Practicing Guitar, How to analyze my guitar playing Options

[Victor Simion]

Hi,

Here I play at 90BPM , A Major Scale and A Harmonic Minor Scale.
A major scale played 2 times with economy picking followed by 2 times with strict alternate picking.
Then A Harmonic Minor Scale played 2 times with economy picking followed by 2 times with strict alternate picking.
After that you can see the audio in Reaper.



How would you rate my play and how should I analyze it based on the audio and the video?

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

It's awesome that you made a video.

So, your technique for economy picking looks good at this tempo. I see nothing wrong to say about it.
Would be helpful if at the right hand you will minimize a little the pinky finger movement. I know you already heard this for many times but...it's something that will improve your playing at faster speeds.


Now look very close at your right hand when you play the strict alternate picking. Your hand make some additional motions.
On the E lower and A strings your hand looks good (in this way you should play entire run). When you switch from A to D and from B to E strings you change the motion. Probably on a clean tone this can be also noticed in sound.

Analyze how your hand looks when you play economy picking and how it looks when you play strict alternate picking. Make the comparison and see if you notice what I have mentioned.
As purpose, try to apply the same natural hand movement that you have when you play economy picking for both techniques.

One more thing. An easier way to understand how to analyze your playing with the video is to choose a lesson, take a piece from it see how the instructor play that. Then compare your playing and spot the differences. It's a good way to get used with "hunting" the details.

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[Victor Simion]

It's awesome that you made a video.

So, your technique for economy picking looks good at this tempo. I see nothing wrong to say about it.
Would be helpful if at the right hand you will minimize a little the pinky finger movement. I know you already heard this for many times but...it's something that will improve your playing at faster speeds.

Yes, I heard about the pinky many times
I am trying but the pinky won't listen, and it's flying a lot more on descending chromatics.

It's awesome that you made a video.


Now look very close at your right hand when you play the strict alternate picking. Your hand make some additional motions.
On the E lower and A strings your hand looks good (in this way you should play entire run). When you switch from A to D and from B to E strings you change the motion. Probably on a clean tone this can be also noticed in sound.

Cross string from A to D should be inside picking
I think you meant G to B instead of B to high E, if that is true, than it's also inside picking.

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[Todd Simpson]

Impressive!! Your doing a great job on pick control here and keeping the move to higher strings as a econ pick strike which is a great choice Imho. Descending usually works better as alt pick just like your doing. It's clean and precise. I'd say speed it up slowly to your max and then find out if you can push beyond it by skipping some pick strikes and using left hand power and a good mute.

Todd

Hi,

Here I play at 90BPM , A Major Scale and A Harmonic Minor Scale.
A major scale played 2 times with economy picking followed by 2 times with strict alternate picking.
Then A Harmonic Minor Scale played 2 times with economy picking followed by 2 times with strict alternate picking.
After that you can see the audio in Reaper.



How would you rate my play and how should I analyze it based on the audio and the video?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Monica Gheorghev...]

Yes, I heard about the pinky many times
I am trying but the pinky won't listen, and it's flying a lot more on descending chromatics.

Cross string from A to D should be inside picking
I think you meant G to B instead of B to high E, if that is true, than it's also inside picking.

Exactly, I wanted to say G to B. My mind thought something but my fingers wrote something else.

The inside picking doesn't require additional movements. This subject was highlighted by different instructors in many GMC lessons.
I will quote something said by our instructor Ben Higgins.
"Try not to change your picking position to play inside picking. You want to keep it as natural as possible or you will build in unnecessary movements."

Usually, the additional movements hold us back from progressing. Those tiny details which not affect too much the playing at a slower tempo, will turn against us at higher speed.
You have a good technique. The other things that I think you need are just tiny adjustments. But that's my personal opinion.

You can always make experiments and see what works for you. Also try to compare your playing with our instructors playing from their lessons. Look how they apply a particular technique, what they said about it and which are their advice.

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[Victor Simion]

Impressive!! Your doing a great job on pick control here and keeping the move to higher strings as a econ pick strike which is a great choice Imho. Descending usually works better as alt pick just like your doing. It's clean and precise. I'd say speed it up slowly to your max and then find out if you can push beyond it by skipping some pick strikes and using left hand power and a good mute.

Todd

Thank you Todd, this seems like a good idea to try to speed this up by using muting, I feel that using muting on ticker strings make this easier to play.

The inside picking doesn't require additional movements. This subject was highlighted by different instructors in many GMC lessons.
I will quote something said by our instructor Ben Higgins.
"Try not to change your picking position to play inside picking. You want to keep it as natural as possible or you will build in unnecessary movements."

Thank you Monica this seems like a very good advice for me.
Here is a little older video of me where you can see the same issue with inside picking.
Any exercises or advice on how to fix this?

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[Todd Simpson]

Is say try to keep your econ consistent when moving to a higher string.
E.G. Use a down stroke when moving to higher strings and alt when going lower.
This one thing can make scales more fluid.

It looks like you are changing your pattern somehow as i see you picking hand
pull away from the strings at various points?

Thank you Todd, this seems like a good idea to try to speed this up by using muting, I feel that using muting on ticker strings make this easier to play.




Thank you Monica this seems like a very good advice for me.
Here is a little older video of me where you can see the same issue with inside picking.
Any exercises or advice on how to fix this?

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Thank you Monica this seems like a very good advice for me.
Here is a little older video of me where you can see the same issue with inside picking.
Any exercises or advice on how to fix this?

You are right, this video of yours also shows the same issue.

Now, because you have spotted what you need to adjust, the next step will be to feel the issue while you play. At first, play the run a few times (at a very slow tempo) without trying to adjust anything. When you make the inside picking try to figure out what is happening with your right hand. See (and feel) if you change the hand position, pick angle, the strength of picking or the motion become too wide.
Once you have done this, you can start applying the correction.

As an additional help, take a look at these lessons (focus on each detail). Listen to the explanations and look closely at the hands position (compare with what you see in your video). I'm aware that you already know most of the things but....sometimes you can find solutions or tips which can be really helpful.

This is about inside and outside picking:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Inside-Outside-Picking/

This lesson covers all the details behind the alternate picking technique (hand position, pick angle, wrist angle, etc).
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Altern...Picking-Basics/

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[Victor Simion]

You are right, this video of yours also shows the same issue.

Now, because you have spotted what you need to adjust, the next step will be to feel the issue while you play. At first, play the run a few times (at a very slow tempo) without trying to adjust anything. When you make the inside picking try to figure out what is happening with your right hand. See (and feel) if you change the hand position, pick angle, the strength of picking or the motion become too wide.
Once you have done this, you can start applying the correction.

As an additional help, take a look at these lessons (focus on each detail). Listen to the explanations and look closely at the hands position (compare with what you see in your video). I'm aware that you already know most of the things but....sometimes you can find solutions or tips which can be really helpful.

This is about inside and outside picking:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Inside-Outside-Picking/

This lesson covers all the details behind the alternate picking technique (hand position, pick angle, wrist angle, etc).
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Altern...Picking-Basics/

Thank you for help.

I can see that at slow speed the inside picking hand big movement is not happening.
But when I play it at medium speeds it happens, and most of the time the transition when crossing strings in inside picking is not very smooth.

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This post has been edited by Victor Simion: Feb 3 2022, 10:45 PM

[Todd Simpson]

If you can sort out your picking on a two string lick, then add a third string and so forth. it might be a good way to built up using all the strings.

Thank you for help.

I can see that at slow speed the inside picking hand big movement is not happening.
But when I play it at medium speeds it happens, and most of the time the transition when crossing strings in inside picking is not very smooth.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Feb 4 2022, 02:52 AM

[Victor Simion]

I think this video is a good one regarding this subject of making cross strings picking smoother and how to fix my inside picking problem:

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[Victor Simion]

Here is a new video with me playing A harmonic minor scale at 100 BPM:
First 2 notes per click - slow speed:
Then 4 notes per click - fast speed:

Let me know what you think, and if the audio quality is enough, or should I improve it for takes like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56supHVaH8...channel=VictorS

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Here is a new video with me playing A harmonic minor scale at 100 BPM:
First 2 notes per click - slow speed:
Then 4 notes per click - fast speed:

Let me know what you think, and if the audio quality is enough, or should I improve it for takes like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56supHVaH8...channel=VictorS

Don't worry, the audio quality it's good enough. The angle of the camera is also great for the purpose of this topic. Just try to catch more from your right hand (it's good to be sure that you do not tense your hand).

At 2 notes per click, your right hand looks really good. You don't make any kind of additional movement. I really like what I see.

At 4 notes per click, on ascending run the issue appears again. It's normal to take a little longer until you fix this. But, somehow the movement is a little smaller than before. Also, even in sound, the transition when crossing strings is smoother than in your very first video.
On the descending run, things seem to work very good from both points of view: hand position + sound. I have nothing wrong to say about it.

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[Todd Simpson]

Showing great improvement. Focus on minimizing left hand movement and repeat

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Slightly different take, and I've been thinking about this for a few days:

I do see the small jump in your hand when switching between A and D and G and B, but I hear it as an accented note, as it's a bit louder and happens every 6th notes. I don't think getting that accented note is a bad thing necesarily? What do you say, Monica and Todd?

Of course you don't want TOO much movement, but I think some extra force is needed to get those accents - if one is going for accenting notes.

I don't know about the movement, as I'd think that accent requires a bit of extra force and that is causing the movement. But then it's down to what you are trying to achieve. If you're going for a completely smooth run, then sure, you might not want to accent the note, but I think a lot of players have accents on strong beats - it can also be an artistic choice.

I think it's common enough to do even at higher speeds to feel that pulse. Then it's a matter of being conscious about when to use it and if you want to use it.

Few examples here and a bit of talking. Pardon the mistakes - I literally just crawled out of bed and recorded this Also, keep in mind that I'm exaggerating on the examples on the movement.



Olly Steele also talk a bit about accents here, but not completely in the same way, and he's obviously using downpicking only throughout.

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Feb 7 2022, 09:59 AM

[Monica Gheorghev...]

Slightly different take, and I've been thinking about this for a few days:

I do see the small jump in your hand when switching between A and D and G and B, but I hear it as an accented note, as it's a bit louder and happens every 6th notes. I don't think getting that accented note is a bad thing necesarily? What do you say, Monica and Todd?

Of course you don't want TOO much movement, but I think some extra force is needed to get those accents - if one is going for accenting notes.

I don't know about the movement, as I'd think that accent requires a bit of extra force and that is causing the movement. But then it's down to what you are trying to achieve. If you're going for a completely smooth run, then sure, you might not want to accent the note, but I think a lot of players have accents on strong beats - it can also be an artistic choice.

I think it's common enough to do even at higher speeds to feel that pulse. Then it's a matter of being conscious about when to use it and if you want to use it.

Few examples here and a bit of talking. Pardon the mistakes - I literally just crawled out of bed and recorded this Also, keep in mind that I'm exaggerating on the examples on the movement.



Olly Steele also talk a bit about accents here, but not completely in the same way, and he's obviously using downpicking only throughout.

Yes Ben, you are perfectly right, Victor put there accents and this is not a bad thing. Accents are always required from many points of view: a much cool sound, gives a good flow and also are a good help to keep a perfect timing at a very fast speed.

The problem is that when we play runs, accents do not require an additional movement. The only thing that should change is the strength management. The pick is being pushed on that string with more strength (you tense the thumb finger for a moment). It's not complicated, it's all about understanding the technique itself.
You know, with fast playing, we need to be both: capable of having strong accents (without additional movements) and wise...to manage moments of release. That's the secret of the ability to play fast and smooth.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Yes Ben, you are perfectly right, Victor put there accents and this is not a bad thing. Accents are always required from many points of view: a much cool sound, gives a good flow and also are a good help to keep a perfect timing at a very fast speed.

The problem is that when we play runs, accents do not require an additional movement. The only thing that should change is the strength management. The pick is being pushed on that string with more strength (you tense the thumb finger for a moment). It's not complicated, it's all about understanding the technique itself.
You know, with fast playing, we need to be both: capable of having strong accents (without additional movements) and wise...to manage moments of release. That's the secret of the ability to play fast and smooth.

I completely agree I just wanted to make sure we weren't giving advice to not have accents in there, as it hadn't been mentioned yet, I think. I do agree the movement should be more controlled of course.

I think it varies a bit how much movement people put into it of course. I know Olly Steele in the clip I posted lifts his hand to not do palm muting at times too, so it's possibly not relating completely to this topic, but I just remember seeing it. My own video was recorded right after rolling out of bed, so I might do another video today when I'm a bit more warmed up in body and brain

Actually decided to just do a video now anyway. I'm not saying "do like me!", as there's plenty of room for improvement for me by the way, but just to be aware of accents. Also, these video comments are very much NOT polished by the way, just pick up the guitar, hit record, play and upload, so warts and all are in there, but it prompted me to just look closer at my own playing...

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Feb 7 2022, 01:20 PM

[Storm Linnebjerg]

Looking closer at Victor's video (I hope it's okay that I look at it more closely, Victor), it seems to me as if the motion that we're talking about being too much is actually an "upwards" motion (the motion before coming DOWN on the string on the accent). I can't make up my mind about it though, maybe I'm just "seeing" things.

I also wonder how much picking technique itself will cause the motion. I pick mostly from the wrist, but I could imagine someone picking with more of the thumb motion would have a slightly less exaggerated movement to cause accents. For instance if you are strumming chords (from the wrist) I think it's typical to see this kind of motion:



Also, this might be worth watching. from about 32:10:

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Feb 7 2022, 01:47 PM

[Monica Gheorghev...]

I completely agree I just wanted to make sure we weren't giving advice to not have accents in there, as it hadn't been mentioned yet, I think. I do agree the movement should be more controlled of course.

I think it varies a bit how much movement people put into it of course. I know Olly Steele in the clip I posted lifts his hand to not do palm muting at times too, so it's possibly not relating completely to this topic, but I just remember seeing it. My own video was recorded right after rolling out of bed, so I might do another video today when I'm a bit more warmed up in body and brain

Actually decided to just do a video now anyway. I'm not saying "do like me!", as there's plenty of room for improvement for me by the way, but just to be aware of accents. Also, these video comments are very much NOT polished by the way, just pick up the guitar, hit record, play and upload, so warts and all are in there, but it prompted me to just look closer at my own playing...

Your both hands look awesome. See, you put accents without adding additional movements. Even when you exaggerate the accents at a slower tempo, your movements are equal on all the strings.

Exactly, it's an "upwards" motion right before coming down on the string. It's just a tiny but important adjustment.

As you can see, at slow tempo, his hands look perfect, everything it's clear and precise. The issue appears at a medium speed. Anyway, I'm sure he can fix this but it will take some time.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Your both hands look awesome. See, you put accents without adding additional movements. Even when you exaggerate the accents at a slower tempo, your movements are equal on all the strings.

Exactly, it's an "upwards" motion right before coming down on the string. It's just a tiny but important adjustment.

As you can see, at slow tempo, his hands look perfect, everything it's clear and precise. The issue appears at a medium speed. Anyway, I'm sure he can fix this but it will take some time.

I felt my playing was sloppy and uncontrolled in the clips, and it was to some extent for sure - not something I would put on a recording or "official" video, but for video comments, I think it's good to show the bad sides too even when trying to teach something. It's almost the only playing I've done today those two videos so it was a bit raw

No one is perfect in their playing and some of the YouTube videos out there are probably very polished and not just a first take or right off the bat. I think it can be valuable for everyone to sort of see the mistakes too etc. I'm sure John Petrucci didn't just record his whole album in the first take etc. Or at least it required 1000 hours of practice first, and if he didn't play the songs for a while it would require some practice again

But yes, I agree, a tiny but important adjustment, and I think it's good to pinpoint that it was the upwards motion that's the issue. Maybe the "slow motion" recording I've been talking about could be useful here. Being aware of the issue is the first step though

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