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Posted by: Savaroth Feb 23 2009, 01:49 PM

Hey,

I just can't seem to get my right hand picking right, I practice scales to improve the picking, but I just can't get more speed out of my picking hand, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance

//Marcel

Posted by: David Wallimann Feb 23 2009, 01:59 PM

Try to angle your pick a little differently, sometimes it helps!
My speed also improved drastically after using V-Picks (I use the small pointed ones)

Posted by: Savaroth Feb 23 2009, 02:06 PM

Thank you for the fast reply,

I also use those v shaped picks, needless to say Im still a beginner, but howlong does building up speed take?

//Marcel

Posted by: Muris Varajic Feb 23 2009, 02:14 PM

It's all up to you, the more you ask how long
the less improvements you're getting I'm afraid.
Just sit and practice, progress will be there.

Posted by: Savaroth Feb 23 2009, 02:17 PM

Allright, so just keep practicing then xD

Any excersices you can recommend?

Posted by: Muris Varajic Feb 23 2009, 02:21 PM

There are many, just search for alternate picking lessons
and rock the world.

Posted by: DeepRoots Feb 23 2009, 02:22 PM

I reccomend anything that you find uncomfortable to play. Browse the site- use the search bar, and try taking a few picking licks from some lessons. Anything that you find difficult will really improve your picking once you've put in the hours of practise.

Remember that speed will come eventually once you practise patiently with a mentronome- at this point it is good to chose the difficult/unusual exercises and patterns as once you've developed the speed you will have a kind of picking "fluency".

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Feb 23 2009, 04:26 PM

Speed will come with practice , just be patient...Also its very important to use metronome when practicing..It will allow good and efficient practice and you can use it also to track "small steps" in your progress! If you write down tempo when practicing you will clearly see progress written in your notebook after some time..

Posted by: leedbreak Feb 23 2009, 04:46 PM

Well dude it has taken me about 2 years to go up about 30 BMP in general. While that maybe slow progress, it is progress. If I can go up 20 more in the next year, well look out here I come.

The main thing I have learned here is that once some people learn it takes so long to get there, they quit or quit trying so hard.

Pick a group of notes that you love and let them be you guide. If you can go up as little as 2-3 PBM a month, that is great progress while still realistic.

I use this lttle Em riff as my guide. I have it pretty good at 127 BPM, it was at 96 when I joinded the site. The 1/2 note rest gives me time to think about how the last one felt.

Remember you must perfect your technique before you can go fast. Concentrate HARD on how hard you hit the stings, how much you right hand moves and if your left hand fingers are landing square between the frets as well as coming off the fret board as little as possible. All these thing work together perfectly to build speed.



PS

Muris's lesson on timing has done a lot for my speed.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/timing-exercise/

Posted by: Pavlov Feb 23 2009, 06:03 PM

Since I started Ivan's pentatonic workshop and practiced it often, my speed and accuracy have increased significantly.

Posted by: Savaroth Feb 23 2009, 06:51 PM

Thank you all very much for your replies, I will look into Muris's lesson about timing, and I will start practicing with a metronome!

//Marcel

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 23 2009, 09:32 PM

Patience is the name of the game here mate. All guitar players work very hard and long to achieve speed, but it is not a mistery - just sit with a metronome, start slow, play precise, and practice as much as you can. The skills will come.

Posted by: Ramiro Delforte Feb 23 2009, 10:22 PM

I agree with Muris and Ivan, all you need is practice and time with your picking. If you keep practicing patterns, scales, runs and licks it will come alone.

Posted by: Vasilije Vukmirovic Feb 24 2009, 05:51 PM

Best thing for right hand, I think, is practicing intervals. 3rds, 5ths. If you play scales up/down the neck, your hand is used to that type of tension, patterns are best!

Posted by: TheOldOnes Feb 25 2009, 05:25 PM

I am not sure about everyone else, but I find that if I learn a lesson, I am rarely able to reach the instructor's speed for the lesson (with exceptions for slower feeling lessons). Even if I play the lesson continually for 2 weeks or more, my speed doesn't change much. However, I found that if I go on to another lesson and not play the previous lesson for a few weeks or more and then revisit it, my speed improves about 5% or more. There are a couple of lessons now that I could do well at 70% at first and after a couple of layoffs, I can play them now at better than 90% (6 month period). I am not sure why this is but I suspect it has to do with better relaxation which the layoffs help me do.

PS I lost my small pointed V-pick a couple of weeks ago and I feel somewhat lost and uninspired lately.

Posted by: Oxac Feb 25 2009, 05:52 PM

The things TheOldOnes talks about is pretty common. It probably has to do about developing your technique. If you can't play a song faster than 100 bpms something is wrong. You have to change that thing that's wrong to be able to go further. Either you can slow down and really analyze what's wrong. Is it your muscles, are they too weak? (most probably not), is it your technique? (most probably). Is it your picking hand motion? Is it too big? Is it inefficient? Can you try another motion? etc.... these are some of the things that you have to analyze and make sure that you've passed. Sometimes playing another piece will help you in finding those mistakes so that you can correct them.