Alternate Picking - Get The Exercises Right!
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- This video will give you some effective alternate picking exercises for guitar. Most lessons on getting a better right-hand technique only focus on repeating patterns and picking exercises that are easy to speed up, but that is not what you really need. For most kinds of interesting music, it is not enough to be only fast and robotic alternate picking.
For great examples of some Alternate Picking Licks and Alternate Picking Arpeggios then check out this playlist: • How to practice your s...
Pat Metheny Technique Warm-up Video: • pat metheny seminario
Practicing Triads and developing your technique:
• The Best Triad Exercis...
Putting It To Use:
• II V I - You Need To ...
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Content:
00:00 Intro
00:23 Speed Is Not The Only Goal - What You Really Need
01:39 How Do You Get Flexible Technique?
02:11 #1 Exercise
03:30 Focus On The Difficult Bits
03:48 #2 Exercise
04:39 Annoying But Make You Play Better
05:20 #3a Exercise - Difficult
06:03 #3b Exercise - Much More Difficult
06:26 Putting It To Use in Music!
06:31 Like the video? Check out my Patreon page!
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My name is Jens Larsen, Danish Jazz Guitarist, and Educator. The videos on this channel will help you explore and enjoy Jazz. Some of it is how to play jazz guitar, but other videos are more on Music Theory like Jazz Chords or advice on how to practice and learn Jazz, on guitar or any other instrument.
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Never thought I would ever see Jens shred until 1:23 haha awesome !
Haha!
I use whatever picking technique makes playing easy: alternate, hybrid, sweep, fingerpicking, etc. I think this is a better strategy than trying to use one technique to play everything, and it produces more musical sounding results.
Yes, that is where you want to end up, think about the phrasing and then use whatever sounds like that
Different textures are a good thing imo. Keep things varied and less mechanical sounding.
Jens it's going to make me a better picker. Thank you
Go for it!
Great video Jens, what is in this video I have been telling others about for years, Pat has been essential listening for years, it is the Music, the compositions that interest me the most, I love the tunes, not all, some are too light, middle of the road. But I also love the way Pat plays, super ultra melodic, the video from Italy, saw it years ago, Baroque with Blues, Bop and Chromatic lines, astounding Musical vocabulary. Pat can improvise lines like this for 90 mins, talk about fretboard knowledge! I am not a snob Jens, but Pat's playing is just pure Music, no tapping, sweep picking, I think he uses economy picking, but does not think about it at all, crazy! Anyway I have years and years of hard work a head of me to sort out my Jazz and Acoustic playing, plus composition, so difficult! Also Jens out of interest whenever I see world class Jazz gigs in London, I would say 95% of the time all the players are Sight Reading, all of them! Anyway Jens you are a great player, amazing sound! Many thanks for all these lessons and your knowledge!! All the best, Daniel Nutley.
Your exercises are always musical and just fantastic.
Thank you! Glad you think so!
Very good lesson. When I started learning, I used to think that the alternate picking exercises were to build speed and I used to follow these strictly but then I realised that its all about flexibilty. And building your picking muscle flexibility so you can easily alternate, sweep or economy pick when you need to. Thank you Jens!!
Thank you Tony, I am glad you found it useful! 👍
I really enjoyed this one Jens. Thanks as always :)
You're welcome!
Como siempre muy bueno. Muchas gracias maestro.
Glad you like it 🙂
Thank you very much! That really helped me
You're welcome!
Glad you mentioned Tony Rice. I always thought he was incredible and underappreciated
Ok. I actually think he is mentioned fairly often among guitarists?
@@JensLarsen Among guitarists, yes. Among regular civilians, not enough
Interesting and useful as usual
Thank you, Daniel!
Great video some good exercises too. I use a mix including finger picking and gypsy picking like the old banjo players used and guess still do.
Thanks Filip! :)
Al Di Meola's alternate picking books were a great guide for me.
Interesting! I never checked those out. What are they called?
@@JensLarsen Al Di Meola's picking techniques
You are correct, when i studied spread triads, the alternate picking drove me crazy. Another master of this picking is Julian Lage and his etudes. But something I'll go to working on it
Yes it is pretty annoying in the beginning :)
Thank you Jens :)
You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂
Thank you, its really worth practicing..i shall .Best wishes Jens Larsen....sundar from Doha
Great! Go for it 🙂
What a great lesson just trying to master one of your examples is gonna be tough
Go for it 🙂
" Very Good Job on ( vdc ) Istructional Technic Player ". .. Many Thank Mr. Larsen for Your Work's on Music/Guitar Concept. .. So' Nice ... ☺😊😀/💙💙💙/👍👌👏👋
Glad you like it 🙂
A good book on picking is also william leavitt, classical studies for the pick-style guitar. Just thought I'd mention books which I've found helpful
Cool, thanks!
Thanks for the tip.
I've used that. It's really good. Most anything by Leavitt merits a look.
Amazing as always, Jens! The following question intrigues me a lot: where and how do you rest (or should I say 'anchor') your right hand while playing through these examples? Is your palm resting on the bridge or just above it on the strings? Or no rest at all and just floating around?
PS: I know that's a matter of taste and there are many many guitarists who deleloped their own unique way and etc (some use their pinky while others strongly advise against it), but I'm just trying to get a little perspective that's all :)
Thanks Renato! I actually don't know if or where I anchor my right-hand, I think sometimes on the lower strings, but then I lift it when I play there? I would have to check out this video to know (which is strange but...)
It's also fun to apply jazz concepts to extreme metal, just saying 👌
If that is your thing, then go right ahead :)
Been applying them where and when I can since the late 80's playing in a thrash metal band.
I actually went from classic rock to fusion, and then to metal, and then to classical, and more recently got into the blues a lot more than I had in the past. An odd route I know. I mostly blame prog rock bands from the 70's like Rush, Yes and Genesis. lols
2:48 LOLS, love it! Big fan of all types of music here just to let you know you may be listening the worst metal has to offer though. But I'm guessing a lot of that was sarcasm, and agree some of it was a well deserved poke too. I admit I've practiced the piss out of 3 note per string scales and still learn new exotic keys that way. So, even though I've endeavored to do many different patterns. I am guilty as charged to a degree, but still..
It's pretty well known a lot of metal players are largely influenced by classical, but I don't necessarily mean Yngwie (though I still play a couple of his classical acoustic pieces), but check out Jason Becker: an amazing talent and sad but triumphant life story (and a huge inspiration for me as I have a serious back injury that used to pinch the nerve in my back so I couldn't feel half of my fretting hand) and Uli Roth, one of my favorite players. Especially Ulis version of The Four Seasons by Vivaldi (he emulates a violin like no one else using just a guitar and amp).
Quite a lot of (granted not so well known) metal players incorporate a lot of jazz into their playing and like me are heavily influenced by players like John Scofield, Mike Stern and very much by Alan Holdsworth in particular since the 80's. Eddie VanHalen was one of Holdsworths biggest fans, and even if you don't like his playing you have to admit Eddie could swing a rhythm like nobodies business. I spent years transcribing Bach violin concertos and the 24 Pagannini violin caprices for electric guitar, and those are challenging to say the least, and little to do with three note per string runs. That's what I tried to emulate most in my own solos for a couple of decades when the were pre-written, but my jazz and fusion influences came out a lot more when I was improvising (as one might imagine).
I could go on and on about metal players today who fuse jazz into their playing because there are so many now, and more are influenced by a wider variety of jazz players now as well, and that's exciting for me. Personally I was a thrash metal guitarist in the late 80's and early 90's, but hugely influenced by Brand X guitarist John Goodsall, and John McLaughlin, and Steve Morse, and incorporated some of what I was hearing and able to translate into my thrash metal playing. Mostly the solos, but putting some cool jazz chords like Major13's and minor flat5's etc is always fun when the other band member don't realize it's jazz and say: _"Oh no you don't, it's from 'that' genre"._ lols
Here is one of my favorite bands now (an Adam Neely recommendation), _Stimpy Lockjaw._
ruclips.net/video/dfny2gR7fQ0/видео.html
I hear Brand X, John Scofield and a few other influences in there, along with plenty of metal elements.
I'm proud to be a part of the melding of genres that is indeed how jazz itself came to be a genre on it's own as well. But I prefer putting more funk and classical in it too. But that's just my own thing, and not for everybody of course. That's no biggie, different tastes are why we have so much great music in any genre. But no need to disparage what we are unfamiliar with. And I will happily admit I like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin as much as I like Bill Evans, and Wes Montgomery, as well as Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa.
I don't see the allure of just following certain genres myself, but neither would I say that's a bad thing either, and it does make the music more "attainable" for the average listener regardless of genre (that's just not me). To be clear, I'm not at all put off, I laughed pretty hard at that, especially your facial expression witch was perfect. lols But the whole concept of melding genres is what excites me about music now, and always has since I was a child. Also, if someone asked me what the best genre of music for guitar was, it wouldn't be metal, classical, or jazz, it would be flamenco.
I actually listen to heavy metal as well, but metal is so easy to poke fun at because it sometimes celebrate "being technical advanced" while playing truly idiotic and repetitive melodies. Obviously some of that belongs to the genre and some of it is the bad side of the genre as well, but I can't resist making fun of it.
Thanks for the content !
There is the great etude #1 by Julian Lage for practising spread out alternate picking
Great suggestion!
Great video (as always). A quick question out of left field... What is the thing on the bridge on your strat? I keep seeing it in the background but can't figure it out...
That is a capo, so that I always now where it is 😄
DJENT LARSEN! Awesome video. I love your channel.
Thank you 😂
@@JensLarsen Jjajaja.. but seriously, I think that you are one of the best music teacher on RUclips. God bless you
@@adonislajara6955 No worries! I took it as a compliment :D
Lars.. just had to mention something. The other day I was watching one of your older videos with subtitles. The subtitle algorithm decided to write your name as Jeff Platinum! Maybe a great stage name! 😎
Cheers.
Finally the recognizion I deserve! Jeff Platinum for the win! 😂
Do you remember which video? I would really like a screen shot
@@JensLarsen sorry, Jeff, er..... I mean Lars, oops, I mean Jens. Don’t remember. I hadn’t opened the video I was just watching the silent, subtitled version that you see if you stop scrolling. The subtitles there are not nearly as good as those you can turn on when you open the video.
This is great! I'm already feeling the benefit of these exercises. Any idea where to get the sheet music for the Kreutzer Etude #13?
Thanks Vishal! You cna download the Kreutzer etudes off amazon and I would expect a lot of other places as well, and ordering books should be possible too.
A mix. But back in the -90’s i focusen a lot on picking every note. I still think that ”My personal picking exercise” by Steve Morse is one of the best exercises.
Yes, that exercise is great! I still give it to students :)
One of my all time favorite players! When I was still a kid in the early 80's he did a clinic ar my local music store in Oakland Calif. He was super personable, really friendly, and patient with everybodies questions and talked about a number of concepts that made a big impression on me as beginner. One was how important the space between the notes was. For me a soon to be shred instructor, I see now how that was a real blessing to learn about early on.
@@aylbdrmadison1051 Steve is amazing!
I strained my hands so I will postpone practicing that, but great video =). Also nice monitor speakers =D.
Hope you get better soon! Yes, going from my 25 euro logitech speakers to these was really nice!
Hope you heal up well. If you're not, do some stretching before playing (doing it after also is good, but definitely before). Here's an excellent video on it. ruclips.net/video/TSrfB7JIzxY/видео.html
I do those everyday now. He explains them very well, and it's much more complete than the routine I developed myself decades ago.
Jens, was that you shredding the metal? I have a feeling that when the cameras are off you're in a closet with an 7-string and tapping with 8 fingers in front of a pentagram. Haha! Great, lesson, man. I prefer melody over speed having seen some if the ridiculous stuff all over RUclips nowadays.
look he's wearing the same shirt, it's him lmao
Not really, I have nails on my right hand so tapping is a bit tricky. Actually I am mostly putting on a metronome and get better at medium swing when I am not making videos :D
Do you think you can do a video on Mr. Walker by Wes Montgomery? I really like the song and I am trying to play like him.
Can you play these exercises and what do you use most? Alternate Picking, Economy, Legato or a Mix?
Putting this to use in Jazz Lines: ruclips.net/video/5hmSQuMIf-w/видео.html
I think I might have stumbled on something closer to economy. After only playing bass for many years where I wouldn't be doing strict alternate fingers.. employing rakes and such. It feels unnatural to me to move up a string but move from a downstroke to an upstroke.
@@krazyolie Unnatural or just difficult?
Excellent! Thanks a lot. I'd like to watch the Pat Metheny video mentioned. Link?
In the description, I forgot to add it, but now it is there
@@JensLarsen Thanks. Very impressive!
Nice to see you @ NAMM! So I can play anything I want to on saxophone, and after 50+ years, this is to be expected But guitar ... Pat Metheny on the live "James" with Christian McBride ... how to play that fast with bop phrasing? My strings do not want to "sound" at that speed, it takes more sheer force to move them enough to produce sound. I can run my pick over the top of the strings fast enough to keep up with Pat, but no sound is produced. I have an Eastman Jazz archtop, TI 12s flats, using your Chicken pick. I don't know if my set-up is optimal or if that makes a difference. Suggestions?
I doubt if it is the setup, it's more likely that you just need to keep at it with the technique.
Thanks, Jens! With sax, one would not expect to get a Saturday Night Live Lenny Pickett tenor tone on a classical mouthpiece. WiIth guitar, I really don't know how much it matters. I do note that players like Matteo Manusco use 10s for fingerstyle, not 11s or 12s. But apparently Joe Pass did use 12s after going fingerstyle? And for picking, George Benson uses 13s! I'd like to hear an actual virtuoso guitarist give my guitar a look-over and play the thing fast. I'm going to the Musician's Institute open house next week, maybe I'll bring it in addition to my tenor sax. When I was a freshman in music school, Wilton Felder (sax player with the Crusaders, also an ace studio bassist (many Jackson 5 classics, among others) played my Mark VI Selmer tenor since his didn't show up for the gig. At that point, I knew my horn was great!.@@JensLarsen
The all thing is very interestintg Thanks a lot . But when I come to other positions, like 2nd position (5 positions system) for exemple, I juste go back ans thorward and the fingerings are not very easy...Do you have fingerings for the 2nd 4rth and 5fith positions, just for the diatonic arpeggios. Or you'll probable deals with it in another vidéo.
Best regards Jens
This is only about the 1st exercise right? I take it you are using CAGED? I use 7 position scale systems myself, and it is true that CAGED is not very good for these exercises, but you should be able to figure it out and it does indeed require you to skip around a bit.
Yes, I'm dealing with "mastering the major scale all over the neck" with the jazz standard Joy Spring, probably with the caged system.
I try to integrate alternate picking to the scale exercice because I don't have enough Time to work (2 hours a day...)
Thanks for the advices
Hi Jens, you mention at 5:32 that we should pick harder. I’ve seen this suggestion elsewhere, but would you by chance be able to make a video actually demonstrating what you define as picking “too softly?” As a self-taught guitarist, I find your picking to look very soft (in a good way), so I’ve wondered whether the adjectives “soft“ and “hard” are imprecise as they imply less/more tension in the hand/arm rather than just the clarity of the note itself. I guess I’ve just had no good reference point for soft/hard picking, especially at high speeds :/
There are many factors in this, not only your technique but also the setup of your guitar. The best way to start getting a feel for it is probably to practice all dynamics, so see how soft you can play and see how hard you can play without killing the note on the guitar. I used to play very hard but I have backed off a bit, but what may look soft is probably just that it is pretty efficient.
Me playing in a video is not going to be a good reference for you anyway, you are much better off starting to feel it yourself :)
@@JensLarsen Great, thanks for the response! I think your video and description have been the key to confirming that I’ve been picking with *too much* tension (inefficiently). Time to focus on that during practice . . .
How many metal gigs do you have a normal year Jens? ;)
About 1/3 😂
related note: what brand/type of pick is that? it looks comfortable.
It's a Chicken Picks 3.5mm
@@JensLarsen thank you
Hlw sir! U are a beautiful soul .
Thank you! :)
Do a reaction on Fluffy by Chon and do a theory video on it because
Jens, can I take an online lesson with you? I'm interested in get info by real time human questions and answers interaction ! :)
No, I don't teach one-on-one at the moment, but if you go to my website to find my e-mail and send me a message I can recommend some people.
@@JensLarsen I'll do. Thanks Jens! Love your work!
My teacher said my learning is going well, I just keep going too fast. I got an interest in complex topics like negative harmony but time signatures confuse me.
1:49
I thought that was his first cello suite.
ruclips.net/video/pGipFrts650/видео.html
3:50
4:40
A mix, though probably more economy.
That makes a lot of sense. Do you find that economy is more tricky in terms of precise timing?
@@JensLarsen yes, but it seems to lend is self to a swing feel beautifully.
@@chrishandley Because you don't need to be precise in swing? Not sure I agree with that :)
@@JensLarsen that highlights the difference between our experience and abilities! 👍🏼 However during my noodlings I've spent years doing economy picking and it just feels a lot more natural now.
You definitely have to be precise with the timing of swing, but I find the fluid movement of economy allows for more expression, at the moment I've only got my own ears to judge how it sounds though!
Please check out your Pinterest.
First comment
Congrats!
@@JensLarsen thank you sir for all your videos teach me a lot
@@pedropedrino2275 Glad you like them :)