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Posted by: Todd Simpson May 3 2019, 10:48 AM

Welcome to SHRED BOOTCAMP! I'll be your Drill Instructor! And I do mean DRILL! As in a large power tool used in slasher films and Paul Gilbert concerts. Here is were you EARN THE LIVING DEATH out of your fingers and break through any speed bumps/barriers to become a MASTER CHIEF of Shred!
QUICK TIPS TO PREPARE YOU FOR BATTLE
*Make sure you get both hands in the shot when shooting your video*Make sure you use a metronome for the first several Missions and that the metronome can be heard.*After you complete a mission, shoot me a PM and let me know it's ready and I'll give you a debrief! These are pass / fail, so if you pass you BADGE UP and if not, I'll give you some feedback and you head in to the breach once again.
*The first several missions are VERY simple. They are just to get you used to the bootcamp process.
*Most importantly, there is NEVER a speed requirement in bootcamp. I want you to push yourself to play as brisk as you can, but NEVER at the expense of precision. If you find you are missing a note here and there, slow down a bit. Speed is just a byproduct of precision so my goal is to make you a very precise player. At that point, speed just happens.

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 5 2019, 02:48 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 3 2019, 09:48 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 5 2019, 08:50 AM

Well Fought Soldier!! This is a very high quality vid and meets all the requirements. It's great to see good production values on vids from the very first one!! I can see your hands, I can hear the metronome and I can hear you so it's great!!! Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*MUTE: Poor palm muting is the bane of any guitar players existence. Your muting is quite good here!! I would suggest that you try to shift your left hand so that it covers all of the strings instead of just covering the low E. You are using your fretting hand to help mute which is a very handy technique but will not serve you when you start playing the open string missions which use every single string and open frets. This is when picking hand only mute gets critical but you have some time to ease in to it! Here is a vid from an upcoming Mission where you will use all the strings with an open string lick. I'm using the right hand to mute on the bridge so that even when my fretting hand is pulled off of the neck to let a string ring, I keep a good mute.

*SYNCH: The point of this Mission is to test your hand synch and let me know if there are issues wit it. The Good News is that I don't see any issues!
*PACE: Another aspect of this mission is pace. I want to see if you can play without rushing or lagging, you are spot on and tight with the metronome. There is a bit of an issue with synch around 44 seconds during a string change. This is the tricky bit of the Mission but it's certainly not enough to keep you from moving up.
QUICK TIP : I did notice that your picking arm is a bit more stiff that I usually like to see. Some folks end up picking from the elbow down toward the hand when it's more efficient to pick from the finger/thumb back to the wrist. Try to see if you can articulate the pick with your thumb/first finger and then use wrist motion when finger articulation is not enough. Try to keep your forearm from moving at all if possible. This is something that's a bit of a pain, but worth doing as it will open up your speed later on. Also, I notice you are sitting "side saddle" (guitar on the right leg) instead of in classical position (guitar on the left leg). For these missions, I usually suggest classical position with the left foot raised on something (anything) about 8 to 10 inches. This lets the hand feel more like what it will experience when you play standing up, as in a Gig setting. Also it allows the hand to stretch more naturally and allows better palm muting. That said, some folks just can't play this way so in the end it comes down to the player.

You did very well your first time out and you just..
LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 4 2019, 09:48 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 5 2019, 03:05 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 5 2019, 07:50 AM)

Well Fought Soldier!! This is a very high quality vid and meets all the requirements. It's great to see good production values on vids from the very first one!! I can see your hands, I can hear the metronome and I can hear you so it's great!!! Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*MUTE: Poor palm muting is the bane of any guitar players existence. Your muting is quite good here!! I would suggest that you try to shift your left hand so that it covers all of the strings instead of just covering the low E. You are using your fretting hand to help mute which is a very handy technique but will not serve you when you start playing the open string missions which use every single string and open frets. This is when picking hand only mute gets critical but you have some time to ease in to it! Here is a vid from an upcoming Mission where you will use all the strings with an open string lick. I'm using the right hand to mute on the bridge so that even when my fretting hand is pulled off of the neck to let a string ring, I keep a good mute.

*SYNCH: The point of this Mission is to test your hand synch and let me know if there are issues wit it. The Good News is that I don't see any issues!
*PACE: Another aspect of this mission is pace. I want to see if you can play without rushing or lagging, you are spot on and tight with the metronome. There is a bit of an issue with synch around 44 seconds during a string change. This is the tricky bit of the Mission but it's certainly not enough to keep you from moving up.
QUICK TIP : I did notice that your picking arm is a bit more stiff that I usually like to see. Some folks end up picking from the elbow down toward the hand when it's more efficient to pick from the finger/thumb back to the wrist. Try to see if you can articulate the pick with your thumb/first finger and then use wrist motion when finger articulation is not enough. Try to keep your forearm from moving at all if possible. This is something that's a bit of a pain, but worth doing as it will open up your speed later on. Also, I notice you are sitting "side saddle" (guitar on the right leg) instead of in classical position (guitar on the left leg). For these missions, I usually suggest classical position with the left foot raised on something (anything) about 8 to 10 inches. This lets the hand feel more like what it will experience when you play standing up, as in a Gig setting. Also it allows the hand to stretch more naturally and allows better palm muting. That said, some folks just can't play this way so in the end it comes down to the player.

You did very well your first time out and you just..
LEVELED UP!!!!

Looking forward to your next Mission!Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 6 2019, 03:52 AM

Proceed to Lesson 2 in the series Soldier I'll just throw in lesson videos to demonstrate bits from time to time You did great on part 1 keep it up!!
Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 5 2019, 10:05 AM)

Hi Todd!

Wow that is such a complete feedback, thank you! I will take everything you said into account.

So my next mission is the one on the YouTube video you attached or is lesson 2? Not sure about it. Please let me know and I'll be more than glad to work on it

Angel.

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 8 2019, 02:17 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 6 2019, 02:52 AM)

Proceed to Lesson 2 in the series Soldier I'll just throw in lesson videos to demonstrate bits from time to time You did great on part 1 keep it up!!
Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 9 2019, 07:34 PM

Keep in mind Soldier, there is no speed requirement for Bootcamp Missions. The key is to play with precision. Speed is just a byproduct of precision and happens as a result of repetition. That said, you can put as much or as little speed on each drill as you like. As long as it's played in a clean/precise manner, that's all that really matters. Onward!
Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 8 2019, 09:17 AM)

Hi Todd,

Thanks for clearing it out! I started yesterday, It's a bit difficult when I do the exercise from up down the neck, it works at a slow tempo but it gets harder when I play it faster. I really like the exercise and I'm enjoying the challenge

I will send the video whenever I feel is ready.

Thanks again!

Angel.

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 12 2019, 02:54 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 9 2019, 06:34 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 13 2019, 06:41 AM

Well Fought Soldier!!! You are on your way to SPECIAL FORCES!!! Dig in and get ready for a big fight!!!


MEDALS OF HONOR

*FORM: You are displaying solid technique here Soldier. keep it up! Muting, hand synch, clean strikes. I would say to focus on your picking hand and take note of when you shift your position in order to play higher strings. For all of these Missions, try to find a planted palm mute position where you can play the low E and HIGH E and every string in between without moving lifting your mute.

*TEMPO: Not rushing or lagging. It feels like you may be working hard to make all of these fret traverses and keep tempo. This is normal. As you continue, it will get easier.


*AGGRESSION: Jumping in with aggressive style!! Score!!You are off to a great start Soldier!! Keep it up! You just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 11 2019, 09:54 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 13 2019, 09:21 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 13 2019, 05:41 AM)

Well Fought Soldier!!! You are on your way to SPECIAL FORCES!!! Dig in and get ready for a big fight!!!


MEDALS OF HONOR

*FORM: You are displaying solid technique here Soldier. keep it up! Muting, hand synch, clean strikes. I would say to focus on your picking hand and take note of when you shift your position in order to play higher strings. For all of these Missions, try to find a planted palm mute position where you can play the low E and HIGH E and every string in between without moving lifting your mute.

*TEMPO: Not rushing or lagging. It feels like you may be working hard to make all of these fret traverses and keep tempo. This is normal. As you continue, it will get easier.


*AGGRESSION: Jumping in with aggressive style!! Score!!You are off to a great start Soldier!! Keep it up! You just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 14 2019, 07:45 AM

It is just a simple matter of repetition The good news is that these missions will have it sorted out in no time at all since they all require palm muting and will train you towards a center strategy with your hand and having it in the same spot whether you are muting or not, just to keep it centered so you can pick any string without having to make a hand shift.
There are wads of riffs coming that use palm muting on the higher strings. Things like open string licks which will require you to lift your fret hand off the neck. At which point only the mute will keep things from getting string noisey. It's all built in Soldier!

Feeling more relaxed while playing highly technical bits is also built in to bootcamp. As you go, you will get more time on the fretboard doing exactly this type of thing. It will become second nature and your vids will show your hands looking like they are not using any actual effort to play. Look forward to your vids!

Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 13 2019, 04:21 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 17 2019, 03:25 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 14 2019, 06:45 AM)

It is just a simple matter of repetition The good news is that these missions will have it sorted out in no time at all since they all require palm muting and will train you towards a center strategy with your hand and having it in the same spot whether you are muting or not, just to keep it centered so you can pick any string without having to make a hand shift.
There are wads of riffs coming that use palm muting on the higher strings. Things like open string licks which will require you to lift your fret hand off the neck. At which point only the mute will keep things from getting string noisey. It's all built in Soldier!

Feeling more relaxed while playing highly technical bits is also built in to bootcamp. As you go, you will get more time on the fretboard doing exactly this type of thing. It will become second nature and your vids will show your hands looking like they are not using any actual effort to play. Look forward to your vids!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 17 2019, 11:26 PM

MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING TECHNIQUE: The picking is really the core of everything we are going to be doing so it's great to see you have a good handle on it. Try to find a spot a little lower on the bridge where you can hit the low E and high E without lifting your mute, just by rotating the hand. This is the "center strategy" that I'm always banging on about!

*MUTING: Your palm mute is spot on and no string noise is escaping. Once you move your mute down a pinch, you'll be ready for the open string bits that are going to require you to take your left hand off the fret board. It's a small change that can have a bit impact.

*SYNCH: Keeping your right/left hand synch is another crucial part of this. You've got very solid hand synch and you are ready for what's next!!!
If possible, try one mission in Classical Position. Some folks just can't play in classical no matter what. It does take some getting used to. It's closer to the guitars position when standing. Which is part of why it's handy. the same hand angles are in play when sitting and standing. When doing side saddle, the hand angles are different when sitting vs standing. Standing playing comes in when you start doing shows/performances etc. Some folks really struggle to play standing up as they practice sitting down and in side saddle. Ideally, the guitar should hit you in the same spot sitting and standing.

In other words you just.....
LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 16 2019, 10:25 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST May 21 2019, 04:14 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 17 2019, 10:26 PM)

MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING TECHNIQUE: The picking is really the core of everything we are going to be doing so it's great to see you have a good handle on it. Try to find a spot a little lower on the bridge where you can hit the low E and high E without lifting your mute, just by rotating the hand. This is the "center strategy" that I'm always banging on about!

*MUTING: Your palm mute is spot on and no string noise is escaping. Once you move your mute down a pinch, you'll be ready for the open string bits that are going to require you to take your left hand off the fret board. It's a small change that can have a bit impact.

*SYNCH: Keeping your right/left hand synch is another crucial part of this. You've got very solid hand synch and you are ready for what's next!!!
If possible, try one mission in Classical Position. Some folks just can't play in classical no matter what. It does take some getting used to. It's closer to the guitars position when standing. Which is part of why it's handy. the same hand angles are in play when sitting and standing. When doing side saddle, the hand angles are different when sitting vs standing. Standing playing comes in when you start doing shows/performances etc. Some folks really struggle to play standing up as they practice sitting down and in side saddle. Ideally, the guitar should hit you in the same spot sitting and standing.

In other words you just.....
LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 22 2019, 08:06 PM

My bad, Soldier! I see you were sitting side sadle! It does take a bit to get used to it. To find the sweet spot where the guitar should hand, put your strap on your guitar, then stand up. Find a comfy position with the guitar, hopefully not to low. Now hold the guitar against your chest and sit down. That it where it should be when you sit. That way you have the same hand angle sitting or standing. As far as how tall your foot rest should be, it should be tall enough to push your leg up high enough to create a good angle for the guitar. Hopefully the same angle you would use if standing.

I was watching this vid and I think you may be muting just a pinch to hard. Perhaps a pinch more gain if possible as well. I think you have this one well in hand but I can see you fighting it with your pinky a bit. Not every note is audible, probably being muted, I can see your pick hand striking, but can't always hear the note. So yeah, maybe a pinch less mute pressure and a pinch more gain, find your comfy spot with the height of the foot stool and you'll be golden! Lets Debrief!
MEDALS OF HONOR
*PALM MUTE STEADY ON: Palm muting is crucial, but don't over mute or you will kill the note. That Vid I shared about muting in mission 14 is a good example, it's a light mute but it does the job. Harder muting will put more pressure on your pick hand as well, making this tougher. Finding the right balance just takes time. Keep at it@
*PICKING STEADY ON: Great to see your picking is solid and steady!! This will serve you well as you work on your speed. You have a solid picking technique.
*ENDURANCE: This mission is designed to melt your hand off. It's an endurance test that can only be done if one is not tensing up. If one gets tense, endurance dies. You had no problem and played on every string!
Soldier you just...

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ May 20 2019, 11:14 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 2 2019, 03:19 PM

Hi Todd,

A long of time without posting here. I'm ready to go with lesson 5, I'll start working on it today and post it whenever I feel it's ready

I wanted to ask you about Quick Licks. How does it work? It could be used as a complement to shred bootcamp?

Thanks Todd. Have a nice day.

Angel.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 2 2019, 09:30 PM

Welcome back to the to fight Soldier!!! Quick licks are a great way to add to your training. They are graded based more on effort than execution. The whole point of them is to try to pick up a lick "quickly" and be able to mostly play it back without spending days working on it. So it's graded a bit easier than bootcamp as bootcamp is all about precision. You can just start with Quick Licks #1 and shoot me a PM to let me know you've done it and I"ll give it a look! They are typically easier than bootcamp Missions as there is only one lick, where in bootcamp you might have 5 licks to learn for a given mission.
Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 2 2019, 10:19 AM)

Hi Todd,

A long of time without posting here. I'm ready to go with lesson 5, I'll start working on it today and post it whenever I feel it's ready

I wanted to ask you about Quick Licks. How does it work? It could be used as a complement to shred bootcamp?

Thanks Todd. Have a nice day.

Angel.

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 3 2019, 11:47 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Oct 2 2019, 08:30 PM)

Welcome back to the to fight Soldier!!! Quick licks are a great way to add to your training. They are graded based more on effort than execution. The whole point of them is to try to pick up a lick "quickly" and be able to mostly play it back without spending days working on it. So it's graded a bit easier than bootcamp as bootcamp is all about precision. You can just start with Quick Licks #1 and shoot me a PM to let me know you've done it and I"ll give it a look! They are typically easier than bootcamp Missions as there is only one lick, where in bootcamp you might have 5 licks to learn for a given mission.
Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 4 2019, 02:46 AM

Just post the video as an embed in the thread for that quick lick. So start with #1. Just add a reply in that thread and put your video right there After that shoot me a PM to let me know it's up. The process of submitting a quick lick is to add your youtube video as an embed in the thread for that quic lick. Each Quick lick has its own thread. They are all linked in my personal board at the top where the master quick licks doc is posted. Make sense?
Todd

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 3 2019, 06:47 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 19 2019, 08:12 PM

Hey Todd,

Here is the video for lesson 5:


Thanks again!

Angel.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 19 2019, 09:44 PM

HALF YOUR SQUAD GOT KILLED
Soldier, I appreciate your aggressive style, however, it's often tempting to try to sprint when a jog will do just fine. You start to drift from the metronome about 37 seconds in to the vid. Try to slow down a bit. This is not a shred drill, this is a precision drill. As you grow as a player, it will just become faster on it's own. For now, pushing it to far results in it not being precise, not being locked too the metronome, in short, being a pinch "off". Try once more but take it slower. You should feel in full control of the lick If not, you are trying to push it to far to quickly. The good news is your form is perfect!!!!

Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 19 2019, 03:12 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 20 2019, 08:51 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Oct 19 2019, 08:44 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 20 2019, 09:22 PM

I'm sure you'll get it Soldier!!! Working out these details are why we are here! Also, I use a LOT of palm muting on unwound strings. It's harder than doing palm muting on the wound strings mostly because that's where we get most of our practice muting, since those are the "chug" strings. I use mute techniques in lead bits quite a bit much like Nuno and Paul Gilbert. It's the only way to separate notes at speed. Your hands will adapt as we move forward.

In terms of your palm mute, try to find a "center point" where you can keep a mute and strike the high string or low string simply by tilting your wrist. Try NOT to move the entire hand as you ascend and descend strings. This will pay off BIG TIME as you begin to play long scale runs that start on the low E and end on the high E half way up the neck.

Sarge


[Youquote name='LEO89PRIEST' date='Oct 20 2019, 03:51 PM' post='772149']Hey Todd,

You're right. I felt something was wrong but I wasn't sure what was it. One of the problems was that I had the metronome too low in volume (I'm using a click track on Reaper, it's the first time I do it) so I kinda lost the "click" reference. This time I tried a little bit slower, at 65 BPM (first time it was at 80 BPM).

I hope this one is better. Sometimes I feel I was rushing a bit but I tried to recover the click reference and play in time. I also feel more comfortable when doing palm mute on the lower strings.

Here is the video (currently uploading to Youtube):


Regards,

Angel.

[/quote]

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 20 2019, 10:05 PM

Hey Todd,

Thanks for your feedback and advices. I just uploaded the video

Regards,

Angel.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 21 2019, 01:16 AM

Better! I can hear your fingers rushing just a pinch ahead of the beat, but you are still early in the process and this is something that will get better as time goes by. It's not enough to keep you from Leveling up!
I did notice an issue with your palm mute. Your hand curves inward a bit so that your not muting the unwound strings with the right hand. This is something that is actually quite normal. Most folks mute the high strings with their left hand as they are playing. However, it's not a great habit. When you start playing open string licks that go from low E to High E and Back, you won't be able to use your left hand to mute the high strings. The result will be unwanted string noise. Try to use the heel of the palm to cover all of the strings. Even if you don't actually mute, holding the hand right above the bridge means you can quickly apply a mute at any time. Here is a photo showing this technique.

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 20 2019, 05:05 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 21 2019, 04:50 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Oct 21 2019, 12:16 AM)

Better! I can hear your fingers rushing just a pinch ahead of the beat, but you are still early in the process and this is something that will get better as time goes by. It's not enough to keep you from Leveling up!
I did notice an issue with your palm mute. Your hand curves inward a bit so that your not muting the unwound strings with the right hand. This is something that is actually quite normal. Most folks mute the high strings with their left hand as they are playing. However, it's not a great habit. When you start playing open string licks that go from low E to High E and Back, you won't be able to use your left hand to mute the high strings. The result will be unwanted string noise. Try to use the heel of the palm to cover all of the strings. Even if you don't actually mute, holding the hand right above the bridge means you can quickly apply a mute at any time. Here is a photo showing this technique.

Try to keep your hand centered like this on the bridge. I noticed you are allowing the hand to drif up and down depending on which string you are striking. This is also normal, yet not a great habit. It's difficult to create better habits but it's worth it. It seems like you are having to use a good deal of picking pressure to strike each note. Ideally, you should use the minimum amount needed to activate the string. One way to do this is to use a pick that has a sharp point and no bend/flex. A pick width of 1.0 mm is a good idea as they don't tend to bend when hitting strings. If the pick tip bends, you have lost control of it, and now your recovery time to strike the next string is thrown off. Also, some folks use really heavy gauge strings, 10 or 11 gauge, in addition to round picks. This forces the hand to work twice as hard and makes articulating the pick very difficult. Resulting in timing issues. These are the types of things I like to deal with early on before a student gets up to level 50 and realizes that they just can't play certain missions due to bad habbits that are very hard to break.

Quick Questions

1.)What type/thickness of pick are you using?

2.)What scale length is your guitar?

3.)What string gauge are you using?

4.)How much gain/distortion are you using?

About pick pressure. Watch this vid for Mission 5 and notice how little pick pressure I'm using on the strings. My hand is very relaxed and and I'm covering all the strings with the hell of my right palm.

Ideally, the hand should not have to wear itself out just to play these drills. It should take minimal effort and thus allow you to focus on timing rather than on pick strikes. Only the very tip of the pick should touch the string for these drills. If you dig in to far, it will make the next strike that much harder as you will have to pull the pick back from the plane of the string. So we are looking for efficiency.

Let's Debrief!!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*TRAVERSE: First thing I"m looking for is good String Traverse as it's a tricky thing. It's easy to stumble on it. You play it clean and confident. Well done!!
*PACE:The Second thing I look for is pacing. It's tempting to rush or lag, and you are rushing a bit in spots, but it's something we will work on as we go.
*ARTICULATION: The last item I look for is pick articulation. You are not picking from the elbow which is great. It's easy to stiffen the entire arm and elbow pick which is a bad habit and hard to break. I would suggest trying to reduce the overall range of pick motion just to keep things as minimal as possible which reduces the amount of time required to make the next pick strike.

[/size] [size=4]You are ready to move on!!! You Just...

LEVELED UP!!!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 21 2019, 05:41 PM

Just asking some questions to see what kind of gear is being used You are in great shape. All of those bits work well for what we are trying to do. The only change I'd suggest (just a suggestion) is moving the guitar with 10 gauge strings to either a hybrid set with 99 gauge for the unwound and 10 for the wound, or just move to 9 gauge entirely. 10 gauge sets are not ideal for the kind of drills we are going to be doing over the next 100 Missions or so. Still, this is just a suggestion. You have to do what feels right for you.

Jazz picks are nice and thick and nice and pointy. Ultex does get a litle bendy once it heats up in the hand from being used, but it's fine. The issue isn't the gear. It's actually how you are picking. Your pick strike goes below the plane of the string which forces your hand to use more energy to pull it back out before making the next strike. Try to pick using just the very tip of the pick on these drills. Don't over commit to any one pick strike. Think of them as a flow of pick strikes.

Onward!!
Sarge

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 20 2019, 11:50 PM)

Posted by: LEO89PRIEST Oct 22 2019, 12:57 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Oct 21 2019, 04:41 PM)

Just asking some questions to see what kind of gear is being used You are in great shape. All of those bits work well for what we are trying to do. The only change I'd suggest (just a suggestion) is moving the guitar with 10 gauge strings to either a hybrid set with 99 gauge for the unwound and 10 for the wound, or just move to 9 gauge entirely. 10 gauge sets are not ideal for the kind of drills we are going to be doing over the next 100 Missions or so. Still, this is just a suggestion. You have to do what feels right for you.

Jazz picks are nice and thick and nice and pointy. Ultex does get a litle bendy once it heats up in the hand from being used, but it's fine. The issue isn't the gear. It's actually how you are picking. Your pick strike goes below the plane of the string which forces your hand to use more energy to pull it back out before making the next strike. Try to pick using just the very tip of the pick on these drills. Don't over commit to any one pick strike. Think of them as a flow of pick strikes.

Onward!!
Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 22 2019, 08:54 PM

Good question. The lower strings are typically called "wound" strings as there is a core that has the string wrapped along it's length. E, A, D are all done this way. G, B, D, High E, are unwound. You'll notice the unwound strings have a different texture to them.

Todd

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 21 2019, 07:57 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Nov 1 2019, 06:20 PM

P.S. if a guitar has more than six strings, it depends on if the extra strings are higher or lower than the regular 6. For any string lower than low E it's wound. For any string higher than high E it's unwound. Higher strings are typically un wound.

Todd

QUOTE (LEO89PRIEST @ Oct 21 2019, 07:57 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Nov 2 2019, 04:24 AM

You are more than ready for MISSION 6 Soldier!!! You are making great progress. Don't lose your Momentum!!!!
Sarge