Your Participation in Cracking The Code

[blackjack]

Michael, I'm wondering if by participating in Troy Grady's "Cracking The Code" did you learn anything about your playing that you didn't already realize you were doing before participating in Cracking The Code and seeing the results. If you could comment on this, especially the "two way pick slanting" technique that Troy Grady discovered that you do, I'd be very interested in what you have to say. Such as, for maximum speed and precision, if you are picking a downstroke on the G string and the next note is on the B string, do you need to have the pick slanted upwards so that you don't accidentally bump into the B string while still on the downstroke (in other words while you are crossing the B string sos thatyou can pick the next note on an upstroke)?

I never used to slant the pick but I've found that when I play at very fast speeds, if I have a lick where I have a downstroke on the G string and the next note is an upstroke on the B string, in an effort to play as fast as I need to, I tend to accidentally bump into the B string while crossing over it so that I can hit it on an upstroke. Has this ever happened to you or people you know, and if so, is slanting the pick necessary to avoid accidentally bumping into the B string while attempting to cross over it?

What happens to me is that the faster I try to play, the more parallel my pickstroke becomes as I try to clear the B string on my way to picking it on an upstroke. Eventually my pickstroke becomes so parallel that I bump into the B string while still on the downstroke (as if I were trying to use economy picking). This is highly undesirable when not trying to use economy picking so if you have any advice on how to avoid accidentally bumping into the B string after an upstroke on the G string and then trying to cross over the B string so that I can hit the next note on an upstroke.

No matter how much time I spend practicing slowly and using an upward arc to my pick stroke so that I will clear the B string instead of accidentally bumping into it and creating unwanted noise, when I get to very high speeds, my body automatically makes my pickstroke more horizontal instead of an upward arc and so I end up accidentally bump into the B string while still on my downstroke!

I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give me on this problem, Michael!!!

Blackjack

[BKW]

Dec 3, 2014 10:11:20 GMT -6 blackjack said:

Michael, I'm wondering if by participating in Troy Grady's "Cracking The Code" did you learn anything about your playing that you didn't already realize you were doing before participating in Cracking The Code and seeing the results. If you could comment on this, especially the "two way pick slanting" technique that Troy Grady discovered that you do, I'd be very interested in what you have to say. Such as, for maximum speed and precision, if you are picking a downstroke on the G string and the next note is on the B string, do you need to have the pick slanted upwards so that you don't accidentally bump into the B string while still on the downstroke (in other words while you are crossing the B string sos thatyou can pick the next note on an upstroke)?

I never used to slant the pick but I've found that when I play at very fast speeds, if I have a lick where I have a downstroke on the G string and the next note is an upstroke on the B string, in an effort to play as fast as I need to, I tend to accidentally bump into the B string while crossing over it so that I can hit it on an upstroke. Has this ever happened to you or people you know, and if so, is slanting the pick necessary to avoid accidentally bumping into the B string while attempting to cross over it?

What happens to me is that the faster I try to play, the more parallel my pickstroke becomes as I try to clear the B string on my way to picking it on an upstroke. Eventually my pickstroke becomes so parallel that I bump into the B string while still on the downstroke (as if I were trying to use economy picking). This is highly undesirable when not trying to use economy picking so if you have any advice on how to avoid accidentally bumping into the B string after an upstroke on the G string and then trying to cross over the B string so that I can hit the next note on an upstroke.

No matter how much time I spend practicing slowly and using an upward arc to my pick stroke so that I will clear the B string instead of accidentally bumping into it and creating unwanted noise, when I get to very high speeds, my body automatically makes my pickstroke more horizontal instead of an upward arc and so I end up accidentally bump into the B string while still on my downstroke!

I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give me on this problem, Michael!!!

Blackjack

I'll let Michael answer.. but you might want to check out what Dave Mustaine talks about his picking technique and how holding the pick parallel or slanted effects his playing. It is at the 2:35 mark.

[blackjack]

Thanks BKW! I appreciate the video. However, I want to make sure I'm being clear about what I mean by "pick slanting." It's not what Dave is talking about where he talks about either hitting the string with the pick flat on or with the side of the pick. What I'm talking about is holding the pick so that it hits the string directly on - perpendicular, but it's slanted upward meaning that the point of the pick at the bottom of the pick is closer to the string than the top of the pick which is angled back. That's upward pick slanting. Downward pick slanting is when the top of the pick is further ahead than the point at the bottom. The point at the bottom is closer to me and the top of the pick is further from me in downward slanting. The exact opposite holds true for upward slanting.

BKW, while I'm waiting for Mike's response, could you tell me if when you're playing a lick where you pick a downstroke on the G string and the next note is an upstroke on the B string, and you're playing very fast, do you ever accidentally touch the B string with the pick instead of clearing the string cleanly in preparation for picking the B string with an upstroke? In other words, when you're alternate picking at your fastest speeds, and you're playing a lick such as the one I described, do you ever accidentally hit the B string while you're still on the downstroke instead of clearing the string cleanly? I guess you could say that this mistake I'm talking about consists of hitting the G string and then the B string with the same pickstroke as in economy picking except you are trying to make the pick go over the B string so that you don't create the unwanted noise of accidentally hitting it while you're still on the downstroke.

To clear the string without using pick slanting requires that the picking hand moves in an upwards arc so that after the downstroke on the G string, the pick then moves upward slightly as it also moves horizontally towards the adjacent string. It's this upward arc that keeps the pick stroke from just being the equivalent of an economy picking stroke or sweep picked stroke where the pick just moves horizontally across the fretboard instead of in an upwards arc so as to go over the adjacent string without hitting it so that no unwanted sound is made while you are getting the pick in position for an upstroke on the B string.

You must be an experienced guitarist so while I'm waiting for Mike's response, if you could tell me if you've ver had the problem of accidentally hitting a string that you are trying to move the pick over the top of so that you can hit it with an upstroke, please tell me what you did about this problem to eliminate it. It only happens when I play very fast. When I play at a moderate speed it doesn't happen but when I play beyond a certain speed, my picking hand automatically moves in a more horizontal motion (like a sweep picking or economy picking stroke) instead of in an upwards arc and that causes me to hit the string instead of moving the pick over the top of the string so that I can then hit the string with an upstroke. No amount of slow or moderate speed practice keeps this problem from happening when I play at high speeds.

[Michael Angelo Batio]

Hi blackjack. I think what Troy did and how he did it was amazing! Yes, I learned some new things about the way I pick and attack the strings - in both directions. I realize that when you slow a motion down so slow, you discover nuances and tendencies that are not noticeable in "real time." That's a given, of course, but to actually see it the way Troy filmed it is awesome! I think you really see the "human element" in the technique. But, I have a saying - "paralysis through analysis." I love what Troy did. After viewing the video of myself slowed down, I maintain that my picking technique works so well that I don't want to "over think" it. So, in conclusion, was this useful to me and hopefully a lot of other guitarists, my answer is a big YES! It also reinforces to me that I don't have to worry about "fixing something that isn't broken." I hope this helps.

[Michael Angelo Batio]

blackjack, I read your post carefully about hitting the B string "accidentally" and the "2 way pick slanting." I don't have this B string problem, but I did when I first started to work on Alternate picking regardless if it was strictly up and down a scale or string skipping. I worked every day on the exercises I show in my Speed Kills and Star Licks videos - exercises that I mostly made up because I was my own teacher. I worked on this technique religiously for 2 years when I was a teenager in high school. I "mastered" Alternate picking during this time. I use downward pick slanting mostly. I feel this is because I am left handed. It is the opposite of most guitarists. But, when I play left handed on my Double-Guitar or a single left handed guitar, I use upward pick slanting. The 2 way pick slanting is something that I didn't know I did. I can only say again that I have learned over the years to not over analyze something that works. I think slanting the pick is the only way to get speed and clarity. Hitting a string with no angle or perpendicular is not IMHO the best way to get a great sound or play with extreme speed. What I would suggest to you is something completely different - if you anchor your fingers on the guitar body when picking, try the Al DiMeola, Frank Gambali, Robert Fripp, "free floating" hand position - fingers "cupped" and floating over the strings, not on the body. I have been working on this picking hand technique and the results are great. Maybe post a video of yourself playing and I can comment in greater detail as well. Thanks.

[blackjack]

Dec 11, 2014 9:30:10 GMT -6 Michael Angelo Batio said:

Hi blackjack. I think what Troy did and how he did it was amazing! Yes, I learned some new things about the way I pick and attack the strings - in both directions. I realize that when you slow a motion down so slow, you discover nuances and tendencies that are not noticeable in "real time." That's a given, of course, but to actually see it the way Troy filmed it is awesome! I think you really see the "human element" in the technique. But, I have a saying - "paralysis through analysis." I love what Troy did. After viewing the video of myself slowed down, I maintain that my picking technique works so well that I don't want to "over think" it. So, in conclusion, was this useful to me and hopefully a lot of other guitarists, my answer is a big YES! It also reinforces to me that I don't have to worry about "fixing something that isn't broken." I hope this helps.

Thanks Michael. If you like the saying "paralysis through analysis", you should enjoy this fable: A spider saw a centipede but he knew he couldn't outrun the centipede. It was much too fast for the spider to catch But the spider was hungry. So it asked the centipede "You have so many legs, how do you decide which one to move first when you walk"? The centipede started thinking very hard but it couldn't remember which leg he moved first when he walked. The centipede tried to start walking but its legs got all confused with each other and the centipede fell over. The spider quickly jumped on him and ate him.