Paul´s green-tinted mind...

[EricV]

Hi there...

a while ago, someone asked about a TAB of the intro of the Mr. Big-song "Green Tinted Sixties Mind", and I posted an old TAB of it that I once did.

Well, I just did a new, better-looking version with Powertab...
Here ya go:

It´s actually not that hard... lots of open strings... once you get your hands synchronized, it´s a bunch of fun.

In case you haven´t heard this very cool intro by Paul Gilbert yet... go to the DiMarzio soundclip-site , scroll down to "The Tone Zone", then click on the link to "Green Tinted Sixties Mind.mp3"... it´s a sample from the original recording...
Enjoy
Eric

[EricV]

And here is a slightly different version where you play the first B by hitting the open B-string... might make it a tidbit easier...



Eric

[The Bash]

Nice timing, I was just watching Paul the other night on Video
and was struck my a few things.
1) (at least to me) his pinky looked kinna flattened out. I noted this cause my pinky does that when I play faster and it's something I been working on. Grant it his fingers are like twice as long as mine

2) His pinky seemed to stray a bit (not tons) but when doing sum blues kinna 3 fingers licks it seemed it flapped about a bit then boom was there when he needed it. Again that's something I've been working on so I noticed it.

I'm not picking on Paul it's actually kinna nice to see a guy play like that even though his lefthand don't look picture perfect at all times. It's not that I don't want mine to look perfect it just in facing facts I doubt mine will ever look like John Williams's (after all his father trained him correctly since childhood).

Since you've seen Paul play upclose I was wondering if what I was seeing on video was correct or just the way it looked to me.

[EricV]

Hi there...

Yeah, it looks that way upclose too when he plays. And I am doing the same thing. Which is ok if I play with the other three fingers. If I play runs and use the pinkie, I move it less ( took me a while to get that to work... supportive fingering helped )
A cool source to see some very rare videoclips of Paul: VIDEOS AT THE RACER X_SITE. One of these videos is an interview for the GIT, and Paul does not only explain stuff about his technique, but they also show some rare footage of him... he also explains his right hand technique AND plays "Green Tinted...". Awesome.

Although his pinkie is kinda moving a lot, he still has a very economical left hand-technique... hardly any waste of movement, which is one integral part for fast picking.
And his hands ARE very big indeed.

Regarding using the pinkie... are you familiar with Reb Beach´s playing ? He never used the pinkie for soloing...

Did ya notice Paul´s right hand... ?
He plays the way we were taught at the GIT... closed hand, pick slightly angled, hand floating, movement from the wrist. Also, he picks very hard... if you ever get a chance to see the "MR Big LIVE" video ( a show from the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco from 91 or 92 ), pay attention to his guitar solo... you can hear the actual pick-noise ( the pick hitting the string ) very loud there.
I like that.
Eric

[The Bash]

Ahh Thnxs Very Cool
I'm heading off ta the videos now.

Yea I noticed his right hand I was playing around with copying it
to see how it felt or see if I stumbled across something better for me.
And that boggels my mind Reb never used the pinky for soloing.
I read Schenker never did either which I always assumed he did
though a lot of his licks are very 3 fingerish pentonic patterns.

I know a practice a lot using the pinky but I fav. the ring finger at lot when playing live. A lot just has to do with the kinna stuff and the way I grew up playing that always seems to come out on top. The newer stuff I work on slowely seeps in there but for me it takes a while to go from practice room to stage with those ideas and some though good ex. just work work musically for me or at least haven't yet

[EricV]

Hey there...

hope you´ll enjoy the videos. I loved those, some very rare and interesting stuff there.

Anyway... to me, that way of picking and holding the pick is the BEST. I did for a while check out the Steve Morse-way of picking, but I eventually returned to the "closed, floating hand, pick angled"-GIT-way of picking, pretty much the same way Paul is doing it. Works best for me especially for fast picking.
If you wanna check it out, beware: it might feel pretty awkward at first, and you have to constantly remind yourself, like "Hey, not anchoring!!!" etc.
And it takes a long time to try different picking techniques and feel comfortable with them. But to me, this was the best way, and after like 2-3 weeks, I was automatically holding the pick and picking that way. Didn´t have to think about it anymore.

About the left hand fingers: George Lynch said that he often warms up without using the index finger. So, when he added that index finger after a while, it was like "WOW, an extra finger"
He obviously recommended that. I dunno... reminds me of the old joke with the dude carrying a fridge on his back... someone meets him and says "Dude, why are you carrying that fridge ?" And the dude says "Well, if someone attacks me, I throw it away and can run way faster"...
But Lynch did some pretty wacky stuff anyway... he often played WIDE stretches between his middle- and ring finger, which, if you´re not used to it, can seriously hurt and is not really recommended.
Eric

[EricV]

One more thing about the videos:

The MI-interview I mentioned is "pgmrbig.avi". It´s really awesome. I like that one the most, along with the DiMarzio- and the Dean Markley-video...

Oh yeah... they´re really big, but its worth the wait. You should download them to the harddisk ( right-click, "Save as..." ) and then view them. Because if you try to watch while downloading, it will cause problems... so the webmaster recommended to download them... it´s legal too =),
Eric

PS: Which video of Paul did you watch the other night ? ( Where you noticed those things about his left hand )

[Danster]

Originally posted by EricV
... to me, that way of picking and holding the pick is the BEST. I did for a while check out the Steve Morse-way of picking, but I eventually returned to the "closed, floating hand, pick angled"-GIT-way of picking, pretty much the same way Paul is doing it. Works best for me especially for fast picking.
If you wanna check it out, beware: it might feel pretty awkward at first, and you have to constantly remind yourself, like "Hey, not anchoring!!!" etc. Eric

Hey Eric. I downloaded that video (~1.5 minutes with my new cable modem, woohoo ) and have tried that way that PG holds his pick. I'm afraid I'm doomed to having to change to his way. I say I'm afraid I'm doomed because in a way, I don't wanna change, because my old way is comfortable to me. My old way is kinda unorthodox; I hold the pick between my thumb and 2nd and 3rd fingers, but I've always held it that way (from my old college days 20 years ago to when I picked up the guitar again last year). But when I tried the PG way, I could immediately tell that that way would be superior for fast picking. It does feel a bit awkward to me now, like someone has moved all the strings a bit, but I imagine I'll get used to it, assuming I go ahead and take the plunge. If PG changed his way of holding the pick after 7 years of playing, I suppose lil ol me could change my way after 15 months of (serious) playing. With the new method, the thing which seems most difficult right now is when I do an upstroke in which I am to hit several strings. It seems I hit the first one a little too strongly and the others too weakly or not at all. I think it has to do with the angle of the pick, which seems more critical with this new style.

One problemo I have always had with my pick, and it seems to be no different with this new way of holding it, is that the dang thing slips around in my fingers like crazy, sometimes even to the point of where I drop it. I can adjust it if I'm playing slowly, but if going fast, its difficult to adjust. I'm using a pick now which is textured where you hold it, to get a better grip. (I don't know the brand. It says "BRAIN" on it. Its 1.3mm). That helps a little, but not a whole lot. Any suggestions? Should one just grip the pick really tightly? Or is there some pick which is better suited for players with my affliction.

Also, before I change my pick holding method totally, is the PG way of holding the pick good for all styles of guitar? I can see where its great for shredding. I like AC/DC and Zeppelin type guitar, but also I like Clapton and SRV styles as well as many of the current spate of drop-D tuning bands out there. Those are the styles I expect to be playing mostly. Would you suggest the PG style of holding the pick for those types of music?

BTW, that chord progression that PG talked about which he stole from somewhere, but never revealed the source, sounded like Rush's "Fly by Night" to me. Whatcha think?

Cheers,
Dan

[EricV]

Hey Danster...

guess what, I felt the same way when I learned that style of picking at MI. I had been playing for 8 years by then, so it felt like a really big change. But just like you, I realized that it would enable me to play way faster if I´d be able to switch.
I really scrutinized some videos of Paul, and watched some of my instructors to see what they were doing ( in the video, Paul shows how he lays the pick on the side of his index finger, which is really helpful ).
I needed about 2-3 weeks of constantly changing little details ( angle of pick, how hard to pick, how tight to hold the pick etc. ) till I kinda had what I considered the perfect way. Then I started working on speed etc.

I still had to constantly remind myself of those details for a while, cuz I tended to forget them or just fall back into my regular style of picking. So I played and then examined my picking, thinking "STOP ! The hand has to be floating !! " ( this was the hardest part, cuz I always either anchored my hand or rested it on the bridge... but once I had it floating, my picking speed wnet through the roof... I later worked on picking fast while slightly muting the strings, too )
About your problem with the pick slipping: I had the exact same problem. So I tried to hold it tighter, really squeezing it between index and thumb. I had a blister on the side of my index finger after 2 days !
I noticed then that it wasn´t right. And I noticed that, as long as the hard picking motion comes from the wrist, I could loosed my grip on the pick to where it doesn´t slip nor hurt.
I didn´t have that problem anymore after that, not even with the regular Dunlop Tortex pick ( which always seemed to slip ).
If you can´t get rid of that problem, try to make a hole through your pick with a hot nail ( heat it with some flame, hold it with pliers, BE CAREFUL ). That way, you´ll have some little bump there, so you might get a better grip. Or scratch the pick with some sandpaper.
Again, once I loosened my grip and picked from the wrist, that problem went away.

I play almost everything with that style of picking, and I think it is suitable for most styles. I can pick very hard or rather soft that way, I play rhythm guitar that way etc.
When I tap, I usually do so with my middle finger. Sweeping works better that way too.

But if I need to, it´s not a big problem to change my picking style temporarily, to adjust to whatever I am playing. What I mean is, if I i.e. play the acoustic guitar ( I use a different pick for that anyway ), I hold the pick slightly different... I adjust to that "strumming".
Once I get to soloing, or I get back to the electric, I switch right back to my regular style of picking.

Try to adjust to the PG-style, look at every little detail to see what is best, and then find yourself some exercise or routine which you can use to adjust, kinda calibrating yourself.
If my picking hand is "out of pasture" ( if I i.e. didn´t play for a few days ), I play Nicolo Paganini´s "Moto Perpetuo" ( aka "Perpetual Motion" ). When I do that, I automatically focus on my left hand, and my right hand soon automatically starts to play "the right way". After I played through the "Moto..." 3-4 times, I am back up to my regular picking speed, calibrated myself.

An article with TAB of the Moto Perpetuo is coming soon !
Eric

[nickwellings]

I do the Lynch thing.

It really is cool. I also focus heavily on limitation exercises. Like, using only fingers 2 and 3 at all...or only strings 4 and 6 etc.

I wish I had cable to get those videos!!!!!

[The Bash]

Hey Eric,
The Gilbert Video was the REH Intense Rock
(that dude likes those whole steps between fingers 3 and 4 as well. Ow, that feels weird )

[The Bash]

Hey Eric I hadda quick question now that I think about
when u float your hand does it not touch anything at all or does the base of your thumb lightly (very lighty) make contact with the strings. Not resting but just grazing it. Mine wants to kinna graze there.

[EricV]

All that´s in contact with the guitar when I float the hand is part of my arm, between elbow and wrist. The hand is completely floating unless I wanna mute the strings slightly.
If it wouldn´t float, it would most likely generate noise on the lower strings ( scratching noise... )
So it actually is completely off the strings unless I wanna mute strings.
Eric

[EricV]

Once again, it really might feel awkward in the beginning, but to me, it is way easier to speed up when my hand is completely floating. Also, after a while you might be able to play more accurate...
When I rested the hand on the bridge, I tended to hit the G-string quite a bit... although I wasn´t planning on it. Annoying.
With the floating hand, it´s no prob anymore.
Just pay attention to it, don´t let your hand rest or anchor again... if you don´t pay attention, you might automatically do so until you´re completely used to the floating hand.
Eric

[Danster]

Hey Eric,

I have gone ahead and adopted the Paul Gilbert style of holding the pick. (Incidentally, since I watched that video, I have paid attention to how every guitar player I see holds the pick, and most appear to do it the PG way). I really like it now that I have gotten used to it a bit. Couple of comments though. My picks wear out pretty rapidly now. For the old way I held the pick, when the pick would strike the string, the string was in the plane of the pick, so that the flat surface of the pick was hitting the string (hear that kids? that geometry you learn in school actually has some real world applications ). With the new method, the pick is angled with respect to the strings, so that the edge of the pick, instead of the flat surface, is what hits the strings. This causes the edges to fray and wear pretty quickly. In addition, I have broken two picks in the past couple of weeks while playing. That has never happened before. I think I'm going to have to move to a pick which is made of a harder plastic (or other material). However, the problem I mentioned earlier in this thread of pick slippage seems to have disappeared as I have gotten used to the new way of holding the pick. So there's an update for ya, I know you were holding your breath.

Cheers,
Dan