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April 2003
Posts: 15
Location: Denmark | Does anyone know what is the right way to hold a pick? I have been told you should only use the thumb and first finger, nothing else, it was from Al Di Meloa instructional book! For many years I hold the pick like a pen/pencil, using 3 fingers thumb/1st/2nd finger, like Pat Metheny! I just want to play as fast as possible, just like Al Di Meola! |
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Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Christian:
If you want to play like Al Dimeola then get all the books on or by him, and get all his recordings and work on it. Even then, you won't play like Al. You'll play like Christian. Which is not a bad thing.
Picking the brains of everybody here is only going to get you wide range of answers based upon personal experience. And I suspect that none of us plays like Al.
Find a good jazz instructor and listen to what that person has to say. And practice practice practice.
There, now I've answered every question that you have. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7251
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Easiest way I know to play fast (of course after practice) is the hold with thumb and tip of forefinger and hold the pick verticle to the strings. Use a medium - heavy guage pic, and all you have to do is vibrate your hand. Of course this works on electric guitar, not so sure you can get enough volume on an acoustic this way. |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | Hm, Mr. O,
I used to do this when i started playing 17 years ago and it works, but you have to make sure you don't stiffen your elbow and wrist. This may lead to severe damage in your arm(CTS).
Chris,
I just experimented and nowadays don't even think about what my right hand is doing. I usually play the way your instruction book tells you, but only because it leaves my other three fingers free to do some picking at the same time. In this way you can use both pick and fingers. Sometimes i put away the pick (between my lips or where do these things go) and just pick including thumb and index. At other times i use the vertical technique. In my opinion none of the techniques is bad or good. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and they all sound different. Just experiment and see what works best for you. Practice them all and you have a lot of ways to play, phrase and articulate on your guitar.
CU
Martin |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | Just forgot:
Playing fast is not something to think lightly about. To do it without getting injured (no joke! CTS) it takes a lot of practice. Every muscle in your arm, back, wrist should be relaxed.
Theoretically you can achieve the highest speed by only moving your fingers, because you have to shift less weight. Moving the whole arm (Like steve morse does) means you have to build up stamina and do a lot of training to gain strength.
To practice fast playing without making mistakes just practice scales and licks all the time in a normal tempo, so they become more or less motorized and make sure you keep your right and left arm synchronized. Speed is something you gain in time. When i started playing i practiced 4-6 hours a day, now i play about 2 and i still can't play at high speeds whilst maintaining syncronicity.
Oh and to see some really fast playing on an ovation check this link:
http://www.stevelukather.net/live/lukemunich.ram
Good luck |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Christian
Don't think technique, think SONGS, Al Dimaola and all fast pickers are playing SONGS. You start with the basic song and add improvisations on the song as you develop your abilities. The song is the basis for what you do, not scales, not modes, those only enhance the song. Start with a simple song and then enhance it without breaking your rythym. Push it to the limit and you will see that some of the great instrument virtuoses could make "Mary Had a Little Lamb" sound like a symphony.
Bailey (somebody tell me how to spell virtuosity) |
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Posts: 7251
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I guess that is a slight difference between acoustic and electric players... maybe... I'm not sure I agree with you. As example I wanted to incorperate Vandenburg, Vai, and Rhodes techniques into my playing. I already had the songs, and had no use for learning their songs... I just wanted to use the techniques, so I got some tab to see exactly what they were playing and watched videos and kindof made my own interpretation of the styles... then applied it to the songs... I guess that's what you are saying.... |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | "...some of the great instrument virtuoses could make "Mary Had a Little Lamb" sound like a symphony."
Does anybody here remember a double album put out by Guitar Player magazine in the mid 1970's? It was a compilation of a number of guitar players making origianl recordings.
One of the standouts was Barney Kessell and Herb Ellis playing Tea For Two. The first time thru, they played it slowly and nicely. Then after that, Look Out! It was great. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | best way to hold the pick is between the thumb and index finger. The toes just limit your strumming capabilities |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Al, don't knock playing with your toes until you've rried it. About 15 years ago, a young man (true story) played guitar for the pope. The young man had no arms and played the guitar with his feet.
I tried it but found that while I could toe pick and strum pretty well with one foot and chord with the other, the smell that got transfered to the guitar was disgusting (not so true story). |
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Posts: 123
Location: Pensacola,FL | I suppose you could always try the "Earl Scruggs"
method and use three picks at once :D (finger picks that is, they don't make any for toes :rolleyes: ). |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | moody I remember that guy and it was inspirational. |
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Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Stevie Ray Vaughn proved his virtuosity on his version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb". Not sure how he holds his pick, tho. |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | I think my point is mainly that the pick holding technique will develop as you develop the ability to play with some skill. The other comment that I would make is that if you want to be a lead lead player and not just a player who takes a break, you have to work out the songs that you play with an intro, some variations and an ending. Most great players have signiture songs that they have developed over time. If you played with thim you might be relegated to lots of rythym playing and a short break if your lucky. That's the goal of developing you're own songs rather than learning one note by note "as played by"...
Bailey
I had the experience of a fiddle playing brother (now deceased) who had a broad reperetoire from many years of playing with his own and other bands and very strong ideas how each song should be played. He could play award winning music, but it was work sometimes in my opinion. He lived in Ohio and I in California so we only got together every few years and his traditionalist perfection didn't take to Southern California's laid back approach to bluegrass (this doesn't help much with pick technique as he generally used a bow, but he did an occasional pizzicato). |
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May 2003
Posts: 45
Location: Oakton, VA | Tuck Andress published a paper a while ago that surveys methods of holding the pick, alternative wrist movements, and fingerpicking styles. I thought it a quite interesting piece. Here's the URL:
http://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.html
-Tom |
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December 2001
Posts: 7251
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | WOW, now I know what to call the style I use. It's George Benson's style. Very cool... |
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Holding the pick!
