Pick hand problems

I can do most any beginner exercise and i can do it fairly fast. However sometimes if im switching strings, i tend to strike the wrong string. Is there any exercise that focus on acuracy of the picking hand and combines speed, even if its eventually?

--4-3-2-1-------------- <- first
----------4-3-2-1------ <- might miss this one
------------------4-3-2-1-- <- then strike this one by mistake
---------------etc----
-------------------
-------------------

Practice.

yeah, i d figure someone would say that thanks :)

When I hit upon this wall I wrote a few short songs that required good fingering technique. After playing them until everyone wanted to kill me I found I could hit the string I wanted wgen I wanted. Also pretend you're blind and playin the dark or with your eyes closed you'll pick up the feel for where your fingers are.

I know by experiance what you mean,
but if you try hitting each string slow then progress your speed then you'll get there (i know it's borring).
you might also want to try

----1-2-3-4-5----
-----1-2-3-4-5----
------1-2-3-4-5--- etc.

and like 'markpro' said practice in the dark aswell it really does help, and if you want to (this might sound stupid)try practicing in front of a mirror

You need a reference point so that you can consistently find the strings. Rest your forearm against the edge of the guitar body, or place the edge of your pick hand on the bridge, on the side oposite the pickup. (You might as well learn palm-muting while you're at it).

Once you have a fixed point to work from, you can develop your 'muscle memory' because the same movement will always bring your pick to the same string. Finger-pickers often 'anchor' their pinky on the pick guard, or their thumb on the guitar body.

I would not recommend using a mirror for this practice. You want to train your hand and arm muscles by [u]touch[/u]. Adding mirror-view hand-eye coordinaton will just make it confusing.

Practice much grass hopper. If you just start slow, and progressively speed up you should be able to get the hang of it.

Metronomes are good for this kind of practice.

Metronomes are good for any kind of practice. Yes, I know i'm going to regret saying that, because there always is an exception.

Time to dig out the metronome and start again.

Set your metronome to something simple, like say 60 bpm and do the exercise until you can play it through smoothly and without error. Then increase the speed of the metronome. When you think you've nailed it at 80 bpm, turn the metronome down to 70bpm and start again. Do the same when you get up to 90 bpm, 100 bpm, 110 and so on.

We do this in the Classical world when practicing tremelo in p-a-m-i format, and it's the best way to prevent not only simple little slips like yours but also "galloping".

Have fun,


Alan :-)

In my world I only practice with a metronome if I have memorized the whole exercise/song/scale/whatever, but that's just my world.