Guthrie Govan Discussion

[BIOS]

Just wondering how long it took you guys to master outside picking to a standard that equals your inside picking [assuming that this is easier for you] and was it difficult initially for you?

I'm currently working on the paul gilbert lick among other things to develop this as it's a weak area for me technically.

d u d u
|-------------4-------------4-|
|--4--5--7--------4--5--7----|

Also if you have any particular licks/exercises that helped that would be great.

[guitaral]

that exercise is a good way to practice different alternate picking techniques (inside/outside). one thing you can do is just run all your scales using the different picking directions. if you usually start with an upstroke, start with a down, etc. another thing you can do is, instead of learning a whole new bag of tricks, take the licks you already know and can play at mind-boggling speeds and start with a different pickstroke. you're going to see that it will mess with your mind quite a bit! also, practice string skipping using this, but more a shape like this-

[BIOS]

Hey thanks for the reply and apologies for the lateness of mine!

Yeah its licks like that that i need to be practicing. I guess i always wonder if i can get the outside picking mechanic to the level of comfort as the inside one. I mean you can get by with just the one but Guthrie taught me too strive for both in his technique vids. So would you say you have both mechanics down to the level where they're fairly even?

[guitaral]

you definitely want to be able to do both at any given time.

here's a scenario for ya-

you're playing in front of a few thousand people, and a great idea comes to your mind while soloing. you start out fine; the notes seem to be flowing together without any sort of physical holdup. all of a sudden, your right hand begins to freeze up because it starts a run on an upstroke instead of a downstroke, and half the audience leaves because a glaring minor 2nd is sounding when you freeze.

not a very favorable position to be in, eh?

i will stress the importance of being able to pick anything using any sort of method. it's just one of those things that a guitarist has to be able to overcome!!!
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"What's wrong with being sexy?" - Nigel Tufnel

[frankus]

It's a cool picking exercise to explore - kudos to the OP for thinking about it. I'd steer clear of one thing:

Needlessly creating anxiety about your playing - be that imagining a scenarios that go wrong or comparing yourself to others.

There will always be players you can think of as better or worse: it seems dangerous to get into that mindset. I think it's a distraction from aspects of your own playing... in fact if the theory of projection is on the money: what really winds you up about another persons playing is what winds you up about your own playing (but can't admit to)... that's almost as valuable as being inspired by a great player.

How long someone took to get a technique really depends on the exercises they used and their honesty about problems they found - it's going to vary so wildly as to be irrelevant.

There will be times when things go wrong - you can only recover from those by being aware and in the present when they happen and reacting. Rehearsed stuff will only cover what you've predicted which won't cover everything - it's a false sense of security. Sometimes stuff going wrong sounds the best: so let it in!

I think it's worth remembering that the audience is there for enjoyment and will forgive mistakes - unless the youtube servers have packed up for the night and all the mal-contented bedroom guitarists have poured into your gig for something to poke and pointlessly critique - it's another of those incredibly unlikely events.
_________________
Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"

I have the power!

[BIOS]

I totally agree you should have equal competence in both mechanics. Its just Guthrie was the first player i had seen who actually backed up the talk with proof that he had. Everyone else seemed to favor a particular mechanic. Even the likes of Lane. [Check his technique vids].

Frankus you raise you interesting lateral points. Tbh when i look at other players i always see the things i am missing and would wish to develop. Its of course a natural process in any craft. For me it's always a positive thing. We all stand on the shoulders of Giants anyway Ultimately for me, it comes down developing a technique that facilitates a freedom of expression. I would hate to be in a position where my technique hindered whatever musical thought i was trying to communicate. At present it does. Although i do realize i will never be happy, i think i can reach a level that is adequate for my needs. That is what i strive for.

As far as the timing thing for development i take your point. Its really to get an approximation or perhaps hear someone describe their period of development which might reveal a few interesting bits of information that may help with my own development.

Thanks for the replies

[sumis]

for me it's a question of phases. my picking rules, and my legato suffers. picking inside is easy, outside difficult, and vice versa.

time is the essence. focus on specific stuff and really work on it.do it for a long time, but change focus from time to time. can't do everything at once ...

forgetting about technique and just fingering and plucking stuff the first way that comes tomind, has helped me the most -- musically.

i still suck.

.

[frankus]

[MissMisstreater]

ahhh so you have spent a week being whiped into shape by dario!

i know the feeling!

i deal with him most days!

my ass cant take being beaten like this!!!

[frankus]

It's the second time I've done the Jazz and Beyond course with Dario, I'm sure he's more forgiving with us than he is his regulars.

There was so much to learn from him - something for everyone.
_________________
Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"

I have the power!

[MissMisstreater]

man...he made us all hybrid pick donna lee at 200 bpm



he only gave us notation, so we had to work out fingerings....that suit hybrid picking....

then add to the equation that it had to sound "smooth and organic"

i was like... WHAT?!??! hybrid picking gives you an instant twang when your new to it...you want us to play jazz like a country player...but sound like a jazz player?!?!?!

[sumis]

[frankus]

Not sure where it's happening next year ... less sure if I'll be there but go for it I say..

As for the hybrid picking stuff - yup we got told that too, it's a Brent Mason thing isn't it? Dario has false nails so he gets the same picking consistency.

Best bit of IGF this year was watching two spiders fight over a fly with Jeff Young (amongst others) it was pure Spinal Tap! although I was stupid enough to miss his workshop the next day - I think I'll be kicking myself about that for a long time
_________________
Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"

I have the power!

[MissMisstreater]

hopefully ill be there next year if your going to be about the modern rock side of things, my class i did for the youth rock course went down a storm, and i put on an AMAZING masterclass! (one of the other tutors and i did harmony solos!!! haha) lets hope the only way is up!

[BIOS]