Michael Angelo picking

Originally posted by Icon_xof
" do you mean dont move your wrist at all?

That's almost impossible dude , we are not machines ... Just try to limit the elbow and wrist movement as you can , they'll will be shaking a little bit , but make sure that the main picking movement comes from the fingers.

BTW, wrist picking ain't too bad , check out John Petrucci.

The reason why I am trying to develope this technique is because I find it as natural for me as it gets. When picking from the wrist or elbow I tend to tens up. I am a trained classical guitarist, have been playing classical for about 8 or 9 years(no pick, only finger style). I think it due to that. I switched to electrical about a year ago and I must say it is totally different, almost like playing different instrument.

Thanks alot for helpin me out. Today I downloaded some vidios of Yngwei Malmsteen, Michael Romeo, and Slash to analize their picking technique. I was amazed, they all use their fingers to pick and they go so fast! I also noticed one thing they all have in common is that they keep the tip of their pinky on their picking hand on the pick guard just below the e string. I tried this and it helped alot also. Thanks for the exercises, I'm going to add them to my practice routine. By the way have you ever heard Cynic? The have bad-ass guitarists. If you wanna check them out I would recommend the song "Celestial Voyage" off of their only album "Focus" '93 . And if you really wanna check these guys out you can look at their tabs. Their in Power Tab, if you dont have it you can get it at http://www.cynicalsphere.com/software.html and you can get the tab at http://www.cynicalsphere.com/tablature.html. Their kind of a cross bewtween heavy metal and Jazz, you'de have to get an MP3 of them to see what I'm talkin about.

When I look at my picking , I mostly play with finger movement , and sometimes use wrist motion ... The point is that I don't usualy think of my picking , it comes natural to me , and it has to be comfortable... Malmsteen says he never thinks about how he pick too. (that doesn't include thinking of the up & down strokes sequence of course)

Do you extend your thumb when doing 1.upstroke or 2.downstroke?
I am asking because one way feels a lot more akward(2) then the other(1).

I started using the Frank Gambale "Economy" style of picking by mistake - it hasnt let me down yet. It also makes sweeping alot easier. I use a Dunlap stubby 3.0 MM, between my thumb and index finger using the wrist/elbow movement combination (like Vinnie Moore).
I've found that in some situations you have to use the old fashioned alternate picking, so its wise to practice both.
Reguardless of what technique you use, with practice, motivation, discpline, and time you will be fast.

I think Im finally getting the finger picking down, but I have to admit its no good for jammin hard core riffs :) . When Im jammin to Slayer or Pantera I gotta throw the whole right side of my upper body into it or I dont feel like im getting into it lol. By the way (totally off the subject and should probably be on another page) does anyone know a cheap and effective way to repair a crack in an exhaust manifold?

I finally got Michael Romeo video and man am I impresed. But I think that he is not only playing with his fingers like aiwass said. I think he is using a wrist to.

Originally posted by D_Cokolades
I think he is using a wrist to.

Finger movement for picking doesn't mean that your wrist and forearm should be fixed like concrete, it means that the main movement comes from your fingers .
On the other hand , if you use wrist movement , you'll find your fingers pretty fixed... Check out yourself , with low tempo so you can notice precisely.

Don't try to analyze other players' technique and copy it as if you were his clone , good picking should come natural to you , with a little hard work at the beginning.

Just one more question as I can see you two guys know a lot about this technique :). As I have said earlier I am a classical/fingerpicking guitarist. So when finger picking(it doesnt work on electric guitars by the way) you must have this Michael Angelo right hand posture when he is playing fast(curled in the wrist) for it to work and my hand is so used to this that I feel akward when I put it in the way that most electric players do. I also feel akward when playing from my wrist only. I guess classical guitar f***** up my right hand in all this years:(. Anyway all would be great if just someone could explain me how the hell can Michael Angelo have this hand posture and still hit the strings with the flat part of the pick?

Don't try to copy Michael Angelo's picking position precisely , it may not work for you .

I was a classic/spanish finger picking guitarist when I first started for 2 years before I began with elec and I think that it helped me a lot.
Probably your problem is that you forgot how hard and time consuming was progressing in your guitar technique since you are an advanced finger picking now .

As a classic finger picker , I believe you have more controle and strength in your picking fingers (fingers holding the pick) than most elec only guitarists which gives you an advance .
The only advice I can give you is a one I've read long time ago in a beginner book , which is to practice infront of a mirror , closely watching your technique ... Take care that the main motion comes from the fingers , regardless of your hand/wrist posture is.

You can angle your pick , which ease the playablility somehow but takes out clarity , attack & the definition of the pick , and make a siginificant tonal difference between up and down strokes , or you can have less angled pick (or slighlty parallel to strings) which gives better tone and attack , and evens the tone of both up and down strokes.

It's your choice , and I can't say which is right/wrong , or which is better/worse , since lots of guitarists use either technique exclusively or both ... Personaly I use both for the variation of tone on purpose , but I usualy prefere the tone of a less angeled pick.

ive read in a book that if u gonna play fast..one of the best ways to hold the pick is like exactly pdrpendicular to the string or having no angle in the pick..is thast tru?

I believe you read the opposite , but just having a bad memory , like me . ;)
LOL

Most shredders angle their pick cuz it's easier since the resistance to picking is reduced this way ... I sometimes do this too , but I prefere a less angle for the pick difinition.

well i try not to angle my pick because it becomes more of a problem to me when skipping to the string oppisite of the angle but having no angle mmade it easier..but that just me..wat ever works for someone they should stick to it

That's cool dude ... You've got both ease of playing and better tone in one shot ! ;)

ohh...so having no angle in ur pick gives it a better tone? i didnt know that... wat are some good 3 string arpeggios to start with?

Kirk Hammett's solo intro from "Lepper Messiah" , and Malmsteen's diminished sweeps .

I don't have time right now , but if you need more examples I can post some next time if you would like.

Also search this site , there are some nice examples here.

alright man..dont worry bout posting any..my fav arpeggios has to be the deminished arpeggios that give it that classical sound.. is micheal angelo in a band or is he a solo guy?

He was in a band called NITRO , he also played with a number of bands that I'm not familiar with ... Now , he's moslty a solo artist.

can you post those diminished sweeps, and other neo classical sounding sweep arps. can't seem have enough of them :)