So, Ive been trying to work on my alt picking since forever and yet, I'm still not happy with it. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "Holy shit he's amazing and hes been self deprecating" style post, I cant see to get past a barrier of anything above 90 bpm in triplets and that tends to be a well worn pattern using a minor pentatonic shape and then it just sounds like a fast bluesy thing.
So, what Im after is some real life experiences from you lot who have managed to get a speedy, clean picking technique, what types of things you did, songs you looked at, how much wood shedding you did etc to get it on the up. Im not trying to get into a metronome pissing battle but just some practical advice and real life experiences that helped.
Comments
For me, my big thing (I'm still working on mine, I've got some patterns that are shit fast, but some that are very slow - and no more difficult or easy) was picking a lick, and using a tiny bit of the pick to pick. Practice very slow and choose patterns that make sense - watch Paul Gilbert videos, he's not against starting on an up stroke if it makes sense.
And other than that, start slow and increase metronome a couple of bpm at a time. And do it every day until you think the lick sounds shit, cliché and useless. And you'll still need to practice it, every day.
I used to be very good, but I've lost it since working on funk and general rock. Now I'm a bit more hardcore... Well, I suck a bit.
Triplet, 3 note per string patterns are a good place to start, ascending and descending. Chromatics are good, and sound amazing when thrown into a finale of a solo... The main riffs in Technical Difficulties by Paul Gilbert is very good, and boggo e minor. The fingerings and patterns make sense for speed - simple, no weird string crossings.
But also, work on quadruplets. I use a 3 note per string group of 4 pattern than I'm still very slow at, but it means I'm not abusing triplets all the time... When I'm fast, anyway. It's (descending) 11-10-8 on the high e, then 11 on the b. Then start the same pattern one note lower - 10-8 on the e, 11-10 on the b etc. It's actually quite nice, and I've built 2 beats of it ascending into a chorus riff of a song I'm writing.
Lastly, groups of 5. I only know one, but it really sounds great. It's a Tremonti lick pentatonic minor, so 15-12 on the high e, 15-12 b, 14 g, then 15-12 b, 14-12 g, 14 d etc. Very, very cool sounding, quite Eric Johnson.
Actually, one more lastly, the solo from In The Fire by roadrunner United. It's very metal, not sure if that's your thing, but Corey uses some really great sounding ideas.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Satriani has a similar warm up idea that's chordal (well, not pretty to listen to).
@digitalscream is absolutely right, don't do it for hours on end, half hour dedicated to picking licks then a break (or just strumming stuff). When you come back, you'll either need to start over (I often do, so down goes the metronome) or you'll be able to pick up where you left off.
Don't be afraid of slow progress. I also echo the thoughts on picking being useful, but there are plenty of other stuff.
If you listen to zakk Wylde in Suffering Overdue, the solo has this fairly simple pentatonic lick that starts slow and builds up. Bloody impossible to pick everything unless you're him, but it's a nice demo to prove that two note per string ideas can be fast and sound bluesy, too.
6th string: 5,7
5th string: 7,5
4th string: 5,7
3rd string: 7,5
2nd string: 5,7
1st string: 7,5
And then:
1st string 6,8
2nd string: 8,6
3rd string: 6,8
Etc
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
here's one.
6th string
5-6-7-8
then diagonally
string 6-5-4-3
fret 8-7-6-5
3rd string 5-6-7-8
then diagonally
string 3-4-5-6
fret 8-7-6-5
or one from Kirk Hammett/Joe Satriani
using fingers 1/2
trill 12-13
trill 12-14
trill 12-15
using fingers 1/3
trill 12/15
trill 12/16
trill 12/17 (if you can)
using fingers 1/4
trill 12/16
trill 12/17
trill 12/18
5 mins total on this in one go.
when it's fairly comfortable starting at the 12th fret, move down to the 11th, 10th etc
See how far you can get, obviously if the longest trill hurts stops doing it.
If you can find it, Kirk Hammetts book of exercises (from his Guitar World column) is well worth getting, as are the Troy Stetina series of books.
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Yeah.
I forgot to say you can go either way with them.
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Ah, nice to see the 10-hour workout being aired again. Here's the original magazine article, with Steve's footnotes. The 30 hour workout has more stuff in it obviously and I think you have to refuse to eat for longer, but all the good 10-hour exercises are in here.
http://picksnlicks.com/Guitar%20Lessons/Exercises/30_hr_workout/30_hr_workout_1.html#exercises
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
you can simplify it down to a simple pick-hammer-pull, pick-hammer-pull etc and not trill until your fingers are up to it.
When I said 5 mins, start slowly, build up to 5 mins. Don't be afraid to do 1 min. When that's comfortable, move to 2 mins.
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)