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I don't think there's an ideal or not ideal. It can be a good technique for accuracy, but you lose speed. It is worthwhile having as another technique in your arsenal. I use it a lot and I think practice will make it less of a strain for you, but you will also find that you can improve your free hand accuracy over time anyway so you'll probably end up only ...

If you want to use a pick, you basically have two options: Use the pick-and-fingers method (which is what I do most of the time). I hold the pick with my thumb and index finger and pick the low string while I use my middle and ring finger to pick other, higher strings. Use your left (fingerboard) hand to mute the strings in between the two you want to ...

It depends completely on the technique that you are trying to gain speed on. If you want fast, palm muted power chords (like metal guitar), then it's in the wrist. If you want fast open chords (like Pinball Wizard), then it's more in your wrist / forearm (I guess you might consider forearm to be bicep). Fast single notes (like Dick Dale), is either ...

From what I hear other players say, there is no definitive 'right' or 'wrong' way to hold your pick. It depends a lot on personal preference, comfort, and playing style. For example, an acoustic strummer may want to hold the pick with the thumb on one side, and using the index and middle finger on the other to hold it. A folk guitarist may want to employ ...

You are right that picks are generally thin, medium, heavy. Some picks are by mm, but it's really just a different measurement of the same thing. Some manufacturers will add super / extra thin or heavy. You do get a different sound with different picks. There is a maximum amount of force you can apply with a pick, given it's thickness. This will affect the ...

Since the 4th finger isn't usually used for picking, seems logical, that use can hold the pick between 3rd and 4th fingers, but this will require some tough training, because you will have to have some extra tension in your right hand witch is not good - the right hand must be relaxed as possible. for me, I use two "techniques", if you can call the that: 1 ...

The best training I can think of is to use arpeggios starting with simple two/three string swept arpeggios and build up from there. Here are Some practical examples: A Minor 2 - 3 string arpeggio shapes $1.12 $1.8 $2.10 $1.8 $1.12 | $1.12 $1.8 $2.10 $3.9 $2.10 $1.8 $1.12 A Major 2 - 3 string arpeggio shapes $1.12 $1.9 $2.10 $1.9 $1.12 ...

No, once you have a significant rest you don't need to alternate, and I'd still think of it as "strict alternate picking". Note: I tend to think of alternate picking as down on the beats and up on the 8th notes between beats (or the same idea with respect to 8th and 16ths); not necessarily that every string attack come from an alternate direction. If the ...

Tremolo picking means picking a note fast and repeatedly to give the impression of a single, sustained note with a "trembling" feel to it. You hear this a lot in mandolin playing: since the mandolin has such poor sustain, players use tremelo picking to play melodic lines that require longer-sustaining notes. It's not just playing really fast. A famous ...

Nope 'economy picking' employs both sweep/alternate and other types of picking, combined with legato and/or other techniques. So you may: -> alternate pick a triplet on a string -> sweep down 3 strings -> skip a string -> sweep back up two strings -> play a small legato phrase to finish: all as part of the same line. The Idea is to make as little work for ...

Assuming you're not interested in classical-style fingerpicking (which is an entirely separate subject), there are no set "rules", per se. Folk-style fingerpicking, like folk music generally, is a product of people figuring out how to make the music they want to make, without necessarily caring too much about orthodox conventions. That said, probably the ...

There is a famous part of Eruption that quotes Etude No 2 by Kreutzer (reference here). For that style of picking, it is important to lock the wrist, and use the forearm in a tight, fast pattern (yet staying relaxed ;-) Here is a link to the quote, which shows Eddie's technique

They definitely produce different sounds. A harder pick will give you a harsher sound, and a softer pick will give you a more mellow sound. It's generally easier to play softly or slowly with a soft pick, because it will bend and allow you to move smoothly across the strings. Likewise a hard pick allows you to play more loudly because less energy will be ...

In both pictures, the pick is being held between the thumb and index finger in essentially the same manner (it's impossible to tell quite how the index finger is placed in the first picture). The only difference is how you hold your non-active fingers. Since they are not doing anything, by definition, it doesn't really matter how you do it. It's mostly a ...

For this, you can either go by ear by listening to the recorded song, or by feel (i.e. how do you WANT to play it?). As far as up and down strumming, a general rule of thumb is that - regardless of the actual strumming pattern - you should maintain a steady up/down rhythm. Then you will simply hit the strings when you want sound and not hit them when you ...

Generally a floating hand can be either accurate or fast. For speed you will end up using the elbow and upper arm muscles, but that loses accuracy, so it isn't best suited to fast single note picking. For accuracy you want to have an anchor to give you precise feedback. I would suggest using a floating hand for chords and for slower picking, and then ...

I've been playing guitar for 14 years and teaching guitar for 4+ years, and based on my personal experience there's no reason why picking with an angle is a bad or outlawed thing, maybe you could share where you've read that straight picking is the preferred stance. Making a technique-focused comparison between straight and angle picking, angle picking ...

The short answer is, no, blues doesn't require a thumb pick. The blues is a broad class of music, played on all kinds of instruments, in all kinds of ways. The longer answer is, that it depends what sound you want. If you want the sound you get from a thumb pick, then a thumb pick is probably the best way of getting it! I suggest you don't attempt ...

Its pretty much just fast picking; where instead of playing/picking each note in a riff once; you pick each note three/four/five times; at speed. I think the term 'tremolo picking' comes from the effect produced from doing this. Here's an example $6.5 $6.5 $6.5 $5.7 $5.7 $5.7 $6.8 $6.8 $6.8 $5.5 $5.5 $5.5 $6.7 $6.7 $6.7 $6.5 $6.5 $6.5 ...

The benefit of using a pick is a louder attack, which is really important when you're purely unamplified and near other, often louder instruments, and where the attack of the note is crucial. Dobro and banjo players are really top ones here, and I understand it's big for pedal steel players. Classical and flamenco players pick with fingernails, but nylon ...

i would say it's all in the flick of the wrist, man the goal, i'd say, is that you don't really want to be straining your muscles much if at all. it's really about twitching the wrist quickly without flexing or constricting muscle much so to not tire your arm. you don't need strength for this. just speed.

When doing strict alternate picking, is it OK to play a downstroke twice in order to start a new phrase on a downstroke? Absolutely yes, if this is what you feel, this is fine. You have to play your way. If your way is zelously strict alternate-picking then feel free to do that instead, but right-hand technique is not a religious doctrine. It feels ...

First, I don't know that having a pick attack with a slight angle is such a bad thing. My advice is to focus on one thing at a time. Either working on keeping your hand above the strings or the angle of your attack. Once you are comfortable with one, work on the other. Second, you don't necessarily have to completely float your hand, it is common to rest ...

There are likely as many routes to fast picking as there are pickers... For bluegrass-type fast runs that are mostly done in a pretty strict alternate-picking style, it seems to come from the elbow with the wrist relatively rigid. Doc Watson refers to "picking from the elbow" when digging in on such passages. Note that I'm talking about steel-string ...

Fingerpicks are used instead of fingernails. I don't think many (or any) classical guitarists use them, but some steelstring guitar players do(blues/bluegrass). Fingerpicks are basically used to get that nail type sound without destroying your nails. As you see on many classical guitarists they have very long nails, sometimes fakenails, which allow them to ...

Generally, for lead playing, people use 0.7 - 1mm picks. If the picks flex too much, it's harder to play faster picking runs. If you're an acoustic player who strums a lot, you might go with a light to medium thickness. I personally only ever use heavy picks, around the 1mm mark.