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Can anyone help with fast picking?
Derek Mccaughey
(631)
Instructional Forum
6/16/2009 11:17:12 AM · 62 Views
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I trying to develop the picking technique where the players picking hand looks like a hummingbirds wings beating, its popular in rock and metal and makes a sound like "weeleeleeleelee"
not to be confused with the triplet sound that goes "widdlywiddly"
Examples can be found in EVH's eruption, Steve Vais' the animal, and many many other rock and metal solos
At the moment I can pick with the metronome at 250 bpm, but it still hasnt taken on the right sound my question is at what bpm do I need to be picking in order for that technique?
My metronome maxs out at 250 so do I need to buy a new one?
Thanks
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/16/2009 2:33:29 PM
Randy Hano
(5268) wrote:
Derek take your metronome to 125bpms and pick two within the beat. You can increase the speed in that fashion without purchasing a new metronome. |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/16/2009 2:54:34 PM
Chris Pinto
(22014) wrote:
Hi Derek,
That would be called "tremelo picking".
As with any other technique on guitar, this is an art form. It's a combination of MANY THINGS! Studying with the metronome, pick angle, picking technique, pick attack, and trying to "fan" your hand in such a manner that you get that pick up to speed.
I have just gone back to my old guitar instructor myself, because I wanted to learn alternate picking after 20+ years of playing guitar.........and while it sounds easy, trust me, there's alot more to it than just going up & down with the pick. 4 months into this and I'm still having a hell of a time with it.
Funny, how we take many things for granted once we've learned a technique. "Hey Chris, that arpeggio you played sounded awesome"......"Yeah, thanks! Only took me 15 YEARS to get them to sound halfway decent!!!! LOL
Chris |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/16/2009 5:41:30 PM
David Hendrix
(390) wrote:
Um, well, I don't know if this will work for anyone else without
some practice, but it's how I have learned to do extremely fast
picking. I hold my pick a little bit horizontally, and use tense up my
wrist and fingers and just move my whole arm below the elbow
while at the same time moving my shoulder up and down in time
with the elbow pivot, and therefore creates a very fast picking
movement without the tiring of fingers or the wrist.
Experiment, tell me what you think.
David |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/18/2009 9:23:02 PM
Brian Sullivan
(12) wrote:
I was always told to keep the wrist loose. If you watch Yngwie he mostly uses his fingers with a loose wrist. Some teacher showed me this: Lift your right arm straight, out bend elbow 90 degrees letting wrist hang limp. (I know..) Shake your arm as fast as you can letting your hand just flap. You should see a blur. That's how fast you can pick. But you only have to move your pick 1/16th of an inch to strike the strings, so you don't need all that arm action. Plus, you won't cramp or stiffen. The test looks stupid in front of people, but check it out on your own. |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/20/2009 8:17:57 PM
Chris Bond II
(1668) wrote:
Speed is a by-product.
Accuracy and control is where to focus. Keep your playing clean and be aware of it. If you're sloppy, you will be sloppy no matter what speed you are playing at. |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
6/23/2009 12:02:46 PM
Derek Mccaughey
(631) wrote:
I think taking my metronome down to 125bpm and double picking within each beat is the way forward, I find it impossible to loosen my wrist and hold the pick tight enough!
My arm is tense from my fingertips all the way up to my sholuder so I must be using my whole arm to generate the picking motion, the new veins that have popped up in my forearm and bicep over the last few months attest to this fact. |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
7/2/2009 2:25:43 AM
Chris Pinto
(22014) wrote:
Hey Derek,
Here's something I really wanted to mention....
Guitarists have a tendency to think "backwards" about their fingering, & picking techniques. (Myself included) Meaning, most guitarists tend to want to lead with the right hand (or, picking hand). This is wrong! Took me 25+ years to find this out. LOL
I've been going back to my teacher after almost 20 years, because I've always wanted to be better at alternate picking. (Something I was never good at)...and it always bothered me. (It's a personal quirk of mine I suppose) hehe
Anyway, after 20 years of trying to figure it out on my own, I said "Screw it, I'm going back to my teacher, because I'm going nowhere with this!"
So, my teacher is helping me greatly with alternate picking, and he described it to me in a wayI could easily understand...This was what he said to me (ver batum)
I quote:
"Chris, you have to think of your left hand as the Pimp, and your right hand as the Bitch". The b---- always does what the Pimp tells it to do...
Meaning, your left hand (if you fret with the left hand) has to be in total control of everything you're doing (Scales, chords, whatever it is).
He also stated "You are going to have to start from the basics by fingering and practicing with your left hand only! After a few months, start to introduce your right hand (picking hand) slowly to what your left hand is playing. And the key is also controlling your right hand, because you do have a tendency to dig into the strings too hard, when you start to pick up the speed. This is another problem area. You MUST keep a constant watch on what your right hand is doing, as well. It requires a very light touch when the pick grazes the strings. You are going to have to learn picking all over again!"
He was absolutely right! Not only that, but he got me to start holding my left hand in a more upright position, which has also helped me greatly, because my left hand doesn't hurt me anymore!
So, I've been running through all types of fingering excersizes & scales WITHOUT using my pick at all (for months & months...with a metronome), and I've been slowly introducing my right hand using alternate picking method.
YES, it really works. It is boring, it is redundant, and it sucks, but it's been working to my advantage a great deal. I have been getting much better at alternate picking. Seeing how I sucked at it before, anything was an improvement. However, I do notice myself being able to play some scales now, at a decent speed, while alternate picking. It's not perfect, not even close, and it might take me a year or so to get to where I'd like to be, but it gives me something to look forward to. And each week, I notice myself improving....even if it's only a little bit. It's enough to keep me going, though! :)
There's NEVER any "instant gratification" when learning something new on any instrument. It takes months or years of hard work to get there.
Overall, I'm glad I started to go back to my teacher/instructor. He's broken some bad habits that I developed over the years, and he's getting me back on track with my playing, and I've really been trying my best to get better.
Chris |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
7/2/2009 10:47:23 PM
Chris Pinto
(22014) wrote:
Yo Brutha' Randy,
hehehe, you liked that, huh?
Eh, I'm always around, but, lately, I've been trying like hell to practice my "alternate picking" techniques, and a bunch of new stuff my teacher has been throwing at me.....Ever since I started going back for lessons with my instructor, I'm really trying to put the hammer down, and learn some new techniques, I'm busting my BUTT trying to get down my "alternate picking techniques", and I'm also focusing on a WHOLE BUNCH of new Mixolydian patterns, phrasings & licks. I really dig the sound of them, and how great they incorporate into almost any style of music! And it's a completely different path than what I'm used to playing. I figured it's about time this "old dog" started to learn some new guitar tricks.
Not to mention, I have some promising projects coming up very shortly (next couple weeks), and I'd like to have a different perspective with my outlook on playing, my attack, and my overall techniques, and I'd like to be able to add some new stuff into my playing, and bring some new sounds to the table, as well. Instead of the same old Chris Pinto Licks....I guess I just hit that old "rut" in my playing where I felt I wasn't getting any further.
Chris |
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Re: Can anyone help with fast picking?
7/7/2009 1:27:41 AM
Chris Pinto
(22014) wrote:
Hey bro,
Yeah, I've always liked the combination of cool arpeggiated or (Neo-Classical) licks combined with mixolydian patterns. I always thought they work well together, and it adds a bit more depth, "a bit of blues bite" and "grit" to the overall attitude! :) I guess it's kinda similar to Blues Saraceno's style of playing....???
Ya' know, I really wanted to learn some more licks, some new patterns, some new scales, new phrasings, and get better with alternate picking. For a while there, I just felt like I got into that "guitar player's rut"...playin' the same stuff over & over again, and I really wanted to break out of my comfort zone a tad. Challenge myself a little more...???
LOL, boy, if I only knew what my teacher had in store for me, I may have thought twice about going back for lessons again! LMAO
Man! This guy has got me learning a TON of new stuff!!! LOL
Chris |
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