Grappa's Bootcamp, You Walk The Path of The Warrior! |
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Oct 12 2016, 11:24 AM
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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!
MISSON #1 THE MISSION 1.)Your mission is to go all the way back to the very start. The base of the mountain. LESSON 1. http://bitly.com/gmclesson1 Which you will play SLOWWWWWWLLY, very SLOWWWLLLLYYYY until you master it at a crawl (As You'll Do With Each Mission, and focus on left hand FORM! Make it SUPER PERFECT!). Speed it up bit by bit until you feel your ready to take it to WAR (Any speed, it's up to you) Shoot a video of you playing the bit along with a METRONOME or DRUM click in the background so that I can hear if your on beat or not, and embed it as a post it as a reply to this post. I'll then offer a constructive and brutally honest critique. THE AFTERMATH Upon nailing the crap out of lesson one, and playing it a clean as a freshly waxed floor, you will be given your first insignia of Rank in BOOTCAMP! After that proceed to MISSION #2. Here is a link to all of the missions. All 400+ of them. http://bit.ly/twtgmc Here is the link to your own PRIVATE HOUSE OF PAIN!...Er I mean.. SHRED! bit.ly/grappasbootcamp Practice! Todd This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 12 2016, 11:27 AM |
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Oct 16 2016, 12:59 PM
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Todd,
Hope all is well. Here's my first go at AP #1. I've really changed my technique after reading the various bits on the site. Previously I wasn't angling the pick much and was using the fleshy part of my right hand thumb to mute (which was leading to me having the pick at a strange angle and me finding hard to move from higher to lower strings as the pick was catching the lower string I was moving to). Feels a little strange but getting better. https://youtu.be/FXFU-ST___o Let me know what you think.. Si |
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Oct 16 2016, 07:48 PM
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Well played!!! You are about to "LEVEL UP" and get you first badge. One thing I need you to do is Insert/Embed your very spiff vid (well produced btw). I've made a short vid on how to do this. It's a very simple process.
Using the "Insert VIDEO" function QUOTE (Grappa @ Oct 16 2016, 07:59 AM)  Todd,
Hope all is well. Here's my first go at AP #1. I've really changed my technique after reading the various bits on the site. Previously I wasn't angling the pick much and was using the fleshy part of my right hand thumb to mute (which was leading to me having the pick at a strange angle and me finding hard to move from higher to lower strings as the pick was catching the lower string I was moving to). Feels a little strange but getting better. https://youtu.be/FXFU-ST___o Let me know what you think.. Si This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 16 2016, 07:56 PM |
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Oct 16 2016, 10:19 PM
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Sorry about that!
Hopefully this works a little better. Simon |
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Nov 2 2016, 11:02 AM
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I've seen a LOT of vids on how various players angle their pick. I personally just use the very tip of the pick and usually don't angle it very much at all. However, I think the instinctive principle is important here as each player is different. If you find angling the pick a certain way helps you play better, that's a good thing
 I fear it may have gotten more press than it actually deserves. I would suggest using a very thick pick. 1.0mm or better and making sure it comes very sharp/pointy from the factory or get a sharp pocket knife and sharpen it, like you would a pencil. Then choke up on your grip on the pick. So that only the tip is exposed to the string. Then only strike the string with the very edge of the pick. This reduces the need to even consider the angle as only the very tip is ever touching the string and it's strike point is similar from nearly any angle. I've used many picks over thy years. I used to sharpen them myself. Then I had a custom VPICK made by vpicks and it works great. Then a GMCer named VONHOTCH made me a pick out of alluminum with a huge hole in the middle and I"ve used it quite a bit ever since. It never gets dull and needs resharpening as it's metal. Handy eh? Here is a link to the switchblade pick I worked with Vinnie @ Vpicks to design. These are very handy Nice and stiff, no flex. http://www.v-picks.com/product/switchblade/  Flex is your enemy when trying to play with any precision IMHO. When the pick bends, you have lost control of it and when dealing with millisecond pick strikes, (as we are heading towards in our Missions) The time it takes for the pick to flex back is time that it should be hitting the next string. Playing Paul Gilbert style bits really does almost require a nice stiff, pointy pick. Unless you happen to be paul gilbert in which case you can probably do it with an old shoe or something. The Von Hotch picks are custom made, like the Vpicks, by hand. They are just killer. However, VonHotch has a real world job and just does picks on the side for pals and GMC folks so it's not a big production. There are not many of these picks on earth and having one is special thing IMHO They used to cost $20 each but he's found ways to get the cost down quite a bit. Each one is made to the owners taste. The good news is that even the very thin ones have ZERO flex and stay sharp always. You may notice some aluminum dust on your thumb after playing which is just the strings and the pick reacting. I love these things. I even like them thick, about 4.0 mm. They glide over the strings. However, even at .5 mm they are nice and stiff and sharp/pointy. Dull, thin picks are your enemy at this point IMHO. Once you get though these missions, you may decide you want to be a blues player and then thin picks are a very handy thing. They let you play in a looser fashion and chordality is a bit easier during lead passages partially due to the flex in the pick. However, SHRED BOOTCAMP is not about playing loose blues. It's about precision. For precision you really need a sharp/pointy pick Here is my collection of VonHotch picks. Some are made from Plastic, most are Aluminum. All are killer You can find him on facebook and have one made if you like.  I started out using clayton picks and sharpening them to a nice rounded point. Here is a picture of how I hold the pick. It never really changes.  Notice how far I'm choked up on the pick, I try to only expose the sharp/pointy bit to the strings. At that point, "angle" is largely beside the point imho as the only thing hitting the string is the point/tip of my pick no matter what angle my hand is at. So whatever angle is comfy is the one to use. I don't one is better than another, just whatever is comfy. Though I have seen wads of vids/posts about this. I still say, go with comfy Here is a vid demo of me shredding away. Notice that my pick angle is pretty much straight on. You can't really see the pick as I'm so choked up on it that only the tip/point is available to the strings. Notice that I don't ever really change the "angle" to play a different bit. It's just not really needed. We will work more on this as we proceed through the missions. Watch the fast bit toward the end on this one. My pick is vertical to the strings for the part where I'm doing a two string traverse Paul Gilbert Lick. I"m using economy picking here. That is, two down strokes in a row when going from B to high E. That is the secret sauce my friend. Using the natural motion of the hand. When going higher, might as well use down strokes. I use alt picking typically on descending licks, as it just feels more comfy Thanks for the rig rundown btw and I dig the Scuffham amps simps as well Actually was emailing him back and forth before the last version came out. I was asking him to put a parametric eq before the first gain stage and he said he might in the next version, which would be handy BTW what pick did you say you were using? Todd Todd This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Nov 2 2016, 11:13 AM |
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Nov 2 2016, 09:25 PM
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I'm honestly thrilled to hear you use a Jazz III
It's the gateway drug to super stiff super pointy picks. They are quite handy The only problem is the material used. It's not quite as stiff as it could be but they make a version of that pick that is made of something else and is stiff as a board. But for these first 10 missions that pick is a fine choice. I was worried you were going to say I use a standard .05 jd turtle pick Thank God. The "choking up on the pick" is the secret sauce that makes the "angle" thing a pinch of a moot point IMHO. When you are choked up far enough to only expose the tip/point, angle becomes a bit less important. The only difference in angle I employ is between single string and multi string work per both vids I shared. In the first vid, fast bits are single string, thus the pick is roughly held like a flat plane sticking out from the guitar. In the second vid, using string traverse, I switch to holding the pick vertically as if it were bisecting the guitar. This shift can be done just using the fingers for the most part so it's not a huge amount of movement. These MISSIONS are designed to illustrate this style of play and allow your pick hand to find it's way. As you go through, you will start to see (oh now I get it) type of things and you will start to have your own moments of (wow I just found out how I think I can work this out). It's all part of the process The ranking Member of Bootcamp is Fzalfa @ Level 50. He is getting in to the tall grass about now. He has put in a lot of work and it shows in his playing. I look forward to seeing you progress as well If you like the jazz picks, I'd highly suggest these. They are DAVA picks which are basically jazz picks with a bit added for extra grip that goes nearly to the point. This package has three types of picks. Three different material types. One is essentially very stiff plastic and that's the one with the least flex. The other two are more like regular jazz and have a bit more. But they work great as trainer picks to remind you to choke up and reach near the point. Take a look.  here is link with info http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories...bo-small-6-pack As with everything you will learn in bootcamp, these lessons are NOT intended as HOLY GRAIL type lessons, or "The Only Way" type of lessons. I'm teaching a very specific set of skills to help you progress toward very specific modes of play. As you learn, you will adapt this and everything else you learn in to your own style. Bits here bits there. So as with every teaching you will ever get, take it as it is, try it, give it a real chance and see where it falls in to your own style. Of course this takes time too. But so does anything worth doing in life. Todd QUOTE (Grappa @ Nov 2 2016, 07:21 AM) Thanks Todd. I use a JD Jazz III which has a bit of a rounded tip by default. I've sharpened this up a bit and it feels a lot more controlled. I've also got some JD 1mm Ultex sharp picks which I will try out and see how they feel. I do hold the pick fairly close to the tip (but not as close as you) and will try to see how a change in pick grip influences things. Onwards and updwards.. Si |
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Both for me and for you. Keep them all in a playlist on youtube. You can keep them all "unlisted" if you like, if you don't want them searchable on google/yotube. Or make them public, whatever works for you
 
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