picking hand help. please?

[Catalyst77]

Hmm, interesting I kind of have the same issues.

I always rest my pinky and third finger on the guitar between the two humbuckers about an inch from the top e - trying to learn to play differently now (after 12 years) would be like starting over!

[adamj]

i have a slightly different techinique which works wonders for me. i "hover" above the strings, but i anchor with my pinky touching where my sscratchplate would be, if i had one. allows for free moevement but sitll a reference point as to be able to pick the right string coming up next :) of course it can always change, kind of depends what you need to do

[gingataff]

Check out the videos on this page that Troy Grady has been making for his shred analysing film "Cracking the code", you can see some close up and slowed down picking techniques of great guitarists.

[silentrage]

I have a hard time relaxing my right shoulder when attempting to pick fast, or even when my left hand gets into an awkward or stretching position, my right shoulder automatically tense up,
how do you guys manage to relax when playing fast?
and how important is this to being able to shred?

[JDC]

for me the secret to picking fast is to pick light, personally I use thick picks and tight string and expose as little pick as possible

when my technique was rubbish I'd pick hard when playing slow and pick light when fast, now I pick light when playing slow and fast, picking hard with distortion doesn't make much difference to the sound since there is compression caused by the distortion (I think)

I also anchor myself with the pinky and mute the strings above with my palm, I used to practice scales a lot and do exercises 1 and 2 and variations of them from michael angelo's speed kills

anyway practice makes perfect, keep going and you'll be hitting 16th notes at 200bpm in no time

[MrBump]

I think that it also depends on the guitar.

My Charvel has the bridge very close to the top of the body - this means that I can anchor my whole arm to the guitar and only move my wrist for generating fast flurries of notes (a technique I acquired as a lonely 13 year old boy...)

But on an LP I struggle with that, because the bridge is usually quite raised.

Again, it's one of these infuriating "if it works, use it" things. I've seen old school fast players using their elbows, keeping their wrists virtually static.  I don't think that's what the younger, more schooled players would recommend...

Mark.

[Muzzzz]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

[robharries13]

just got myself a guitar tutor, so hopefully he'll be able to continue where you guys have started. thanks for all your help  :D

[JDC]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shite!!! :)

[samoth2]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shitee!!! :)

My math says 240bpm  :)

[Muzzzz]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shitee!!! :)

My math says 240bpm  :)

yep!

i started out with just a repeated 8-5-7-8-7-5 pattern, and once i got better at that i tried incorporating that into runs in scale shapes - like a dorian - up and down the strings and thats what i managed to get to sextuplets at 160bpm, but i'm pretty so-so with inside picking at that speed... yuk!

[JDC]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shitee!!! :)

My math says 240bpm  :)

yep!

i started out with just a repeated 8-5-7-8-7-5 pattern, and once i got better at that i tried incorporating that into runs in scale shapes - like a dorian - up and down the strings and thats what i managed to get to sextuplets at 160bpm, but i'm pretty so-so with inside picking at that speed... yuk!

sounds similar to me, I started with exercise 1 of michael angelo's speed kills,

Code: [Select]

--------9-10-9--------
9-10-12--------12-10-9

then started doing my own variations, my ring finger needed catching up with my pinky at one point because I didn't use it enough, I've not got a clue about my inside picking speed

how thick/tight do you have your strings and how thick is your pick? I'm using 11.5-59 in C (bit tighter than average I'd say, probably something like 9.5-48 in E) with 3mm big stubbys (aka a 3mm jazz III more or less), I think rusty cooley uses lighter strings than me but picks closer to the bridge to get that extra tension for lighter picking

[Muzzzz]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shitee!!! :)

My math says 240bpm  :)

yep!

i started out with just a repeated 8-5-7-8-7-5 pattern, and once i got better at that i tried incorporating that into runs in scale shapes - like a dorian - up and down the strings and thats what i managed to get to sextuplets at 160bpm, but i'm pretty so-so with inside picking at that speed... yuk!

sounds similar to me, I started with exercise 1 of michael angelo's speed kills,

Code: [Select]

--------9-10-9--------
9-10-12--------12-10-9

then started doing my own variations, my ring finger needed catching up with my pinky at one point because I didn't use it enough, I've not got a clue about my inside picking speed

how thick/tight do you have your strings and how thick is your pick? I'm using 11.5-59 in C (bit tighter than average I'd say, probably something like 9.5-48 in E) with 3mm big stubbys (aka a 3mm jazz III more or less), I think rusty cooley uses lighter strings than me but picks closer to the bridge to get that extra tension for lighter picking

my inside picking speed - whilst still fairly cr@ppy - was starting to get better, but its always more difficult because there's more movement and much much higher chance of hitting strings you don't want to. (well, for me at least)

i like my picks thin as they can get before they get bendy - i usually fender mediums, but they're a little too pointy for my tastes so i usually take to them with a nail file to get them to just how i like them, which is fairly rounded. I just used 9s or 10s with standard tuning, but i think i get used to most guages fairly quickly, but tbh i've never really experimented with many other guages.

[JDC]

JDC's advice is very good... if you pick slowly, its probably because you aren't picking close enough to the tip of the pick. The closer to the tip up pick, the less resistance there is.

it worked for me with sextuplets at 160bpm (pre-RSI. but dont worry, its not a harmful technique. the RSI was piano related, not guitar related!)

what's that in 16ths?

was checking my speed earlier and I managed 16th at 240bpm doing my usual up the neck scale alexi laiho type stuff, was a tiny bit sloppy and a bit arm spazzy though, I'm sure jeff waters is faster than me

ps I can't unison bend for shitee!!! :)

My math says 240bpm  :)

yep!

i started out with just a repeated 8-5-7-8-7-5 pattern, and once i got better at that i tried incorporating that into runs in scale shapes - like a dorian - up and down the strings and thats what i managed to get to sextuplets at 160bpm, but i'm pretty so-so with inside picking at that speed... yuk!

sounds similar to me, I started with exercise 1 of michael angelo's speed kills,

Code: [Select]

--------9-10-9--------
9-10-12--------12-10-9

then started doing my own variations, my ring finger needed catching up with my pinky at one point because I didn't use it enough, I've not got a clue about my inside picking speed

how thick/tight do you have your strings and how thick is your pick? I'm using 11.5-59 in C (bit tighter than average I'd say, probably something like 9.5-48 in E) with 3mm big stubbys (aka a 3mm jazz III more or less), I think rusty cooley uses lighter strings than me but picks closer to the bridge to get that extra tension for lighter picking

my inside picking speed - whilst still fairly cr@ppy - was starting to get better, but its always more difficult because there's more movement and much much higher chance of hitting strings you don't want to. (well, for me at least)

i like my picks thin as they can get before they get bendy - i usually fender mediums, but they're a little too pointy for my tastes so i usually take to them with a nail file to get them to just how i like them, which is fairly rounded. I just used 9s or 10s with standard tuning, but i think i get used to most guages fairly quickly, but tbh i've never really experimented with many other guages.

so speed really doesn't have much relation to my string gauge and pick preference then, if I play a guitar with thin wounds I can really feel the slack and I don't feel in control, I used to slightly change gauges almost every time I put new string on, I think I've finally settled on gauges I want to stick with