GT RATING MODERATE: ADVANCED ‘You can benefic even you're of moderate ably though to ‘each the top speeds Youll need co be vanced: Timekeeping “Most players want to start each new lick, run or phrase with a downstroke,” YOUR GITUTOR BSAUN SOTER WORKSHOP You've learned your ABCs, now apply alternate picking patterns to arpeggios to improve the speed and accuracy of your picking... ECONOMY PICKING PRIMER II the salient points one note down at anyone time inorder to prevent the notes ECONOMY PICKING ‘There isa simple rule that ensures maximum eeonaniy ‘when you are picking Always move the pick directly to ‘each new string, Inother words, always fa) FORTHIS MONTH'S demonstration, | used my cream string to a thin string with a Fender Custom-shop Relic 'S7 Seat through a Cornford ‘versa, In otter to follow this ru 119 be able ‘mle SOH wave head anda Palmer speaker simulator ick and sweep pick, Altemate picking, “The Cornford was on the following setings and the omical way of playing more than on’ ‘overdrive button was on: 90 Guitar Techniques OFCEMBER 2002_ @ECONOMICS LESSONS | RECOMMENDED LISTENING IFYOUWANT TO HEAR just how quickly economy picking «an help you pay. ste to any albums by the ies of John Portruce (Dream Theater), ‘Yngwie Malmsteen or renowned fusion player Frank Gamble. Reale though, thatthe style of ‘musi here doesn’ really hae relevance to how «economy picking can help your playing ~ che technique «an be applied 10 any syle of music TOP PICK 1 Frank Gambale/Stu HammiSteve Smith ‘Show Me What You Can Do* should be angled on each down sweep, but should b held straight for each up-sweep FOLLOW THE RULES? Some players, such as Frank Gambale, organise the left hhand fingering of virtually everything they play so that fry time that they 4o ths, they apply the following they ean swee ange from string © When travelling in one ditection, use an od number of notes on each string ‘© When changing lirection, use an even number of You may see the word ‘ules like Frank, but some kriowsesge of the rules wil help ye irecaten Foe Tt pee echoes tah thes” Besecwnl Think that picking is just one dimension of playing. 1 think thar t sounds restrictive. Pm nots prefer to use it in conjunetion with otter techniques lik legato or tapping. But Ive spent tine inthe past tying fo develop sweep picking in an exclusive and undiluted form, and these exercises wil allow yon to do the same EXERCISE 1A ‘The most economical way to pick EXERCISE fa isnot as you may first think, 1 play each three-note repeated trokes be more economic than one? Wo, you play the roe notes once, one down stroke woul Ie the 108 However, if you were to repeat th have to travel past the D sir each time witha up stroke, as you return from the B sizing, in order tos al as takint B string with a down-stroke, This is not as econer travel fom th back tothe D string with an upstrok the most direct route —ie EXERCISE IB This exercise isthe reverse of exercise EXERCISE IC [ts important that you keep within the perimeter of the strings her the € not velling rom at upstroke en D string) to a dow-stroke on the B note (B this way all ofthe other notes should take care EXERCISES 24,B & C hese three exercises can be viewed! as four-not equivalents of the previous three Remember, from last month, any bad timing on your behalf will show up more cleanly when playing something, EXERCISE 3 This i a short, but typical, neo-classical aplication of weep picking using arpeasie Note how it picking. There is eres to the Tales’ governing sweep ) on each string lng one direetion (either up oF down each and there isan even number of notes ised when changing direction (four on the E string an on the A string). You should make sun of the appopriate coord nat you hit all h first note in each group of and he ates throughout arpeggio (in other words, th three shout (On the CD, youl find each of these three workouts performed at different tempos. ‘The firs! workout comprises EXERCISES Lae, then yout have EXERCISES 2a-e and we fish up with EXERCISE 3 - WORKSHOP @protip DONTE TOO worried if you can hit {he top speeds ofthese exer — they are there asa target for you 10 im towards, but arent required for your picking to benefit rom {hs lesson,WORKSHOP HIT YOUR TARGETS As for eventual metronome tary play along cleanly and accurately tho fastest workout speeds on the GT-CD: Ifyou ean, am for anothe {Obpm. Inver, EXERCISE 3 cai be played well past, 200bp0! PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT Last week, when one of the exercises started on an upstroke, [pointed out that | would ansiver your quite natural fears about having to know whether or not t start sometlung with either a down stroke 0 upstroke during umprovistion, Well, the answe you don’t have to tink, Most players want new lick, run or plrase with a down stn is that o. However this need not be a big problem It you do start with the vou wil have dev that wrong’ stroke, the bi joped from your economy picking sxercises should lead you to make a corre’ uring the fist strut chart. in order t picking pattern. All this will happen automaticaly as, ‘withthe right practise, the picking hand will quickly Jevelop tind of is own ‘aking the most direct route between two strings. Last mort ESSA (60) (80) (100) {would take only take a few weeks to convert to economy picking, T achieve that so quickiy it vital that you are consisten! Inthe way that you practise, Is no use practising picking with sour fast -n0te-p ‘econo string to follow it theang! patiorns Ifyou not g to your fast blues playing, ‘Try looking at th favourite runs, leks or phrases. You'l probably find tat could way yout play You you're not ping things as economically as WHAT ABOUT RHYTHM? | must say that, although I economy pick when playing speed, | dont carey ths through to every aspect of my ‘guitar playing, When playing very slowly 1 may’ use loads ‘of upsirokes or down-strokes in sueces cular tonal eff keep to all riytian parts, [find this easy to do because, whe playing a hytum part aun ina diferent rund set to when I playing lead, And for rhylun parts, [ind allemate picking more metronomi and, in fact, bow than the wrist nin order to get a pa Purthernore, -mate picking when playing action comes more fron the Next month, well shift our empha ik at playing seale sequences using Is, Until then, good tuck! DL to the freting hand as we Kl ENE (60) (20) 100) ‘Repeat tour mes EECCA (6) (80) (700) Repeat ur mes = Repeat our tines 92 Guitar Tetiques DeceneeR 2002Maelo) id ry ESN AEST (20) (100) 120) Repeat four times Sea (20) 100) (120) BT sil gs Wee 2 Repeat our tas SNES (0) (700) (120) peat four unos EEA na (100) (125) (150) cs 34 94 Guitar‘Techriques DECEMBER 2002