wow ... my mind is blown! As an engineer who plays guitar, this is exactly the type of instruction I've been looking for on how to learn the technical skills needed for fast playing! What a great teacher!
steven pomerville As a graduate student majoring in engineering, I really like this lesson! But there is still one problem for this picking style: how could I mute the lower strings. eg. when I’m picking the B string with this angle, my right hand palm could not mute the E, A strings any more, and this leads to lots of noise. How do you fix this?
@@信燕台 you can use palm to mute everything above the string you're fretting. Then, with your fretting hand, have the index finger (more often than not) rest against the strings below the one(s) you are fretting. You then have both avenues, above and below the fretted note, covered. This is perhaps a personal solution but it works for me. Hope it helps and all the best.
@@EvaluateAssimilate but that gets rid of the wrist rotation that allows the string hopping to happen with ease. At 2:20 you can see his palm is touching nothing and is just floating in the air because that way you can have rotation of your wrist. I figured it out when I was playing this poptart lick when I laid my palm on the bridge to mute, it made everything too stiff but when I lifted my wrist so that I can do the actual wrist rotations, it literally changed everything. It's really really weird to play like that but if you practice that style, you're gonna become naturally fast without a doubt. But to get rid of the string noise when playing like that, your best bet is keep practicing on being precise.
@Fire and Ice An analytical mind that thinks in terms of the mechanics of the playing. I know a lot of players who would be turned off by this kind of video, because they don't have that sort of thought process. Different strokes for different folks.
Wow, I never thought that after watching a 20 minute video I would be able to play an Ynwgie Malmsteen lick, and after 12 years of playing I never realized how many little things I was doing wrong. Thank you so much for this video.
@@arizonaguitar8866 but that's why it's so cool. He goes so deep and really gives you a feel for what it was like back then. It's a documentary as much as it is an instructional video. What's the rush. WHY would a 4 minute video be better?
I think I'm gonna cry this is the greatest instruction of technique I've ever seen; I've thought about Yngwie's picking technique for years; thanks a bunch for breaking it down so beautifully
Ben Eller Thanks man! All we're offering is the truth -- nothing more. Stick around and we'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes! (Sorry, couldn't resist. 16k subscribers -- you are a Jedi! The "You Suck" series is fantastic.)
Troy Grady Your video is amazing! As a graduate student majoring in engineering, I really like this lesson! But there is still one problem for this picking style: how could I mute the lower strings. eg. when I’m picking the B string with this angle, my right hand palm could not mute the E, A strings any more, and this leads to lots of noise. How do you fix this?
This was the most incredible video I’ve ever seen when it’s come to guitar. Absolutely insane. Everything was explained perfectly. It’s very rare, those “aha” moments playing the guitar where you feel like you unlocked some secret that changes everything and was hidden away. This video however gave me another one of those experiences.
aaron crosby Thanks! We're always looking for ways to make technical topics as engrossing to watch as they are informative. In this episode, it wasn't too hard, since the subject itself so powerful.
Hi Mr Troy I'm a guitar player with more than two decades working hard on the guitar. You just make me aware of something I've been doing but never make it concious. The way You describe things is both genius and fun. You are a very inteligent man, you apply what scientists do. My gratitude for you is way far from just say thank you. All of my guitar students will see this videos. Your work is priceless, God bless you!
I can't believe i came across this by accident a couple of days ago, this channel is so comprehensive, even before finishing a video i subscribed, nothing comes close to how well the information is relayed, totally refreshing and full of life, the graphics are incredible, absolutely awesome :)
***** Cool, after trying the downward pick-slanting i noticed a dramatic improvement in accuracy but also comfort, although it needs a lot of work, it felt right. Finding the correct picking method has plagued me for years but after viewing this and reading up on what you have prepared for future lessons i think you have the answers i need so i purchased Cracking the Code season 2 today, looking forward to the new lesson :)
Thanks for supporting us! And glad to hear you're already seeing results. We've got a ton more coming down the line and hope to break through the plateau for everyone once and for all.
Thanks man, absolutely, the content for the future season2 eps looks phenomenal. I'm also trying the 2wps as well so I'm really looking forward to the lesson covering that later in the season :)
History will look back on your videos as monumental to guitar technique. You're really doing the guitar world a service by interpreting so many different styles in such a substantial manner.
This vid will be nothing short of life changing for many who happen upon it. The whole time i was watching it i couldn't help thinking "why tf didn't Yngwie explain this stuff in his supposedly instructional video?" Eh, that kinda answers itself. Good on you for sharing the techniques and knowledge that you had to wrestle and fight the guitar in order to discover. Your selflessness here can't really be overstated. Much respect.
Really good job Troy, entertaining and educative, I'm thinking about ordering the second season even though I think I'm a decent picker. Your episodes sum up all my goals over the picking technique about the years and it's great to see about 20 years of study and investigation that well packed in your cracking the code episodes. Thanks for your cool work.
Troy I have never come across a guitar video that has explained the exact scenario, and wall my playing has hit. This is nothing short of a revelation for me, I am now busy transcribing my favorite licks to conform to the downward pick-slanting rules and am now( already within days) seeing a huge leap taking place..... its amazing man. I can't thank you enough, I'm 41 and been playing since 12... THANKS.
The highest praise I can give is that I stumbled across a few of the points you're making by myself, but was never aware of it, never really pushed it, and never linked it to the pick slant - even though I was starting to try some basic double slanting on my own. We were cohorts finding a stone here and there, but you discovered the whole ancient city layout. Kudos.
Your videos are pure gold! I can't believe how much i used to neglect my picking. I could play a lot of shred licks, but none of them were ever consistent and they always seemed to feel really awkward. Everything you demonstrated pretty much changed my picking immediately. I've been working on these techniques for less than a month and I feel like I've made at least a year's worth of progress. Simply amazing stuff. Thank you!
Nice!!! And I think Yngwie may have also been motivated to pick 2 of every 3 notes (at those strategic points) from Uli Roth's (Scorpions) "Sails of Charon" solo, which showcases that approach. AWESOME LESSON maaaan!!!
I didn’t believe the hype for this video series. Ive played for 15 years but never could get past a certain speed and pretty much gave up on shredding so I didnt have very high expectations but after watching these videos and a little bit of practice, Im a totally different player now! Im able to shred solos that I never dreamed of being able to play. Thank you Troy Grady 🙏🏻
Dude. No. Fu**ing way. I've been playing for 30 years and wondered why I still struggle so much with alternate picking across strings. You just made my life complete. Insanely useful. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank you. Top-notch video production as well...outstanding job.
mr Troy, you might have just changed my life as a guitar player. since I've seen the video on pickslanting, my right hand top speed went waaaay higher than before. thank you for sharing the fruit of your hard work with us!
I just realized how entertaining, informative, and inspirational these videos are. It all came to me when my high school started making us do this online crap called COMPASS LEARNING and its like Cracking The Code videos in that they are partly animated but still have instruction from an actual teachers. But the videos on compass learning are completely lame and boring which makes no one want to learn from it especially sense we have a teacher in the classroom. After all that I'm just glad that we have someone who is teaching great material in a fun and interesting way. So thanks a lot Troy Grady I greatly appreciate it!!!
I started playing guitar around the year 2000s, and even when this video was published 14 years later, it really, REALLY helped me understand how to route licks to make the way easier to play. This is really incredible, even today in 2024.
As you stated in another video, some of the elite players aren't elite instructors. Your insight and instruction is amazing and really fills the gap! Thank you.
Been practicing these picking techniques for about 2 months now and I've made an immense amount of progress. Thank you so much for helping me out of my years long rut! Your videos are a god send.
You know, I never got into "shredding". I'm just an old time rocker. I was happy if I could crank out a Jimmy page solo, but a lot of the metal shredding just sounds way over my head and beyond my reach. But I have to say this was a really great eye/ear opener, and totally fun!. I'm only up to part 9, and am totally amazed at how you've demystified all of this so well. I believe you've actually taught me my first official "shred line", and based on harmonic minor no less... VERY KEWL!!! More important, you showed me I could actually play some of this! I know you mention freely improvising, but it has to start somewhere, and having this neatly chunked pattern to start with makes it an actual "do-able" target. What's interesting too is the way time compresses when you're playing compared to listening. After a few hours working on this pattern you finished here at around 5:46, I got it up to around 152, which is quick for me, but still not stellar. But the pattern works so well it didn't seem that impressive to me, till I turned up the distortion and recorded it on my looper pedal. When I came back and listened later after resting, I felt like "Damn!!! Did I actually play THAT??". So thanks man. You're really teaching an old rocker some new tricks! By the way, I have to send you a private email to tell you about the alternative for the angled diagonal picking you describe. Something i came up with several years ago that opened some speed and accuracy doors for me. You surely won't need it, but maybe one of your students will find it works for them.
This is still so much better than all the lazy videos from all the know-nothings, to the guitar coaches of today and all their reaction videos. The best guitar analysing video I've seen still. Thanks!
thanks Troy i own a music school in Shirley NY i have tutored many a great guitarist, you really helped to clear up and document some wonderful teaching techniques i can't wait to round them all up, i want to applaud you and your efforts thank you from jeff denny's Music Station
Wow. I haven't seen a video of yours since I saw that "Now Your Ships Are Burned" solo years ago. At the time I thought, "Damn, this is the only guy who can nail that Yngwie vibe convincingly". Super surprised when I stumbled onto this video last night, and now I'm making my way through the rest of the series. You've done it man. What you're doing here is something that's been absolutely absent and lacking in the rock guitar arena of ongoing education and analysis. This is everything I've needed and wanted as a player since I was a teen. Thank you SO much. I'm sharing this with all of my guitar friends.
Holy mother of frack. This is probably the best instructional video for intermediate and advanced guitarists ever. A great storyline, entertaining and accurate graphics, great examples and so easy to watch and understand. When my friend and I bought the REH tape decades ago, we spent hours analyzing Yngwie's technique just like you, but we never saw the downward angle picking or the patterns ending on upstrokes. Nor did we connect it with pull offs to ensure the upstrokes. Yngwie is a genius for creating these techniques, and you are a genius for discovering what he's been showing us for all this time.
This whole video series is so stellar and well put together and this is by far my favorite so far. I now actually seriously believe I can develop my own guitar superpowers. All thanks to a dude who sat down and spent countless hours analyzing the very fine aspects of how these guys, Malmsteen in particular, play. It's a remarkable video series.
Ya I have to say, I binged the entire series just tonight and it's 5 am now, and let me say, this series is pretty much my life in partial animation and reenactment form. I see this lesson series helping out many people exactly like me, what's funny is that I was born in 1990, and it's still identical. This episode in particular, I never realized that the down-slanted pick was the "keys to the Lamborghini" as MAB would say.. I just did it and never realized it, and so I had no immediate access to it.
Actually the key to the Lamborghini is the upward slanted pick! At least in Mike's case -- he's an upward pickslanter. We'll see this in Episode 6. But it's true, pickslanting has been hiding in plain sight all these years. Thanks for watching!
I know this video has been around for a while, but it is quite possibly the best speed picking instructional video on the Internet. I am 42, I have been playing the guitar since the age of 8 and more seriously since the age of 18. Self-taught until I went for a lesson when I was 21 - and was offered a job teaching the guitar by the teacher the following week. I only had the lesson because I wanted to know how to play faster. I later passed my rock school grade 8, studied music for a while, and most non-guitarists, and many guitarists think I am pretty good guitar player - however, I was put off by seemingly reaching a plateau and unable to improve. Most of my lack of improvement was around lack of progress in gaining speed. Nobody seemed to be able to teach speed. I got back in to playing again seriously this year, and with the benefit of RUclips, I have increased my picking speed so I can play practiced licks beyond 16th notes at 120bpm, comfortably, rather than at at a struggle, but last night, I watched this video, and just now, I made a little adjustment to my pick, and played a circular lick, and using chunking and holding my pick at an angle described in this video, it came together with ease. I haven't had the chance to try this around many patterns yet, but I could instantly see that with only a slight adjustment of my right hand picking technique, I was playing at speed with ease. A kind of eureka moment. Of course I have subscribed, as I really like your analytical approach to teaching. It helped me, an experienced musician who wanted to play faster - it may not be for everyone, as your approach requires attention to detail, but it worked for me, so I am sure it will help countless guitarists on their journeys. Keep it up!
Troy!! i cant thankyou enough for how much your teachings have helped me, i didnt fully understand what you meant by up and downward pick slanting, but now i do and literally with in an hour my picking improved drastically! it really works! i owe you man!
Troy I just have watched like 4 of your videos and I have learnt so much in 1 and a half hour, more than in my 10 years of playing the guitar, thanks for existing, thanks for being so meticulous and dedicated to do this
Finally someone who is able te decipher Yngwie's licks. I think I destroyed the rewind button of my VHS at the the time, but couldn't figure it out. This is awesome, thanks a million...
The best guitar instructional video I have seen by far. Incredible. Even more unbelievable was that this was made in 2014 ! Thank you very much for the hard work and hope you are still making videos. Subscribing, liking and sharing this video.
Troy. .....so awesome. Way to go deeper than any instructor I have come across. Kudos for uncanny insight, unparalleled creativity, and a killer sense of humor in your lessons. Bravo. .....
+Troy Grady When practicing several hours things like this come to you almost subconsciously. Then when you ask a player how are you playing so fast they simply don't know! Would you agree with me here?
Michael Williams Not for me. I've always had to super analyze my technique and pay attention to it always or I fall back into bad habits. If you got a good start with technique I'm sure your opinion would most definitely apply.
+ApolloSol I use Economy Picking. When going from Low E to High E start on a downstroke. 357 357 457 457 568 568 - DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD This gets you ready for the next string. When going from High E to Low E start on a upstroke. 865 865 754 754 753 753 - UDU UDU UDU UDU UDU UDU This gets you ready for the next string. See it? I think he means use the pick stroke to get ready for next string!
Michael Williams Hmm. You know what, I always thought of it as like 'you only need to learn one of the two. Alternate or Economy' But lots recommend them both as important. Maybe this is a situation where they are. Use one for certain conditions and the rest with the other technique. I'm going to give it a try. Thx. :)
the best lesson i've seen in i don't even know how long maybe ever... The visuals, especially in the beginning are so clear and helpful it's insane. Thank you so much for the video.
Fantastic - thanks! Adam on our team did those initial animations and really, they're the best way we could think of to represent the pickslanting concepts. Glad to hear the concepts are getting across.
Jeffery Lord Yngwie could never break down and explain his playing like Troy can. He is a master teacher and a clearly masterful musician. And you can be born with talent, but to play like Troy, you have to have the Kobe Bryant mentality. Troy has clearly put in SO much work to play like that. I can’t get enough of his vids.
Amazing. Thanks for this and all of your other videos, Troy! It's crazy how much you don't realize when you're playing. This helped with my picking a TON in just the 20 minutes I was playing and watching the video. Keep it up man!
Hey everyone! Did you know that Troy Grady attended YALE? He did. He attended YALE. If you pause the video at 0:40 and look closely, you may notice a YALE banner hidden discreetly in the background. It's hard to see but it's there.
This video is NOT dramatic. If you're a beginner/amateur please do not dislike this video just because you havent been able to understand it. Hopefully, in a few months/years, you'll be coming across this video again as you explore RUclips to find answers about picking. The sooner, the better. Troy, I owe you man!!!
4:07 I literally said "oh s**t" the same time you did, thank you @troygrady you really made it clear for me. The coin finally dropped for me thank you so much!
This video is so groove this guitar teacher did not even know about the little difference this makes. He told me down up on the e string but it leaves your pick on the top of the e string and not near the a string. Great awesome video
Woah. I play guitar for about a year now, some weeks ago I learnt the first solo. It took me incredibly long to link to specific bars, and I just didn't get why. I changed the way I play it now to apply what is explained in the video. Bam. Thank you!
Like many others, I just stumbled across this lesson through other links. I then spent about 10 minutes typing up the longest comment in RUclips history, and then deleted it. I'll just say - thank you so much for putting obvious effort into producing a high-quality instructional video and then giving it away for free. The information was immediately applicable and gave me a EUREKA!! moment. SO happy right now. I'm going directly to your site to get a season pass and binge watch the rest of the lessons (don't worry, I'll take the appropriate amount of time to practice each one, I'm just too excited to hold off on watching). Thanks again for your generosity. Hmmmmm...still wordy. Oh well.
Dude...you are my hero man....I am in the same boat as you were when u learned this stuff. I am a self taught guitarist as well....noone talks about holding the pick like this and how much difference it makes. thanks man!!!
This is the best instructional series I have ever seen. This lesson in particular improved my playing so much I can´t believe it. You sir, are an amazing player and a great host for this entertaining series! I wish I had found this earlier. Greetings from Argentina!
Thanks for the warning... I hadn't played my guitar in quite a while so I forgot that I could already play this fast (until I got my guitar in my hands) and was sitting here impressed with the presentation... I just picked up my guitar and shredded around a bit and then remembered to look up this video... It seems like way too much thinking and overanalyzing- particularly if you can already play fast. Thanks for the warning- I don't want to screw up what I've been doing already for 15 years! I have enjoyed and been very impressed with the quality of the videos due to the production/graphics, and the cool guy presenting it. It is very well done! It seems to me that I don't have these string-skipping/ "trapped pick" problems because I don't dig in to the string so deeply with the pick- I just glance off the top of the string- so it doesn't matter which direction I skip over to the next string- because my pick is never trapped in the first place.
I just now watched episode 10. After cleaning out my shorts I came to the full realization that I can't play that fast. I will be grabbing my guitar and watching the entire series tomorrow! :D
I'm so happy to see that I'm wasn't the only guy who wore out VCR's with all my pausing and rewinding! Seeing those scenes took me back!I love these videos and their attention to detail packaged in a very entertaining way. I've been a guitar instructor for over 20 years now, and I still take notes from these videos and suggest them to students and friends. You have done great work Troy! And the Richard Marx shirt!!
I rarely post comments for anything. But this video series is a revelation. Particularly the observation that theses speedsters are setting themselves up for success by being choosy with their patterns in regards to how they move to the next string. I had always assumed that the reason I crashed and burned was simply the fact that my hands weren't like the giant spiders on the ends of these guys' arms, at that they somehow possessed a picking gene that I didn't. So for the past two days I've been practicing patterns which change strings when my pick stroke is in the correct direction. That single idea has unlocked speed and accuracy I didn't know I had. And by the way, your videos are hugely entertaining. I appreciate the humor and production value.
Mark Van Hoeven Indeed, one of the things you realize is that the idea that certain players can play anything effortlessly is a bit of a fantasy. Even among players who do have solutions for pure 3nps alternate picking, those guys would probably still have trouble doing the Yngwie stuff, ironically, because it's *not* done that way. Picking technique is always about choosing your battles. Glad you're enjoying the show, and thanks for watching!
I found this very interesting as an analysis of one's style. But the way the analysis is conducted makes it look like this is the only way that works. There are more mechanics that produce the same result. I use a lot of wrist motion with almost no angle on the pick, but I get similar results and I can play a shit load of Yngwie's music. Still, this is a very interesting video and I definitely will be checking it out again.
You sir, should be a very rich man with millions of subscribers. Awesome series. Thank you so much!! I can't even shred at all and this has blown me away and given me the motivation to start the process!! GO TROY you fucking legend.
Dude, the quality of these videos (as in totally amazing) and the length to which I relate had me laugh hysterically and I can't be more grateful. Thank you so so fucking much for this. Superb in every way. Season 1 had me in stitches and the Casio sampling is now known (albeit Troy took it to extremes lol!). Please keep on keeping on as you are such a great dude. thank you again sincerely. And I mean that as I've seen how you deal with your fans which is truly appreciated. Gratitude brother.
I have spent most of a day watching this series (between bouts of real life) and am still hooked! Such a well made bunch of videos and actually helpful and memorable!
In 20 minutes, downward pickslanting has solved the problem I've been working on for 3 years. This is a priceless lesson for players who know all the scales and arpeggios but can tell that something just isn't right with their choppy rhythms.
"Did I just play that?" I love that feeling.
Right on.
Can't wait to get that feeling!
@@troygrady what guitar did you play in that scene
Amen
Heck yeah !
This took a lot of dedication and effort to document a clip like this. You should win an award for this.
Best internet guitar documentary? I don't know if they'll be making that one any time soon. But thank you!
@Troy Grady What about now🤣🤣🤣
"Cracking the Code" series is one of the best thing that happened to guitar tutorials this decade
You misspelled "century" lol
@@Words-of-encouragement.-. wouldnt the video by malmsteen be more important...
wow ... my mind is blown! As an engineer who plays guitar, this is exactly the type of instruction I've been looking for on how to learn the technical skills needed for fast playing! What a great teacher!
steven pomerville As a graduate student majoring in engineering, I really like this lesson! But there is still one problem for this picking style: how could I mute the lower strings. eg. when I’m picking the B string with this angle, my right hand palm could not mute the E, A strings any more, and this leads to lots of noise. How do you fix this?
With a noise gate, like all fast pickers use.
@@信燕台 you can use palm to mute everything above the string you're fretting. Then, with your fretting hand, have the index finger (more often than not) rest against the strings below the one(s) you are fretting. You then have both avenues, above and below the fretted note, covered. This is perhaps a personal solution but it works for me. Hope it helps and all the best.
@@EvaluateAssimilate but that gets rid of the wrist rotation that allows the string hopping to happen with ease. At 2:20 you can see his palm is touching nothing and is just floating in the air because that way you can have rotation of your wrist. I figured it out when I was playing this poptart lick when I laid my palm on the bridge to mute, it made everything too stiff but when I lifted my wrist so that I can do the actual wrist rotations, it literally changed everything. It's really really weird to play like that but if you practice that style, you're gonna become naturally fast without a doubt. But to get rid of the string noise when playing like that, your best bet is keep practicing on being precise.
@Fire and Ice An analytical mind that thinks in terms of the mechanics of the playing. I know a lot of players who would be turned off by this kind of video, because they don't have that sort of thought process. Different strokes for different folks.
Wow, I never thought that after watching a 20 minute video I would be able to play an Ynwgie Malmsteen lick, and after 12 years of playing I never realized how many little things I was doing wrong. Thank you so much for this video.
This is the best instructional video ever.
stinnetbennet whatq
@@blahbleh6300 You aren't even close to sweep picking I can already tell.
Could have been summed up in about 4 minutes instead of the length of your average tv show.
@@arizonaguitar8866 but that's why it's so cool. He goes so deep and really gives you a feel for what it was like back then. It's a documentary as much as it is an instructional video. What's the rush. WHY would a 4 minute video be better?
This video literally changed my life and made me a happier person. Thanks Troy!
Same
I think I'm gonna cry this is the greatest instruction of technique I've ever seen; I've thought about Yngwie's picking technique for years; thanks a bunch for breaking it down so beautifully
This guy deserves a medal. He explains picking in so much detail. Even Paul Gilbert would be impressed 🤔
Just here to thank you for Cracking The Code. Been playing guitar for a year and I can play Yngwie licks now thanks to this video. Thank you Troy!!
Well goddamn. I make incredible guitar lessons videos, and I found this to be an INCREDIBLE guitar lesson video. Love the animations. Thanks man.
Ben Eller Thanks man! All we're offering is the truth -- nothing more. Stick around and we'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes! (Sorry, couldn't resist. 16k subscribers -- you are a Jedi! The "You Suck" series is fantastic.)
Thank you!
yes you do Ben.... now I am torn LOL
Your vids kick ass too, Ben.
Troy Grady Your video is amazing! As a graduate student majoring in engineering, I really like this lesson! But there is still one problem for this picking style: how could I mute the lower strings. eg. when I’m picking the B string with this angle, my right hand palm could not mute the E, A strings any more, and this leads to lots of noise. How do you fix this?
Troy, you must interview Yngwie and put the guitar-cam on there! I'd also like to see his reaction after you play his lick. This stuff is awesome.
Dude absolute sick video !
This was the most incredible video I’ve ever seen when it’s come to guitar. Absolutely insane. Everything was explained perfectly. It’s very rare, those “aha” moments playing the guitar where you feel like you unlocked some secret that changes everything and was hidden away. This video however gave me another one of those experiences.
Your video production is amazing, It is edited perfectly, the info is entertaining, humouris, educational talanted and accurate. Your a legend!
aaron crosby Thanks! We're always looking for ways to make technical topics as engrossing to watch as they are informative. In this episode, it wasn't too hard, since the subject itself so powerful.
Hi Mr Troy
I'm a guitar player with more than two decades working hard on the guitar. You just make me aware of something I've been doing but never make it concious.
The way You describe things is both genius and fun.
You are a very inteligent man, you apply what scientists do.
My gratitude for you is way far from just say thank you.
All of my guitar students will see this videos.
Your work is priceless, God bless you!
That Alternate picking/ legato hybrid is something John Petrucci uses a FAWK ton.
Oops, thought I was in the general comments!
I can't believe i came across this by accident a couple of days ago, this channel is so comprehensive, even before finishing a video i subscribed, nothing comes close to how well the information is relayed, totally refreshing and full of life, the graphics are incredible, absolutely awesome :)
si dog Thanks man!
***** Cool, after trying the downward pick-slanting i noticed a dramatic improvement in accuracy but also comfort, although it needs a lot of work, it felt right. Finding the correct picking method has plagued me for years but after viewing this and reading up on what you have prepared for future lessons i think you have the answers i need so i purchased Cracking the Code season 2 today, looking forward to the new lesson :)
Thanks for supporting us! And glad to hear you're already seeing results. We've got a ton more coming down the line and hope to break through the plateau for everyone once and for all.
Thanks man, absolutely, the content for the future season2 eps looks phenomenal. I'm also trying the 2wps as well so I'm really looking forward to the lesson covering that later in the season :)
History will look back on your videos as monumental to guitar technique. You're really doing the guitar world a service by interpreting so many different styles in such a substantial manner.
this is the greatest video i have ever seen.
Hahaha I'm almost too amazed with the video editing and the way you visualize things to pay attention to the actual topic. Great work man!
This vid will be nothing short of life changing for many who happen upon it. The whole time i was watching it i couldn't help thinking "why tf didn't Yngwie explain this stuff in his supposedly instructional video?" Eh, that kinda answers itself. Good on you for sharing the techniques and knowledge that you had to wrestle and fight the guitar in order to discover. Your selflessness here can't really be overstated. Much respect.
Really good job Troy, entertaining and educative, I'm thinking about ordering the second season even though I think I'm a decent picker. Your episodes sum up all my goals over the picking technique about the years and it's great to see about 20 years of study and investigation that well packed in your cracking the code episodes. Thanks for your cool work.
ChachiGuitar Glad to hear you're enjoying the show -- thanks for watching!
Los amo Chachis, hasta los maestros se tienen que instruir de vez en cuando. Saludos.
Aquí están los secretos ❤️
Troy I have never come across a guitar video that has explained the exact scenario, and wall my playing has hit. This is nothing short of a revelation for me, I am now busy transcribing my favorite licks to conform to the downward pick-slanting rules and am now( already within days) seeing a huge leap taking place..... its amazing man. I can't thank you enough, I'm 41 and been playing since 12... THANKS.
***** Thanks Chris, that's awesome! Glad we could help :)
The highest praise I can give is that I stumbled across a few of the points you're making by myself, but was never aware of it, never really pushed it, and never linked it to the pick slant - even though I was starting to try some basic double slanting on my own.
We were cohorts finding a stone here and there, but you discovered the whole ancient city layout. Kudos.
Ha, great analogy -- indeed, it's guitarchaeology. Thanks for watching!
Your videos are pure gold! I can't believe how much i used to neglect my picking. I could play a lot of shred licks, but none of them were ever consistent and they always seemed to feel really awkward. Everything you demonstrated pretty much changed my picking immediately. I've been working on these techniques for less than a month and I feel like I've made at least a year's worth of progress. Simply amazing stuff. Thank you!
Nice!!! And I think Yngwie may have also been motivated to pick 2 of every 3 notes (at those strategic points) from Uli Roth's (Scorpions) "Sails of Charon" solo, which showcases that approach. AWESOME LESSON maaaan!!!
I didn’t believe the hype for this video series. Ive played for 15 years but never could get past a certain speed and pretty much gave up on shredding so I didnt have very high expectations but after watching these videos and a little bit of practice, Im a totally different player now! Im able to shred solos that I never dreamed of being able to play. Thank you Troy Grady 🙏🏻
wow, you tube should have a two thumbs (double like :) ) option!!! Troy, this is like watiching the discovery channel for guitar players!!!!
That's exactly what we're shooting for. Thanks for the bump, and thanks for watching!
Dude. No. Fu**ing way. I've been playing for 30 years and wondered why I still struggle so much with alternate picking across strings. You just made my life complete. Insanely useful. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank you. Top-notch video production as well...outstanding job.
Dude with all the passion and hard work you put into your videos, I honor you the Pick of Destiny...although all I have is a Fender medium.
Ha - thanks!
mr Troy, you might have just changed my life as a guitar player. since I've seen the video on pickslanting, my right hand top speed went waaaay higher than before. thank you for sharing the fruit of your hard work with us!
I just realized how entertaining, informative, and inspirational these videos are. It all came to me when my high school started making us do this online crap called COMPASS LEARNING and its like Cracking The Code videos in that they are partly animated but still have instruction from an actual teachers. But the videos on compass learning are completely lame and boring which makes no one want to learn from it especially sense we have a teacher in the classroom. After all that I'm just glad that we have someone who is teaching great material in a fun and interesting way. So thanks a lot Troy Grady I greatly appreciate it!!!
THE MOST AMAZING GUITAR-INSTRUCTION-VIDEO I HAVE EVER SEEN!
I started playing guitar around the year 2000s, and even when this video was published 14 years later, it really, REALLY helped me understand how to route licks to make the way easier to play. This is really incredible, even today in 2024.
As you stated in another video, some of the elite players aren't elite instructors. Your insight and instruction is amazing and really fills the gap! Thank you.
Been practicing these picking techniques for about 2 months now and I've made an immense amount of progress. Thank you so much for helping me out of my years long rut! Your videos are a god send.
You know, I never got into "shredding". I'm just an old time rocker. I was happy if I could crank out a Jimmy page solo, but a lot of the metal shredding just sounds way over my head and beyond my reach. But I have to say this was a really great eye/ear opener, and totally fun!. I'm only up to part 9, and am totally amazed at how you've demystified all of this so well. I believe you've actually taught me my first official "shred line", and based on harmonic minor no less... VERY KEWL!!! More important, you showed me I could actually play some of this! I know you mention freely improvising, but it has to start somewhere, and having this neatly chunked pattern to start with makes it an actual "do-able" target. What's interesting too is the way time compresses when you're playing compared to listening. After a few hours working on this pattern you finished here at around 5:46, I got it up to around 152, which is quick for me, but still not stellar. But the pattern works so well it didn't seem that impressive to me, till I turned up the distortion and recorded it on my looper pedal. When I came back and listened later after resting, I felt like "Damn!!! Did I actually play THAT??". So thanks man. You're really teaching an old rocker some new tricks!
By the way, I have to send you a private email to tell you about the alternative for the angled diagonal picking you describe. Something i came up with several years ago that opened some speed and accuracy doors for me. You surely won't need it, but maybe one of your students will find it works for them.
This is still so much better than all the lazy videos from all the know-nothings, to the guitar coaches of today and all their reaction videos. The best guitar analysing video I've seen still. Thanks!
thanks Troy i own a music school in Shirley NY i have tutored many a great guitarist, you really helped to clear up and document some wonderful teaching techniques i can't wait to round them all up,
i want to applaud you and your efforts thank you from jeff denny's Music Station
Wow. I haven't seen a video of yours since I saw that "Now Your Ships Are Burned" solo years ago. At the time I thought, "Damn, this is the only guy who can nail that Yngwie vibe convincingly". Super surprised when I stumbled onto this video last night, and now I'm making my way through the rest of the series. You've done it man. What you're doing here is something that's been absolutely absent and lacking in the rock guitar arena of ongoing education and analysis. This is everything I've needed and wanted as a player since I was a teen. Thank you SO much. I'm sharing this with all of my guitar friends.
I feel so grateful about this video. It breaks my bottleneck after playing several years.
Holy mother of frack. This is probably the best instructional video for intermediate and advanced guitarists ever. A great storyline, entertaining and accurate graphics, great examples and so easy to watch and understand.
When my friend and I bought the REH tape decades ago, we spent hours analyzing Yngwie's technique just like you, but we never saw the downward angle picking or the patterns ending on upstrokes. Nor did we connect it with pull offs to ensure the upstrokes.
Yngwie is a genius for creating these techniques, and you are a genius for discovering what he's been showing us for all this time.
It is indeed kind of amazing what's been hiding in plain sight all this time isn't it?
rare serious explanation with serious animation .. thanks very much
This whole video series is so stellar and well put together and this is by far my favorite so far. I now actually seriously believe I can develop my own guitar superpowers. All thanks to a dude who sat down and spent countless hours analyzing the very fine aspects of how these guys, Malmsteen in particular, play. It's a remarkable video series.
Ya I have to say, I binged the entire series just tonight and it's 5 am now, and let me say, this series is pretty much my life in partial animation and reenactment form.
I see this lesson series helping out many people exactly like me, what's funny is that I was born in 1990, and it's still identical.
This episode in particular, I never realized that the down-slanted pick was the "keys to the Lamborghini" as MAB would say.. I just did it and never realized it, and so I had no immediate access to it.
Actually the key to the Lamborghini is the upward slanted pick! At least in Mike's case -- he's an upward pickslanter. We'll see this in Episode 6. But it's true, pickslanting has been hiding in plain sight all these years. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for your diligence, great series!.
illuminoid22
Ughhh i hear ya - it's 4:20 am now. Gonna feel like death at work Today (not tomorrow).
How the BGM interacts with content notes is simply AMAZING! this is gotta be the best guitar video on earth!
Thanks!
This is so cheesy it's unbelievable. Fucking Awesome.
I know this video has been around for a while, but it is quite possibly the best speed picking instructional video on the Internet. I am 42, I have been playing the guitar since the age of 8 and more seriously since the age of 18. Self-taught until I went for a lesson when I was 21 - and was offered a job teaching the guitar by the teacher the following week. I only had the lesson because I wanted to know how to play faster. I later passed my rock school grade 8, studied music for a while, and most non-guitarists, and many guitarists think I am pretty good guitar player - however, I was put off by seemingly reaching a plateau and unable to improve. Most of my lack of improvement was around lack of progress in gaining speed. Nobody seemed to be able to teach speed. I got back in to playing again seriously this year, and with the benefit of RUclips, I have increased my picking speed so I can play practiced licks beyond 16th notes at 120bpm, comfortably, rather than at at a struggle, but last night, I watched this video, and just now, I made a little adjustment to my pick, and played a circular lick, and using chunking and holding my pick at an angle described in this video, it came together with ease. I haven't had the chance to try this around many patterns yet, but I could instantly see that with only a slight adjustment of my right hand picking technique, I was playing at speed with ease. A kind of eureka moment. Of course I have subscribed, as I really like your analytical approach to teaching. It helped me, an experienced musician who wanted to play faster - it may not be for everyone, as your approach requires attention to detail, but it worked for me, so I am sure it will help countless guitarists on their journeys. Keep it up!
Wtf.....this is amazing. I said “what the f***” out loud at least 6 times while watching this
Yer a wizard, Grady.
Troy!! i cant thankyou enough for how much your teachings have helped me, i didnt fully understand what you meant by up and downward pick slanting, but now i do and literally with in an hour my picking improved drastically! it really works! i owe you man!
Very cool video!
You are seriously the most underrated guitarist RUclipsr, this series is a masterpiece to say the least.
Watching this episode again makes me realize.....tons of hours of practice WASTED since high school!
It wasnt a waste you idiot.
@Vladimir Putin no u
Troy I just have watched like 4 of your videos and I have learnt so much in 1 and a half hour, more than in my 10 years of playing the guitar, thanks for existing, thanks for being so meticulous and dedicated to do this
+Sebastian Soto Thanks a Sebastian!
Troy, your "cracking the code" series is awesome. But if it's possible can you remind me the song's name that you play on 18:18 of this episode ?
Бро, спустя 6 лет… ты узнал название песни?:D
@@crabi9707 Нет)
@@leo240-p5i 😢
Finally someone who is able te decipher Yngwie's licks. I think I destroyed the rewind button of my VHS at the the time, but couldn't figure it out. This is awesome, thanks a million...
This is my favorite youtube channel.
+Janine Louvel same!
:-) good guitar teaching
The best guitar instructional video I have seen by far. Incredible. Even more unbelievable was that this was made in 2014 ! Thank you very much for the hard work and hope you are still making videos. Subscribing, liking and sharing this video.
best youtube channel ever!!
Troy. .....so awesome. Way to go deeper than any instructor I have come across. Kudos for uncanny insight, unparalleled creativity, and a killer sense of humor in your lessons. Bravo. .....
But what about 3 notes per string ascending / descending licks?
+ApolloSol Coming soon! But not the Yngwie system -- you'll need the Gilbert / Batio approach for this.
+Troy Grady When practicing several hours things like this come to you almost subconsciously.
Then when you ask a player how are you playing so fast they simply don't know!
Would you agree with me here?
Michael Williams Not for me. I've always had to super analyze my technique and pay attention to it always or I fall back into bad habits.
If you got a good start with technique I'm sure your opinion would most definitely apply.
+ApolloSol I use Economy Picking.
When going from Low E to High E start on a downstroke.
357 357 457 457 568 568 - DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD DUD
This gets you ready for the next string.
When going from High E to Low E start on a upstroke.
865 865 754 754 753 753 - UDU UDU UDU UDU UDU UDU
This gets you ready for the next string.
See it?
I think he means use the pick stroke to get ready for next string!
Michael Williams Hmm. You know what, I always thought of it as like 'you only need to learn one of the two. Alternate or Economy'
But lots recommend them both as important. Maybe this is a situation where they are. Use one for certain conditions and the rest with the other technique.
I'm going to give it a try. Thx. :)
the best lesson i've seen in i don't even know how long maybe ever... The visuals, especially in the beginning are so clear and helpful it's insane. Thank you so much for the video.
Fantastic - thanks! Adam on our team did those initial animations and really, they're the best way we could think of to represent the pickslanting concepts. Glad to hear the concepts are getting across.
i would love to hear yngwie respond to this!!!!
Jeffery Lord Yngwie could never break down and explain his playing like Troy can. He is a master teacher and a clearly masterful musician. And you can be born with talent, but to play like Troy, you have to have the Kobe Bryant mentality. Troy has clearly put in SO much work to play like that. I can’t get enough of his vids.
Amazing. Thanks for this and all of your other videos, Troy! It's crazy how much you don't realize when you're playing. This helped with my picking a TON in just the 20 minutes I was playing and watching the video. Keep it up man!
Hey everyone! Did you know that Troy Grady attended YALE? He did. He attended YALE. If you pause the video at 0:40 and look closely, you may notice a YALE banner hidden discreetly in the background. It's hard to see but it's there.
I couldn’t find it. Are you sure?
This video is NOT dramatic.
If you're a beginner/amateur please do not dislike this video just because you havent been able to understand it. Hopefully, in a few months/years, you'll be coming across this video again as you explore RUclips to find answers about picking. The sooner, the better. Troy, I owe you man!!!
Wow this was very very interesting
Just to tell you that you changed my (guitar) life with these videos.
You deserve all the best bro!
4:07 I literally said "oh s**t" the same time you did, thank you @troygrady you really made it clear for me. The coin finally dropped for me thank you so much!
dude you are actually brilliant. but whats with the poptarts..coffee..and above all...Richard marks?
This video is so groove this guitar teacher did not even know about the little difference this makes. He told me down up on the e string but it leaves your pick on the top of the e string and not near the a string. Great awesome video
This feels like it's 3 decades too late, it would have perfect in the 80s
Tell me about it!
the way that gigantic pick elevated itself towards the fractal space to synth tunes and your narration cracked me up
"Patterns with even chunks" yeah... tell that to Michael Romeo 😂
Woah. I play guitar for about a year now, some weeks ago I learnt the first solo. It took me incredibly long to link to specific bars, and I just didn't get why. I changed the way I play it now to apply what is explained in the video. Bam. Thank you!
Rob Scallon sent me here.
Like many others, I just stumbled across this lesson through other links. I then spent about 10 minutes typing up the longest comment in RUclips history, and then deleted it. I'll just say - thank you so much for putting obvious effort into producing a high-quality instructional video and then giving it away for free. The information was immediately applicable and gave me a EUREKA!! moment. SO happy right now. I'm going directly to your site to get a season pass and binge watch the rest of the lessons (don't worry, I'll take the appropriate amount of time to practice each one, I'm just too excited to hold off on watching). Thanks again for your generosity. Hmmmmm...still wordy. Oh well.
who the fuck clicks the unlike button...!!??? this vid is awesome...!!!!
Guitar Monk great ques ... Its moronic - its sub - moronic ...
Matt Broderick in that WW2 army movie from the 80s ...
Dude...you are my hero man....I am in the same boat as you were when u learned this stuff. I am a self taught guitarist as well....noone talks about holding the pick like this and how much difference it makes. thanks man!!!
you look like the starship trooper guy
+Ashley Johansson
He kinda does. I always thought he looked like Soren Bowie.
+Ashley Johansson Casper Van Dien...
😂😂😂
Bryan Adams
he's like a younger more new england winky's workshop
This is the best instructional series I have ever seen. This lesson in particular improved my playing so much I can´t believe it. You sir, are an amazing player and a great host for this entertaining series!
I wish I had found this earlier. Greetings from Argentina!
I TRIED THIS ..AND NOW I PLAY SLOWER...I AM SUING SOMEBODY
you're using wrong pickups...
Thanks for the warning... I hadn't played my guitar in quite a while so I forgot that I could already play this fast (until I got my guitar in my hands) and was sitting here impressed with the presentation... I just picked up my guitar and shredded around a bit and then remembered to look up this video...
It seems like way too much thinking and overanalyzing- particularly if you can already play fast. Thanks for the warning- I don't want to screw up what I've been doing already for 15 years!
I have enjoyed and been very impressed with the quality of the videos due to the production/graphics, and the cool guy presenting it. It is very well done!
It seems to me that I don't have these string-skipping/ "trapped pick" problems because I don't dig in to the string so deeply with the pick- I just glance off the top of the string- so it doesn't matter which direction I skip over to the next string- because my pick is never trapped in the first place.
StratMatt777 wrong
I just now watched episode 10. After cleaning out my shorts I came to the full realization that I can't play that fast. I will be grabbing my guitar and watching the entire series tomorrow! :D
StratMatt777 dont forget to wake up and buy a guitar first!
I'm so happy to see that I'm wasn't the only guy who wore out VCR's with all my pausing and rewinding! Seeing those scenes took me back!I love these videos and their attention to detail packaged in a very entertaining way. I've been a guitar instructor for over 20 years now, and I still take notes from these videos and suggest them to students and friends. You have done great work Troy! And the Richard Marx shirt!!
Richard Marx forever! Thanks for watching.
The riff at 18:20, I can't remember what that's from and it's driving me crazy...any help?
Someone please answer
I rarely post comments for anything. But this video series is a revelation. Particularly the observation that theses speedsters are setting themselves up for success by being choosy with their patterns in regards to how they move to the next string. I had always assumed that the reason I crashed and burned was simply the fact that my hands weren't like the giant spiders on the ends of these guys' arms, at that they somehow possessed a picking gene that I didn't. So for the past two days I've been practicing patterns which change strings when my pick stroke is in the correct direction. That single idea has unlocked speed and accuracy I didn't know I had. And by the way, your videos are hugely entertaining. I appreciate the humor and production value.
Mark Van Hoeven Indeed, one of the things you realize is that the idea that certain players can play anything effortlessly is a bit of a fantasy. Even among players who do have solutions for pure 3nps alternate picking, those guys would probably still have trouble doing the Yngwie stuff, ironically, because it's *not* done that way. Picking technique is always about choosing your battles.
Glad you're enjoying the show, and thanks for watching!
I found this very interesting as an analysis of one's style. But the way the analysis is conducted makes it look like this is the only way that works. There are more mechanics that produce the same result. I use a lot of wrist motion with almost no angle on the pick, but I get similar results and I can play a shit load of Yngwie's music.
Still, this is a very interesting video and I definitely will be checking it out again.
The is the single best analysis on guitar mechanics I ever saw. Brilliant!
you should be a producer and video editor for fox news
TROY I FINALLY GOT IT. I watched this video several months ago and I've been practicing and practicing. I FINALLY got it today. FINALLY! THANK YOU!
If anything, this made it more confusing!
You are one of the most talented and creative RUclips's I've ever seen
This is so over-edited and cheesy, it actually scared me.
I mean I think I might end up crying myself to sleep at night after that...
+Colgate Cavity Patrol
Maybe... but at the same time it's briliiant.
You sir, should be a very rich man with millions of subscribers. Awesome series. Thank you so much!! I can't even shred at all and this has blown me away and given me the motivation to start the process!! GO TROY you fucking legend.
Troy -- have you heard from Yngwie at all? He really should buy you breakfast.
+DonnyOsmosis I agree Kellogg's are an excuse for a breakfast. But that was product placement, right ? :p
Just remember he does not want a doughnut afterwards though.... ;-)
Good call! Have to watch that (Pantera home vid) again,
Dude, the quality of these videos (as in totally amazing) and the length to which I relate had me laugh hysterically and I can't be more grateful. Thank you so so fucking much for this. Superb in every way. Season 1 had me in stitches and the Casio sampling is now known (albeit Troy took it to extremes lol!). Please keep on keeping on as you are such a great dude. thank you again sincerely. And I mean that as I've seen how you deal with your fans which is truly appreciated. Gratitude brother.
If you want a migraine, watch this video...
I have spent most of a day watching this series (between bouts of real life) and am still hooked! Such a well made bunch of videos and actually helpful and memorable!
it is robotic and repetitious
In 20 minutes, downward pickslanting has solved the problem I've been working on for 3 years. This is a priceless lesson for players who know all the scales and arpeggios but can tell that something just isn't right with their choppy rhythms.
Around the 4 minute 7 second mark is what I felt when I figured this out. Hey Troy your still making a huge guitar community difference. Be Blessed.
Same lol im a beginner and im glad i have these videos to learn this things while just starting out
Have you gotten any better. I haven't but I love watching these guys shred. In my brain I can do that too, but I really can't.
Dude, this is the best thing on the internet. Came here on suggestion of Ben Eller today. Already on part 9. This is mind blowing.