Correcting Bad Habits |
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Sep 4 2010, 09:36 PM
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I had problems with a number of bad habits at first, the issue is once you develop habits, the harder they become to break.
Slow down: Play slowly enough to play without any mistakes. Your fingers move how you train them to. Check the two thumb position, this is sometimes overlooked, either the thumb behind the neck to give you a greater reach and fingers more evenly controlled or thumb hooked over the top to get more control and strength for bends, etc. Ensure finger position land just behide their corresponding metal fret and not just anywhere on the fret. Play on your fingertips mostly. Watch finger movement, remember distance equals time, keep your fingers as close to the strings as possible. When hammering, etc, check do fingers glue together or flick up too much? You must stop it from happening before it happens, else it's too late to correct. If you cannot comfortable keep them hovering in their unfretted positions then you are using too much pressure for playing which is slowing you down. For fast picking, hold a pointed pick almost perpendicular to the strings (thumb facing downwards). Use wrist movement or wrist and elbow, not fingers. Practice smallest and precise movements rather than speed at first. Your trying to minimise the amount of moving required. Only small up and down movements with the pick. Play with a metronome some of the time and work on keeping time with it. Start slowly, speed it up about two units at a time, puah yourself up to break point (starts to get too messy), bring it down and perfect it. Only end the exercise at a speed your confortable with playing perfectly (not at a high top speed slightly messed up). Do exercises using only the left hand or the right hand, then merge them together and even out the timing between them. One hand might be a lot faster than the other, concentate on the slowest. --------------------  Play Games Arcade Take a break, Play Games! Play the best free online flash games at Aaron's Game Zone like Bloons Tower Defense 4! |
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Sep 4 2010, 09:40 PM
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Practice like a madman! It takes up to two weeks for your body and brain to make the new technique take over.
I did that with my own picking some years ago, the first few days feel hopeless since you'll fall back into the old way again and again. Just keep struggeling! -------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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Sep 14 2010, 01:49 PM
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Take it slowly step by step. It's an ongoing process, it can last for long time, but it's not that bad, if you start to play correctly right away. The initial results will come very soon, and complete technique change will come in several years.
-------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :) |
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Sep 14 2010, 02:16 PM
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QUOTE (Ivan Milenkovic @ Sep 14 2010, 02:49 PM)  Take it slowly step by step. It's an ongoing process, it can last for long time, but it's not that bad, if you start to play correctly right away. The initial results will come very soon, and complete technique change will come in several years. Ivan, are you standing before an Oblivion gate? 
-------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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Oct 25 2010, 07:48 PM
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Tyson -
For alternate picking, you should stop moving the fingers if you are (fingers movement is great for slower speeds, pinch harmonics and more expression, etc, but will limit your speed - so you should be aware and change when needed). Make them ridge and use small movements of the wrist to pick, move up and down the string with the arm. This will give much better speed. Practice smarter, remember to work on smaller movements and muscle memory first which will equal way more speed when you boost it later on. Never angle the pick up or down, this will slow you down in the opposite direction! However, flat picking will also slow you down cutting through the strings at speed, rotate the pick almost perpendicular to the strings (up to 90%) and play with just the tip to get more aggresive and faster picking. You can either anchor a finger onto the base of the guitar, lightly against the lower e string, or leave it floating. The anchoring can give more control to most when playing fast, but it can limit the movement up and down across strings. Find what is best for yourself without limiting too much. -------------------- Play Games Arcade Take a break, Play Games! Play the best free online flash games at Aaron's Game Zone like Bloons Tower Defense 4! |
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Oct 25 2010, 10:39 PM
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Todd The Saturday Video Chat Instructor here
 This is a great question. And there have been some replies! Here is a chunk from my picking notes in my instructor forum. Hope this helps!For Alternate Picking I'd suggest gripping the pick so that not much pick is sticking out. Try to get the point of the pick to point out at a 90 degre angle from your thumb. Here is a picture to demonstrate.  Also, here are some things to try. ALTERNATE PICKING TIPS AND TRICKS 1.)Choke up on the pick. Only the point should be sticking out. 2.)Don't pick from the elbow! Control the motion from your wrist or fingers. 3.)Try a very heavy pick, 1.2 MM or greater so as to eliminate "flex" in the pick. 4.)Try to sharpen your pick to a point with sandpaper or dremmel or what not so that the surface area striking the string is as small as possible. There are some "training" picks that are shaped this way on purpose. 5.)Work with a metronome ALWAYS so that you keep your picking even. 6.)MOST IMPORTANT: Join me this saturday and every saturday for a live VIDEO CHAT lesson on ALTERNATE PICKING. We have been doing a series on that very topic for several weeks now. Here are the notes so far. Many great workouts to try. LESSON NOTES ON GMC FOR MY ALTERNATE PICKING SERIES Above all Practice! This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 25 2010, 10:40 PM |
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