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4K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  Wild_Child 
#1 ·
My picking is in need some help, I've been doing chromatics, but i need to see bigger improvments, i am taking it slow, but any exercises? Or tips, im already taking a look at stuff in shredzone.
 
#5 ·
I think my biggest problems are not able to sync my hands and accuracy. I have FTLOG tab, I got PG's Guitars From Mars and Intense Rock 1&2. I have a the 10 hour workout, but it's from Ultimate-Guitar, but on the comments, someone said it was made by morello, the tab on UG.
 
#14 ·
I would recommend playing with slight distortion. Not much, just enough that it makes an unpleasant sound if you, for example, hit an open string accidentally while picking. Also, it's probably a good idea to turn delay and reverb off completely while practising, it makes the mistakes easier to hear and to correct.
 
#15 ·
A good execise i found for accuracy would be to learn the arps from the start of "The Glass Prison" by dream theater, but pick every note.

Play it along to a metronome starting low till you figure out the notes then move the speed up.

Its a good workout for both hands, im still trying to get to full speed with it ;)

Theres some good exercises on the Rock Discipline video by John Petrucci.
 
#17 ·
I've got tons of exercises, but now i wonder about the picking angle. Should it be like how PG does it?



or something like



I asked my guitar teacher , and he says li should do it the way i did in that picture, but i always did it the PG way, he said there is less catch doing it my guitar teacher's way, but i dunno, should i keep doing it like PG or my guitar teacher's?
 
#18 ·
should i keep doing it like PG or my guitar teacher's?
You should angle the pick with the front side pointing to the floor like paul gilbert explains, especially if its the motion that feels more natural to you.

Your guitar teacher seems to be forgetting that alternate picking involves picking up as well as down. There will be a LOT more 'catch' his way.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Pick should be flat to the string, you want to pick the note scrach it. Learning DT songs did wonders for my alt picking, I allways found it easier to practise by learing songs rather than sitting there playing to a metronome.

I use to allways practise clean but I'm starting to find a little distortion with the volume down is good to practise with.
 
#21 ·
I've always thought that people put too much emphasis on a cookie-cutter approach to the "right" way of holding a pick. I asked Rusty Cooley about this and he said the same. A classic example is Marty Friedman and his awkward picking technique.

The "right" way is the way that is most comfortable for you. If you hold your hand behind your head yet find that this is the way you can alternate pick the fastest and cleanest then that's the "right" way.

People can argue "don't anchor", "angle your pick like this", etc, but ultimately when you're playing a long set you're going to do what feels best. I'm not belittling everyone's valuable advice. I'm just offering my 2 cents.
 
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