for fun. I've been informed that this is possibly undoing some of the work I did in the practice session, but I'm playing music to enjoy myself, not to get as good as possible as quickly as possible.