Best Way to Alternate Pick - Jimmy Brown's Secrets to Picking Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 14 мар 2015
- These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the April 2015 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store:
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I used to do a lot of things the hard way.
As a young man studying jazz guitar in college, I went through a period of several years during which I was obsessed with alternate (down-up) picking and being able to “muscle through” the most difficult patterns and shapes with the goal of attaining technical virtuosity.
To that end, I would spend long, lonely hours, seven days a week, dedicated to practicing every conceivable scale and arpeggio I learned, drilling on every possible fingering shape and melodic interval pattern and repeating each exercise in all 12 keys. Then I would do it all over again, starting on an upstroke!
Much of this practice time spent in the prime years of my life turned out to be a big waste of effort. While the campaign was beneficial for learning the fretboard, the technical benefit was ultimately disappointing. I did all this picking-practice drudgery with the hope and expectation that one day I would wake up, pick up my guitar and be able to fluently rip through any melodic pattern like a chainsaw.
It never really happened. Instead, my picking hand became chronically fatigued and sore. I’m fortunate to have not developed tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome during this period! The fact that I had always been athletic and had good circulation probably helped my hands cope with the repetitive stress I was subjecting them to on a daily basis and saved them from ruin.
My touch and feel, which I was so proud of as an unschooled, hard-rocking teenager, became rather stilted and mechanical sounding. I’d go to play some real music but, because my chops were worn-out from doing battle with difficult exercises all morning, my playing would sound tired and lifeless, and, even worse, I would sometimes, when jamming with a drummer, inadvertantly “turn the time around”-slowing down or speeding up to the point where the downbeats and upbeats are reversed. It was unfair and maddening! 
Развлечения
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Cool insights. You can see the emotional pain on Jimmy's face speaking of the disappointment and discomfort of his toils not panning out exactly as planned. However today the man can play and convey!
+Joe Mauro Not typically J.M.. Thanks for asking and contributing to my day though..
This is the first time that the beginning of a youtube video changed my life. So glad I didn't skip it he made some very interesting points.
One of the best lessons I've ever seen, short presentations of vocal and musical exchanged to make it clear and focused. I have been playing for 35+ years stuck in "boxes" with my own way of getting out and watching more and more techniques on how others have done it. This one was one of the best I've seen
Jimmy's advice is just as good as the technical lesson itself. I always enjoy it. =)
Thanks Jimmy for the insight , your lesson was the only reason I bought this issue of Guitar World mag !
I have every Guitar World Issue from the last 3 years or so and Jimmy Brown's lessons are my favorite!!
This guy's a great teacher!
Great lesson and insights!
Great lesson. Love the SG.
I understand what your doing and it makes sense. Thank you for the video.
Great lesson! Thanks a lot!
Jimmy is a great guy and a monster player. Excellent lesson, Jimmy. I hope all is well.
Clever. Work smarter as well as harder. Thanks for sharing your personal story as well.
Awesome ideas for a beginner like myself. big time thank you for this.
I love this guitar!
Fantastic lesson 👍💯🎸
This guy's advice is gold
TROY GRADY was the difference for me.
yeah i've been practising the Yngwie technique for around a year, it's really starting to come together, with not a lot of practice to be honest. i just do it for a few mins for fun whenever i have the guitar in my hand
+Mox_au practise michael angelo's
A lot of people say the same thing, myself included. Getting Yngwie's even and odd # of notes per string approach down was really key for me.
Troy Grady clarified an important mechanical problem of string obstruction when crossing strings. But his pick slanting approach that changes the plane of picking hand motion from one that is parallel to the strings to one of an oblique angle picking down and then up and away from the string obstruction adds some small distance that the picking hand travels which, though obviously workable, is uncessary. An idea of pick slanting that only slightly tilts the pick up in the direction of pick travel enough that is sufficient to clear string obstruction is as effective, but also more efficient by letting the picking hand continue to move along a plane parallel to the strings.
Yes..But. you lose percussive quality with too much tilt...this technique is awesome , with least resistance, and more robust sound. Looks pretty friggin cool. Rock on Guitar Masters of your unicorn...And as far as the Strings Needing clipped..HOLY CRAP O.C.D. ..No vibe at all , just ego, control b. s. ..cause ..."THE BIGGER THE CUSHION , ..."rofl . This dude had sick knowledge. And you few cheese fart on it about strings needing trimmed .
great tips!
thanks Great video. explains alot
love you man
I tend to find inside to be a bit faster than outside at times. I think the important thing is to get good alternate, whether inside or out, but don't kill your wrists with it, and then when you are solid with that, start learning economy, hybrid, and sweep picking.
I'll leave your strings alone. I really appreciated this lesson. You're the first guitarist who seems to understand the alt picking dilemma and then offer a solution to it, thanks. I too have become somewhat obsessed work practice but knowing at my age I'll probably never get "there." But you know what life's a journey, not a destination. My playing is here and now, and I love playing the damn thing. It makes a place in my soul, wow, life's worth living
Hey man, person who suffered YEARS of the alternate picking dilemma here. Do yourself a favor and check out Troy Grady on RUclips. Dude is seriously changing the game of learning picking on the guitar. The approach taught here is just one of many and Troy Grady has basically found a way to teach them all. Sure helped me! Best of luck to you! Cheers!
pretty cool food for thought.
Good-to-know stuff! What are we looking at guitar-wise, here? Is that a '70s SG?
09:02 that's EXACTLY my problem right now, going from final upstroke on one string to downstroke on next, lower (lighter) string. There's this part on the solo of Extreme's Warheads solo, it's a complete alternate picking run from E to E strings. It's a pain to pull it off correctly. I don't know if I should keep practicing or just play it with economy picking, which I can do very well.
Nice effect on the vocal mic, is that a flanger ; )
Can I just tell that if M Brown is struggling with the descending 3 notes per string, is just because he 's an downward "pickslanter". I was an upward and I was struggling most with this ascending 3 notes per string. And then I discovered the power of the fusion of the Sarod and Scalpel picking (John Mclaughin, Buckethead, and Meola these days). M Brown has a good scalpel picking but he is grabbing the pic with too much thumb out. So the Sarod picking is impossible. The Sarod brings you the two way picslanting and the scalpel resolves the strings skipping issue. The fusion of two is the key of the ultra high speed with maximum clarity. The Jedi's picking technique. No it's from India, that's it :)
And the best is this technique is effortless...so good bye fatigue and tendinitis. :)
instead of learning all these turn around just for a single thing i.e changing strings i would suggest just learn efficient string changing which can be easily done if u ponder on it from time to time when not playing. Visualizing will help. every great fast virtuoso picker came to different solutions subconsciously. the solution i came to was by only trying to make my hand comfortable while trying to play and change strings faster and it was anti gravity picking which i found out was named later.
i find that the inside/outside problem is less of an issue when you use a more "malmsteen" style of thumb and forefinger pick movement. then your wrist and forearm can handle the string transitions. i basically practiced the same way he describes at the beginning with pretty similar results, much later my picking just sort of evolved into the "malmsteen" style. the smaller movements work really well for fast and intricate picking sequences, since the pick movement has no real inertia, and it wont really matter if you are inside or out of the strings.
Malmsteen uses wrist movement as well in a circular manner. "Watch his Rolex" (Grady, 2014)
Now how about a lesson on using wire cutters on those string ends?
I like the look of a well clipped string, but have you ever poked a string into the end of your index finger to where it bled and then it hurts to play? There is an invention to be made here . . . something tiny that clamps on the end of cut strings.
let's trade pics of toenails
@@THUNDERWORX needlenose pliers and bend the end down towards the headstock.
That G-major scale can be played differently as well. You can merge two adjacent positions so that there are always 3 notes per string. In the shape that you played one string would only have two notes on it. You can pick two of those notes and hammer the 2nd or 3rd. If you want to machinegun that stuff then you should be doing economy picking going up at least. It's way harder to play 'economy picking coming down' but it's a natural for pull off.
Picking hand speed, ok. How do you get your fretting fingers to also run the notes clearly at the speed of a humming bird also crossing strings as in the C scale around the 4:30 time code?
Using even numbers on each string instead of 3 nps will result in the picking sequence not to flip--->starting on a downstroke, you will always change strings after an upstroke. Keeping a downwoard pickslant the picking gets esasier. Harder for the left hand though. Watch Troy Gradys Cracking the Code for an in depth picking analysis.
A lot of guys became technically good robots.
I remember when I went from being a self-taught hack to embracing "proper technique" via youtube shred lessons, among other things (I use "shred" in the broadest sense).
My playing - the *musicality* - suffered. I realised that I was doing it the dumb way. It's better to play *music* with *musicians* than it is to turn your axe into a treadmill.
I like this dude, he has a good attitude and I bet what he plays is *interesting to listen to*
lesson starts at 3:42
thank you :D
That's not true, the lesson starts when the man starts talking!
You should listen to the insights of experienced musicians.
@@DerEchteBold its an internet meme to say when the content starts in a comment.. dont be so uptight
@@sgm482
I was saying that it's *not* at this timestamp when the content starts, the lesson is pretty much the whole thing.
There may be lots of videos where the talking is rather pointless ...not here.
Don't be such an inattentive kid ; )
btw, for a 20 minute lesson video, 3-4 minutes of explaining the approach really isn't too much, if you don't want to hear how he got his insights and such, maybe the lesson isn't for you altogether, there are loads of short, strictly focused ones around nowadays.
finding alternate patterns to align outside picking is fine but its also about pick slanting switching strings after upstroke notice his upward and sideways pickslant in descending
+Duke Duke (TheDuke) stop stealing troy gradys teaching u sneaky little bitch
nothing wrong with being informative XD
Duke Duke if your passing it off as your own knowledge then i disagree strongly
stop being unnecessarily stupid internet troll
how to have proper synch of right and left hand....specially when u have descending fast lick...pls help
Picking slowly your thumb and first finger move the pick independently of the wrist but your fast picking is from the wrist?
When i play Flight of the bumlebee I have big problem with right hand, IT HURTS A LOT!!!
I try to change few picks, but still hurt. So, I have a problem with picking and I not know what to do???????????
Curious, shouldn't down/up picking be rhythm based? Do you typically start with an up on the downbeat?
No it's not rhythm based.. nothing is set in stone, you can pick how you want buddy! Some licks i will start on an upstroke on the downbeat because it flows better sometimes
Just realized that was a 6 year old comment:(
@@brendonjackson9461 No worries, I’m still around 😁🎸👍
Scale-mongers are usually the most uninspiring musicians although one should know the basics and practice. Besides, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. People eat drive fuck and shit differently. Great video
Thanks for the tips Jim, but I have to tell you that that wiggling thumb is a major cause of drama for guitarists everywhere. In my experience, the thumb shape should always remain stable and the only movement should be at the wrist. Just my 3 cents worth. Cheers.
Wait so is "outside the strings" playing the same as "economy picking", where if you're going up to the next string (or string skip) like G to B and you just downstroked you follow through with the downstroke to the next string and downpick that first note? So if 3 notes/string its D U D(follow thru with stroke to next string) D U D ...etc. its less movement and I can play way faster, tho sometimes it lands you in an odd stroke and you have to kind of reset. Anyone know what I mean?
Justin S I think I do. I lived with the impression that I'm speedpicking for a while now but I was economy picking or using inside picking how you want to call it... I know it can make you go faster on some licks but damn... I guess outside picking is for this type of shred... I personally had to teach myself basically to do outside picking because every lick that I played came naturally using economy picking... how bout you? are you having the same problem? how'd you fix it?
MadBurner1 Knowledge of pick slanting will give you the correct method for outside & inside picking. Check out Cracking the Code By Troy Grady here on YT. When you get it you'll see that inside & outside are exactly the same thing. The only difference is the angle the pick is slanted at but if you can do one you'll be able to do the other. I can't speak highly enough about Troy Grady. He really has made it clear for the first time in history.
Justin S You're talking about sweep picking. Outside picking is the exact opposite of what you're describing.
I don´t think that the inside and outside thing is so important. The secret to great picking is pickslanting. Watch the cacking the code by Troy Grady!
Troy had discovered the secrets!
Use all of the information at our disposal. Yes, Troy Grady's Cracking The Code is a PHENOMENAL tool for us (and it's VERY informative while being entertaining).
***** The entire season? What about season 2? And you didn't get anything from it? To each his/her own.
***** He just showed things and physical details that other 'lessons' never dreamed about. And he can PLAY what the masters played without copy their economical approach (think YJM). DiMeola is a example of picking mastery without concerns about economy of movement, by the way.
***** Please watch it again mate. All the info is in there. You'll be glad you did.
I think the key to alternate picking is 1) having an optimal picking angle, and 2) minimizing all movement. Lets assume we all know how to hold the pick correctly by now. That's basic. Now, if your pick angle is parallel with the strings, you won't be able to pick as fast. I don't how to explain it, but it's just slower and harder to skip strings faster. If your pick angle is closer to being perpendicular with the strings, then you have the same problem and you can't be as accurate. So, you need like a 45 degree angle with the strings. Next, you should be moving the pick, wrist, and hand as little as possible. I think this is just obvious. More movement = less speed. We're not strumming here. I don't think alternate picking has to be any more complicated than this.
What Gibson SG is that?
I think it's a TV special
This guy speaks the truth. I became obsessed with being as fast as I could and it literally sucked the style right out of me. My once flavored bends that were mixed with pentatonic runs were gone and it was all about speed. It's like Cocaine, it sucks. It took a while to learn that its not always all about speed. its about playing with feeling along with short bursts of lightning !
Why do you call that cheating ? This looks innovative. If I had the time I would start rethinking the way I have always played certain licks.
insightful and honest but thoroughly demotivating
No! It should free you up. Imagine a world in which all musicians made all the same moves, followed the same methods, and just focused on becoming flashy & fast.
No Gilmour. No Hendrix. No Page. To name just 3.
Come to think of it...we may be suffering from that problem right now.
Matt Gilbert Sadly that is true. But a lot of us want to change that. I want to change that.
Where is the truss rod cover?
Alternate ways of doing things are nice for variety, but you should be able to play quick scales in _any_ position including regular ladder scales too. It just takes practice. A hard pick plus loose strings and a couple of hours doing nothing but alternate picking every day for a year, and you'll be able to play anything in 64th notes with no effort.
I don't look at descending or ascending on one string vs horizontally as "cheating." In my experience, if I'm good enough to do it one way I'm good enough to do it the other way as well. Anyone who picks you apart for something like that is just jealous because they suck at guitar lol.
Please, does anyone estimate more or less the year of that SG?
vinnie dolly 70s - mid 70s
Congratulations! After watching this video, you have now unlocked: *Big Brain*
Soolii play
Wasn't this also in the Guitar World issue,"Zakk Wyldes Boot Camp"? ...you know? When people used to read magazines! haha!
0 to 3:44......................"...."...
Actual lesson starts @ 3:45,
2 words TROY GRADY! go look him up now!!!!
Master Exploder your loss
+Jack Reilly he is absolutely awesome.
Дмитрий Азнауров we know my friend we know!
+Master Exploder He's right. Troy Grady is the God of alternate picking mechanics
+Master Exploder that's wrong way to prove things.
paul gilbert does this type of runz!
Man I wish I had the time to watch this whole video right now. But unfortunately SOME people don't "Pay me to watch videos".
Life is so unfair. I'll catch the rest later.
But one thing I did notice is while you're picking slow, you tend to work your finger and thumb together like a "Weaving" pattern. Almost like someone would when they write. But when you speed up, it looks like your finger and thumb lock in place and the up and down movement gets transfered to the wrist or forearm.
At least thats what I think I see.
I do the same thing. I've been kinda trying the alternate picking after years of falling into bad habits which I am now trying to overcome. But I find myself stuck on the high side of slow. Its like weaving the pic with my fingers is 1st gear and locking my fingers and using my wrist is 3rd gear. I'm missing the transformation of 2nd gear. 1st and 3rd are two different motions that are totally unrelated. So what I learn slowly is a completely different technique than what happens when I speed up. Where the hell is 2nd gear?
Im just wondering if thats something you had to deal with. If it is, how did you deal with it. Wheres that missing link between slow and fast? And how is it conquered?
Hopefully I'm coming through clearly.
But unfortunately, I also don't get paid for leaving comments either.
Great lesson so far. You seem like a cool guy.
You are "stringhopping". Just watch the Troy Grady stuff.
" Be like water " Bruce Lee*
+Mr Grimm lol
Michaelangelo batio showing me the right way to pick
wow wish I would have saw this a couple years ago I got tendinitis from metal and cant really play at all anymore my arm is just destroyed.
Stop with the drama - A little tendinitis is not "just destroyed". You will need to do things differently but if you are going to be a pro you need to learn how to deal with all kinds of problems so U can still show up on time and play the gig - every time. Or you can play in your bedroom for your stuffed animals. Up to you dude :-)
Tendonitis - spell check , sorry.
Lol, yeah so you're a pro world touring musician then? Hmm? Didn't think so... Fucking trolls.
Why i can't do it??😒😒😒
Interesting how much thumb movement this guy uses to pick, not a common thing to see in alternate picking. Though his thumb stiffens noticeably when he speeds up
讲的挺好的，楼下做广告的什么心态。。(￣▽￣)"，，我觉得这个视频里面讲的很实用。。
bruh, 120 is wack! 160 is the way to go!
True shredders need not friends!!!!
I'm sorry, what?.. I was eyeball raping your guitar..😂
You use way more of your thumb than I do.
Может упражнения и хорошие, но он то сам асинхрон играет).
please press one repeatedly
Theres more to music than playing 16th notes at 200 bpm
The word is full of shredders and it sounds crap even if it is mechaniically perfect.. You ask them to play a song and they cant do it. Noone wants to listen to shred unless its in the middle of a solo im a song. People who shred like malmsteen do so in a musical context.
downward pick slant. My wrist must not be built for that. The sound is horrifying. End of lesson.
So Long story short don't be a robot.play with feeling!! be! ba! beep! beep!! dose not compute!!
the best alternate picking trick is to use economy picking
Terrible right hand. Very sloppy, missing notes, no control, has no idea how to play. Another "how to suck at guitar" tutorial. Videos like this ruin many lives, I fell for those too. Now re-learning to play with wrist only and it makes such a huge difference. I watched Troy Grady a lot once but he also misses one huge component - picking in straight lines. So far I believe that keeping the pick tip at the strings plane and controlling the picking depth . Picking in straight lines shortens travel time allowing to increase frequency and making string changes easy (a.k.a speed) while the low picking depth makes less resistance to keep the pick on that line. At the same time the wrist gives you the mass to pass the string at all cost. The hard part is to practice controlling both of those aspects. That is pretty much sums up one of Anton Oparins interviews, in case you don't speak russian lol. The guy is a beast, like Gilbert level beast.
I've seen his articles over the years, but this is the first time I've ever heard this guy. I have to say that this is horrible. I think a lot of these magazine guys are nothing more than private guitar teachers that hardly ever perform or record.
LOL, this popped in my suggested videos again. It's four years later, and my opinion has not changed. Still sounds like garbage.
cannot believe he talks for nearly 4 minutes before play one note...