Ivan Milenkovic8th September 2011Great lesson Ben!
Great lesson because of the fact that players can watch the videos and play along, the exercise is very useful and simplified. Well done mate.
Ben Higgins8th September 2011Thanks Ivan, I wanted to break it down to ultra basic level because I think a lot of picking exercises are needlessly complex.
Kristofer Dahl8th September 2011Yes - this is perfect, thanks Ben!
Adrian Figallo8th September 2011this is a great exercise, i love to see the most technically advanced players make basic lessons. Nice horses
Rafael Guerrero8th September 2011Great lesson Ben! yep most Picking lessons are complex for beginner players, I wish I had this lesson when I started practicing picking. I like the horse background as well, horses are my favorite animals and I never thought we were going to have them in here
I think everything is possible at GMC after all
Sinisa Cekic8th September 2011Very instructive lesson, Ben! Horses are the first league! heheh
Michael AC9th September 2011Was so glad to see you add vibrato at the end...lol! Great exercise/lesson!
thefireball9th September 2011Oh, I need this lesson so much. I need to improve my accuracy.
- Ben Higgins9th September 2011
So pleased you're liking the lesson, guys.. and the horses are an added bonus to remind us all we're thoroughbreds ! ;D
Daniel Realpe9th September 2011Excellent lesson to be conscious of the picking hand
djohnneay15th September 2011great lesson for beginners! but I didn't notice the horses until I read the comments !
Mike RR2418th September 2011Ben awesome little picking lesson. I really am glad you made this one. I'm getting better on my picking and it's lessons like this that help make my playing enjoyable.
- Ben Higgins22nd September 2011
Mike, that's great ! That's exactly the results I'm going for
- henry135th26th November 2011
heck yeah !!!
Todd Simpson29th January 2012It's a "Sword Drill" of sorts in early training of Guitar Bushido! Gotta learn alternate picking before string traverse. Good call!
Dieterle9th June 2012wow ,this lesson is more then i could imagine , before i started with it !
Thank you!
Yash12th June 2012Nice lesson Ben.
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Hi GMC and welcome to my latest lesson. I created a lesson that focuses entirely on the picking hand because I felt there were too many added difficulties and distractions with lessons and exercises that have various fretting hand patterns to combine with the picking hand. The fretting hand work is minimal, just requiring you to shift position in time.
By allowing ourselves to narrow down our focus, we can theoretically make better progress than if we widen our focus to include too many actions. This approach works well for me and it may work well for you too.
This is aimed at players that are taking their first steps in alternate picking. I want to help you encourage a natural, flowing picking action which derives from your natural hand position. A lot of players may sometimes change their hand/thumb/pick positions when they encounter higher speeds without realizing it. I want you to identify with the natural, comfortable hand position that your body gravitates towards and use that as your starting point.
We're not tackling very high speeds.. we start off slow with 8th notes then slightly speed up with some 8th note triplets and then we shift to a combination of 8th notes and 16th notes which takes us to the end.
Throughout this lesson, I want you to concentrate on keeping in time and staying relaxed but keeping the picking positive, not lazy. You may find that if you are new to alternate picking, you may grip your pick harder because you're concentrating so much. This is natural and normal. However, after you get used to the motions you can ease off your pick grip a little and relax more.
I also recommend practicing whilst standing up as this allows all your joints and muscles from your neck, through your shoulders, elbows and down to your hands to be in their most natural and neutral position. Gravity is on your side to help stay relaxed.
If you need any help you can message me anytime.
Enjoy !
Ben
