Picking Question

[Chris789]

This certain kind of thing is killing me speed-wise, so I figured I'd ask you guys and see how you do it, because I've searched all over the net and can't find much about it. In this example, how would you pick the notes:
--5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---
----7---7---7---7---7---7---7---7---7---7---7---7-
I do an upstroke on the "5's" and a downstroke on the "7's", but it always seems to sound like ass. Any advice?

[Brad]

Re: Picking Question

Why can't you just do upstrokes on every note? How fast are you wanting to go tempo wise?

[DSS3]

Re: Picking Question

Depends on what I'm comming from. If I'm picking a descending arpeggio from the high E and come to those two notes, or any two notes like those on the G and D strings, I'll pick it down on the 5, up on the 7, like your pick is trapped inbetween the strings. Otherwise, I pick it like you do.

The only advice I can over is to practice, practice, practice. With a metrenome! And to make it less boring, turn it into an etude and have fun with it. I know John Petrucci in Rock Discipline has an exercise very very similar to thise one, you should check it out.

[jjw]

Re: Picking Question

i would use hybrid picking there if pure speed was needed-use your pick for the B string and your Middle finger(it has other uses..lol)for the Top E string A note.You can easily get wide interval licks this way rather than struggle with a pick-but hey play it what ever way is easy to you
continue the pattern you show with the shape of a D major triad(keep the A note on top string and play the 7's on the other strings)that sounds realy cool and is a good way to practice this tech

[Chris789]

Re: Picking Question

Thanks, I think I may get those two DVD's from Michael Angelo Batio from the Metal Method site. There are supposed to be some advanced picking techniques in it. If anybody knows anything about it, let me know. Thanks.

[shredmonster]

Re: Picking Question

Hybrid picking will give you a little bit different combination of notes than you have there.

The only way to exactly do that would be inside picking.

[VitaminG]

Re: Picking Question

[ QUOTE ]
Hybrid picking will give you a little bit different combination of notes than you have there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why is that? Justin described how you can pick that line using hybrid picking. Now I can't blaze like Justin can, but if he recommends it as a way to achieve great speed playing a lick like that, then it must have some merit, even if Chris ultimately decides to play it purely pickstyle

[jjw]

Re: Picking Question

thanks mate [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]
Hybrid picking would be no problem with the notes tabbed here.in fact on these notes you could rip them speed wise.
Inside picking is not the only way to do this-sure it works and if its more easy to do than using pick and fingers then do it.I always make things easy to play-if i struggle with a Line there might be a better way for me to play the notes.
In fact after hearing Enders playing on Musicianwar i have changed my outlook on picking-his countryish background(with other styles)created a great travis picking right hand that is surprisingly amazingly cool for modern rock wide interval licks that would be harder if picked alone.
There is no right way or wrong way in music-you do it the way your body dictates to you.

[Soap]

Re: Picking Question

The intro riff (basically its the main riff throughout the song just repeats itself frequently) to Mr Scary involves the same tech/picking. A decent tune, to use to strengthen the alternate pick technique.
Yep, look at it like "DSS3" said, "pick trapped inbetween the two strings."

[shredmonster]

Re: Picking Question

Justin: Yeah you can definitely pick this utilizing your pick and fingers a la Bret Garsed style.

But when I hear "hybrid" picking I thought the question was pertaining to using only a pick and not any fingers.

Hybrid picking is playing a sequence using traditional alternate picking mixed with sweep picking. This is what Michael Angelo does in some of his stuff (I have the DVD).

But to play the line strictly as it is written there you would have to use inside picking to play it the fastest if you were to just use a pick.

You pick the inside of the strings instead of the outside. So you would downstroke the bottom string and upstroke the top string playing on the inside of each string.
This takes practice and is a technique that I have practiced many times because it is not easy to be accurate without a lot of practice.

You could also circular pick but that would be a hybrid technique and it would change the sequence. But you could go really fast with circular picking - If you were to circular pick it would look like this:

-5-5---5-5----5-5---------------------------------------
----7-7---7-7-----7-7----------------------------------

Down stroke on the 5 then circle and up stroke on the 5 then upstroke on the 7 and circle and downstroke on the 7.

[jjw]

Re: Picking Question

i understood hybrid picking to include the use of fingers on the right hand-Economy picking is what you are refering to on that DVD-Circular picking is yet again not a hybrid pick tech-we should all economy-alternate-circular pick when we feel like it-there isnt anything hybrid about it-there just picking mate
you could play those two notes anyway you wanted too realy,infact you could just hammer the notes with your fretting hand and reach warp speed-Realy you play it the way its best for you-but trust me hybrid picking involves a finger or two on the picking hand-not economy or any other picking style

[shredmonster]

Re: Picking Question

[ QUOTE ]
i understood hybrid picking to include the use of fingers on the right hand-Economy picking is what you are refering to on that DVD-Circular picking is yet again not a hybrid pick tech-we should all economy-alternate-circular pick when we feel like it-there isnt anything hybrid about it-there just picking mate
you could play those two notes anyway you wanted too realy,infact you could just hammer the notes with your fretting hand and reach warp speed-Realy you play it the way its best for you-but trust me hybrid picking involves a finger or two on the picking hand-not economy or any other picking style

[/ QUOTE ]

Whatever. I'm not really concerned with the names.

I recall Michael Angelo referring to his style as hybrid but I am not here to argue over the particular names.

Hammering the notes is another way to play it as you mentioned.

If I were to play it myself I would use inside picking. And to clean it up when you pick I would lift each finger slighly just after picking to mute the note before going to the next note so that I didn't get the notes running into one another and sounding all garbled.

[shredmonster]

Re: Picking Question

Duh...... I can't believe I didn't think of this the first time.

I always try to move riffs around to find the most economical way to play things.

Sometimes this works and sometimes not. Sometimes it does not because you don't get the same sound with respect to the accents, etc...

Anyway, on your example the 7th fret on the second string is an F#.

So why not just trill between the 2nd fret (F#) on the first string and the 5th fret on the first string. This would be the most economical way to play it.

You could just hammer on and off and would not even need to pick providing you have developed the finger strength and speed.

Its just a minor 3rd. I trill this up and down the neck sometimes just for exercise of my pinky. I play it on the first and 4th frets and go all the way up to the 12th and 15th frets and then back down. It is a great exercise. You can also trill this on each string for example at the 2nd and 5th frets moving from high e to low e and back up again.

[tseegert]

Re: Picking Question

It's called "inside picking", and you almost (not many logical choices here really) had it right. Cept you downstroke the 5's, and up the 7's. Probably one of the harder picking techniques to master. When ya do though, look out, as it will make quite a few things easier to play.

[dfvxc]

Re: Picking Question

hybrid picking, from my understand after watching various videos and clinics... is a mix of economy and alternate picking --- using your fingers with a pick, I don't know what that's called, but to me, using your fingers isn't really "picking"