How to Build

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INTRODUCTION

This is just an overview of the steps you need to take. Use it to

gauge where you are currently and what step you should be
focusing on.

MY ADVICE: Most people massively over-estimate the ability of their

fretting hand. Don't make that mistake otherwise you'll be
struggling to build good co-ordination for years to come.

Developing your picking hand and fretting hand is simple. There's

only one way to do it. Read on and take back control.

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01 Weak fingers do NOT have the ability
to stay in time or keep up with the
tempo. If they cannot stay in time
then they CANNOT develop stamina
Work on your and speed.
Hammers & Pulls
Nearly everybody skips this step
because they think it's too simple or
too boring.

Use the finger exercises in The Warm

Up free course and start getting
control back over your fingers.

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All you need to do now is pick
at the same time as you fret
the notes. Get comfortable
02
doing this on ONE string
only. Add the
Picking
If you can't sync up the hands
Hand
go back to Stage 2. Your
fretting hand is probably not
as controlled as you think.

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03
Develop a
Tremolo
Picking Ability
If you want to pick
faster then you need to Watch video here
know if your picking
technique has speed
potential.
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 In order to get faster you have to
04 practice playing faster. Use the tremolo
picking technique you've acquired and
match it up to your fretting hand.
Add Speed
Keep the bursts small to avoid getting
Bursts overwhelmed and fatigued. Combining
high speed work with medium tempo
repetitions is essential to building
stamina and allowing you to build
reliable hand sync.

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 Practice picking the next note
05 on the adjacent string. Do not
try to practice entire picking
runs at this point. It is a waste of
time and energy.
Start Adding
String Crossing Keep it slow enough to get
comfortable with maintaining
picking across strings. Once
memorised, combine with
speed bursts so that you don't
get stuck at a speed barrier.

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 06
Add More
Notes
If you can successfully play the
first few notes of a pattern,
then add the remaining notes
and pick them all. Watch video here
Combine low / medium tempo
and speed bursts to ingrain the
technique.
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07 Add More
Strings
If you can pick from one
string to another successfully
then add the next string.

As always, use lower tempos

for stamina and speed bursts
to push your maximum
speed.
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 According to your preferred hand

08 position you may find certain

picking mechanics easier than
others. Find out whether you're
better at Outside Picking or Inside
Identify and Focus on Picking.
Problem Areas
You need to know the difference
between Inside Picking and
Outside Picking, both ascending
and descending. If you don't know
these, then it's harder to identify
where your problems are.

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09 You will always be better at one
string crossing mechanic than the
other. That's just life. From there,
you have a choice;
Work With
Your Strengths 1. Devote all your energy to
making your weakest mechanic
better and better. OR...
2. Work with your best attributes
and master them, like most of
the greats did.

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Picking and Legato are the Foundation Techniques to
Everything
Whether you go onto sweep picking, hybrid picking or tapping... the
most rewarding work you can do is to get your Picking and Legato
sorted out properly! Guitar Technique is built from the ground up and
Picking and Legato are the foundations on which everything else stands.

If you ignore these steps above, you'll be cursed to repeat the same
mistakes over and over.

So.... get started with The Warm Up. You know what to do!
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