found a major problem and im embaressed :(

[ibanezcollector]

Ok my playing is mediocre at best.. But anyways to further improve myself I bought a couple books today and decided to really dig in deep and try to stop some bad habits and pick up some good ones LOL

Anyways I was working on a picking excercise which I thought was totally useless till I came upon a dawning I guess you could say. It was a simple 1-2-3-4 across the frets kind of thing but they wanted you to do it with all downstrokes then upstrokes and finally alternating with up/down/up/down then down/up/down/up.

Well I found out I can do all but one very good. I can not for the life of me do just upstroke picking. The other three I can do no problem, even with a metronome at a decent speed. But just upstrokes I feel like I never touched a guitar before. Never really thought about it or tryed to practice it.

Anyone else ever stumble upon something so simple in your technique that just plain out sucks?

Well in order to learn good habits I guess I will be chewing some wood with the upstrokes.


I feel kinda embaressed to admit it, but your all like family to me.

Brett

[ibanez2005]

My picking technique too is not as good as id like it. Im Tryin my hardest to get up to Paul Gilbert level by saturday, got an outdoor gig at a fayre, its the third year in a row we've done it and i cant wait.

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

Anyways I was working on a picking excercise which I thought was totally useless till I came upon a dawning I guess you could say. It was a simple 1-2-3-4 across the frets kind of thing but they wanted you to do it with all downstrokes then upstrokes and finally alternating with up/down/up/down then down/up/down/up.

See, those exercises seem odd to me. Admittedly, the upstroke is initially more difficult to do than the downstroke but the guitar teacher that got me started had me doing both from day one. Sure, it was tough at first but like you've discovered, you're probably going to want to learn sometime.

I'm trying to learn how to picking using just my just my wrist . For some reason, I pick from my fingers which slows me down a bit but not to the point that I'm completely frustrated, just slightly. .

I've analyzed wrist based picking and I can see the advantage. I've been working at doing it a bit at a time doing the same exercises you're referring to and I'm getting better at it but I've still got a way to go.

BTW, you didn't mention anything about ever taking lessons so that leads me to ask if you have or are taking lessons.

[ibanezcollector]

never took a lesson in my life.. just playing basically for goofing off for 15 years or so.. Now im taking it seriously and want to become a good musician not just the guy who knows the intros to alot of tunes. LOL

[toneboy]

Take some lessons. It will be the best thing you've ever done. I took lessons for the first 5 yrs of playing and it made all the difference in the world. 23 yrs. later, there are things I learned in those first 5 years that I still use today. You may find some things slightly difficult or unnatural to do (e.g. upstrokes) but a good teacher identify problems in your technique by actually seeing you play. You've made this far with no lessons so imagine how much better you'll be when you start taking them.

[mi2tom]

Took a lesson from local shredder, dithc him after a while and move on,

[Ferrous Lepidoptera]

Yeah, I've run into that sort of thing before. I've never tried all upstrokes (but I don't doubt I suck at it.)

One that gets me is this:

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

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

For some reason the descending part is infinitely easier than the ascending part.

Likewas, from "Bark at the Moon," this part has always eluded me:

------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
-------4-4------5-5-----2-2-----4-4-------------------
--2-2------2-2------2-2-----2-2-----------------------

A strict economy picking attempt (start with an upstroke) will yield an *extremely*
effiecient way to do this, (udduudduudduuddu) but a way so unnatural that I can't begin to do it... and alternate picking is not much more natural. It's very frustrating, in that it's a relatively "easy" part, not played very fast even, but I just can't get it up to speed.

[wallie!]

heh I have more trouble going up the scales then down :P

I understand what you mean ibanezcollector, I used to pick always down for ages :-)

Takes a fair bit of practice to be able to comfortably do it up and down.

Possibly try it on one string to start, like the high E. Every upstroke, accentuate it so they are louder than the downstrokes, I found it easier to see it in my head by doing that.

Also make sure you have a firm grip on the pick, maybe start off with a softer pick so the strokes are easier to make, then move up to a thicker pick the more confident you get.

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by mi2tom

Took a lesson from local shredder, dithc him after a while and move on,

That's not very good advice. A good player is not necessarily a good teacher and the inverse is true. Find an instructor that is a proficient communicator AND player.

[mi2tom]

Originally Posted by toneboy

That's not very good advice. A good player is not necessarily a good teacher and the inverse is true. Find an instructor that is a proficient communicator AND player.

Ironically that is true toneboy, Always a good player can't teach really well, they just show you those fast stuff ble ble bla bla and heck they give you tab and you go home and practice yourself,

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by mi2tom

Ironically that is true toneboy, Always a good player can't teach really well, they just show you those fast stuff ble ble bla bla and heck they give you tab and you go home and practice yourself,

Roger that. I will take your "winking" emoticon at its full value then.

[Gurj]

Ibanezcollector, I swear that your post could have been mine!!
I've been "playing" for about 15 years and am not very good at all. Was self taught and got to a level and never got past it.

So I just had my first proper lesson last week and my tutor has got me doing the 1-2-3-4, 1-2-4-3, etc, etc exercises along with a metronome. OMG, I knew I was bad, but... Got to say though, my tutor has picked up a lot of my bad habits and got me trying different picking methods, etc. So hopefully I'll get to where I want to be.
My biggest problem has always been alternate picking though. I always mess-up on the upward stroke on the nest string down. Hope he sorts that out for me aswell!

[Gurj]

Originally Posted by toneboy

That's not very good advice. A good player is not necessarily a good teacher and the inverse is true. Find an instructor that is a proficient communicator AND player.

Can't agree more. I did have some "lessons" about 6 or 7 years ago from this guy who was a briliant guitar player. Unfortunately, he was the worst teacher possible. In the lessons I did have, all he showed me was how good he was on guitar, no scales, no excercises, absolutely zilch!

Guy who's teaching me know shoed me more in 1 lesson than the other guy did in 10.

[red5]

My picking technique is pretty ****ty too... a lot of times I learn something new and have to practice it for a while before I get it. I've always been slow at picking though.

[andy7jem]

Originally Posted by Gurj

My biggest problem has always been alternate picking though. I always mess-up on the upward stroke on the nest string down. Hope he sorts that out for me aswell!

Paul Gilberts 1st instructional video talks about that.

Ibanezcollector,no need to feel embarassed.I know there are a few people on here sound like they are at Gilbert/Vai/Satch's level (and a few who THINK they are ),but we all have our own level.Sounds like i'm about in the same boat as you.Just never seemed to be able to get to the next level for various reasons.Maybe i should try lessons again too,wish i hadn't lost contact with my old teacher.He was only 5 years my elder,great player but really good at communicating and our tastes were similar.I guess we can't all shred like a motherf***er
I always respect people regardless of ability.unless they are the arrogant type