If you have any guitar related questions you want to ask me personally or you want to give me some feeback on this site, please get in touch! I am more than happy to help you overcome any frustrations you are experiencing with learning guitar.
Below I will be adding questions I have received that I think will be beneficial to others. If your question is selected I will ask your kind permission before I publish it!
3) Ignore your pinky/little finger altogether! Yes, I mean that. Did you know that Eric Clapton did not (or rarely did) use his pinky finger? See this video on You Tube for some inspiration. The solo starts at 2:57...
If you do cut out your pinky finger altogether, this might actually help you create a distinct quality in your lead guitar, as you'll be more inclined to use slides (see: finger slides) and other techniques to get to the next note, rather than "leaping" to it.
If you are in the early stages of playing then it will seem physically impossible at times, but you just have to keep moving forward and get over the hump. Deliberately give yourself awkward finger movements to work on and practice them every day until you nail it in your own way (e.g. through one of the above methods).
Question:So I read your section on flat picking. This picking technique seems counter-intuitive as it involves consecutive upstrokes and downstrokes. I actually experimented with this technique in the past but didn't stick with it because I always read online that alternate picking or economy picking was the proper way to pick.
So, anyway I guess my question would be, is this technique you describe used by speedier pickers like Batio and Malmsteen? I've been playing for ten years and my rhythm has always sucked. It would certainly explain a lot if this is what I was supposed to be doing the whole time.
Answer: There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to which picking technique you prefer. Many guitarists swear by strict alternate picking in everything they play. Others prefer to economise. Nobody should be telling you one technique is the ONLY way to pick.
It's worth pointing out that the lesson you were referring to was intended to cover the very basics of flat picking, so if you've been playing for 10 years, you will most likely have found certain picking techniques more comfortable than others. My advice is to go with what feels natural to you.
Personally, I feel most comfortable using economy picking, which means using consecutive up and down strokes depending on the direction of travel. I feel more comfortable when the direction of the pick stroke corresponds with the direction of the proceeding string. However, using alternate picking when you're picking from low E to high E (for example) is not "wrong" at all. It's just another way of executing the same sequence.
As for speed picking... neither alternate picking or economy picking will get you playing faster by default. Again, I would stick with the one you're most comfortable with and use a metronome to gradually speed up. There are exceptions, such as if you come to learn sweep picking, which does require you to be comfortable with playing consecutively in the direction of travel.
As the picking lesson you referred to is for beginners, I wanted to keep it focused and that meant choosing one technique and running with it. In coming lessons, I will be making it clear that picking becomes more and more an individual preference as experience develops.
I hope that wasn't too much of an "on the fence" answer to your question, but that's just the way it is.
There are many more lessons on picking technique in the pipeline!
We already know the powerchord shape on the lowest string changes, and that the low B string is not in a standard position in relation to the other 6 strings, as its standard position would be C#.
What if we played an open C chord shape in drop B? The lowest root note for this chord is usually on the A string. In drop B, that's the F# string.
Bb | B | C | C# | D | Eb | E | F | F# | G | Ab | A
Tuning A down to F# is 3 semi-tones (1 and a half steps) lower. Therefore if we know the notes of open C major in standard tuning, all we need to do is work each note back 3 semi-tones.
Root C becomes A
3rd E becomes C#
5th G becomes E
If you can focus some time on learning the order of notes, and visualise them like a scrolling marquee in your mind, you will eventually be able to memorise it in the same way you can in standard tuning.
The most important notes to learn are the root notes on the lowest 3 strings. Although chords don't always use the low root, it's a good place to start, as most chords are built from those notes.
