Using the Metronome, playing along with the metronome, starting with slowest tempo so you can play in time with no mistakes, may be painfully slow, but this is how to build up speed and be 'trained' to play in tempo fast with no mistakes.
I've learned to chunk. I never really speed picked until like 8 years into guitar playing. Ive been playing for 14 years now. I just chunked 8th notes in a 4/4 time signature at 120 bpm and then within a week I was at 180 already.
All the work you do for FREE - AMAZING! I have looked at several videos - all great, but your technique of moving right hand, wrist and arm at about 45 degrees is the best for control with my acoustic guitar. Many thanks. (At the moment I'm trying to play that solo in 'Make Me Smile.')
This is so very important...when I started playing guitar in 1959 these techniques were never brought up and I had gone thru rock, like the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin etc. Then 2 kids and jazz melody . Now with so many years of bad habits, my new love is Gypsy Jazz and those old habits are destroying my successes and of course I am much older. For those beginning or with few bad habits, learn what this is about and you will thank yourself for it later on
Hi Everyone, Old7StringGuy here. I'm trying to raise some funds to improve the quality of my videos. If you've found any of my vids helpful, could you please consider donating 50 cents to my Indiegogo campaign (link is at the beginning of this video). All proceeds go direct to upgrades (camera, lighting, sound, etc.) Thanks for all your help.
Very nice video, helpful, informative, and thankfully unlike everyone else who are more interested in showing off their skill them teaching. Hope to see more instructional videos, you're a great teacher.
Thanks so much, I just bought my first electric guitar and your lessons are an absolute must for me. I ignored everything about he correct use of a pick so far, and you put me on the highway. Thanks again!
Awsome lersson. Its great you pointed the specific problem with alternate picking when moving up and down between strings and how guys just letting this dictate the direction of the pick screwing up the sequence. No other video on you tube that I seen points out this critical problem.
This video got me playing like I want to play! I was holding the pick in a really counter productive way where I was relying on my arm for speed, now I'm using smaller more accurate faster movements. This way works!
Thanks very much for taking the time to help some of us guys learn to pick properly.. I been having trouble pickng for years.. hopefully I can work some of that out with your great instruction
thanks for these, they really help. ive been playing for 6 years but ive never been very good, this is definately improving my pick accuracy and speed. thanks again.
Just wanted to take a second and say thanks for this video. I revisited my picking technique years ago with this and I can definitely say that my speed and precision is levels above where it was in 2011(I'd hope so, being 7 years later). Again, thank you and rock on!
I was just introduced to this concept wjere, instead of 'inching' up your speed, you play the riff or scale or phrase at slow to moderate tempo for a couple of passes and then hit it at double-speed once or twice, back to the original tempo and repeat. Muffed and a bit sloppy at first but cleans up pretty quick depending on the lengtj and complexity. I've alwsys been a hybrid-picker but this concept really works and doverails nicely. Really helpful...
I like economy picking for 3nps patterns but I really like your idea for how to hold the pick. I applied this years ago in my playing when I originally saw your first video
Thx. for the picking lessons! They are really helpfull to me. So, I very much apreciate what you teach, and NOT least the way that you do it. It's awesome.
great with a tutorial on picking, showing a real technique for it. That's what's stopping most people from playing fast and accurate. It's not the lefthand it's the righthand.
Great stuff! The first video in this series was what I'd been looking for. (Not that I *knew* what I was looking for; I just knew I had trouble with my picking and everything I tried failed.) I had the problem of using just the index against the thumb and my index would pivot a lot. It's always tormented me that although sometimes I play well fast, I've always been *inconsistent.* And I really practiced. But the problem was how I was holding the pick! (Not reinforcing my index finger.) Thanks!
Hey Nuggs I used to do that too. What I had to do was slow down and use a metronome (ugh, i hate those things). It was the only way I could fix it, that way I could just assign a 'click' to each finger. Hope that helps!
@crystalballer7983 what this amounts to is that no matter which way I'm picking, up or down, if I move to a higher string (thinner string), I stroke down. Always. My first stroke on that next string is automatically down. If I go to a lower string(fatter string) I pick up first, always. So that I'm kind of sweeping, simply stopping to alternate up/down when I stop on a string and when I move, I "sweep", if the pickstrokes line up that way. Does this seem valuable to you? It feels very smooth??
Great videos! A lot of help. I have trouble, once I get to a certain speed (not all that fast!) my right and left hand always fall out of synch, and it just sounds really bad and totally disjointed. How can I get over this problem, as it's really annoying.
thank u! I am working on learning a new pick technique, please tell me if u think this sounds worth it: sweep alternate picking for max efficiency of movement. if i play 3 notes per string, say an A major scale, on 6th string, I play A(downstroke), B(up), 5th string: C#(down), D(up), E(down), 4th string: F#(DOWN), G#(up), A(down). Reverse: 4 string: A(down), G#(up), F#(down), 5 string: E(up), D(down), C#(up), 6 string: B(up), A(down)....
I play without a pick so i would just use my thumb on 1 string and my index finger on the other. My thumb would pluck going down & my index would pluck coming back up. I would make sure the distance between my thumb & index finger remained constantly precise so only my wrist action would cause the motion. Being able to physically feel precisely where the strings are allows me to make sure i don't misjudge them.
If you get a chance, come watch my "how to pick properly" (the first one) and it talks about muting. The other thing is make sure the guitar isn't too low when your playing while standing.
@old7stringguy yo man i usually pick with my hand open i'm trying your method and am wondering about when strumming chords and palm muting. my other fingers seem to get in the way when picking like your style and i go back to the way i usually pick cheers good vid too keep it up!
I've got a serious question to which i've had no answer as of yet: If i play for several hours nearly every day for long enough, with most of the the bending/lifting my ring finger does; what happens is the skin of my fingertip starts to split from under the nail. At first it's bearable, but as i continue over the course of a few days, the split widens until i can see the red layer of skin underneath and not only does lifting become excruciating, but the finger becomes too tender to use at all.
12 років тому
Hey thank you for the tips i'm deffenetly going to apply them... can you recomend me how to increase the speed alternate picking alternating the strings, in a riff not in a solo
@marcoabl123 i have been playing for 3 years and am an amazing rythem i might say i just cant get the coordination for the leads is there something else to help mabey another video you can possably direct me to?
You need to be able to control both hands at the same time. As much as I hate to say it, you may need a metronome. It will help you to stay focused on the timing at any speed. I hated using mine, but it really helped.
I have a question like...how efficient is to use alternate picking when u change from string to string for example u play 3 notes on one string (down up down) and then u have another 3 notes on the next string so do u play those notes like (down up down DOWN up down) or u have to constantly switch (down up down UP down up) because i can't stick to one way of picking because for some stuff it is just easier for me to do a double down down pick to change a string then do an UP movement
scott... thanks for all the great videos, as well as the lesson yesterday; i really enjoyed it! to everyone else... scott's exercise at 7:55 is great! i have gotten pretty good results so far by doing this all the way up the neck, on all strings, starting slow and advancing 2 bpm per day. moving up slowly 2 bpm at a time barely seems noticeable, but after a month of practice and persistence, you'll have gone up at least 40 bpm :)
really diggin the pickin videos, but i have a question for ya, the step up on the b and the e string throws me for a loop, although i understand the step up could you show me some shapes and/or exercises for moving around the g,b,and e strings
Hi, I have this problem that is, my left and right hand wont really hit the frets and pick the string at the same time, what should I do? If I go fast, my fretting hand sometimes go faster/ slower than my picking hand, and my picking hand, too, will go faster/ slower than the fretting hand. What should I do to make both of them play at the same tempo even at high tempo? Im really frustrated with this problem Lol I hope you will reply me. Thank you!
Really nice videos, they have a pretty relaxed feel to them - not right up in your face with an over the top attitude and straight to the points. What I will say is that I don't really pick like you do (position and the way you hold it) but I can shred, however i'm not always consistent - sometimes I have blinding days of pure speed and accuracy then other days it's like I've never picked up a guitar... Is this down to not warming up or should I consider trying to hold the plectrum as you suggested? I tried to hold it like you do and it's just so alien to me and it feels like it's not meant to be, especially only having a little of the plectrum exposed... I know you'd said everyone has little differences, so can it still work by not necessarily using but exposing a lot of the pick? Sorry for such an odd set of questions but it's an odd situation :) thanks again for your videos
hi Stephen, sorry for the late reply. have you tried warm ups with a metronome? put together a list scales and sequences and keep track of your bpm's and see if you can find where the issue might be - let me know how it goes
Great video,helped me a lot :D But i have some 3 problems that make my playing hard.With my left hand,when i haf to use pinky finger i barely manage to press the freet with pinky like my finger is stiff.Second problem is when i play a song that has a lot of fast alternate picking across few strings.And third problem is when I'm fast picking,i feel like my picking arm muscle is stiff and my arm gets tired fast....Please tell me what excercises are good for those problems?? Tnx :)
I think your point about supporting the index finger against the pick with the rest of the fingers might help me out... I've been holding the pick with just the thumb and index finger and the pick feels kind of unstable in my grip as the speed increases. I'll try out your idea, thanks for the video!
i have a question. idk if you have a video explaining more shapes but how many different shapes are there for guitar? ive never heard explained like shapes and i like it!
Good video. Good tips. Although, as long as you can pick fast, clean, and accurate... the technique can vary greatly. But this looks like a great place to start. Keep up the good picking!
In the first video on proper picking, you talked about being as efficient with your pick movement as you can. I notice that you alternate strokes, even when you skip strings. Wouldn't it be more efficient to stroke down every time you moved down a string and stroke up when moving up a string since that eliminates the need to move over the string and then back to pick it? This is more of a sweep picking pattern, which works well for me, but I'm definitely going to work on what you've taught here.
I guess I really do have a weird picking style. I have always simply moved the picked downwards onto the next string or upwards towards the next string like kind of a sweeping motions. so it would be down-up-down-down-up-down and so on.
Hey man, i've been struggling a lot with finding a correct positioning for my picking hand. It seems that only the classical guitar position works for me, but it kills my back. When I try playing with my guitar just resting on my right lap my forearm keeps slipping. It feels like my arm is too long to rest on the guitar. This position kills my shoulder. Any advice?
Old7StringGuy, can you comment regarding fast sections with big string skips? For consecutive, 3-note-per-string patterns or similar work very well this way. But moving between strings by moving the forearm as you do can be problematic if for example you're string-skipping. Try even a simple pattern such alternating groups of 4 16th notes on two notes an octave apart with the standard two strings and two frets octave interval.
I use Dunlop Stubbies, the small kind and their thickest gauge. If you're comfortable playing the big stretch with the 1 3 4, please do, that's what Paul Gilbert does.
dude!i do appreciate your video and its really helpful,but i'm having a hard time with the picking stuff,can you recommend what type of pick to use? i'm using the large one.sorry i'm just newbie when its comes to picking
Thanks man. Im a amatuer and don't think I will get further than I am. But Your picking ted was new for me and it is difficult to change what y are used to, and when y are 42 like me it is even more difficult. But Y make me wanna try your tech cause what y are saying in y 1 vid about pic tech is totally logic.I already started working on it. So again thank you. Thomas :)
It's great, i had suffered alot with this problem,, but some of the teachers told me to hold your pinky on guitar while playing, can u plz tell me is this also correct posture?plz explain
i can't tell you what is the 'correct' way - only what works for me and the 25+ years i've been playing. take this information and turn it into something that works best for you Anand. Good luck.
@austinfar practice, practice and practice. Don't try to rush, start slowly, you'll eventually get it and then you will be able to play as fast as him.
you can still use eco. picking but practice slow to kee the accent in the time its correspond example. 1', 2, 3, 4 ,1' ,2 ,3 ,4. or if it is more faster. 1';2,3,4,5,6,7,8. more faster 1',2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 and so on. and try to hit with normal strength the weak beats, and exaggerate at first the strong one. (the one with the ' ) practicing alt. picking can be a good warming exercise. So eventually you practice both.
This sucks! I've been picking incorrectly for years!😫it's hard.. it's like taking 50 steps back but I think I've gotten as good as I can my way and I feel this is the way now. I was literally holding my pick at an opposite 45 degree angle. In line with the upper horn of the guitar body and the volume knob. So I'm having to learn to attack the string completely backwards. Any advice you can give me or links to videos that help with this change would help. Thanks a lot.
hi Jesse, at this point - the metronome is your best friend. take the examples i have and slow them right down. give yourself some time then start to ramp up the bpm's. you'll get it, for sure! all the best
Old7StringGuy man, I can't thank you enough my accuracy and speed has improved so much. I'm finally starting to feel really inspired about my playing again. I have stayed with this for the last couple of months and WOW, I'm so glad I watched your video. Thank you @old7stringguy!!!👍😀👍
Jesse Allan Friend Guitar I am in the same exact situation. I've realized this a while ago but haven't wanted to change because I've gotten good. but I know I could get better this way. I've tried it and I can tell it would work. but I also pick two string at the same time with pick and thumb, and middle finger. opposite 45 here. grr
Also good to mention to not let the picking hand palm rest too heavily on the strings if you use a floating bridge as it will throw the strings out of tune. Just my 2 cents.
ive seen many videos on you tube, many good tips. but your videos are kind of WAY better bro. if i play a wonder shit solo in you tube ill thank it to you
okay! learned this sequence, thank you for this. looks like i don't have problem with string skipping-alternating:) again thanks, and waiting for your other videos. as i see there some people as me wanted to know about strumming - how to hold pick properly when strumming, where to place hand to play efficiently. any chances you do that? ;)
I'm a little surprised you didn't give Paul Gilbert any props for the four note exercise "down up down UP down up..." Anytime I teach that technique I refer to the Paul Gilbert video. I saw him do it first back in the early 90s. Not bashing you - these are great videos and I've subscribed.
@MrOstepop2 Angel your arm like an upside down v and really dig into that string. Scott taught me for two years and he is a fantatsic teacher. This technique is really good for shredding. Once you start getting really good you can change your picking style but this is one of the most consistent ways of pickin :) gl
Sir, your lessons are excellent. Like the humble attitude as well. Thanks for sharing this. Kindest, Roby.
+Roby Lazarus cool - thanks, if you can, can you add a review on my google page? www.google.com/+MyguitarteacherCa
I can and I will.... Would revert on my comments please. Thanks.
Yes I agree like the good explanation and humblness
Using the Metronome, playing along with the metronome, starting with slowest tempo so you can play in time with no mistakes, may be painfully slow, but this is how to build up speed and be 'trained' to play in tempo fast with no mistakes.
I've learned to chunk. I never really speed picked until like 8 years into guitar playing. Ive been playing for 14 years now.
I just chunked 8th notes in a 4/4 time signature at 120 bpm and then within a week I was at 180 already.
All the work you do for FREE - AMAZING! I have looked at several videos - all great, but your technique of moving right hand, wrist and arm at about 45 degrees is the best for control with my acoustic guitar. Many thanks. (At the moment I'm trying to play that solo in 'Make Me Smile.')
+John Austin you're very welcome. so glad it helped!
He's a fantastic guitar teacher. He trained me for 2 years :) ! I'm very lucky to be trained under Scott's tutelage :P
This is so very important...when I started playing guitar in 1959 these techniques were never brought up and I had gone thru rock, like the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin etc. Then 2 kids and jazz melody . Now with so many years of bad habits, my new love is Gypsy Jazz and those old habits are destroying my successes and of course I am much older.
For those beginning or with few bad habits, learn what this is about and you will thank yourself for it later on
Hi Everyone, Old7StringGuy here. I'm trying to raise some funds to improve the quality of my videos. If you've found any of my vids helpful, could you please consider donating 50 cents to my Indiegogo campaign (link is at the beginning of this video). All proceeds go direct to upgrades (camera, lighting, sound, etc.) Thanks for all your help.
I'm getting a lot of people asking about strumming. Yes, I will post something soon.
This is exactly how Scott Taught me. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and knowledge! So so so valueable! :D !!
Very nice video, helpful, informative, and thankfully unlike everyone else who are more interested in showing off their skill them teaching. Hope to see more instructional videos, you're a great teacher.
Thanks so much, I just bought my first electric guitar and your lessons are an absolute must for me. I ignored everything about he correct use of a pick so far, and you put me on the highway. Thanks again!
+Francois Berthillier i'm glad it helped. cheers!
Awsome lersson. Its great you pointed the specific problem with alternate picking when moving up and down between strings and how guys just letting this dictate the direction of the pick screwing up the sequence. No other video on you tube that I seen points out this critical problem.
This video got me playing like I want to play! I was holding the pick in a really counter productive way where I was relying on my arm for speed, now I'm using smaller more accurate faster movements. This way works!
Thanks very much for taking the time to help some of us guys learn to pick properly.. I been having trouble pickng for years.. hopefully I can work some of that out with your great instruction
thanks for these, they really help. ive been playing for 6 years but ive never been very good, this is definately improving my pick accuracy and speed. thanks again.
Just wanted to take a second and say thanks for this video. I revisited my picking technique years ago with this and I can definitely say that my speed and precision is levels above where it was in 2011(I'd hope so, being 7 years later). Again, thank you and rock on!
I was just introduced to this concept wjere, instead of 'inching' up your speed, you play the riff or scale or phrase at slow to moderate tempo for a couple of passes and then hit it at double-speed once or twice, back to the original tempo and repeat. Muffed and a bit sloppy at first but cleans up pretty quick depending on the lengtj and complexity. I've alwsys been a hybrid-picker but this concept really works and doverails nicely. Really helpful...
Strumming is a bit different - I will be posting some strumming vids soon (I hope).
Hey J,
Well, the next video I'll be showing how to put these shapes into various scales. Sit tight, they'll be coming soon.
Clearly a great TEACHER!...as well as highly skilled guitarist! BRAVO!!! :)
+Ron Ochoa thank you so much - i'm glad you like the videos. cheers!
I like economy picking for 3nps patterns but I really like your idea for how to hold the pick. I applied this years ago in my playing when I originally saw your first video
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. enjoy watching your videos and learning from them. much appreciated!
Thank you soooo much for your videos. I just started messing around with the guitar about a month ago, so your tips are extremely helpful
Thx. for the picking lessons! They are really helpfull to me.
So, I very much apreciate what you teach, and NOT least the way that you do it.
It's awesome.
Very nice exercises,lessons 1&2. Easy to take in and invaluble for any level of guitar playing. Nice one..
one of best guitar teachers out there....
That simple!!!
Keep em coming mate !!! :D
Thanks this was helpful.I decided to try my pinkie and ring finger to make the 14 to 16 stretch and found a weakness in finger strength there
You're a very good teacher dude! Keep it up man!!!!!
great with a tutorial on picking, showing a real technique for it. That's what's stopping most people from playing fast and accurate. It's not the lefthand it's the righthand.
VERY VERY useful info for this beginner rock guitarist. Thank you!!!
you are welcome - i'm glad it helped.
u seem like a good guy and a good teacher, props to you! sir!
Thanks dude, alternate picking is my weakest point, these are easy to understand
Great stuff! The first video in this series was what I'd been looking for. (Not that I *knew* what I was looking for; I just knew I had trouble with my picking and everything I tried failed.) I had the problem of using just the index against the thumb and my index would pivot a lot. It's always tormented me that although sometimes I play well fast, I've always been *inconsistent.* And I really practiced. But the problem was how I was holding the pick! (Not reinforcing my index finger.) Thanks!
Hey Nuggs
I used to do that too. What I had to do was slow down and use a metronome (ugh, i hate those things). It was the only way I could fix it, that way I could just assign a 'click' to each finger.
Hope that helps!
i haven't watched youre other videos but ill subscribe just because of that one. it was great lesson. thanks!
straight to the point lesson, clear & usefull, thanks for share
+elcochipit your very welcome - all the best!
+elcochipit hey when you get a chance can you like me on facebook ( facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010089972201 )
@crystalballer7983 what this amounts to is that no matter which way I'm picking, up or down, if I move to a higher string (thinner string), I stroke down. Always. My first stroke on that next string is automatically down. If I go to a lower string(fatter string) I pick up first, always. So that I'm kind of sweeping, simply stopping to alternate up/down when I stop on a string and when I move, I "sweep", if the pickstrokes line up that way. Does this seem valuable to you? It feels very smooth??
Sir, you are good at teaching. Thank you
Hey man, great insights, great practice tips just awesome. Thanks so much for doing this.
Great videos! A lot of help.
I have trouble, once I get to a certain speed (not all that fast!) my right and left hand always fall out of synch, and it just sounds really bad and totally disjointed. How can I get over this problem, as it's really annoying.
Absolutely awesome!! thank you :-) a sneak peek on the fun things to come in my learning!
+queenforever so glad you liked it. i hope it helps you.
+queenforever if you can, i'd love a comment on my google page - www.google.com/+MyguitarteacherCa
Great. I will be using both your videos.
Your lessons are clearly stated.....youre the best!!
i needed this like a fish needs water THANK YOU
thank u! I am working on learning a new pick technique, please tell me if u think this sounds worth it: sweep alternate picking for max efficiency of movement. if i play 3 notes per string, say an A major scale, on 6th string, I play A(downstroke), B(up), 5th string: C#(down), D(up), E(down), 4th string: F#(DOWN), G#(up), A(down). Reverse: 4 string: A(down), G#(up), F#(down), 5 string: E(up), D(down), C#(up), 6 string: B(up), A(down)....
I play without a pick so i would just use my thumb on 1 string and my index finger on the other. My thumb would pluck going down & my index would pluck coming back up. I would make sure the distance between my thumb & index finger remained constantly precise so only my wrist action would cause the motion. Being able to physically feel precisely where the strings are allows me to make sure i don't misjudge them.
If you get a chance, come watch my "how to pick properly" (the first one) and it talks about muting. The other thing is make sure the guitar isn't too low when your playing while standing.
@old7stringguy yo man i usually pick with my hand open i'm trying your method and am wondering about when strumming chords and palm muting. my other fingers seem to get in the way when picking like your style and i go back to the way i usually pick cheers good vid too keep it up!
your videos are incredibly helpful!
I've got a serious question to which i've had no answer as of yet:
If i play for several hours nearly every day for long enough, with most of the the bending/lifting my ring finger does; what happens is the skin of my fingertip starts to split from under the nail. At first it's bearable, but as i continue over the course of a few days, the split widens until i can see the red layer of skin underneath and not only does lifting become excruciating, but the finger becomes too tender to use at all.
Hey thank you for the tips i'm deffenetly going to apply them... can you recomend me how to increase the speed alternate picking alternating the strings, in a riff not in a solo
@marcoabl123 i have been playing for 3 years and am an amazing rythem i might say i just cant get the coordination for the leads is there something else to help mabey another video you can possably direct me to?
You need to be able to control both hands at the same time. As much as I hate to say it, you may need a metronome. It will help you to stay focused on the timing at any speed. I hated using mine, but it really helped.
I have a question like...how efficient is to use alternate picking when u change from string to string for example u play 3 notes on one string (down up down) and then u have another 3 notes on the next string so do u play those notes like (down up down DOWN up down) or u have to constantly switch (down up down UP down up) because i can't stick to one way of picking because for some stuff it is just easier for me to do a double down down pick to change a string then do an UP movement
Genius!!! Thanks a lot, greetings from Poland.
scott... thanks for all the great videos, as well as the lesson yesterday; i really enjoyed it!
to everyone else... scott's exercise at 7:55 is great! i have gotten pretty good results so far by doing this all the way up the neck, on all strings, starting slow and advancing 2 bpm per day. moving up slowly 2 bpm at a time barely seems noticeable, but after a month of practice and persistence, you'll have gone up at least 40 bpm :)
i get my pickng hand going faster than my mind or my fretting hand any advise on that
Beginning to undastan the root of problemo....thanks man!!
Good tips! Cheers from Portugal!
really diggin the pickin videos, but i have a question for ya, the step up on the b and the e string throws me for a loop, although i understand the step up could you show me some shapes and/or exercises for moving around the g,b,and e strings
I'm going to try this picking style and see what it does for my playing :) Thanks Sir
+Tom Copeland i hope it helps - cheers!
Hi, I have this problem that is, my left and right hand wont really hit the frets and pick the string at the same time, what should I do?
If I go fast, my fretting hand sometimes go faster/ slower than my picking hand, and my picking hand, too, will go faster/ slower than the fretting hand.
What should I do to make both of them play at the same tempo even at high tempo?
Im really frustrated with this problem Lol
I hope you will reply me. Thank you!
Really nice videos, they have a pretty relaxed feel to them - not right up in your face with an over the top attitude and straight to the points. What I will say is that I don't really pick like you do (position and the way you hold it) but I can shred, however i'm not always consistent - sometimes I have blinding days of pure speed and accuracy then other days it's like I've never picked up a guitar... Is this down to not warming up or should I consider trying to hold the plectrum as you suggested? I tried to hold it like you do and it's just so alien to me and it feels like it's not meant to be, especially only having a little of the plectrum exposed... I know you'd said everyone has little differences, so can it still work by not necessarily using but exposing a lot of the pick? Sorry for such an odd set of questions but it's an odd situation :) thanks again for your videos
hi Stephen, sorry for the late reply. have you tried warm ups with a metronome? put together a list scales and sequences and keep track of your bpm's and see if you can find where the issue might be - let me know how it goes
Great video,helped me a lot :D
But i have some 3 problems that make my playing hard.With my left hand,when i haf to use pinky finger i barely manage to press the freet with pinky like my finger is stiff.Second problem is when i play a song that has a lot of fast alternate picking across few strings.And third problem is when I'm fast picking,i feel like my picking arm muscle is stiff and my arm gets tired fast....Please tell me what excercises are good for those problems?? Tnx :)
love the sound of your amp...what do you use
I think your point about supporting the index finger against the pick with the rest of the fingers might help me out... I've been holding the pick with just the thumb and index finger and the pick feels kind of unstable in my grip as the speed increases. I'll try out your idea, thanks for the video!
+zephboyify i hope it works for you - good luck
Your 3 exercises are based on Paul Gilbert's licks? Cos I think he does a similar thing on his Intense Rock I video.
i have a question. idk if you have a video explaining more shapes but how many different shapes are there for guitar? ive never heard explained like shapes and i like it!
Good video. Good tips. Although, as long as you can pick fast, clean, and accurate... the technique can vary greatly. But this looks like a great place to start. Keep up the good picking!
Been needing this for a long time, thanks a lot!
In the first video on proper picking, you talked about being as efficient with your pick movement as you can. I notice that you alternate strokes, even when you skip strings. Wouldn't it be more efficient to stroke down every time you moved down a string and stroke up when moving up a string since that eliminates the need to move over the string and then back to pick it? This is more of a sweep picking pattern, which works well for me, but I'm definitely going to work on what you've taught here.
Did u cover sweeping? That's what I'm havin probs with
hey there, is it ok to start with a down stroke ,,does it matter?? great vid !!
hi, when you use the metronome are you supposed to play every beat or two notes per beat or 3 or 4 perhaps which is best or does it even matter?
I guess I really do have a weird picking style. I have always simply moved the picked downwards onto the next string or upwards towards the next string like kind of a sweeping motions. so it would be down-up-down-down-up-down and so on.
Hey man, i've been struggling a lot with finding a correct positioning for my picking hand. It seems that only the classical guitar position works for me, but it kills my back. When I try playing with my guitar just resting on my right lap my forearm keeps slipping. It feels like my arm is too long to rest on the guitar. This position kills my shoulder. Any advice?
Old7StringGuy, can you comment regarding fast sections with big string skips? For consecutive, 3-note-per-string patterns or similar work very well this way. But moving between strings by moving the forearm as you do can be problematic if for example you're string-skipping. Try even a simple pattern such alternating groups of 4 16th notes on two notes an octave apart with the standard two strings and two frets octave interval.
I use Dunlop Stubbies, the small kind and their thickest gauge.
If you're comfortable playing the big stretch with the 1 3 4, please do, that's what Paul Gilbert does.
is there a reason why you use pinky instead of ring finger?
is it hard to PICK fast on an ACOUSTIC one !!?
nice lesson tusi great ho I am Indian panjabi I am no English ...you r very nice mann
+Sandeep Kumar
ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ
dude!i do appreciate your video and its really helpful,but i'm having a hard time with the picking stuff,can you recommend what type of pick to use? i'm using the large one.sorry i'm just newbie when its comes to picking
My right hand has tremors. You'd think I'd be able to strum up and down really well, but I can't and I don't know how to deal with this.
you darn metal heads, always using vibrato on every note!
lol, it's either that or a fidget spinner :)
Old7StringGuy good one lol!!
Lol i thought that was a pre bend
does speed takes time or do i have slow fingers?
Thanks man. Im a amatuer and don't think I will get further than I am. But Your picking ted was new for me and it is difficult to change what y are used to, and when y are 42 like me it is even more difficult. But Y make me wanna try your tech cause what y are saying in y 1 vid about pic tech is totally logic.I already started working on it. So again thank you. Thomas :)
Hmmm, could you show us a pinch harmonic with that style??
Did somebody have open counseling with Paul?? U r SOOOOOOOOOO Lucky Man!!!!!
Nice! Another great teaching! to allways follow the "up, down, up, down" instead of up, down, down up" when switching strings :P
Another great lesson!
It's great, i had suffered alot with this problem,, but some of the teachers told me to hold your pinky on guitar while playing, can u plz tell me is this also correct posture?plz explain
i can't tell you what is the 'correct' way - only what works for me and the 25+ years i've been playing. take this information and turn it into something that works best for you Anand. Good luck.
@austinfar practice, practice and practice. Don't try to rush, start slowly, you'll eventually get it and then you will be able to play as fast as him.
you can still use eco. picking but practice slow to kee the accent in the time its correspond example. 1', 2, 3, 4 ,1' ,2 ,3 ,4. or if it is more faster. 1';2,3,4,5,6,7,8. more faster 1',2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 and so on. and try to hit with normal strength the weak beats, and exaggerate at first the strong one. (the one with the ' )
practicing alt. picking can be a good warming exercise. So eventually you practice both.
This sucks! I've been picking incorrectly for years!😫it's hard.. it's like taking 50 steps back but I think I've gotten as good as I can my way and I feel this is the way now. I was literally holding my pick at an opposite 45 degree angle. In line with the upper horn of the guitar body and the volume knob. So I'm having to learn to attack the string completely backwards. Any advice you can give me or links to videos that help with this change would help. Thanks a lot.
hi Jesse, at this point - the metronome is your best friend. take the examples i have and slow them right down. give yourself some time then start to ramp up the bpm's. you'll get it, for sure! all the best
Old7StringGuy it's actually going pretty good on the second day. I've downloaded a metronome app. Thanks a lot!
no problem - good luck!
Old7StringGuy man, I can't thank you enough my accuracy and speed has improved so much. I'm finally starting to feel really inspired about my playing again. I have stayed with this for the last couple of months and WOW, I'm so glad I watched your video. Thank you @old7stringguy!!!👍😀👍
Jesse Allan Friend Guitar I am in the same exact situation. I've realized this a while ago but haven't wanted to change because I've gotten good. but I know I could get better this way. I've tried it and I can tell it would work. but I also pick two string at the same time with pick and thumb, and middle finger. opposite 45 here. grr
Yes, unless I'm doing arpeggio-style stuff, I always alternate pick.
Also good to mention to not let the picking hand palm rest too heavily on the strings if you use a floating bridge as it will throw the strings out of tune. Just my 2 cents.
ive seen many videos on you tube, many good tips. but your videos are kind of WAY better bro. if i play a wonder shit solo in you tube ill thank it to you
okay! learned this sequence, thank you for this. looks like i don't have problem with string skipping-alternating:) again thanks, and waiting for your other videos. as i see there some people as me wanted to know about strumming - how to hold pick properly when strumming, where to place hand to play efficiently. any chances you do that? ;)
I feel good now. Thx for excellent lesson
I JUST LEARNED TO PICK THE GUITAR. NOW ON TO RYHTYM!
I'm a little surprised you didn't give Paul Gilbert any props for the four note exercise "down up down UP down up..." Anytime I teach that technique I refer to the Paul Gilbert video. I saw him do it first back in the early 90s. Not bashing you - these are great videos and I've subscribed.
@MrOstepop2 Angel your arm like an upside down v and really dig into that string. Scott taught me for two years and he is a fantatsic teacher. This technique is really good for shredding. Once you start getting really good you can change your picking style but this is one of the most consistent ways of pickin :) gl