shred picking practice

[motorbrain3]

i was wondering how long you guys spend learning to alternante pick each day.

ive been at it forever and seem to be getting alot better
but i often wonder if i overdo it.

i tend to focus on picking for about 2 hours a day. on and off mind you. then, i maybe play another 2 hours on everything else.

my alternate picking is my weakest point so i tend to concentrate alot of time there.

what do you guys do?

[micha]

Re: shred picking practice

I do this "shred as fast as you can" thing, for about 30secs a string. it's not that much, but I actually feel it pretty good and it gives some strength to my arm.
further I repeat this cromatic exercises (1,2,3,4etc) and split my attention on the alternate picking and keeping my fingers close to the strings.
and I use to alternate-pick some chords and arpeggios to take care of my string skipping. this is often the point I'm out of it within a song.

this is all the exercises I do for picking.
gets pretty boring once in a while, so often I just try to pick my songs faster.
if it's in 16th in fast parts/solos and in 8th usually, I use to double or triple the slower parts. just play each note twice or three times. this way I get a more sure picking hand, spend less time on boring exercises and it keeps me away from playing the slower parts so fast, that the fast parts later get too hard for me.
you know that? you're bored from playing a track slowly, start playing it fast and get kicked by other phrases or solos etc?
this way I get around it.

sounds simple, but just give it a try, it works for me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

just be sure to keep an even steady picking motion, and reduce distances to a minimum.
play everything slow, but be sure to do the same motions as you do playing it fast.
I mentioned, that I change my picking style completely if I play something fast or slow, so if fast is the goal I practice slow and pick like it was fast. short distances, etc...

you can't go wrong with this I think, if you practise that much. good luck!!

[motorbrain3]

Re: shred picking practice

really strong advice.thanks alot.the exercises i do get really boring.ill try this stuff today!thanks again

[shredmonster]

Re: shred picking practice

I agree on the chromatic exercises. I play them from the first fret up to the 12th fret.

One pattern all the way up. Then I do another pattern.

I also practice a few sting crossing patterns.

About 1/2 hour a day and I use it as my warm up also.

I will do some 4 finger stuff once I am warmed up for maybe 15 minutes.

Then its on to other things.

[Soap]

Re: shred picking practice

Create your own warm up stuff.
Do alittle of this and that, to get your fingers (both hands) loose and ready. Whatever exercises of your choice you choose keep it interesting and fun. Personally, Chromatic and some challenging chording (stretch frethand) and throw in an appregio or two, are all that is really needed for a warm up.

[shredmonster]

Re: shred picking practice

Actually it takes me about 1/2 an hour each day to warm up and in fact I play my best after about 2 hours of playing.

[merlyn1984]

Re: shred picking practice

I find it takes me forever to warm up too. It is really frustrating. I need at least 30 mins before I feel like I have any sort of control over the guitar. At first I feel like a beginner every time and can't play to save my life. I think I probably play best after about 1.5 - 2 hours. After too long I get worse though.

[kmanick]

Re: shred picking practice

I also find I need about a 1/2 hour to warm up before I'm "good to go".
I just practice scales in a couple of modes over a metronone nice and slow and then pick it up as I'm going.
Then some argeggio sweeping (real slow at first) and some quick legato warm up and I'm all set.
If I get to play for a couple of hours a day for 2 or 3 days straight, I find my warm up is much shorter.
Too bad with a 3 yr. old that is far and few between [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[David Dineen]

Re: shred picking practice

i practice modes at the same time...in c major: play g mixolydian (3rd fret), a minor shape (5th fret),c major shape (8th fret), e phrygian (12 fret). this is a great way to actually improve your knowledge of the fretboard and your speed at the same time. to prevent it getting boring, change the key to e minor, etc. also, practice doing multiples...play each note 1,2,3,4,5,6 times...gets the pick moving...

[ChickenScratch]

Re: shred picking practice

What I do is first do my warm up stretches before I even pick up the guitar. Start with stretching each arm aross your chest then behind your neck to loosen up the shoulders then massage your forearms to getthe blood flowing then stretch the fingers individually.

Then onto the guitar. Start at the 12 position and play modes along to the metronome at a slower speed in 1 ocatave runs and work your way up the neck towards the first position. By doing this you do less stretching to more as you go along. Then do it all again starting with 2 octave forms and by the time you are done you should have your fingers warm and both hands firmly in contact with what the other is doing. Also this gets the alt picking in shape.

[maddog]

Re: shred picking practice

I practice at least an hour a day alternate picking, at school during lunchtime. I normally use stuff with string skips to make it more fun. Im not the fastest around but my picking has got me into university where they only pick 20 people out of 500 applicants!

[pagemalicious]

Re: shred picking practice

I don't really practice alternate picking. It's just natural for me to pick that way. I alternate pick groups of 4 notes a string just to warm my hands up, but other than that i don't practice it.