Help with picking please

[chef21]

I have just come to the conclusion, that my playing is never going to get to the point of being any good, and I think the one thing that really seems to be holding me back is my picking technique, or lack of. I need help, I always seem to dig too deep and get stuck on the string or pick too lightly and miss all together, anyone have any exercises for a beginer on how to improve picking. If it helps, I like to play blues, rock, metal, shred. thanks chef21

[mi2tom]

Get some paul gilbert instructional video, know the difference between economy picking and alternate picking, when to use em, how to use em and what is this doing in offtopics

[ibanezlover]

Hey there Chef! You'll probably get alot of varied opinions on picking techniques. There is no one way to pick. To anchor or to float your picking hand etc. It seems to me that maybe your picking angle of attack might be a little too parallel to the strings. Hold your thumb close to the tip of the pick and angle around 45 degrees on the string. As for an exercise, there are soo many out there that you can do. The best and simplest one is the 1,2,3,4 down the strings, then 4,3,2,1 back up the strings. Really concentrate on the up and down motion. I'd recommend using a metronome too.

[JJEMMER777]

Lol...nice avatar

So....if your just a beginner Chef....then how do you come to the conclusion that you'll never be any good

1.) How do you hold your plectrum?

2.) Do you anchor?? (oh no....maybe I shouldn't start that again)

[Flobanez]

I used to have that problem as well, I noticed if you dig too deep, you can get caught up in the string sometimes. I have John Petrucci's Rock Discipline and Eric Johnson's Total Electric Guitar, both those videos have helped me out a little and a little with speed and accuracy as well.

[sniperfrommars1]

Using dunlop tortex jazz picks helps. They force you to choke up properly on the pick, and have a sharpened tip for more precise picking technique.

[Flobanez]

Those are great picks. Also, i've always liked Fender Heavys and is mostly what I use.

[ibanezlover]

The black dunlop jazz III's are my favs!

[SonataGuitarist]

Originally Posted by sniperfrommars1

Using dunlop tortex jazz picks helps. They force you to choke up properly on the pick, and have a sharpened tip for more precise picking technique.

+1 Jazz IIIs rock, great for a crisp and clean attack.


Now I'm thirtsy... wtf

[Nordhauser]

Originally Posted by ibanezlover

The black dunlop jazz III's are my favs!

+1. I started using these after Fender Heavys. Both are great.

[IbanezGirl]

Originally Posted by ibanezlover

The black dunlop jazz III's are my favs!

+1. I At times i alternate between using these and the red jazz IIII's.

[Tom Gilroy]

Originally Posted by JJEMMER777

Do you anchor?? (oh no....maybe I shouldn't start that again)

I'm not going to debate anything anybody says, I'll just make a few posts and try to detail efficent technique as best as I can. Remember, you can play great with bad technique, but you can play better, and progress faster with good technique.

Ok, firstly, I absolutely do not think that you should anchor. Anchoring adds tension to your playing, and you don't want that. Anchoring would in this case be planting fingers on the guitar, or "resting" the forearm or the palm on the guitar. Anchoring is detrimental to your playing in that it adds tension, which can strain the muscles and because in most cases, it puts your tendons in a position they're not too fond of. Also, added friction when moving will simply slow down the hand, meaning acomplished anchored players will have difficulty keeping up with accomplished unachored players. To add to this, and in my mind the biggest factor is that anchors are used as reference points, as crutches. It is far better that you put in the practice and train your arm to know where it is in realtation to the strings without an anchor, as it will give more control in the long run.

When you start unanchored playing, it will, firstly seem absolutely exausting, which is odd, as I was just talking about reducing tension, right? Wrong. You're excercising important muscles for the first time, it is only natural that they will fatigue, until they become more accustomed to being used.

Players that don't anchor include Chris Impellitteri, Shawn Lane, Rustly Cooley and Paul Gilbert (yes he touches the guitar, but that's not quite the same as anchoring). Basically, the guys with really great picking techniques.

In the same vein, I'd advise you only hold the pick with the thumb and one other finger, the index would be most suitable. Drop your hand down by your side and notice the shape of your hand when it is completely relaxed. Your hand should look like that when you pick, but with a pick in there somewhere.

This next part I'd have difficulty stressting enough. PICK WITH YOUR WRIST. Elbow picking takes far more effort and can cause repetitive strain injuries. Granted, any kind of wrist motion will have some influence on the elbow, but the wrist should be used primarily.

There are two kinds of wrist pick that you should be aware of, translational and oscillatory. Which I will describe in my next post.

[ChopTart]

I agree with everything Tom says - to me, those are the best ways to improve technique and create a style. Especially the bit about holding the pick and using motions from the wrist rather than the elbow. Elbow picking will get you way too tired and wrist can do better precision picking with less effort (after a little practice).

As for what you said with learning how to keep the amount of "pluck" equal for all strings/notes picked, my friend showed me a great way to learn this. Firstly, check how you're holding the pick. In addition to what Tom Gilroy stated, make sure only a TINY bit of the tip is exposed - maybe only 3 mm or so. Here's the tip that really helped me: use a Jazz pick for a while. I was given a Dunlop Jazz III to work with and for 7 months or so, it was the only pick I used. The smaller size helped me keep less pick exposed so I wasn't hitting some notes harder than others. Use it for a while, and holding the pick minimalstically will become second nature and you can switch back to regular sized ones (though you may not want to )

Hope this helps, good luck and don't get discouraged! Remember that everyone is constantly progressing- you can't get to the point where you've peaked. Have fun

[JJEMMER777]

I'm not going to get into this again

I DO use my wrist.

Though I anchor!

[mi2tom]

+ A million on what tommy says!!!