Guitar Hackers,
I hope you’re all doing great and spending quality time with your guitars (and loved ones) 
We continue the tradition, Kiko will be hosting another private live only for Guitar Hacks paying members this Saturday, April 24th at 2PM EDT (11AM PDT, 8PM CEST).
As usual, Kiko will pick the top 3 or 5 most liked questions in this topic to cover during the live. So ask away!
Hey there!
After not playing for a few days I realized that I’ve always conflated the feeling of overexerting myself because of having “bad technique” with the feeling of overexerting myself because of my finger muscles not being strong enough.
When watching you play I can see that there’s an ease to the hand movement which I always considered just “better technique”, whatever that means, but I’m now seeing as having more strength and thus more control.
How much of it is relaxation and how much is finger strength? Is strength an aspect of technique?
Thanks!
I had this question a few lives ago, received quite a lot hearts but did not eventually make it to the libe, so I thought let’s give it another try just in case it is still interesting:
It dawned on me during one of the lives that I don’t know shit about song structure and the function tied to certain parts within the structure. Things like: what is a chorus, what does it do to the song and how should it be positioned whitin the song? Verse? Hook? Vamp? Pre-chorus? And so on and so forth.
Inspired by the recent support that Kiko gave to the Jason Becker Fundraiser the other night I think the live should focus on how to play blindfolded 
Or for a more simpler live maybe Kiko could talk about that style of playing and how we can develop that Becker style 
A bit related to the same question than @AgustinLado: how to keep the “relaxation” while playing legato? Especially pulls-off: I feel my harms so under tension that I stop because I know that it’s not good and I can hurt myself by forcing. But I don’t really know how to improve neither. 
Just an additional thought: is there any kind of minimal effort exercice for legato?
Greg
Hello!
I’m always interested in the daily habits of professional artists and musicians. So what does a typical day look like for you? What time do you wake up and go to bed? When do you practice and write? When do you exercise? etc. Thanks!
-Miles
I’d love to hear Kiko talk on his songwriting process. How he comes up with riffs or ideas and develops them into more fully fledged songs.
Hello All, I would love for Kiko to spend a little time on some Megadeth stuff. Show us how he approaches and learns the solo’s and riffs. Maybe some hacks to learning the “Tornado of Souls” solo. He plays everything so well. Other than that, Guitar Hacks is awesome and I love Kiko’s solo albums!
Hello i began to work on the track eDM and i have 2 questions :
The JB fundraiser evening was a really great guitar moment. Thank you for that !
Hello Kiko, hello everyone…!
What a privilege, ALL of us sharing this experience.
If possible, I’d like to hear about INJURIES; how to prevent them, how to play safer (posture, breaks, warm ups, etc).
And of course how to keep your hands healthy and limber.
Gratefully,
Laurentiu Gianni.
Hi folks! Hi Kiko!
I have very quick question i believe can be of interest for everybody, i would like to know if it’s in your plan to do teaching/mentoring session in english (like to ones you did in portuguese).
Also i’m really interested in a composition course/lesson and i think it will be fantastic if you do something like that in your clear and very functional way.
.-
The topic are two but can be answered quickly.
Cheers!!!
Claudio
Hi there!
I realized that many people (including me) have difficulty in investing time and effort correctly.
We create practical or theoretical difficulties that have to do with composition, improv, music theory or even ways to hold the pick, move each hand and everything you can name. That way we have the “excuse” to avoid doing sth until we get an “answer”. (It goes without saying though that there are people who trully face these difficulties, too)
So, my question here is:
Do you find yourself doing that? and if yes, how do you manage (how do you convince yourself) to get past that ?
Cheers,
Sergio
PS.
Very interesting question !!!
I was wondering about ear training. I added some focus in my playing to hear the way different intervals and chords sound.
Is this the best approach?
Have thousands of songs I want to learn.
Also if it’s too fast I slow the mp3 down.
Just to add to Frederic’s second question - it would be awesome if Kiko showed how he handles the left hand muting just in bar #1 of that 8 bar main theme in EDM.
Is there a list out there of topics that were already covered? I think this would be helpful for newcomers and those whom haven’t been able to watch all of the lives.
Um abraço!
Joe
This would be a great topic. I’ve been practicing everyday a lot and I am really worried, that I get injured and have to stop playing for a month or worst, more!
I have a question on fingers while playing scales:
Let’s take the G major, 3 notes per string. On string 5 and 6, you do the full stretch.
I’ve been doing this always index finger (in G), ring finger (in A), pinky finger (in B)… That’s no problem when I play slow, but as I increase the speed, my middle finger starts getting in the way between string 4 and 5.
Then I noticed that Kiko and lots of guitarists play the stretch shapes with the middle finger instead of the ring finger! Is this the reason? Should I teach my brain hard to change the finger positioning? This is the one thing I am really struggling with right now.
Saludos!
John
I’m gonna try again for the third time:
Exercises and tips for whammy bar and tremolo picking.
Hi everyone,
Some questions I have for Kiko-
I have always practiced sat down, except for in band rehearsals. I have only been in my band for about six months and have found that my playing is much more precise and focused when seated. Is there any tips or tricks to improve this or is it just a case of practicing whilst playing standing?
Second question is how to settle nerves when playing gigs? I have my first gig soon and I’m already feeling very anxious about pulling off a really good performance, not hitting any wrong notes etc. I’ve found that my technique really suffers if I’m nervous and it’s very frustrating how all your practice can suddenly go out the window. I know a lot of musicians suffer from this. Kiko, having played in front of such a vast amount of people is there anything you have found to calm yourself backstage and before a gig?
Thanks everyone!
