Does Guitar Technique Even Matter?

It occurred to me I’ve been somewhat dogmatic in how I talk about guitar technique.

Admittedly, I often make it sound like if you don’t do what I'm saying, you'll never play well.

So, to redeem myself…

In THIS week’s video, I'm playing Devil’s Advocate… with myself.

I show you 7 AMAZING guitar players who play great in spite of doing the exact opposite of what I teach about technique. (All pretty big things too.)

Then I explain why this sometimes happens and how to reconcile this in your brain, so you keep improving your technique and speed more quickerest.

Here is the video.

Oh, and near the end of the video, I also reveal the answer to the question I teased in the subject line of this email.

(Exact guitar speed bpm every guitar player should easily hit with enough proper practice.)

Guitarists featured in this video (watch their videos & subscribe to their channels if you like their playing):

[faureswanepoel]

So glad the perception about these things (outliers and slow practice) has finally been addressed, or at least starting to be addressed. Over ten years my friends and I have been saying this but traditionalists never agreed.

[tadejsusta]

The way how MAB and Jason Becker press the fingers (or just pinky) is way different than how Petrucci does it. Those two actually press them on the guitar, where as Petrucci rests it gently

[x.eternal.x]

Great video. Still looking for elbow lickers

[JCT]

Rofl, I never noticed that about Eric Johnson's playing. I can't unsee the shoulder raise now

[z_y.o.u]

Thanks for this, your videos have helped me immensely.

[timothyleard]

I've always slightly rested my pinky on the pick guard, not anchored in one place, but glides along..

[iceandblaze]

STEPHEN TARANTO FUCK YES. HES THE FUTURE

[silentmadness]

HAHAHA EXCELLENT VIDEO DUDE, of course we know the benneffits of working on the best techinque, but its fun how this guys just go on his own way and get his price at all. For my it just make me happy to see when my techinque is higher than the famous one. They want another think, they wannna be musicians to the world. Others just want to play perfectly.

[jounistactics]

Thanks for your videos. I think the take home point is that the most important thing is practice, and avoiding these mistakes can help to.. speed up the learning process (pun intended).

[bretfuzz]

I think this is very good advice. There are always exceptions to the rule. The question remains; am I the exception?

[mazzorcca]

Thanks a lot for your videos. I admire you so much. I have this question for you: Don't you think that the position of your left leg is not good for health reasons? Some doctors say that your leg position (classical guitar position) makes hurt to your body because it's asymmetrical. It's better play whit a tool like ergoplay so you could put your legs in the same position (symmetrical)? Also, some doctors say that your hand position in the 3:54 min makes hurt to your tendons, because your wrist it's not flat. What do you think about that? Sorry for my english, I know it's not the best.

[jem]

thats funny because i was thinking about it a few minutes ago and now there it is :P

[thedragonofthewest]

i rest my pinkie just like petrucci since it feels comfortable. But I do care about my technique. Im an intermediate player and Im progressing slowly but surely

[IndependenceGuitar]

😂😂 I already knew the MAB was coming on the pinky thing.

[GuyNarnarian]

Never thought anyone else tensed their jaw when speeding up. I didn't even notice I did it until recently, almost to the point of grinding my teeth. Just a reflex I guess, bad for your teeth for sure, I've tried to stop doing it.

[kitaristifi]

Great video!
But what is the exact BPM number that every guitar player should be able to hit easily with enough proper practice?
Did I just miss it and you said it somewhere in the video?

[harpsdesire]

In regard to the point about moving your thumb and index finger when you're picking fast, is it "wrong" to move these fingers to facilitate easier string changes/crosses, especially on the low E, A and D strings? I'm satisfied with my picking speed but I have this habit where I just find it impossible to not bend and flex my thumb and index when I cross the strings on fast runs and scale fragments. It's less pronounced on the higher strings but is much more noticeable on the low strings. Is this okay? Or a bad habit if you were just starting out to learn to play fast?

[dicky]

Please cover up pinky problems (stiff pinky, hard to reach the note/fret desired) for the next video.
I'm sure a lot of people have these problems.

[ClaudLeon]

After months of research, I like his guitar videos the best. However, the shirt he's wearing and his hairdo make it look like he should be playing songs off of DEVO's "New Traditionalists"