picking technique

[ash]

just wondering if anyone else has the same problem as me. with my practice schedule, i use the y metronome program (its great, if you dont have it get it) and i slowly increase the speed of the routine that i go through. heres the problem. for example, i start off at 75bpm and work my way up to 105 on one particular excercise. the problem is at 75bpm my picking is....well..... sloppy. at 90 im fine and even at 105 which is where i move onto the next excercise, im still pretty good with my form. its just the real slow stuff gets me everytime.

like everyone else i want speed:D , and i know what your thinkin, its no good havin speed if its sloppy. does anyone out there think i should stick to what i have been doing (because i have been having some good results by just playing as fast as possible), or should i take a step back for a while until i get the slow stuff down? or should i even go a bit slower?

cheers

[Koala]

Hey Ash, well I believe you should slow down, theres something wrong with your technique that needs to be fixed. I recommend you back down a bit more from your limitations and start growin from there. Its probablly a timing issue so start playing a shape in 4th`s then 8th`s then triplets, then 16th notes, and once you master each and every oneofthe subdivisions climb up 4 or 5 notches on the metronome.....

Hope this helps,

[Bizarro]

Yes, I've encountered the same thing! It's frustrating, but it gives you an opportunity to analyze what needs work and fix it!;)

I think the root of the problem here is that playing at slower speeds (like 75bpm) magnifies any timing problems that a guitar player might have.

By practicing technique you are striving for control, consistency, and accuracy. Speed is a by-product of these exercises, but most people consider it (speed) to be the reason for practicing. :eek:

There's a good chance that if you record yourself at 105bpm and slow it down to 75bpm, you'll hear the same problems. I think you should stick with the slow but steady approach. Leave the "fast as I possibly can play" stuff for when you're jamming.

Have you figured out what you don't like about your playing at 75bpm? It's a lot harder to make 8th notes or 16 notes ring for the proper duration and sound smooth (like butter!) at slow tempos.

Steve Morse, Nuno, PG, and numerous other guitar greats (including our own EricV!) have been quoted as saying they must be able to play something slow before they speed it up.

[ash]

thanks guys. last night i took the advice and kept it slow, i mean real slow:D . i took my metronome to less than half my max speed, and went from there. the whole practice session took about an hour and 45 minutes, and that was just on picking control. by the end of it i was starting to feel like some flow was starting to happen. unfortunately as you can see, it took me that long to just get the basic speeds right, so other things like legato might have to take a back seat for a while.

i know this is my greatest weakness and therefore if i am going to make any serious improvements i need to get this right. ;)

[loveguitar]

Originally posted by ash
just wondering if anyone else has the same problem as me. with my practice schedule, i use the y metronome program (its great, if you dont have it get it) and i slowly increase the speed of the routine that i go through. heres the problem. for example, i start off at 75bpm and work my way up to 105 on one particular excercise. the problem is at 75bpm my picking is....well..... sloppy. at 90 im fine and even at 105 which is where i move onto the next excercise, im still pretty good with my form. its just the real slow stuff gets me everytime.



yes I have the problem of playing at slow bpm also. I guess it's due to poor fingerings control. Playing in time slowly is just as important.

[denisgiann]

The best way to develop warp speed is to practice at a speed that allows you tp play perfect.Speed is just a byproduct of practice.I recommend you "Speed Mechanics For Lead Guitar" by Troy Stetina.Great technique builder.

[ash]

cheers for the advice. think i might have to get the book. i figure its got a huge amount to do with my technique. i just cant seem to consistently keep hitting the strings perfectly at whatever speed im playing, and its really frustrating. all i have time for at the moment in my practice is picking, which takes around an hour and a half. ive been at it now for 2 and a half weeks and im really getting nowhere even with playing at obscenely slow speeds.

[Bizarro]

You should also be playing stuff you like to play, not just working on your picking technique.

You should pick out a song/solo that you really like and is well within your ability. Practice playing that in between your exercises until you can play it perfectly.

Don't forget that the goal is to play music, not exercises at a billion notes per second! ;)

Good luck and let us know how you're progressing!

[ash]

cheers bizarro. ive actually changed my routine of practice since i first posted here, purely because i was getting so disappointed with the fact i wasnt getting anywhere. ive been at it for a week now and i am still frustrated. i am contemplating just improvising for a while and seeing whether that will help, maybe it can just help me enjoy my playing again. i guess the main problem is that the sounds i here in my head are just way faster than anything i am capable of doing on guitar. i just wish i loved slow music and not shredder stuff!!!:D , that would make my life so much easier!!!:cool:

[Bizarro]

I here you! I work like a dog to figure out Thorsten's stuff (for example) and I can usually get the notes right. Then I try play along with the song and it can get ugly! ;)

Playing guitar really well takes time, patience, and practice!

[ash]

ive been closely watching my technique lately and have noticed that at really slow speeds i use my wrist when i pick, but then as the speed is increased my wrist stops moving and its almost a forearm movement that does all the work.

i think this might be the reason why i cant get any quicker than i already am. i watch other guitarists closely and their picking hands move very fluidly with a lot of use of the wirst and they look so comfortable doing it.

to change this at slow speeds ive been putting great emphasis on moving my wrist more and continuing this even as the speed increases, so that it will become second nature after a while.

does anyone out there have any thoughts on this?

[VitoBrata]

Hey ash,

could please tell me if you anchor your hand when picking( using one or more picking hand fingers to rest on the scratch plate) or if youre hand floats above the strings, occasionally resting your palm on the srtings?:p

Remember even though you are picking from the wrist, there is no need to make the wrist movements too large. When i first started trying to get my picking up to warp speed I noticed i seemed to be emphasizing my right hand movement. Try angling the pick towards the strings so that it is less parallel with the string. This will give you more bite and enable you to go faster( my opinion). Aslo try minimising your wrist movements. I would suggest trying an exercise on only one string and then move that same exercise up and down the neck on different strings. Then I would advise to move on to the Paul Gilbert lick and its variations. This lick really helped me a great deal and can be found in the paul gilbert article. :p

--8--5--7--8--7--5--

This is an example of a lick using one string. This lick can be heared in many malmsteen and vinnie moore records. Play it as either triplets or sextuplets.:rolleyes:
ok i think that may all be usefull and remember to listen to Paul Gilbert's "Frenzy" solo recording to get you inspired to work on your picking.

PS: Try using a dunlop jazz 3 pick ( sure helped me)

Cya and good luck :p

[french_miracle]

I also have the mid-tempo problem, and I think it's because I usually play only downstrokes at slow tempos, and alternate at fast tempos (I learned to play fast quite quickly, as I was in Metallica and Slayer stuff when I began to learn guitar). But there's a problem when the tempo forces me to switch from downstroke to alternate...

[ash]

wow!!!advice from the great man himself:D
answering your question, i dont anchor when i play. i have had a go at doing it, and it just feels quite wierd. i hold the pick with both my index and middle finger (i changed from just index finger because i felt it gave me more control) and my hand does seem to change shape if i play close attention to it. sometimes the pinky and ring finger point towards the ground, and sometimes they stay together with the other fingers.

as far as anchoring goes, i just found it hard to anchor and be able to play on the top couple of strings, therefore i thought it would be silly to change position half way through a riff.

playing on a single string has actually been a focus for me of late as i am trying everything and anything to get past this hurdle. what i noticed is that striking a string 4 times then moving onto the next one is quite easy for me, but if i use the same bpm and say do 2 hits per string, or many more than 4 i cant do it as well so that has been a big focus as well, trying to be able to do any number of hits per string on a certain speed.

as for wrist movement, i am just going by what i see from other players, especially when they are picking up and down in motion. it just seems silly that i am using forearm movement at slow speeds. whats going to happen if i actually develope some speed, my arm will probably fall off or get arthritis :(

any advice is welcome, after all, if you can write albums like pride and main attraction, im willing to listen:cool: ;)