Hybrid Picking

Hello everyone,i just arrived at this site,brand new to this,i have been playing guitar for about 30 years,but am not satisfied with where I,m at.

I started out learning to playing with a flat pick,now some 30 years later,am soooo tired and bored with it,i am trying to do some hybrid picking,which just amazes me,i love to watch and listen to these pickers,but I find it,s like learning from scratch again,going from flat picking to hybrid ,the brain is programed for flatpick,.

Is there any hope of switching over to hybrid,after 30 some years of flat picking?

Tired of the same ole thing,even stopped playing for a few years because I just got stuck,and couldn't take it any further.

Anyone else been where I,m at?my hats off to all who can do hybrid or finger style guitar picking,it just amazes me,love it.

Just my 2 cents I guess.

Lisa McCormick's fingerstyle series is awesome, go check it out.

One thing to mention, not get off on the wrong foot, but stating that you're just "bored" with playing with a flat pick has nothing to do with the technique. You only get out of it what you put into it (as with anything). There is so much that you can do flat picking, I'd really hesitate to believe that anyone has pushed it as far as it can be taken. Sounds like you just hit a wall in your playing in general, maybe your interests have changed through the years? Anyways, I went through Lisa's course, and loved it. Mind you, its an acoustic fingerpicking program, but its probably a great way to get started moving towards hybrid picking. Most electric players who can hybrid pick flat pick as well... its just a matter of what style best serves the music they are trying to play.

Hello Slipin Lizard,yes you are correct,i know a lot of very good flat pickers,i hope no one took it the wrong way,i wasn't putting flat picking down,i guess I worded it wrong.

I agree with you,i guess I just got bored after hitting a wall,or that's what it seemed like,thanks for the info about Lisa McCormick,s Course.

This a very good forumn ,I,ve been looking at a few things on here.

Thank you for the reply,appreaciate it.

Regards,Milford.

No problem... and I was in a very similar situation. I was practicing but it was getting a bit tedious. Lisa's course was a great diversion. Its based on acoustic playing, and she'll get you up & running with fingerpicking in no time. Really was a lot of fun, and didn't interfere with my efforts on electric guitar.

Milford, how goes the hybrid picking endeavor? I being trying it a little myself and find I really like it. So far, I'm mostly just trying picking two strings together at the same time with my fingers, then switching back to the pick, then fingers again... very simple, nothing fancy, but its a start.

I've seen guys who are able to tuck their pick away in their hand so that they can use their thumb and fingers to pick, then move the pick back into position between their thumb and forefinger... I wish I knew how to do that. Seems like you need a lot of dexterity for this technique!

Hello ,yup,i,ve been trying it for a while now,i find youtube quite helpful,some people on there will slow it down,you can understand it quite easy.

I guess it,s just a matter of getting your fingers to work totally different than there use to,i just set on the couch watching tv,with my strat unplugged,doing the exercises,i,ve gotton a little faster at it,but I find my interest has got a lot better in playing the guiyar overall,so that's a good thing.

Hope all is well with you,well I guess I,m off to work this morning,ttyl.

Regards.

Originally Posted by: STRAT777Hello everyone,i just arrived at this site,brand new to this,i have been playing guitar for about 30 years,but am not satisfied with where I,m at.

I started out learning to playing with a flat pick,now some 30 years later,am soooo tired and bored with it,i am trying to do some hybrid picking,which just amazes me,i love to watch and listen to these pickers,but I find it,s like learning from scratch again,going from flat picking to hybrid ,the brain is programed for flatpick,.

Is there any hope of switching over to hybrid,after 30 some years of flat picking?

Tired of the same ole thing,even stopped playing for a few years because I just got stuck,and couldn't take it any further.

Anyone else been where I,m at?my hats off to all who can do hybrid or finger style guitar picking,it just amazes me,love it.

Just my 2 cents I guess.

Hi there,

I use both picking styles to compliment each other actually.

If I were in your situation I wouldn't stop practising with a pick completely, instead I would start working on hybrid picking and add it to my arsenal.

Both styles of playing offer different opportunities so the more you know the more liberty you will have when playing.

/Dave

hey everyone,ok this is the problem i am having with alternite picking.just to clear the air i am the worst speller so pls bear with me ty.i get the up down up down up down ect,what i would like to no ,lets say we are playing an c major scale starting on the a string position 3.so its 3-5-7 now d string 3-5-7 g string 4-5 thats the scale now i start picking down up down down up down down up,it just makes sence to me then to go,down up down up down.what am i missing here.can anyone help me out pls.cause thats how i am use to picking in that first order should i forget that and go with altern picking...thanks in advance

Originally Posted by: axe2hey everyone,ok this is the problem i am having with alternite picking.just to clear the air i am the worst speller so pls bear with me ty.i get the up down up down up down ect,what i would like to no ,lets say we are playing an c major scale starting on the a string position 3.so its 3-5-7 now d string 3-5-7 g string 4-5 thats the scale now i start picking down up down down up down down up,it just makes sence to me then to go,down up down up down.what am i missing here.can anyone help me out pls.cause thats how i am use to picking in that first order should i forget that and go with altern picking...thanks in advance

btw i did take the alternate picking class ,and it is just what it says up down up down it just makse sence if ur on a down stroke on the last note of the string to hit a down stroke on the first note of the next string down.i hope i am not to confusing ...

Originally Posted by: axe2hey everyone,ok this is the problem i am having with alternite picking...
... now i start picking down up down down up down down up,it just makes sence to me then to go,down up down up down.what am i missing here.can anyone help me out pls.cause thats how i am use to picking in that first order should i forget that and go with altern picking

What you are describing is called economy picking.

I use economy picking sometimes & other times I use alternate picking. And there are other times when I use both with a mixture of legato hammer-ons & pull-offs.

You should practice all of them if you intend to use them. Like anything, it's a matter of practicing it to the point where it becomes second nature. But this gets to the most important point: what are your goals? What do you want to do with them?

Economy picking is often an approach that people sort of naturally fall into, rather than plan out, because it's often the easiest way to get through a sequence of notes that area on multiple strings.

With all that in mind, in order to get better at alternate picking in general, try these speed building tutorials in order.

Focusing on 1 string in order to get your picking hand & fretting hand completely in sync:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=287

Expanding to two strings:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=928
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=929

Building licks across the fretboard:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=973
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=980

These might also help you if you are looking for ways to visualize the fretboard for the purpose of mapping out scales.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=419
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=898
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=899

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by: CSchlegelWhat you are describing is called economy picking.

I use economy picking sometimes & other times I use alternate picking. And there are other times when I use both with a mixture of legato hammer-ons & pull-offs.

You should practice all of them if you intend to use them. Like anything, it's a matter of practicing it to the point where it becomes second nature. But this gets to the most important point: what are your goals? What do you want to do with them?

Economy picking is often an approach that people sort of naturally fall into, rather than plan out, because it's often the easiest way to get through a sequence of notes that area on multiple strings.

With all that in mind, in order to get better at alternate picking in general, try these speed building tutorials in order.

Focusing on 1 string in order to get your picking hand & fretting hand completely in sync:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=287

Expanding to two strings:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=928
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=929

Building licks across the fretboard:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=973
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=980

These might also help you if you are looking for ways to visualize the fretboard for the purpose of mapping out scales.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=419
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=898
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=899

Hope this helps!

THANK YOU SO MUCH I NEVER NEW WHAT KIND OF PICKING I WAS USING ,BUT I KNEW IT WAS NOT ALTERNATE....BIG HELP

Originally Posted by: axe2THANK YOU SO MUCH I NEVER NEW WHAT KIND OF PICKING I WAS USING ,BUT I KNEW IT WAS NOT ALTERNATE....BIG HELP

You are welcome! Have fun practicing your picking!