“Hurt yourself a bit”: Mateus Asato is one of the world’s best guitar players – and his latest practice tip is certainly unconventional
There’s no shortage of practice routines floating around the guitar world – from strict metronome drills to hyper-targeted exercises – but sometimes the most effective tips are the ones that push you well past your comfort zone. And according to modern guitar hero Mateus Asato, that might quite literally mean embracing a bit of pain.
Over the weekend, Asato shared an unusual tip on his Instagram Story, urging players to “practice standing up,” wear their strap “as low as possible,” and above all, “‘hurt yourself’ a little bit.”
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In the accompanying photo, the guitarist makes sure to practice what he preaches – wearing a Gretsch slung so low it sits nearly mid-thigh.
“It will sound terrible. Rusty. A completely new instrument at first. But do it. Have a great weekend,” the post concludes.
Credit: Mateus Asato via Instagram
The post arrives as Asato gears up for a major milestone: his long-awaited debut album, expected in early 2026. Last month, he released its first single, Cryin’, offering fans the first real glimpse of what’s to come.
Describing the record as a snapshot of every phase of his musical life, Asato told Guitar: “The album is definitely a journey through all the sides of Mateus: the Mateus who’s a sideman, Mateus as the Instagram boy, and then the Mateus that got more mature over the years. Who developed a different vision regarding music, regarding how I see guitar.
“There are a couple of solos that I recorded from 2016 to 2019, but in that time my playing has changed – and when I listened to it back, you could tell that things were different… the vibrato, the tones, those little nuances. But I decided to just leave the original take and add new layers of me playing now, so it’s like I’m jamming with myself – that was cool!”
While Mateus Asato is, by most accounts, the quintessential Instagram guitarist, he took a widely publicised hiatus in 2020, citing burnout. “I grabbed all my guitars off the wall, put them in their cases, and I was like, I don’t want to have any contact with any instruments,” Mateus told Guitar.com. “And I went 90 days without touching any instruments, so I had to just go do other things.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
