picking technique
A couple of weeks ago I was watching the “Get out of my yard” Paul Gilbert instructional DVD and it came to a point where Paul talks about correct picking technique which in his case (and this is what he recommends) is using first finger and thumb to hold the pick with the pick angled forward slightly and the pick resting on the outside of the first finger rather than the finger tip. He then said he used to hold the pick with thumb, first and second fingers for 8 years when he decided to change his technique.

I have been holding the pick with 3 fingers now for 20 years* and disregarded this information because I can play perfectly well using this method… however, I thought I would give it a go anyway. What I realised was due to my double jointed thumb (see left photo above!) I can bend my thumb back at a strange angle which makes for quite a unique pick holding method and tend to push the pick into an upward angle when I want to really attack the strings, but this is the exact opposite of what Paul was saying. What I also noticed was by pushing the pick into an upward angle I create a lot of tension in my forearm which after a while becomes painful and even when I focus on it I can’t relax the muscles. Because of this I have always used a lot of legato phrasing although in my mind it has always been because I learned from playing lots of Satriani songs. So I tried the 2 finger method (above right) and angled the pick down, immediately I noticed a massive reduction in the forearm tension and maybe even precision.

So now, I have to take this seriously, I can potentially really improve my playing but I have to unlearn everything I have learned in 20 years and start again… not an enviable position to be in I’m sure you’ll agree but it isn’t the first time for me, when I started my music degree at Birmingham Conservatoire the first thing I was made to do was re-learn how to fingerpick, my technique was crap but I had been playing metal for 4 years so jumping to classical was a big ask! I spent the first 3 months working on my right hand technique, practicing for hours every day with open strings until it finally clicked and my technique improved dramatically. I find that picking scale patterns is not a problem and won’t take much adjustment but I play pinch harmonics in an unusual way so that will take some time. Also when I want to play some SRV and really attack the strings I find it really easy with my current method but when I switch to 2 fingers my other fingers seem to be in the way and my knuckles take a bashing (or should that be grating!).

I will keep you all updated on how I progress with this re-learning process!

UPDATE: I have just watched a clip of Van Halen performing “5150″ on YouTube from the Live Without A Net Video and now I think it all makes sense. This was pretty much my video tutorial when I first started playing so I copied the way Eddie plays, I hold the pick the same (except for my crazy double jointed thumb) and tap the same… Maybe my technique is not so bad after all!! (Note: I don’t wear baggy pants like Eddie, but at the time I probably considered it!).

* I should clarify that out of that 20 years I had a large break after the Conservatoire sapped all of the fun out of playing for me, I didn’t touch a guitar for about 6 years and my Electric for almost 10 years, for the last 3 years I have only played acoustic – fingerpicking guitar but recently picked up my first love again.