Most difficult technique you're currently trying?

[VitaminG]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

wow, that is simple! [img]/images/graemlins/eyes.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[Tetsuo]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

[ QUOTE ]
I think, besides cleaning up all areas of my playing...getting my brain and hands to understand solos. Like that lick Shredmonster put up on the first page...I couldn't play that. I'd stare at it, look at my hands...try to bar across the 3 12th fret notes, and then try to just play it without thinking too much. I can learn lots of speed riffs, but for some reason solos just throw me off. I feel like I can't keep up to know where to go next.

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I have a similar problem and mostly it is over thinking and the fact that it is a longer flowing line instead of the repeats of the rhythms. fast stuff is easier for me to play because there is less spacing and it is brutal on top of itself.. Whereas slower stuff is harder for me to keep sharp if I don't have a good rhythm section that locks it in. I think that is what happens with solo's too there is less to lock into and if you don't have a good internal clock like I don't then it is tougher

[MetalGrasshopper]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

Sweep + tap... Alexi Laiho style. Mainly Kissing the Shadows end solos

[demeyes]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

I am having real problems with sweeps.Sometimes I can do them clean and they sound good then the next day I'll try and even the most basic ones come out wrong.Its depressing.
I am also working on playing cleaner and getting my muting down.When I play some fast alt picked lines I get loads of open string noise and its going to take some work to clean up.
Thats what I get for playinmg so much unplugged.Theres a tip thats not stressed enough.Always when possible play plugged in and on high gain when practicing.I didn't and I have to fix it.

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

The most difficult technique I've ever tried is that of good practice. Starting everything slow, and slowly working up the speed without ever sacrificing consistency(spl?). It takes a lot of decipline to do this, but all the truely great players have mastered this skill.

[Soap]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

Tricks/Technique:
Learn the basic's first and know them well, meaning be able to execute them everytime when needed.
Hammer ons and pull offs, tapping and pinching harmonics, EVH right hand hammer ons, chording, lead work (melody, structure and etc.) Marty Friedman's Melodic conrtol is excellent for this area of lead work, highly recommeded.

Learn various scales not just the pentatonic. Know your way around the fretboard well, this will come the more one learns various scales and etc. Learn and know how to write songs in various keys, not just E and A.

Paul Gilberts first instructional two videos are very good for the intermidate player. He covers alot of techniques in these videos, including sweeping.
As mentioned before Marty Friedman's melodic control video is really good for anyone that just entered into learning lead guitar. He covers the essentials of lead work very well. The MVP videos with Curt are somewhat insightful. The beginner to intermidate player wanting to learn and gain some additonal insight on their favorite bands and players could benefit possibly. I can't stomach him too long he really annoys me when watching a video of his, but, for those who can get past this, he can be occsaionally insightful.

Sweeping is a very advance technique.
For some, they catch on and learn it alittle quicker than others, still, its a very advance technique. I had to retrain my pick and fret hand to learn this. One doesn't have to be a sweep player to be a good player. Its just one among many techniques/tricks/scales/chording and etc. that adds to ones aresenal, when needed one can pull from.
Sweep picking and sweep string skipping was by far the hardest techniques for me to learn.

[FLuX]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently trying?

[ QUOTE ]
Is there some new technique you're trying your hardest to nail?

Right now, I am having a LOT of trouble doing the string bend vibrato thing, you know, where you bend the string up a whole or even 1.5 steps and then doing a beautiful wide vibrato at the top of the bend. I think I just need to build my finger strength some more. I have become quite lazy and I tend to use the trem bar to add wide vibrato at the top of the bends... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Shame... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Got any tips for me, other than "practice, practice, practice"? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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this is probably old as hell, but i had trouble with this alot too... but i got a tip froma buddy of mine that REALLY helped, which is that you need to really get the guitar neck in the wedge of your hand between your thumb and your palm and pull the bend like that, because it involves little finger movement, so your finger movement becomes available to do the vibrato...

[metallicarocks]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently trying?

[ QUOTE ]
Sweep + tap... Alexi Laiho style. Mainly Kissing the Shadows end solos


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That shit is so hard. I haven't even thought about attempting it yet. I only have a tuneomatic bridge, so a lot of COB solos are off limits for me. A warble on a guitar with a tuneomatic bridge would prove helacious to the neck! (assuming the only way you could do a warble would be to pull the headstock down to the body and letting it go.) Where he puts the warbles in the solo sounds like it would be hard to do, because he's screwing around on the frets the whole time that the trem arm is shaking around.

As for my new techniques, making myself study theory. Mastering all the minor scales and trying to learn the various arpeggios are the largest of my concerns. I'm just trying to clean up my picking, especially while sweeping. The funnest solo that I know is Metal Heart, I don't know if the solo is the same that Dimmu Borgir does verses Accept. I do the Dimmu one. It's just a fun solo. The only part I can't play is the scale run right after you start machine gunning and after that you bounce between what I think is a major and minor arpeggio. Directly after the arpeggios come the Fur Elise riff.

[RacerX]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently trying?

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(assuming the only way you could do a warble would be to pull the headstock down to the body and letting it go.)

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That's one helluva flexible neck! [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[jjw]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently trying?

[img]/images/graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[charvettelover]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

to play less, and have it mean more...that's the one i struggle with on a nightly basis....

[Soap]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

[ QUOTE ]
to play less, and have it mean more...that's the one i struggle with on a nightly basis....

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Wise words indeed.

[jzalapski]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

8 finger tapping... when TJ Helmerich Solos he doesn't even use a pick... it's quite interesting.... to watch AND to try....

BTW, most of Yngiwe's stuff is pretty easy if you spend a lil' bt o time on it.... it's his FEEL and TONE that is impossible to duplicate....

[jjw]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

Yeahh TJ is pretty cool with his tapping-but tapping does have limits-i think you should always have the pick in your hand..lol.rather than 8 finger tap!7 fingers should be enough for tapping with the benafit of being able to add pick lines in for added dynamics and expression.Have to say TJ is one of the best tappers out there-but give me bret garsed over him any day

[SeventhSon]

Re: Most difficult technique you\'re currently tryi

[ QUOTE ]
Is there some new technique you're trying your hardest to nail?

Right now, I am having a LOT of trouble doing the string bend vibrato thing, you know, where you bend the string up a whole or even 1.5 steps and then doing a beautiful wide vibrato at the top of the bend. I think I just need to build my finger strength some more. I have become quite lazy and I tend to use the trem bar to add wide vibrato at the top of the bends... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Shame... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Got any tips for me, other than "practice, practice, practice"? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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Newc, try this. After you hit the note with your bend, physically shake the guitar neck in an even up/down motion. The inertia of the guitar neck against your movement will provide a nice even vibrato.