Hi Tunu, great to hear from you again!

I know what you mean about wanting to give up when you’re learning a new technique; the process is slow, it feels uncomfortable, you don’t seem to be making any progress and you start to wonder if you’re wasting your time. By the way, I keep saying “you” but I really mean “I.”

Here’s the thing – these feelings are magnified exponentially when you’re revamping your technique, not just learning a new one. You see, when you revamp something it means you can already do it and you’re trying to do it in a different (and hopefully better) way. This just makes it even more frustrating! I was recording a passage yesterday for an upcoming episode of Sick Lix and found that I could do it no problem if I were to play it the way I usually would (with two fingers, anchoring my thumb on the pickup and raking the strings), but I was struggling so hard to get it right with my new technique goals! It took me 25 minutes to get something down that should have only taken me 5. I’m not ready to apply this new technique and it’s frustrating! Luckily I’m patient 🙂

If you put in the time today you’ll get the results you want later. How much later? About 5-8 weeks from now. It’s kind of like making changes to your body; if you don’t like the way you look then you should go to the gym and eat well/less. You won’t notice it in the first week, or the second, or the third or even the fourth (even though you’re gonna feel it in the first hour haha!)… But after about 5 weeks you should look in the mirror and start to see a difference. This kind of progress is always slow, so it’s important to remember to be patient and constantly hack away at it. Consistency is key.

So I started my right hand revamp about 2 months ago, and even though I’m not where I want to be I can tell there’s been a HUGE improvement. I’m still not fast enough, comfortable enough or remotely satisfied with it, but I’m sure that by the beginning of 2018 when I shoot the next Revamp video I’ll be much closer to where I want to be. Hope that helps!