Whats up with my picking technique?

When I'm practicing and I'm concentrating on my picking hand I can pick great but I dont have speed or accuracy with my left hand. As soon as I look at my left hand I can do the left hand motions flawlessly but my pick scrapes the pickups and my hand goes all over the place and runs into the volume knob.
HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stick to contsant picking on one string, wen you've mastered 1-2-3, 1-2-3-2-1, 1-2-3-4, & 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 then try adding the next string in. The only way to get this is by practice. One of these days the timing of the right and left hand movements will just click into place and you'll never have a problem with it again. Just one of those things, practice makes perfect.

Yeah thats right...^........It is actually called Chromatic string picking exercises. Thats the best way to improve precision and speed of your right hand. Yngwie taught it on his GuitarWorld column, but you should do it slowly and clean until your fast enough.

Some times i have the same problems....what i do is play a few easy songs like fear of the dark by maiden to get my fingers moving...then i like to play with my eyes closed...this way i find that i dont concentrate on just one thing.....try it out see how it works

Im going to try those ideas.
My main problem is that my pick goes this direction across the strings:

____E
_____A
______D
____G
__B
E

Start Slow, build up....somthing that took me a while to get the hang of but when u nail something perfect for first time its all worth it :)

ive been having problems that are similar actually..either my fingers accidentally tap other strings or my picking finger picks a wrong string...it's really annoying and i have been practicing forsome time now... geez

if it happens, it happens.

like, if you mess up your picking in a gig or something, you need to think of a way that you can make it sound like you ment to do it. for example, you just repeat it again, and voila! it sounds intentional!

other than that, all i can think of other than superhuman's suggestion is to just relax.

when your all tensed up and super concentrating on one thing, its easier to mess up everything else.

The only thing is that when I concentrate real hard I can stop myself from making the mistakes. It sucks because it feels like I can never just relax and play. Ill practice picking correctly for like two hours straight then I dont have to think about it for a while. Then the next time I pick up the guitar Ill start messing up again. I dont always feel like watching my every picking motion. I probably just need more practice but Its frustrating and it makes me not want to play sometimes. If I dont rest my arm on the body I find it easier to do the right motion but my arm gets tired faster and it isnt as comfortable. Should I keep my arm away from the body? :confused:

Originally Posted by: AkiraTake a rest from alternate picking altogether. Work on your legato, sweeping, bends, vibrato, or whatever. I think you may be putting too much effort into it. Give it a try, see how it goes. Sometimes your brain just needs a rest from the same old stuff.

Good advice. Take a break and try something else, it's not a skill thing with the hands but a concept that you you need to grasp with your mind. Try legatto to a metronome and concentrate on keeping timing and rhythm. Then try picking one note only with the right hand up and down at varing speeds to a metronome. This helped me to understand a little more about the rhythm that was required when I put the left and right together.

you're probably hitting the wrong strings cause when you alternate pick, your pick goes too far away from the string after you hit it. you only need to hit it hard enough to make a sound, no need to smash the strings. and your hands are probably going slow or hitting the wrong string cause your fingers are too tense. just slow down a little bit and lighten up how much pressure you're putting on that string. you only need to put enough pressure on the string to make a sound, and ive found out its not that much pressure.

my advice is, ( please just try it and see if it works for you, dont ignore it)

1. put only enough pressure on the fret board as to make a sound. this is usually a gentle touch, depending on your string action.

2. your picking hand and your pick itself are very important. i recommend trying heavy picks, and if you have a small hand get a small heavy pick. they allow more control than those soft picks. secondly, try to pick the strings using your wrist, not your elbow. the wrist is less tiring anyway. third, try to pick the string at an angle with the pick, not straight flat. okay now fourth, try to apply only as much pressure as needed to make the string sound.

3. USE A METRONOME. IF YOU CAN'T GET ONE, GO HERE!

combine all of these together and you'll play alot better and practice the chromatic string picking excercises with it and your hands will be in sync.


now, theres one last thing ive got to tell you. playing great guitar doesnt come overnight. you have to practice ALOT. and i really mean alot.

joe satriani practices 15 ( FIFTEEN ) hours EVERY DAY WITH A METRONOME.

Thanks guys, all great advice. Im going to try all of your ideas as they make sense and hopefully in the next couple of years when we are all famous it will pay off.