Rusty Cooley - Basic Training instructional DVD review 


 

“Basic Training” is 7-string guitar super-shredder Rusty Cooley’s final instructional on the Chops From Hell label. The exercises on it are divided up between two sections: alternate picking (down, up, down, up, etc…) and legato (hammer-on’s and pull-off’s). Rusty also briefly covers some fundamentals regarding proper technique, his unique, “classical” style of holding the guitar while seated, and how one should go about practicing all of the exercises he provides.

The exercises themselves are reasonably basic and could be learned by a relative beginner, but they logically ramp up in difficulty as the instructional goes on. Many of them are single-string patterns designed to help you master the different fingering combinations and patterns that are prevalent in all types of guitar playing. Other exercises get into string skipping and various techniques many guitarists have trouble executing cleanly and efficiently. Some of these exercises may seem overly simple at times (especially if you’re a more advanced player), but if you stick with them and practice them daily as Rusty instructs, you will see results. Within a short period of time you’ll begin to notice how getting faster and more efficient at playing the most fundamental finger movements really helps you when you’re trying to play the more advanced stuff.

As Rusty explains, his goal as beginner learning to alternate pick was to be able to start at any point in a piece with either a down or an up-pick, and then proceed to alternate pick the rest exactly (always with the next pick stroke in the opposite direction of the last). Many players have trouble playing certain exercises unless they can start with their preferred picking direction, so Rusty advises you play each exercise for five minutes straight and then repeat the proccess again, only starting with a pick stroke in the opposite direction of your last session. Practicing this way will train you to pick everything as intelligently as possible and help you retain maximum economy of motion.

Simply watching Rusty DEMOLISH these basic patterns will force you to reconsider what truly mastering an exercise means. Granted, not everyone wants to play as fast as Rusty Cooley, but I think it’s safe to say that everyone wants to get good enough to play their favorite songs as fast and cleanly as their guitar heroes do, and never let their technique hinder their imagination.