Techniques
- Thread starter bryan1234
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LadyInTears
Well-known member
sweeping. can only sweep cleanly on 4 strings
zamir666
New member
waaaaahhhhhhhh, that technique is like a never ending battle for me. i can't even sweep cleanly on 3 strings
. probably the technique that took me a while to get used to is alternate picking.pianomankris
New member
Playing in time. It's quite simply the most important aspect of playing, and, with guitarists anyway, one of the most ignored aspects of playing.
It'll take you years of practise with a metronome before being any good at this. Studies have been done - even after 3 or 4 years of hard practise, an innate sense of 'pulse' still isn't fully developed. And I mean 3 or 4 years of hard practise with a metronome.
Forget shredding etc etc - most 'shredders' would really struggle if given a specific beat to play along with (or, if you really want to test them, set the metronome to a much slower speed than what they are used to, and then get them to play their solo. In order to do this, you need to understand the rhythm of what you're playing. Most guitarists don't understand the rhythm of what they're playing - they simply imitate what they hear).
So, i'd say - learn how to play in time.
And there are no short cuts in learning how to do this. Get the metronome out, use it all the time.
PS that also means learning what quavers/semiquavers etc are. that's usually the point when guitarists lose interest.
You should work towards being able to read the rhythm of the actual piece from the music (i.e. the actual notated music), even if you're reading the TAB to know what/where the notes are.
If you can't do this, you'll only ever be able to play pieces of music you already know. If you learn how to do this, you can pick up a book and play everything in it, without having actually heard the pieces.
It'll take you years of practise with a metronome before being any good at this. Studies have been done - even after 3 or 4 years of hard practise, an innate sense of 'pulse' still isn't fully developed. And I mean 3 or 4 years of hard practise with a metronome.
Forget shredding etc etc - most 'shredders' would really struggle if given a specific beat to play along with (or, if you really want to test them, set the metronome to a much slower speed than what they are used to, and then get them to play their solo. In order to do this, you need to understand the rhythm of what you're playing. Most guitarists don't understand the rhythm of what they're playing - they simply imitate what they hear).
So, i'd say - learn how to play in time.
And there are no short cuts in learning how to do this. Get the metronome out, use it all the time.
PS that also means learning what quavers/semiquavers etc are. that's usually the point when guitarists lose interest.
You should work towards being able to read the rhythm of the actual piece from the music (i.e. the actual notated music), even if you're reading the TAB to know what/where the notes are.
If you can't do this, you'll only ever be able to play pieces of music you already know. If you learn how to do this, you can pick up a book and play everything in it, without having actually heard the pieces.
fenderrules
New member
Technique-wise it would be sweep picking for me, althtypical 3 string sweeps.ough I'm not THAT good yet.
The technique required both hands to really gel together, feather like strokes and lightning fast left hand movement. For the first time I either strummed the notes as a chord or i down stroked without gliding on the strings. But after a while my right hand started to "drop" the pick on the strings when sweeping. Left hand is alright as well but still makes some noise when doing pull offs and recovery doing the up stroke on
bryan1234, muting is one of the easiest and basic techniques on the guitar. Just remember to relax while muting and angle the pick properly to the strings. I love muting as it is an amazing technique on the guitar as it gives a percussive feel and adds a big punch to whatever you are playing.
Then once you get up to speed, you can learn all sorts of muting like tremolo muting, speed muting, skip muting, galloping (my favourite of the muting techniques) and alot more.
Cheers
The technique required both hands to really gel together, feather like strokes and lightning fast left hand movement. For the first time I either strummed the notes as a chord or i down stroked without gliding on the strings. But after a while my right hand started to "drop" the pick on the strings when sweeping. Left hand is alright as well but still makes some noise when doing pull offs and recovery doing the up stroke on
bryan1234, muting is one of the easiest and basic techniques on the guitar. Just remember to relax while muting and angle the pick properly to the strings. I love muting as it is an amazing technique on the guitar as it gives a percussive feel and adds a big punch to whatever you are playing.
Then once you get up to speed, you can learn all sorts of muting like tremolo muting, speed muting, skip muting, galloping (my favourite of the muting techniques) and alot more.
Cheers
dudelove
New member
LadyInTears
Well-known member
coolhand
New member
totally agree with pianomankris input...
in fact there is an inside joke among musicians..."how do you stopped a guitarist from playing ?"..."put a music score in front of him"
so what fanciful techniques have you i.e sweep picking but you are not able to play in time...Sweep picking without understanding why and for what reason it is being done for is like being a programmed robot...."I sweep coz he sweeps" mentality...
in fact there is an inside joke among musicians..."how do you stopped a guitarist from playing ?"..."put a music score in front of him"
so what fanciful techniques have you i.e sweep picking but you are not able to play in time...Sweep picking without understanding why and for what reason it is being done for is like being a programmed robot...."I sweep coz he sweeps" mentality...
EugeneSmasher
New member
The hardest technique for me is sweep-picking. I can't even sweep three strings just yet, but right now I'm concentrating more on blues-style soloing because there will always be a lot of shredders who are better than me.
Oh, and pitch harmonics. Very difficult, especially if I'm using big picks. I can easily do them on small picks, but doing them with big ones is almost impossible for me. I really wonder how Kerry King does pitch harmonics with that big triangular pick he uses.
Oh, and pitch harmonics. Very difficult, especially if I'm using big picks. I can easily do them on small picks, but doing them with big ones is almost impossible for me. I really wonder how Kerry King does pitch harmonics with that big triangular pick he uses.
wjl123
New member
+1 to both coolhand and pianomankris
Sometimes songs can sound really silly if its all " boo loo boo loop bloo bloop " throughout, just like what Paul Gilbert said.
Its better if you know your stuff and experiment with different techniques, maybe instead of using swept arpeggios you can use string skipping ones tapped ones and stuff.
However if you really want that " boo loo boo loop " sound then you can go ahead and start sweeping away :mrgreen:
Sometimes songs can sound really silly if its all " boo loo boo loop bloo bloop " throughout, just like what Paul Gilbert said.
Its better if you know your stuff and experiment with different techniques, maybe instead of using swept arpeggios you can use string skipping ones tapped ones and stuff.
However if you really want that " boo loo boo loop " sound then you can go ahead and start sweeping away :mrgreen:
fenderrules
New member
Hey duude..
You wanna know something?
I don't know this may sound unorthodox to you but...
For 3 string sweeps, after a lot of observation and some practice, you don't have to actually upstroke upon recovery from the pull off. (I assume that you do those sweeps with pull offs but if ya don't nevermind)
This is an example which I posted on the Dean guitar forum a few days ago.
A typical 3 string sweep will be like so. This is actually half of a D Minor arpeggio that I cut up and that leads to the full on followed by the 5 stringed sweep. It is done so to make sweeping slightly easier before leading up to the harder one.
|---------13h15p13---------13h17p13--------------------------
|------15-----------15---15---------15-----------------------
|---14-----------------14--------------14--------------------
|------------------------------------------15------------------
|--------------------------------------------17----------------
|---------------------------------------------------------------
What you do is that after 15p13, you don't upstroke. Instead, you use your index and middle finger (or whichever fingers you use) to "hammer" 15 and 14. The objective in this is to make the notes audible.
This is something which I have been observing from years of practice and watching various videos on youtube. So if I am wrong please correct me. My sweeping has been inspired mainly from Matt Heafy from Trivium.
Cheers
pianomankris
New member
fenderrules - you mean a left-hand hammer-on, yes?
Can you get it clean through an acoustic? If you had the strength to make it sound out on an acoustic (with a cutaway of course lol), then i'd say go for it.
If you only get it to sound out through an electric with the distortion at 10, then you're kidding yourself that your fingers are strong enough to execute the technique.
Listen to, for example, Malmsteen's tone - it's actually not that distorted at all. Even better - listen to Allan Holdsworth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySWS6i9kL4s - not everyone's style, but from a technical standpoint, the guy's untouchable. And the distortion level is very low.
But the hammer-on/pull-off on the 1st string should give you time to change pickstroke direction anyway. PS what you mention should be done as a conscious decision, one of choice, rather than because the 'other way' is too difficult.
I'd say about any advanced techqniues - can they be done just as effectively with a clean amp setting, or, even better, on an acoustic? Others here have already mentioned playing clean as one of the most important factors of guitar playing.
PS Bryan - everything also depends on what style you play. Every technique is as easy or as difficult as you want it to be, depending on how good you want that specific technique to be. I know some rhythm players that have spent years working on perfecting their chord changes. And they're still practising
Can you get it clean through an acoustic? If you had the strength to make it sound out on an acoustic (with a cutaway of course lol), then i'd say go for it.
If you only get it to sound out through an electric with the distortion at 10, then you're kidding yourself that your fingers are strong enough to execute the technique.
Listen to, for example, Malmsteen's tone - it's actually not that distorted at all. Even better - listen to Allan Holdsworth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySWS6i9kL4s - not everyone's style, but from a technical standpoint, the guy's untouchable. And the distortion level is very low.
But the hammer-on/pull-off on the 1st string should give you time to change pickstroke direction anyway. PS what you mention should be done as a conscious decision, one of choice, rather than because the 'other way' is too difficult.
I'd say about any advanced techqniues - can they be done just as effectively with a clean amp setting, or, even better, on an acoustic? Others here have already mentioned playing clean as one of the most important factors of guitar playing.
PS Bryan - everything also depends on what style you play. Every technique is as easy or as difficult as you want it to be, depending on how good you want that specific technique to be. I know some rhythm players that have spent years working on perfecting their chord changes. And they're still practising
pianomankris
New member
PS fenderrules i'm sure you know of Frank Gambale, if you like to sweep pick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48DXt8Jn7M
Skip to about 5 minutes and be blown away lol
More distortion, so you'll probably prefer this to the Holdsworth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48DXt8Jn7M
Skip to about 5 minutes and be blown away lol
More distortion, so you'll probably prefer this to the Holdsworth.
fenderrules
New member
These are the videos where I learned sweeping.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx7cLwvQ24Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skoCQn0jqXs&feature=related
Unless I'm mistaken, for those 3 string sweeps, Matt and Corey are not sweeping up at all. And Corey's a better guitar player than Matt. But of course, it would make sense that stuff like 5 string sweeps and "the cheat sweep" require upstrokes as well.
Unless I'm mistaken that is. I consider myself particularly new to the technique and I just kept practicing the way they have been doin' it so yeah.
pianokris, I do know Frank Gambale but I'm more of a metalhead so I don't particularly know of his stuff that well. Sweeps are awesome man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx7cLwvQ24Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skoCQn0jqXs&feature=related
Unless I'm mistaken, for those 3 string sweeps, Matt and Corey are not sweeping up at all. And Corey's a better guitar player than Matt. But of course, it would make sense that stuff like 5 string sweeps and "the cheat sweep" require upstrokes as well.
Unless I'm mistaken that is. I consider myself particularly new to the technique and I just kept practicing the way they have been doin' it so yeah.
pianokris, I do know Frank Gambale but I'm more of a metalhead so I don't particularly know of his stuff that well. Sweeps are awesome man.
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