Help cuz the depression is setting in ;)

[grappa]

Hi all,

New to this site/forum and first of I'd like to say its great - pulled of so much useful information already- thanks to all who provide the input!

After a recent Guitarist mag purchase one of my recent goals has been to learn Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover. I've pretty much got it down completely (at close to full speed in the most part) but there are a couple of portions that contain some string skipping (at the end of the intro solo on E B G strings) that I simply cannot master at speed. In fact I can't get within 50% of the speed I can play the rest.

I have tried inside & outside picking the notes, I have focused heavily on relaxation whilst working on it - I have isolated it and practiced building some similar exercises - I have tried different picks and I just seem physically unable to do it.

My biggest problem however is the bad feeling I'm getting from the experience. After 3 weeks of trying I am no closer and and its starting to get to me in a negative way. I am strating to tense when I get near the sections I am failing at and of course this just exasperates it!

Is it time to leave it and move on and maybe incorporate some regular exercises to work on it - I am just a little reticent due to the bad vibe I am getting after failing :)

Any suggestions?

[Oceano]

Eric Johnson has been playing guitar for many, many years (probably before you and I were born), and it a takes a long time to achieve that sort of technique, and make it seem so easy.

[grappa]

Unfortunately I am 36 and I have been playing since I was 14 so I can't blame lack of experience :)

[Oceano]

Ok, I don't know, but it seems you are doing exactly what you have to do. You isolated the problem, and are working on it.

I guess you just have to be patient, and eventually you will get that part the way you want it.

[Thorsten]

I think you mean the pivoting lick that always goes back to one note and the notes on the bottom change, right?

Have you tried playing it with your fingers? So you´re holding the pick with your thumb and index finger and you´re picking the bottom notes with your middle finger. That way you can do it much faster instead of trying to play it all with a pick. I´m not sure but I think Johnson does it the same way! I´ve seen a lot of players playing these kinda licks that way e.g. Paul Gilbert.

Generaly I would recommend to try different techniques to play certain notes. If you can´t do it one way try another way. All that counts is the result and how it sounds. There´s no rules!

Have fun playing it!

TK

[Darran]

Originally posted by Thorsten
I think you mean the pivoting lick that always goes back to one note and the notes on the bottom change, right?

Have you tried playing it with your fingers? So you´re holding the pick with your thumb and index finger and you´re picking the bottom notes with your middle finger. That way you can do it much faster instead of trying to play it all with a pick. I´m not sure but I think Johnson does it the same way! I´ve seen a lot of players playing these kinda licks that way e.g. Paul Gilbert.

Generaly I would recommend to try different techniques to play certain notes. If you can´t do it one way try another way. All that counts is the result and how it sounds. There´s no rules!

Have fun playing it!

TK

If he is referring to that particular passage, the higher notes on the 'E' string are definately plucked with the middle finger.

Picking that passage would prove immensely difficult, which is why a lot of players employ hybrid picking for licks at that kind of speed! Eric uses pick and fingers a hell of a lot.

[grappa]

Thanks for the pointers guys.

Yeah it is the pivot lick and tbh I hadn't thought of using hybrid picking for it - bit sad as I have spent most of my life playing classical guitar :)

A very positive thing came out of this though: My inability to pull this off using alternate picking forced me to re-evalute my technique (in the belief that it was alternate picked) and to cut a long story short after reading some articles on this site and spending some quality time working my synchronisation up again over the last few nights I have started to move into a place I have never been able to get to before. Don't get me wrong my technique prior to this seemed solid but I was always seeming to hit a wall - I was convinced it was the ceiling of my natural ability but of course that was just an excuse and an unwillingness at times to change a way of playing that I have gotten used to over many years.

The motto for me: It doesn't matter how long you have played or how good you have got (or think you are) there is always the oportunity to re-evaluate and improve. Motivating stuff indeed.

[metaljustice83]

welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!