Ola Talks About Picking Technique Options

[Todd Simpson]

Ola talks here about his "backwards" picking technique and switching between his self taught method and the more tradition "pick forward lean" method. Being primarily self taught myself, I can relate. There are still bits that I keep finding in my own playing, even after all this time, that still find better ways to do. How about you guys?

He also talks about building his youtube channel which has been the springboard for a good part of his success. Some good tips

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[Darius Wave]

Same with me Still working on things to find or confirm if there are no better solutions. That's how I found my combo right hand techniqe where I play with different position for low strings and different for high. I was holding the pick the way Ola does, when I was 15. I saw a guy in the studio doing it totally different and I asked "show me ho you hold it. Then I took "it" home and had sort of a half of a year for trying out. Of course it was weird for quite some time (couldn't get used to) but from a long perspective I have to say I would not be able to play some things these days if I would not switch to the regular pick grip.

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[Todd Simpson]

Well said There are some things you really just can't play well unless you grab your pick right. I had some very sketchy pick grip issues when I started as I would shift my pick around based on what I was playing making transitions difficult. Once I found a way to grip the pick that I could keep using no matter what I was playing. It really helped

Then again some players (marty friedman) keep the odd pick grip their entire career. It hasn't hurt him it seems but I do notice there are things he just doesn't play. Certain licks are nearly impossible with his upside grip. But he's still a legend

Todd

Same with me Still working on things to find or confirm if there are no better solutions. That's how I found my combo right hand techniqe where I play with different position for low strings and different for high. I was holding the pick the way Ola does, when I was 15. I saw a guy in the studio doing it totally different and I asked "show me ho you hold it. Then I took "it" home and had sort of a half of a year for trying out. Of course it was weird for quite some time (couldn't get used to) but from a long perspective I have to say I would not be able to play some things these days if I would not switch to the regular pick grip.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Interesting!

I am currently working on shifting my whole picking movement to just the fingers holding the pick (and not so much the wrist, forearm etc)

Because I have noticed this gives me much more control and flexiblility, and allows for a relaxed, almost unnoticeable picking technique.

Still got some work left to do though!

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[Darius Wave]

Todd - yeah....there are guys like Marty, we will never figure out how the heck it works with their grip )))

Kirs...I was going through this. Worked for artificiall dstortions but with my favorite type of tube amp overdive it does not give the ability to get proper amount of attack and output signal - it simply sounds too weak for me so I go for semi-circle picking where accents are done with a wrist.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Todd - yeah....there are guys like Marty, we will never figure out how the heck it works with their grip )))

Kirs...I was going through this. Worked for artificiall dstortions but with my favorite type of tube amp overdive it does not give the ability to get proper amount of attack and output signal - it simply sounds too weak for me so I go for semi-circle picking where accents are done with a wrist.

Yes - it is not ideal for picking hard. But it's cool to combine the different ways of doing it - for dynamics, accents etc.

Also I have found the right hand fingers holding the picking will be responsible for ensuring picking precision even if strength comes from your wrist. So it seems practicing this is beneficial for all the different types of picking styles I use.

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[Todd Simpson]

BINGO! That's what I try to teach during my chats actually. Which is to say, trying to show how to use the thumb and first finger for picking, even at high speed, while leaving part of the hand on the bridge for a mute and keep the wrist mostly in place. It's very odd at first, but gets much easier with a bit of repetition, like everything

Interesting!

I am currently working on shifting my whole picking movement to just the fingers holding the pick (and not so much the wrist, forearm etc)

Because I have noticed this gives me much more control and flexiblility, and allows for a relaxed, almost unnoticeable picking technique.

Still got some work left to do though!

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[Darius Wave]

Of course! I only mentioned that depending on the type of tone you use it might be not enough beneficial as a standalone technique But it's an awesome "Relaxed speed booster" combined with wrist

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[Todd Simpson]

With enough practice, I've found that I can get enough pressure on the right hand using just the fingers, even using strictly tubes. It's possible to have a relaxed hand/wrist and use the first finger/thumb for dynamics control. Just takes wads and wads of practice. I've used the technique for so long at this point that I don't have to switch back to the "power method" of picking I've found. Here is some play through a pure tube preamp on various gain settings using thumb/first finger for dynamics as an example. Only took a decade or so

But I still use the power picking method on various bits for various things. So being able to combine the two and find a balance is also a good thing

Of course! I only mentioned that depending on the type of tone you use it might be not enough beneficial as a standalone technique But it's an awesome "Relaxed speed booster" combined with wrist

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Dec 24 2015, 06:03 PM

[Kristofer Dahl]

Of course! I only mentioned that depending on the type of tone you use it might be not enough beneficial as a standalone technique But it's an awesome "Relaxed speed booster" combined with wrist

For sure a speed booster! I also find it to be a key element for precision/consistency/control.

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