I Wanna Shred...

[guitar_chick]

Lately, I've been working on my speed-picking. I'm trying to get faster with my up-down stroke, but can't get my pick to move fast enough and hit the string every time. I don't want to sound retarded here, I know the proper technique to hold the pick, but I'm wondering if my tension on holding the pick is correct? If I hold it too light I drop the pick, but I think I have a kung-fu death grip on it.

Can anyone give me pointers on this? Should I brace my hand, which I usually do on one of the pick-ups, or should I free hand? I'm doing things with my hand that is making my technique sloppy and slow, but I don't know what. I'm starting to learn the modes utilizing the down-up picking.

[screamndemon69]

Some people "anchor" their hand by using a finger outstreched to touch the face of the guitar under the strings that works as a nice pivot point. Some people have excellent hand control and don't anchor at all (EVH "floats" his hand this way).

Good grip on the pick is important so you have full control of it and yeah, so you don't drop it.

There are some great videos and lessons on speedpicking available (Paul Gilbert has made a few nice ones). Use a metronome and keep a log on how many beats per minute you can SMOOTHLY and CLEANLY you can hold your meter either practicing scales or single string lines. if you don't keep good hand technique you will be working against yourself as you can only be as good as your technique. Technique is all your hand(s) efficiency. Bad technique will slow you down, keep you from being smooth and basically not let you fulfill your personal full potential as a player physically.

I borrow ideas from classical training on technique. I'm sure there are others here that will have some good pointers on technique but a few things I teach for single note playing are:

1) stay on your finger tips

2) keep fingers parallel to the frets

3) use proper finger with proper fret or at least whatever finger is the most efficient one to use for particular passages.

4) Keep your thumb in the center of the beck of the neck (which basically keeps the inside of the crook of your hand off the bottom of the neck which is drag and slows you down.

Alot of people rest the crook of their hand on the bottom of the neck because they feel like they have to "hold" they neck from moving forward with the pressure of their thumb on the beck of the neck but the problem is not putting pressure on the neck with your thumb. The thumb is only on the back of the neck for resistance for your other fingers to press down on the strings, which by all measure is an unnatural way of using your fingers. You have to break that habit if you find that is happening as it will slow you down alot.

Hope I was at least a little help

[S-man]

I'm fastest with my thumb in the center of the neck. Though some passages require me to have the crook of my hand on the back of the neck. Mostly large bends, I think.

Also, note every note is picked in some instances (legato, pull offs, hammer ons, etc.)

Sweep picking also makes things sounds pretty shreddy.

[pawel]

There is no 'right' picking technique. Some people found this approach useful, and it personally works for me - I find that it allows me to have a more relaxed grip without sacrificing speed or accuracy. It is worth trying different techniques, maybe one of them will work better for you.

[screamndemon69]

Originally Posted by pawel

There is no 'right' picking technique. Some people found this approach useful, and it personally works for me - I find that it allows me to have a more relaxed grip without sacrificing speed or accuracy. It is worth trying different techniques, maybe one of them will work better for you.

That is a very good point about being relaxed and while it is true there is no "right" way, there are more "efficient" ways to pick and hold the pick. Finding a common ground between efficiency and effectiveness is up to the player for whatever works for him/her. Just my two cents - I've seen a ton of players on jemsite that are 1000x better players in speed than myself.

[andy7jem]

Rome wasn't built in a day young lady

Practice, practice, practice and practice.......and time...will be the answer,




then some more and more practice

[Chakakanagen]

Do you guys like alternate or circular picking for more speed for things like 3 note per string type runs? and by circular I mean down / up / down and then down again for the first note on the new string.

[guitar_chick]

Originally Posted by andy7jem

Rome wasn't built in a day young lady

Practice, practice, practice and practice.......and time...will be the answer,

I know and very good point. I think some may have misunderstood my question. My focus is what is happening with my right hand holding the pick currently. I feel clumsy and awkward. Even getting some hand and shoulder cramps. I don't know if gripping too much on the pick could be slowing me down? Maybe my choice of pick? Currently I'm using a 1.0mm Lucky Dunlop pick. No holes or sandpaper. I want to make sure my right hand technique is correct.

My guitar teacher whipped out the calculator, which surprised the crap out of me and told me with time, patience, and down/up picking with the modes I would be playing so many more 100's of notes.

[S-man]

Originally Posted by guitar_chick

I know and very good point. I think some may have misunderstood my question. My focus is what is happening with my right hand holding the pick currently. I feel clumsy and awkward. Even getting some hand and shoulder cramps. I don't know if gripping too much on the pick could be slowing me down? Maybe my choice of pick? Currently I'm using a 1.0mm Lucky Dunlop pick. No holes or sandpaper. I want to make sure my right hand technique is correct.

My guitar teacher whipped out the calculator, which surprised the crap out of me and told me with time, patience, and down/up picking with the modes I would be playing so many more 100's of notes.

Cramps....I have had to work past those more than once. It sucks, but eventually it will go away.

[screamndemon69]

Originally Posted by guitar_chick

I know and very good point. I think some may have misunderstood my question. My focus is what is happening with my right hand holding the pick currently. I feel clumsy and awkward. Even getting some hand and shoulder cramps. I don't know if gripping too much on the pick could be slowing me down? Maybe my choice of pick? Currently I'm using a 1.0mm Lucky Dunlop pick. No holes or sandpaper. I want to make sure my right hand technique is correct.

My guitar teacher whipped out the calculator, which surprised the crap out of me and told me with time, patience, and down/up picking with the modes I would be playing so many more 100's of notes.

I find my arm cramps fast (couple minutes) when I'm sitting down and playing heavily (fast) but that I have no problems when standing up. My arm is trained to be in a certain position from spending MOST of my time standing up when I play. The muscles get built up in whatever position you play in the most. If you play sitting down mostly than you need to hold the guitar up to your body while seated and stand up with the guitar pressed against you and that is where your strap needs to be adjusted to stay with the position of your arm in relation to the guitar.

If you sit mostly and your arm/hand are still cramping then try standing and adjusting your strap to different positions to see which height is right for you and just practice standing up. I find I get into the music more when I stand up anyway.

[S-man]

Practice is key. There has been a ton of stuff I thought I'd never be able to play. More than a few times I felt like smashing the guitar.

One thing that has helped me practice is always leaving at least one guitar out, hooked up, and ready to play at anytime.

Switching to playing acoustics and bass guitars, from time to time has also helped, somehow.

I've been playing for a long time and still feel like I'm not that good. But I keep working at it and improving. I'm not one of those naturaully talented people.

Good luck. Never give up.

[guitar_chick]

Yeah, I guess the hard part is it seems everyone else is more high-speed and advanced than me. I've learned a lot being on this forum, but at times it can be a little intimidating and humbling. I'm almost afraid to ask technique ?'s cause you guys have make and model #'s memorized.

So what you are saying S-man and others, is that some of my issues will naturally work itself out through time and practice? I am such a painful perfectionist. I may be overthinking this again, like I did with effects.

[S-man]

Sometimes you have to do what is right for you, regardless of what may be the "proper" way.

My advice is to try to learn all the notes in a solo and just keep practicing until it sounds right. Try to get through the entire solo even if you miss a few things here and there. After about a thousand attempts or so you will improve. I swear.

Start slow and then just keep working on your speed.


I'm sure there are alot of other people more worthy of giving advice. But that's some of mine.

Hope it helps.

[guitar_chick]

Originally Posted by S-man

Sometimes you have to do what is right for you, regardless of what may be the "proper" way.

My advice is to try to learn all the notes in a solo and just keep practicing until it sounds right. Try to get through the entire solo even if you miss a few things here and there. After about a thousand attempts or so you will improve. I swear.

Start slow and then just keep working on your speed.


I'm sure there are alot of other people more worthy of giving advice. But that's some of mine.

Hope it helps.

This has been my current strategy. I play songs or pieces so many times out on my balcony porch swing, that I'm sure that my neighbor's hate me. Just kidding. I think I was an undiagnosed A.D.H.D. child. I'm trying to not sacrifice quality for speed.

[pawel]

I agree that practice is crucial, but sometimes you need to make a conscious decision to completely overhaul your technique.

When I started playing electric I for some reason played only with downstrokes and got my speed by using lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs. I was very much into blues-infused rock, and somehow I did pretty well with that technique.

I then realised that I won't get any further that way and started to learn to alternate pick correctly. I couldn't play anything decent for a bit, since I got into a zone where I couldn't play what I used to be able to play and didn't quite get my 'new' technique going. Then I discovered economy picking and totally got into it, then I realised that that doesn't work for me, then...and so on and so forth. Now I still can't really pick well and mostly play a fretless guitar and use a thumbpick - go figure...

Having a teacher and a good technical basis, you have a much better start, but you will still face conscious decisions where to take your playing. Even when you are satisfied with your technique, the search for your 'own voice' never stops, this applies to many established players as well as amateurs....

Here is an interesting article by Wayne Krantz about 'finding your own voice'. Not relevant to picking, but relevant to progressing on guitar and an instrument in general:

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/article/20