Any Suggestions For Picking Faster?

:mad: :mad: Uggh, I've been practicing and practicing and feel like I've hit a wall. I'm trying to get my alternate picking faster as well as strumming.

For the strumming I've been putting rubber bands over the corner of the body to keep my arm from moving so I can isolate the wrist movement. One thing I've noticed is that for strumming (and I'll do my best to put it in words), is that I seem to go a bit faster if the knuckle of my thumb is bent so the tip of my thumb is wrapped a little around the side of the pick, where as on picking I have my my thumb sticking out and the knuckle is flat.

The other difference between picking and strumming is that for strumming I've been trying to flatten out my wrist so my pinkie is sticking out to the side, whereas for picking I've been anchoring my pinkie so my wrist is curled a little bit.

Anyone have any suggestions, or who I can look at on those instructional vids who you think has good technique?

Thanks.

Or I guess I mean to ask, am I getting no where with the direction I'm going on strumming? Does anyone else really vary how they hold the pick and the position of their wrist between alternate picking and strumming? On the strumming I mean really fast fifth chords or just picking two notes, the root and the fifth.

This may not help you, but I remember reading that something as trivial as changing to a different thickness of pick can make a difference.

Ron

You're not going to find much faster than Michael Angelo. He anchors his picking hand with his pinky between the pickups, so maybe he's a good example for you? His instructional DVDs are pretty good - as long as you want to play like him.

The most useful advice I can probably give is to use a metronome, and move it up 1bpm each day - you probably haven't hit a wall, you just don't notice the progress anymore. If you do that, you should be able to keep your picking clean while gradually increasing the tempo.

On picks - I like the Dunlop 'Big Stubby' ( :o ) picks, but I can play the same with pretty much any pick over 1mm...

Hmmm. Someone linked one of his videos on another thread and I took a look at it. Michael Angelo seems to kind of raise his wrist up and pick from the arm from what I can tell. I can do that, obviously not at his speed, but I don't have much control doing it that way. I've looked at George Lynch, but his style seems really unorthodox too. He sticks his pinkie and wring finger out without them on the board and clearly picks from the wrist, with his wrist flat and almost angled a little up. I guess I'll keep fiddling around and check out other players. I've looked at circle picking too, but I have no idea how people can do that quickly.

Thanks for your help though. If anyone else has any advice, I'd appreciate your input.

I agree with Ren.

You probably dont realise u are really improving without knowing it.
Try not to get too serious about it.

But if I may present my way of Picking, I don't just use one method. Sometimes I use the rotating method, and sometimes I lift my wrist off the body similar to Michael Angelo. But basically, I use my wrist and a bit of my thumb and 1st finger. I use it as a combination. I learnt how to control the two. By using the wrist or the fingers for picking, u get less movement. The less the movement the more speed you have. Watch Yngwie Malmsteen for example....

And something that I really believes helps is too just pick softly. Not to say picking hard is wrong, but I just noticed myself that it seems to be more clear that way. Try not to tense up your right hand....

ahhh I can't explain myself too well....

Hope I helped :o

Are you playing on an acoustic or electric, and what styles of music have you been practicing/ listening to?

Muttonbuster,
I'm new to this forum but I hope you'll give me a chance to help you.

Picking technique varies between different players and while some say you must do "this" in order to achieve excellence, others say you need to do "that".

So who do we listen to?

First and foremost,you should follow any instruction your guitar teacher has given you in this area and practice exactly as he/she has instructed. With a good teacher results WILL come as long as you do your part.

If your not currently taking lessons from a reputable instructor I highly reccomend you do so. You will be amazed the amount of frustration, time and money a good teacher can save you. I've been there and I know.

Until then, it would be my honor to offer some advice and exercises for you to do to help improve your technique. The following are basics and will vary at times. To start with we'll focus on the basic foundation.

1) Use a metrenome. It is critical that you find the maximum speed you can play cleenly at do not exceed this speed, for now, until you have mastered proper technique.

2) Hold the pick between your thumb and index finger so that your thumb is flat and your index finger has a slight curl to it. Pick up a small object between your thimb and index finger and look at the shape. This is the way they should look when holding the pick correctly.

3) Use a thick pick. A thin pick will flex too much and while you may think the lack of resistance will help you pick faster, it will not. Your fingers, arm muscles, wrist and technique will control the attack and the way the pick moves through the string. You want control. It will seem awkward at first but it will improve.

4) The pick should be perpendicular to the face of the guitar but will angle slightly as it moves through the string. Don't pick the string with the pick flat against the string.

5) Your fingers will be gripping the pick (say a standard Fender pick) about mid way and you'll be opicking with approx. 2-3mm of the tip of the pick.

6) Your pick hand will be controlling the pick, holding it securely but you do not want to have a death grip on it. Your hand needs to be free of tension and just let the other fingers relax. No need to force the pinky out there.

7) For now, don't anchor your pinky. Touching a reference point on the guitar slightly is one thing. Anchoring is another. Your hand and arme need the freedom to move slightly along with your wrist movement.

8) your wrist will do the up down motion, your forearm will control the slight movement from string to string and your fingers will not move up and down over the string or in circular motion's. Let the pick pass through the string.

Work on this for now. There is much, much more to cover. I have to go now but I will give you more info later. Remember to go slow, relax, keep the tension out of your body and be patient. Did I say go slow? If not, go slow.

Speed will come with accuracy and improved technique. Not by gritting your teeth. ;)

Take care.

Jeff

Good post Jeff!

Thanks Nick. This should be enough to get him started in the right direction. I will be posting more later.

I'm sure you would have some excellent advice for him as well.

Glad to see you here!

Jeff

elklandercc , I'm playing an electric. I've got a strat and one of those George Lynch LTDs. I've been working on Bark at the Moon for quite sometime, some George Lynch stuff.

An example of the type of strumming I'm looking at that's fast is the Korn song, Got The Life or especially the System of a Down song Chop Suey, which I realize is probably quite an aspiration to be able to strum that fast.

I've been playing for 15 years, but it's only been in the last year, that I really wanted to try to get faster and try some different techniques.

I haven't had a lesson for ages, but it probably would be a good idea.

For Michael Angelo, I can't quite figure out what he's doing. If he's rotating his wrist ever so slowly, I can't figure it out. It looks to me like it's all from the forearm, but I could be wrong. George Lynch looks like he has his wrist really flat to the board, has his pinkie and ring finger sticking out, and it looks like really minute, mechanical rotations of the wrist. As I remember (and I'll have to look at him again), Yngwie has just his Pinkie anchored, and picks really softly with his wrist angled a bit.

The only way I can pick really quickly is to bend my wrist almost 90 degrees and pick by rotating my forearm, but I have zero control.

Thanks for the advice so far. :)

It does seem though, that if I stick out the knuckle on my thumb when I'm strumming quickly, I go faster. Not quite sure on picking. I've seen people go just as quickly with the knuckle on their thumb locked as they do with it bent a little and the top of the thumb coming around the top of the pick slight. (That seems to make artificial harmonics more difficult though).

Or I should say Bark at the Moon and some George Lynch stuff. I've never been able to find a video of Jake E Lee up close to watch his picking. It's probably more orthadox than George Lynch, whose picking style looks pretty odd to me.

There is no 'right' way to pick. The right way is the way you find comfortable and that allows you to do what you need to do. The only important thing to remember is to relax.... as stated above, speed comes from solid technique rather than gritted teeth.

Keep in mind that much of S.O.A.D's music is tremolo picked, which is a little different - that's just going as fast as you can but without caring how many times you play a note. Strict alternate picking is more difficult than this.

Most fast pickers (Batio, Petrucci etc) use a combination of wrist and forearm depending on what they are doing. I also use a combination of both. When skipping between strings I do find myself using little circular motions as well as the straight 'up, down'. The way I pick changes with what or how I'm playing. I learned to do it the way that worked for me.

I float my hand over the bridge and don't anchor on anything. I'm not the fastest player in the world, but I do OK.... :D

George Lynch is a weird guitar player. Strange style, strange scale choices (or some of his own invention) and very wide intervals. As with everything - you're not going to play it fast if you can't play it slow. Work it up over time and remember that it isn't a race. Spending extra time at this stage will save you having to relearn picking technique later....

an easy way to speed up is get a very pointy pick. i file mine down with a nail file, i find it helps a lot, all though it makes me bad with unsharp picks.

adding to what jeff said i would sugest u place the uper palm of ur hand. as in the bit near the thumb over the strings that are lower (in pitch) than the string u are picking. as u go down strings use the forarm to move down the strings, keeping ur wrist parrallel to the strings. use the wrist ,and if u want the first finger and thumb to pick.

otherwise just practice with a metronome.

turn ur pick slightly ...i belive u hold the pick..loook at it and then turn it slightly to the left so that when u pick the strings it glides and doesnt really hit it but itll make a srcatchy noise so its good to at first put the tone down..the reasone to do this is because the recovery time is much quicker instead of hiting it full parallel to the stiring because there is no kickback to ur hand or string thats why u see ppl like buckethead and mr satch are cupping there hand..especially paul gilbert if u do this technique that was taught by paul gilbert itll take u to new hieghts...but dont take it from me..im 15..and have been playing for almost a yearar but ive gotten SO good (i think) that im teaching ppl who taught me at first lol :eek:

oh sorry i forgot u need to hold the pick slightly to the sdie of your pointy (the long one) not how u usually hold it but itll fell more comffortable when ur shredding like buckethead!....not all the way to the side cuz then itll slip

Nicely said Ren...

I think we have similar picking styles.

Yeah, there is no right or wrong way of picking. Just do what's comfortable for you to get the job done!

lol actually whatever feels comfortable..some ppl pick paralele and others pick slightly curved

Make sure you relaxxx. There should be no tension. Anywhere.

One thing most of the fast boys have in common is completely locking thier wrist and finger joints from moving, especially during shread times. This generates all movement from the elbow, allowing only one joint to isolate the strings being picked. It's impossible to completely lock your elbow from moving, so if you use your wrist while playing fast, it incorporates using two joints and less control at the strings. Your elbow is much further away from the pick than your wrist, creating less movement and energy at faster playing speeds. Some Guys can play pretty fast moving both joints while picking, I prefer using wrist action get some feeling to my playing. Some players are so talented with speed that it becomes a blur and I lose interest. Lynch has a unique original style of playing, but has a simular approach to most of his music. Jake E Lee is awesome with timing and tasteful vocabulary of using patterns. One of the best ever was Randy Rhodes, a genius. One of a kind. All guitarists worldwide lost out on what he would have created next. RIP.