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#1
02-09-2001, 09:52 PM
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Right hand picking, soloing, and phrasing
First of all, I'm not an acoustic flatpicker. I have very small hands and find playing lead lines on an acoustic to be a physical nightmare that aggravates my wrist and fingers. But on an electric....I'll toast your tootsies. Please remember, you're only getting my observations, opinions and advice here. If you think I'm full of hot air, way off base, or anything of the sort please chime in! I don't claim to have any stone tablets directly from the mountain top with THE rules for how to improve your playing. Most people having difficulty with learning to solo and have it sound interesting have very poor right hand technique - they just cannot pick at a sufficient pace (I'm not trying to be picky here). I'm not talking about churning out endless strings of 32nd and 64th notes, mind you. Not my cup of tea at all. My soloing is hopefully starting to sound something like Larry Carlton meets Robben Ford meets David Gilmour meets Glenn Campbell meets Les Paul (how's that for a mix?). Well, at least in my head it is. !!!The problem with not being able to pick quickly is that you lose virtually all ability to phrase your licks in any sort of an interesting fashion!!! If you can't pick quickly and are imitating your favorite players (trying to copy their licks, etc...) you will quickly become over reliant on using hammer-ons and pull-offs. This seems to lead people to two inevitable and boring ends. Instead of being able to start, stop, and turn on a dime with your phrasing... a) You often just run up and down scales (with HO's and PO's) - pretty boring b) You just noodle about in one spot. Back and forth, back and forth. A little up, a little down. Over and over. Ugh. As the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world King Noodler I can tell you without any doubt - VERY BORING. Try to understand on your own why those two scenarios are pretty much the only possible outcomes of having to resort to HO's and PO's excessively. Where else are you going to go? Oh let's add a third. c) You develop a handful of halfway interesting but trite licks (usually of that descending triplets through a melodic pattern variety - with lots of HO's and PO's) that fool you into thinking you're getting somewhere. Go look at a TAB book or guitar magazine. Look at songs with solos you like. They don't even have to be ones you think of as fast probably. If you're having trouble with soloing, look at the metronome setting at the beginning of the song and then check out the 8th notes, triplets, and 16th notes that the player picks. Can you or can you not pick (WITHOUT HO's and PO's) through the relevant scales cleanly at that pace? Somehow took me 25 years to figure out I couldn't come close. I don't want to say something as arbitrary as "You should be able to pick 16th notes at x beats per minute." Again, look at who you like. If you see little bursts of 16ths PICKEDat 100, 120, 140, 160 beats per minute and you can do no better than an honest 80, you've gotta fix that. We've got a perfect example for how to isolate difficulties. If you have discovered that you cannot pick as well as you'd like, break the problem down. 1. Is the pick perpendicular to face of guitar? 2 Is the pick essentially parallel to the strings? Does your pick commonly twist and turn in your hand so you often have to regrip? 3. Practice building up speed on single strings first. There are specific things to do here. What's slowing you down, the downstrokes? the upstrokes? Are your hands in sync? 4. Once (and ONLY once) you've got a new level of speed on single strings, take it to switching on two strings, three strings, etc.... without loss of speed, accuracy, and clarity If you're having trouble getting where you want to go with the guitar, you're probably breaking down on the basics somehow. Convince yourself that's good news, not bad news. [This message has been edited by mapletrees (edited 02-10-2001).] [This message has been edited by mapletrees (edited 02-10-2001).] [This message has been edited by mapletrees (edited 02-10-2001).] 
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#2
02-10-2001, 07:28 AM
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Concerning #1 get up and go look in the mirror. A lot of people will hold their pick pointing way too far - crazy whacko far- to the ceiling ( or floor) without realizing it. Again, I was the worst. No possible way to effectively use alternate picking unless you're something close to perpendicular to the face of the guitar.
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#3
02-10-2001, 08:40 AM
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Before we continue here with the other items in the above list - one very important related point.
This happens to a lot of people in my opinion when they go off for lessons. I get students who have failed with other instructors and there is for many of them a common experience that they're not the slightest bit aware of. Certainly happened to me when I was learning. Teen or adult who already plays some guitar decides to start taking lessons. They might very well be the most well-intentioned and hard-working of people. Now, since they already play to some degree, lessons for such people oftern mean the instructor starts them down the path of trying to learn to solo and improvise right from the get go. A basic 12 bar blues is scratched out on paper and we're off. Never mind learning to read, never mind learning fundamental concepts of theory and harmony through reading, never mind analyzing tunes sensibly, never mind developing a solid and FUNCTIONAL sense of rhythmic control, never mind reading and playing simple melodies and slightly altering them as a first step towards soloing (isn't that how horn players, piano players, etc.. begin their study of improv?) - in a big old rotten nut shell, let's have some music lessons where we avoid at all costs learning about music. Where was I? Aha! Since some very basic elements of playing aren't addressed in lessons, nobody(not the student, not the instructor) takes note of the fact that the student can't really pick well at all. Not at all (master of those HO's and PO's though). Basic but essential physical task required to play well and nobody notices a glaring deficiency. The instructor sets the metronome to 100 and plays a basic blues progression. The student plods along - boring licks fill the room. The instructor sounds hot - has a neat litte half groove, half solo going. Student is green with envy. The instructor says all sorts of profound things such as "just gotta keep at it." By the way, did he go to a music college and takes courses titled things like Just Keep At It 101? Let me see, I take It Just Takes Time I in the fall semester and It Just Takes Time II in the spring semester. Ok. Good grief. Back we go. The instructor cuts loose with a solo and the students jaw drops. By the way, the instructor is so wrapped up with his solo he doesn't notice that the student can't keep a basic groove going for 12 measures. That's ok. We're not going to learn anything about rhythm anyways. Back to the main idea. The metronome is at 100. Not a fast pace at all. Not ridiculously slow, but not really fas either. Presumably the instructor is quite capable of picking 8th notes cleanly at say 200, 220, 240, 280, higher? Suppose the poor student can only cleanly pick 8th notes at 120 beats per minute. What happens? Suppose the fastest pitch a liitle-league baseball player has ever seen is 40 mph. Does a 35 mph pitch look the same to him as it does to a major league player who has routinely seen 90 mph and over. Well, of course not. The little-leaguer flails at the pitch. The major leaguer can do something with the pitch. In fact he can do anything he wants with the pitch - PURPOSELY hit a ground ball to the right side, PURPOSELY hit a fly ball, etc... Now, put two and two together....our guitar student is heading for the Mother of All Ruts. Since he's just struggling to keep up with the beat, he can't think on the fly at all. Not at all. The rut he's heading into is that everything he's about to do is always limited to what he is merely already capable of doing. A big black hole that's gonna suck him in somethin' fierce, I tell you.
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#4
02-10-2001, 01:02 PM
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Make sure that when you pick, your pick is pretty much parallel to the string.
A lot of people will hook their picking hand thumb towards the index finger, twisting the pick towards the bridge. What results is that they scrape the pick along the string towards the bridge. You get an icky tone like that and you also are making the distance the pick travels way longer than is desired. Most folks who do this also find the pick always wants to twist and slip out of their hands - both during picking and strumming. If you find you can't get the pick essentially parallel to the strings, alter the way you hold it. DO NOT hold your wrist in some awkward and unnatural fashion - repetitive stress injury city. Ouch.
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#5
02-10-2001, 02:07 PM
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Concerning #3....
Practice picking properly along single strings individually if you're having right hand trouble. If you find you can't pick a plain old open string anywhere near the speed you ultimately want, try the following. You're probably making the picking strokes way too long. Picking 4 notes per beat (16th notes) set the metronome at way too fast a setting. Try desperately to play the open string at 4 notes per beat. Start slowing the metronome down until you can pick the string cleanly. Your picking strokes should be shorter at this point. However, you probably will be tremelo picking at this point. That means your wrist is essentially locked, your arm is stiff as a board, and you're pivoting at the elbow. We don't want that. Continue to slow the metronome down, keeping the picking stroke small as possible, and get down to a speed where your picking motion is coming pretty much from the wrist alone. Hopefully your picking more quickly already. Most people need to work on their upstrokes and getting their hands to work together. I count 16th notes as 1 e & uh 2 e & uh 3 e & uh 4 e & uh First play on any three consecutive notes on just one string over and over and over and over.... 1 e & rest 2 e & rest 3 e & rest 4 e & rest - your picking should be down up down, down up down, etc... Now with the same three notes over and over and over play rest e & uh rest e & uh rest e & uh rest e & uh - your picking should be up down up, up down up, etc... We've just displaced things by a 16th note or equiavalently, a 1/4 beat Most people with picking problems will THINK they're really cooking on the down up downs. When it comes to the up down ups, they fall apart. Their speed plummets. The reality is they don't pick the upstroke very well any time. Trying to lead with an up just points this fact out more clearly. Practice the up down ups! Use that metronome. Practice slowly and carefully. Strive to play well and you never really have to work on speed unless you want to become some over the top speed freak. Remember to check the angle of the pick... Move on to practicing a single fretted note with the down up downs and the up down ups. Again, strive to make the up down ups just as clean and fast as the down up downs. Getting your hands in sync. Suppose you think you can pick a single fretted note with 16th notes cleanly at 160 bpm. Now do the following. You could play anywhere but let's just pick 1st string 5th fret and 1st string 7th fret (the notes A and B) Get the metronome going (we will continue to use 16th notes) and switch back and forth playing 4 notes on A and 4 on B over and over. Get up to a decent speed. Can you play 2 notes on A and 2 notes on B at this speed over and over? Fall apart? 1 note on A and one note on B at this speed? Completely fall apart? Remember, you're staying on 16th notes the whole time. Really freak out your hand and displace all this process by a 16th note (delay your picking by a 1/4 beat and lead with ups instead of downs. If you truly are in control of your hands, it's no big whoop to do... You can do anything if you slow it down enough.... Another thing to check on your picking... Odd against even and even against odd Pick over and over an odd-numbered pattern of notes with 8ths (2 notes per beat) or 16ths ( 4 notes per beat). For example pick 3rd fret, 2nd fret, then open on any string. Three notes in the pattern. Play it with 16th notes over and over... Dizzying? Your speed should not plummet in comparison to just picking one note over and over. Get it to happen. Make a 2 or 4 note pattern and play it with triplets (3 notes per beat) over and over... Slow and accurate practice will get you there... [This message has been edited by mapletrees (edited 02-10-2001).]
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#7
02-13-2001, 11:42 AM
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Mapletrees, I think you're on target here regarding pick angle to the string and speed.
Tuck Andress has practically written a dissertation on pick angle. However, it's difficult to determine the right pick angle and if you are using the right pick angle. I'm a classical player and my teacher spent a lot of time insuring my fingers and hand was placed correctly over the strings to insure the best tone and most relaxed position. One thing I found helpful in classical playing is what's called speed bursts. You pluck one string at a fairly slow speed, then for a brief moment, double or triple the speed. If you keep doing this over and over, after a while, the speed increases on its own. Thanks again, for an informative post.
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#8
02-13-2001, 12:18 PM
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Speed bursts are definitely effective - I was waiting for someone to reply that they had hit a wall!
Are you referring to any Tuck Andress instructional material in particular?
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#9
02-13-2001, 06:32 PM
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Are you referring to any Tuck Andress instructional material in particular?[/B][/QUOTE]
I believe he has an extensive discussion of pick angle to strings on his website. He has evidently spent a lot of time analyzing this, and his comments are worth reading. However, I'm not sure how much one can learn about this without a good teacher watching you play. I know I went through several guitar teachers until I found one who was willing to watch me play and show me how to correct basic right hand problems.
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#10
02-13-2001, 09:01 PM
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Goodness! He does have a lot to say on the matter.
I don't get his description of George Benson's technique at all !?!?!?!?!?!? Do you? I can't seem to find one clear picture of G.B. actually playing on the internet. Ugh. I'm very curious.
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#12
02-14-2001, 01:09 PM
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Digging around I discovered there was a George Benson special on PBS this last December....grrrrrr......
I never like it when I go back and read something I've written and it comes across as "know it all-ish." Obviously, it you read that Tuck Andress dissertation (pretty accurate description!), there a lots of views on picking. And by the way, I am definitely not a player on his level - not even close - I suppose that goes without saying for everyone except a very few people on the planet, of course. When I point out to someone that they have a problem with their basic ability to pick, they usually with some experimentation on their own find some substantially improved way of playing and picking up their speed. It never really looks like the way I do it and that's fine. By the way, I'm sure some out there might think all this "jibber jabber" about something as "simple" as picking is a bunch of goofiness. From my experience, and from what I see from other people who are frustrated, it's not. If someone has a major deficiency in some fundamental area of playing, then even the slightest improvement in that area will bring about a HUGE improvement in their playing. When I first realized I couldn't pick well, I was horrified to find out how quickly good players (even those who aren't known for fast playing) can pick. I just was nowhere close. Probably about half the way there...that just doesn't cut it. Such problems don't allow you to play what your head is hearing. I'm too tired today...I can't remember where I was going with this.......
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#13
11-10-2001, 12:57 PM
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Mapletrees,
You are right, sir. There are some basic technical aspects which MUST be accomplished AND surmounted before we can play guitar beyond an intermediate level. And you are right on. Picking techniques are paramount. (And as you know, so are left and right hand positions, and "fingering" techniques). But "Intermediate is OK". I would like to respectfully add, that sadly enough, there are people (bless their hearts) who have almost no sense of timing, and almost no Eye-Hand coordination. I've taught them. I feel for them. They can improve to a degree. They CAN work at it, and can be inspired by a proper instructor to strive. Practice. Practice. Practice. But it can not get to the level where it becomes obsessive and looses it's fun. That happened to me. That is also a fine line for an instructor to walk. We all fall into that category, but to differing degrees. I may be at a higher level, but my body techniques will NEVER get me to the level of any world class solo player. I have to accept that. Sometimes, our limitations have to worked with and even explained to us. Maybe there is a work around, maybe not. It's hard sometimes to see your own, or point out another's stopping point... -grm
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#14
11-10-2001, 03:10 PM
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My toughest problem regarding this is right hand string memory. I have improved upon this by practicing blues scales over and over, but I still run into problems staying smooth, when I have to jump from the high E to the A to the B and back up to low E for example. What is the best way to improve upon right hand string memory so that I can concentrate more on left hand finger position and tempo, instead of worrying about picking the correct string?
Shea
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#15
11-10-2001, 10:09 PM
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Shea...good heavens...don't tell me you read through all that up there...(someone out there tell me how to get those darn little faces within the text....I've tried hitting them with a hammer and they don't budge a bit ...I'm stumped)
In what context are we talking about when you say you're having trouble getting the pick to the right string...is it something such as doing a bluesy bass line or rhythm riff sort of thing and then sticking some high string lead stuff in between?...back and forth...back and forth... gmccall... I agree with you about the obsessiveness, fun, 'intermediate is ok'..etc... honestly...I know the above for many looks like much ado about nothing... there's a post going on called Overcoming Playing Discouragement or something to that effect that I am always getting distracted from and mean to get back to... my frustration was not to become 'world class' or 'better than him' or 'the best in this town' or 'faster than him', or 'know more licks than that guy' or anything remotely of the sort.. and actually...to go back a step...a huge part of my frustration while trying to 'get good' on the guitar was ....well...trying to figure out what the heck 'getting good on the guitar' meant... I'd sit there playing and realize ...."no, I'm not having fun here" uh oh...Mrs Trees distracting me...well, not uh oh...(smile face....if I could put a smile face there I'd put a smile face there) organizing...organizing...this is not done 1)"hey...I'm not making music...I'm not MAKING music...wouldn't matter if it was an accordion...I'm not making music.. 2) what 1) does not imply... 2a) ? 3) casio keyboards 3a) I'll remember 4) Leeann Tweeden (Steven...my Dell friend) 4a) oh, whoops, you're a young male and not married...I just got a wedgie from Mrs Trees 5) your dog is cute 6) Sarah? ok, ok, there is organization there...I'm sure the sun will come up tomorrow and I'll finish this.... and hey...my neighbor (steven) just showed me a couple of ...no ... three really basic fingerstyle books his mom just got for him...cool...I think everyone should have this Christmas fingerstyle book...and I'm not even a Christian...Christmas tunes rule... 1) guitar shops... 2) ones you will teach 3) Drunk As a Skunk in Missoula Tonight and I Got Useless in Eustis With Lucy McGraw aren't going to score you many points.. 4) arranging for fingerstyle... smile...little smile face there... cabbage?
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