Jedro Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 This might be silly and a little out there but.... Let's imagine that it is someone's singular goal to be technically proficient on the guitar. To be able to play like Malmsteen, Gilbert, Vai and the like. Massive chops. Technical profiency and speed are all that really matter. Question: Would steroids enhance someone's ability to achieve this goal quicker? Muscles are muscles, right? Increased coordination and dexterity. Your opinion, please.... I am not suggesting that this would be a good idea. The thought just sort of hit me. Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Well if someone practices enough im pretty sure they can gain that speed regardless of steroids, i doubt you even need that much muscle to play guitar because its mostly muscle memory instead of pure muscle like building body strength. You can hit a note as fast as you want, but you cant do it like yngwie does because its a bunch of different notes in different patterns that most likely one can only learn through repetition. But man, if drugs allowed us to do that, im sure most of us would be on these forums high off steroids.. imagine a world full of yngwies! It would sound even more horrible than the Guitar Centers now with the kids slamming on power chords! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedro Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 The thought occurred to me when I was thinking about those hand exercisers you can buy. Does anyone actually use those? It sort of reduces guitar playing to little more than physical activity. So I took it up a notch. Actually, I do remember a world full of Yngwies. It was the 80s! And truthfully, there were a few of those Shrapnel label guys that I liked - Vinnie Moore was one, his "songs" were better than most of the others of that style. And Yngwie - he is the father of that neoclassical shred style and he does it better that any other, though his music hasn't changed much over the years. I can't stand Guitar Center. I don't know who is more obnoxious, the kids who can't play or the salespeople! Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo. Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 LOL "steroid controversy surrounds Kurt Cobain!" The kids who can't play? What about the 40-year olds who can't play? Ah forget it... I'll be considered a "college student" soon anyways. Anyone here UCSC alumni? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedro Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Originally posted by Starcaster: LOL "steroid controversy surrounds Kurt Cobain!" The kids who can't play? What about the 40-year olds who can't play? I guess there's some of both. Depends on which bothers you most: kids butchering Nirvana or 40 year-olds butchering Van Halen! Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I've heard of musicians using lots of other drugs, but steroids haven't come up. Dunno if they'd be of significant benefit, certainly not worth the side effects we're always hearing about. Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corner Pocket Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I'd bet no. There are two types of muscle fibers, slowtwitch and fast twitch. Everybody has both, but in varying ratios. The slowtwitch guys are the marathon runners, the TdF cyclists, the endurance athlete. Fasttwitchers are the sprint guys. Even weight lifters use a lot of fasttwitch muscles. The clean and jerk motion, or the snatch motion take lot of instantaneous explosvie power. Fingering is all about speed and dexterity. There is really very little strength required at all. Steroids allow a shorter recovery time between workouts, so you can get in more workouts, and build up usefull muscle mass much quicker than without. I've NEVER stopped playing because my fingers were tired. Fingertips sore yes, but never tired. So the prime benefit from steroids isn't really useful. nb: You can take all the steroids you can physically handle, but without the appropriate workouts to go with the chemical programme, the only thing you will notice is the side effects. Steroids on their own do NOT grow muscle, you have to put in the time in a disciplined workout programme. Now......I think, in theory, some stimulants might speed you up a bit, caffiene on the legal side, crank on the not so legal side, butlikely at a loss of precision. Peace, Paul ---------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Originally posted by Jedro: The thought occurred to me when I was thinking about those hand exercisers you can buy. Does anyone actually use those?I was unhappy with my pinky strength on my fretting hand. Being a working dad, homeowner, etc, I, like a lot of you, cannot sit at the guitar all day so I bought a gripmaster. I use it while at work and my pinky finger is feeling better. There is flat out no great substitute for practicing with an actual guitar, but this little finger exerciser is helping. I rather doubt I'll start sticking a needle in my butt to bulk up my fingers. Besides, who wants bulky fingers anyway? bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Sure, it's good to practice technique.. or better yet, beautiful music that's challenging on several levels.. and throw in some finger exercises late at night if you can't sleep or watching the game on Sunday afternoon. I've never owned a Gripmaster or anything.. might be a good purchase.. as long as I realized it's doing absolutely NOTHING for any other aspect of my playing except finger strength! Re: bulky fingers... maybe one day they will have magazines where guitar players show off their bulky fingers... in the meantime, let's play music! Or maybe have the Bulkiest Fingers In The Universe on the cover of the next GP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesWithoutBlame Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Why not go whole hog and just invent a guitar fingering robot? Probably could desimate the fastest shredder we got.... You know...there is a mind attached to the fingers, and if you don't exercise that at the same time...you just get excrement out. If that is the goal...cool. You won't be getting rich offa me buying your CD's. When I had a hiatus for some years, then was playing mostly fingerstyle, then got back up to speed on electric on solos (I don't just play slow either...) I like "feel" a lot, but at times it gets fast and my fingers were both sloppy and getting worn out too fast. I played more. I got over it. Thing is, even with me, there is a danger as your dexterity improves to being too dexterous or too fast. What I mean is, sometimes you want to play one or two bent notes and let them hang there, sounding fantastic...but you want it to sound not TOO easy either. Most guitarists, at least blues, want strings that are not like rubber bands, but that give them a little bit of a fight. I know I need that. If you get overly strong...maybe you lose a lot too? ==================================================== Check out my original music at http://www.soundclick.com/bands/jacker "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but not in practice." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Taster Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Originally posted by Jedro: Question: Would steroids enhance someone's ability to achieve this goal quicker? Muscles are muscles, right? Increased coordination and dexterity. Even so, the bitter end result is that the wife will be calling one who does such a thing, "Mr. Softee" I wouldn't like the trade off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 As a happenstance, I was joking with my wife yesterday, after hard practice on the mando, and said, "feel these fingers. These are hands of steel." She did so and said, "they feel like jello to me." Shades of Rodney Dangerfield! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Quoting Blues Without Blame: "Why not go whole hog and just invent a guitar fingering robot? Probably could desimate the fastest shredder we got...." Invent it and patent it right away, you fool, before someone else does! You stand to make millions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warthog Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 The big question is that if you took steroids to enhance your playing would that make you ineligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? And, if not, would they put an asterisk next to your name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamplicker Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 by BluesWithoutBlame: Why not go whole hog and just invent a guitar fingering robot? Probably could desimate the fastest shredder we got.... _________________________________________________ Isn't that a movie remake coming out?!?!? Crossroads 2006.. Karate Kids Vs Robo-StratSon? At the end, Robo-StratSon Shredds Till it's Hydro-lic's pump bursts, Karate Kid Finally Gives to the Darkside and goes and learns to play a recorder!!! never to touch a guitar again!!! MagicStomp Soundbites Soundclick Rambles Haunted Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtail Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I have one of those gripmasters. I leave it at work. I mostly use the thing as a fancy stress ball but I don't really do any serious finger training with it anymore... if I ever did. I find that as long as I get my hands on a guitar for a little bit everyday, my hands get the workout they need. Eric Iverson mentioned doing finger exercises at night. That's what I do a lot if I'm too tired to work on anything serious. I do most of my real work in the morning before work and on the weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s mel gibson1642606968 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Well, instead of drugs/steroids or stimulants, how about a device. I once saw Beck, Bogert and Appice and Tim Bogert was wearing a leather girdle-like thing on his right forearm for plucking his bass so I tried wrapping my right forearm with a tensor bandage and found my strumming and picking to become a little faster, twitchier and what seemed to be a bit more precise but discovered it to be a crutch because without it, my picking hand seemed to feel sluggish. I never did try it for my left forearm for fingering though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCSpider Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 i've never tried crank to before playing guitar but a 400 mg dose of caffeen does damn near kill your dexterity after it kicks in as well as tax your bodies reaction abilities. i am the anti, the tugging feeling in the back of your head that makes you second guess yourself. i am the devil inside of you begging to escape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rw2003 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Originally posted by Jedro: This might be silly and a little out there but.... Let's imagine that it is someone's singular goal to be technically proficient on the guitar. To be able to play like Malmsteen, Gilbert, Vai and the like. Massive chops. Technical profiency and speed are all that really matter. Question: Would steroids enhance someone's ability to achieve this goal quicker? Muscles are muscles, right? Increased coordination and dexterity. Your opinion, please.... I am not suggesting that this would be a good idea. The thought just sort of hit me. It would be cool if there was some, easy fix to allow ordinary players to shred like those masters. I think a factor that steriods can't address is the actual fingerspan of guys like Vai or almost any other accomplished player with chops. Those guys can span more frets without changing position than the average guy. So in addtion to the finger workout, we need a stretching regimine as well. "Spend all day doing nothing But we sure do it well" - Huck Johns from 'Oh Yeah' Click to Listen to Oh yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanny XIII Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Hey not everybody at guitar center sux!!! I knew a girl that was into biamping,I sure do miss her.-ButcherNburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Somehow having "musclebound fingers" doesn't sound like it'd be all that helpful. Just a pinch between the geek and chum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedro Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 OK, so I should cancel my appointment with Dr. Shortt.* I really thought someone would consider it a possibility. Not that it would be a good idea. And taking "performance enhancing drugs" doesn't necessarily mean getting huge muscles, just bettering those muscles. Either way, it would be a bad idea. I'm rather anti-caffeine and anti-sugar. It's amazing I can even get out of bed in the morning! *Dr. James Shortt was recently involved in a illegal substance scandal involving several NFL players. Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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