Over the years of playing, performing and teaching guitar, one of the biggest problems encountered is not with the left hand fingerings as much as with the right hand picking technique. Many guitarists openly admit that their picking is pretty bad.
Unfortunately, there is not much written on this particular subject and that is the purpose of this book, to give you an insight into the techniques that I have been developing and using that really work. The basic idea has been with us for many years and can be used to achieve mind-boggling speed and flawless accuracy while being completely relaxed in the right hand.
Thank you! Very Nice! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. You are not logged in. I learned to read a little and the benefit was huge. Just to have the form laid out on paper as chord changes and bars with some repeat signs…a road map, as it were….
I took it further by learning to analyze my favourite songs and learning new chords and figuring out what scales went with these chords and what were the cool notes from those scales to play over these chords etc. Playing melodically through chord changes is one of the funnest things about music for me! I generally think that learning to read and learning some harmony can really open up opportunities in other areas in the music field.
This brings us on nicely to your formative years and when you exploded onto the scene. Your sweeping technique is well documented and you're still the undisputed master of it, what I'm wondering is, just where did you draw influence on the technique?
I was inspired by various things which pointed me in this direction. Firstly, the desire to play what I was hearing in my head and then secondly and more importantly, it was logic that was the main inspiration to get me closer to achieving this. Picking three adjacent strings seemed illogical as alternate picking. A single sweep stroke downward or upward seemed much more logical.
And so, that thought led to an endless road of discovery and an incredible flow of expression for me. I wanted to call that first book, Sweep Picking, but the publishers refused because they feared no one would know what the book was about because there was NO precedent and had me name it Speed Picking as a compromise. All the other material I have seen to date out there on the subject is either copied or a derivative of my original writing and instruction on the Sweep Picking Technique.
It's easy for people who are new to your music to hear it and accept it as fitting nicely into modern technique players, but people need to remember that you were doing this first - where did you draw influence for your actual sound in terms of composition and overall direction.
Compositionally, I have been influenced by many great artists. I also studied lots of compositions. I was voracious as a kid. I was into transcribing guitar parts, keyboard voicings, vocal harmonies, horn arrangements…everything that was going on to make up the song I was listening to…I was fascinated by the way it all fit together.
Years and tears of doing that I eventually got to the point where I was happy to write and pursue my own musical thoughts and ideas. I reached that point when I was in my early 20s. Melody is always first for me and being able to deliver a melody from the guitar as though it was a great singer is a very important skill. Not just to be able to play fast or solo. Most of my songs have melodies you could sing - unless it was a song where I wanted to challenge myself technically as well as melodically.
I also love getting the chance to ask players like yourself who have influenced the scene so much; who are you listening to at the moment? Has anyone come out that's made your head turn? I listen to a lot of stuff. Two things…one, focus on being a great musician, not on being famous…if you are a good musician, people will want you and want to play with you…. These are shown in one position and based on one chord type each, thus focusing your attention on the exercise until you have become accustomed to the technique.
Once you are comfortable with this shape you can apply the same approach to minor, suspended and diminished-seven arpeggios. This example is reminiscent of players such as Jason Becker and Jeff Loomis. Every three notes your pick will change direction. This is an effective way to improve note clarity. Get the Tone In rock, this technique is best suited to Strat-style guitars, using the neck pickup setting for a warm, round tone.
Here we utilize two-string sweeps with pentatonic shapes. Attempting to emulate on his Fender Stratocaster the fluid, breathtaking passages Paganini would compose and play on violin, Malmsteen concluded that sweep picking was the perfect way to travel quickly from string to string with a smooth, fluid sound much like what a violinist can create with his bow.
If you fail to do this and allow notes on adjacent strings to ring together, it will negate the desired effect and sound like you are simply strumming a chord. It is also the aspect that will take the most practice to master. Be sure to follow the indicated picking directions.
Focus on synchronizing your hands so that your pick and fretting fingers make contact with the string at exactly the same moment.
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