Economy Picking

[nvranka]

Friend of mine just started playing about a month ago...I suggested that he start practicing economy picking now so he gets in the habbit of it, and wont have to relearn it like i am having to do now.

Do you think it is wise of me to suggest this to him? or am I overdoing it with him? He says that it makes playing a lot more difficult because now he isnt just thinking about fretting the notes, but he has to think whether hes doing his up-downs in the correct order haha.

I figure itll just turn into second nature for him if he starts out with it, but I dont know, maybe im just over complicating things for him. He is extremely dedicated, and plays 3-4 hours a day starting out...so i mean im confident he can handle it, but i want him to enjoy playing, and not have 5000 things on his mind when he is, you know?

Any input on economy picking, or advice I can give him is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again.

-n

[JC_Denton]

Well the best advice you can give to anyone about economy picking......
Get him Frank gambales instructional called speed picking and moster lick(the best video out there on that subject, explained in great detail
I think you did the right thing leading him to learn econamy pikcing right from the start, after a year or 2 he can check out other picking styls to see if they suit them, or he can combine econamy picking with other styles. I personaly go between economy, alternate, sweep and hybrid picking.

[Soap]

Heres a couple of visuals, nothing better to help understand this stuff than a visual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtx4zkxG-UU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHUSZD5RAQ4

Myself, this just came with the territory.
When I learned some arpeggios it was part of the territory.

But starting out....
I learned stuff like, smoke on the water, Batman theme song, Kiss songs,
strumming chords and learning to do these things without messing up and cleanly as possible.

The pros and cons and advance techqnuie of the picking hand was important but came much later,
not starting out. I would have looked at my teacher and said, "I just want to learn songs me and my friends can relate to and dig." It was fun that way. Luckily what teachers I had approached the lesson/s that way.

Proficiency of both hands came much later for me, that way I was at a level of maturity to accept it and committ to it. Otherwise, teaching a 9-11yr old how to sweep and etc.....well you'll be out of a job sooner than later. Most boys at a young age take it up to learn just enough to get the girls to dig them.
I have found ages from 15 yrs and older are the age group that are usually mature enough to handle the proficiency of the left and right hands. The first time I was introduced to alternate picking was learning "wipe out". The term alternate picking wasn't in those days. My uncle said "go up and down like this with your picking hand." That was that.

[tanpsi]

Well, I would also have him practice strict alternate picking, probably more, because it is harder to build up speed, but offers more flexibilty and control

[marcus]

I have found that different picking techniques can have subtle affects on your rhythm and how the leads actually sound. You can tell the difference between alternate picking and economy picking. Its subtle, but its there. I was taught a form of alternate picking by an instructor that I have seen referred to as "pendulum picking". I have found that this technique leads to smoother phrasing for leads. It is not as fast, I guess, but every technique has its pros and cons.

[shredmonster]

Yeah the guy is just learning.........shit just holding a pick correctly takes some time!

I agree with tanspi up there - alternate pick for now. One step at at time.

[delt]

+1. If you start out doing only "economy" picking (like i did unconsciously) it's kinda difficult to re-learn to do strict alternate picking - especially in cases where you do so-called "outside picking" that is, skip the adjascent string before picking it from the other direction.

[nvranka]

thanks for the advice guys.

yeah, as far as his alternate picking and speed, he is pretty quick already, and has alternate picking down (probably should have mentioned that). Ive got him holding the pick fine, and his pinch harmonics are pretty above-average too.

Were both 20, so the age thing isnt a problem, he doesnt mind practicing technique in between learning fun licks and riffs.

anyways, thanks again for the advice, ill pass it on to him

take care

[Astro]

Soap said: "But starting out....
I learned stuff like, smoke on the water, Batman theme song, Kiss songs,
strumming chords and learning to do these things without messing up and cleanly as possible.

The pros and cons and advance techqnuie of the picking hand was important but came much later,
not starting out. I would have looked at my teacher and said, "I just want to learn songs me and my friends can relate to and dig." It was fun that way. Luckily what teachers I had approached the lesson/s that way." end quote.
I agree. I want to just play enough so it sounds clean and no mistakes. I just wanna play with my buddies and be able to keep up with them.As time goes on, I suppose I'll learn picking patterns/styles. But right now stuff like that is a foreign launage to me. LOL. I'm such a newbie. I did the play a cheapazz copy guitar in Jr high school. I did ok, but lost intrest bucause I had bad equipment the sounded cheap and played bad. So now at 42 I'm going to try again, this time I can afford somthing a little better equipment to try on. A kelly pro by jackson and a nice marshall pratice amp should get me going. A buddy is gonna give me some lessons and I'm also gonna take a few from a teacher also. Well thanks for listening to me.

[Ace]

I've decided not to do any picking anymore, as it wears out my picks. I only do hammer-on's, pull off's and two and three handed tapping.(Tim from Into Eternity and I are working on the three handed tapping thing). Jim Dunlop kicked me in the shins, but I showed him my Crybaby and he bought me a cup of coffee.

[nvranka]

I've decided not to do any picking anymore, as it wears out my picks. I only do hammer-on's, pull off's and two and three handed tapping.(Tim from Into Eternity and I are working on the three handed tapping thing). Jim Dunlop kicked me in the shins, but I showed him my Crybaby and he bought me a cup of coffee.

ahahah its funny a couple days ago my friend was like "shit, I have to go buy picks. meh fuck it...ill just play with ho/po's..."

and then he proceeded to do so for an hour before finally just going to buy the picks :ROTF:

[Ace]

I'm down to just a handful of the ones I use, the Ultex 1mm. They don't wear down hardly, but I do lose them everywhere. I have hundreds of picks from bands I've worked with, but I don't like them as much as my Ultex.

[Kingo]

stupid question...

What do you think how long ill need to play altenate picking in a useable way???

Damn why didnt i get to know this technique not earlier???

Shit