Critique My Technique Options

[Im here to succe...]

Hi guys, i've recorded a clip of me playing on youtube, without thinking, so excuse the playing, i just wanted to demonstrate my technique.

Youtube Clip

I have noticed some fundamental flaws in my picking hand.

1. How i hold the pick - As you can see from the still images i took, how i currently hold it is just with my thumb and forefinger, with no support from the other fingers. So when i speed up and do faster alternate picking, it seems like there is no control & it moves about.

2. When i go up and down the a minor pentatonic (or any scale), i seem to bounce over the strings, it seems like there needs to be less movement.

3. When i go up and down the strings, i don't go diagonally and i'm not keeping a steady wrist and moving up and down the strings with my forearm?
I watched a youtube video saying, your wrist should always stay the same, it is your forearm which should move you up and down the strings forward and backward, in a diagonal motion?

Whereas currently, i seems to be like a 'free for all' for me. i just go where the forearm & wrist take me (all over the place) with no set motion, so my playing/pick accuracy will always be unpredictable?

Any ideas? And what can i do to reverse these bad habits?


How i currently hold it.


After research, how i think i need to hold it? with no gaps between fingers and all secure but not too tight?
(i've tried it and it does feel more secure when picking at faster tempos)

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This post has been edited by Im here to succeed: Jul 4 2015, 11:07 AM

[Storm Linnebjerg]

I don't think there's a right or wrong as such, really. I play the way of the first picture, and I've seen a lot of players play that way with great success. If I remember correctly Rick Graham does it as well, and let's just say he's a half decent player, isn't he?

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[Im here to succe...]

. If I remember correctly Rick Graham does it as well, and let's just say he's a half decent player, isn't he?

Ricky who? Haha

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Ricky who? Haha

Having looked a bit closer, maybe his technique is a bit of a hybrid.



Also, I couldn't tell if you were kidding or not when saying you don't know him

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[Arpeggio]

Perhaps you hold the guitar too far back to your right side? Your picking arm / elbow lifting up and back more as a result. Because of that, even though your wrist/hand to string angle is similar to Rick's, you might be creating more tension in the ligaments on the underside of your wrist in resistance to when you pluck upwards.

In other terms as an exaggeration, if you put your hand flat on a desk in front of you with fingers facing forward then raise a finger there is normal tension, but if you put your hand flat on a desk behind you with fingers still facing forward you can't raise your fingers as much if at all.

In the Rick Graham video he is opposite with the guitar on his inside leg and is even leaning to his left into the guitar a bit, which affects his arm / angle position.

Also your pick strokes are quite wide in motion, and less movement = more speed, which is why many football virtuosos like messi and maradona are shorter they can change direction faster with shorter "braking" distance. Otherwise I can see that your thumb tip is sticking well past the part where the thumb grips the pick which is good and necessary to minimize the distance between the pick and the axis of wrist rotation. Andy James thumb tip protrudes from the thumb grip area also as does Rick's thumb tip on the video.

per se you are pretty good I think.

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This post has been edited by Arpeggio: Jul 4 2015, 09:04 PM

[Im here to succe...]

Perhaps you hold the guitar too far back to your right side? Your picking arm / elbow lifting up and back more as a result. Because of that, even though your wrist/hand to string angle is similar to Rick's, you might be creating more tension in the ligaments on the underside of your wrist in resistance to when you pluck upwards.

In other terms as an exaggeration, if you put your hand flat on a desk in front of you with fingers facing forward then raise a finger there is normal tension, but if you put your hand flat on a desk behind you with fingers still facing forward you can't raise your fingers as much if at all.

In the Rick Graham video he is opposite with the guitar on his inside leg and is even leaning to his left into the guitar a bit, which affects his arm / angle position.

Also your pick strokes are quite wide in motion, and less movement = more speed, which is why many football virtuosos like messi and maradona are shorter they can change direction faster with shorter "braking" distance. Otherwise I can see that your thumb tip is sticking well past the part where the thumb grips the pick which is good and necessary to minimize the distance between the pick and the axis of wrist rotation. Andy James thumb tip protrudes from the thumb grip area also as does Rick's thumb tip on the video.

per se you are pretty good I think.

I think the position of the guitar was a little misleading, it was in that position because i was just taking a picture of my picking hand sorry

And yes, that's what i thought, my picking hand uses wide strokes, almost asif it bounces across the strings.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

I completely didn't see Rick had his guitar on his other leg. I do that at times too when I need to play something that's a bit difficult.

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[Todd Simpson]

As you can see from the variety of responses, there really is no one "Right Way" to play guitar. I know that doesn't seem like much help What most folks are really trying to work out is "What's the best way for me to play guitar" which is a bit more focused type of question. In terms of PICKING, I've developed a method of teaching and learning that focuses on the mechanics of picking. E.G. How to physically hold the pick and strike the string in a consistent manner yielding a consistent result. Some folks take a much looser approach which works well for them In the end you will have to decide what works for you. To wit!!

I'd like to invite you to join my SHRED BOOTCAMP!!!

We start at lesson/Mission #1 and work up from there. We currently have nearly 400 missions so there is a lot to work through. during each mission, I critique your performance and either promote you to the next level or have you run the mission again looking for improvement. If you want to join up, just shoot me a personal message and I'll make you your own thread in the Bootcamp!

From watching the vid, I can see a variety of issues that could use some serious attention. I think it is probably best to deal with them in the context of playing instead of trying to bury you with information via text here in this post. I've found that learning through doing and through repetition can yield some great results Your current method is certainly working and with some steady practice and drills and such I think you can make some great progress

For now, I'd suggest.
1.)Try to see if you can play sitting down in classical position at least part of the time. With the guitar between your legs.
2.)Try to see if you can find a comfy position on the bridge for your hand where you are muting most/all the strings at once.
3.)Reduce the sway in your picking. E.G. the movement after one pick strike and before the next.
4.)Experiment with thicker/thinner picks. Experiment with Sharp or sharpened picks.

I look forward to seeing you in bootcamp
Todd

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