# Pick attack



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Can anyone point me to some Youtube or other videos that demonstrate good examples of different pick attack. Thanks.


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## Wheeman (Dec 4, 2007)

Well, for starters theres the ice pick attack. Aim for the soft spot in the head... Whoops, guitar picking right? 

A quick youtube search yielded this.


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMcT_NiaWo

hey, sorry for the late reply. I didn't see the thread until today. Even if you're not a shredder I think the advice will apply. Pay particular attention to the part when he first starts talking about how to hold your pick. He pretty much explains perfectly how I hold it. When I started holding it that way I noticed huge improvements in my playing. I noticed I was moving my hand much less and it was much easier to play faster and faster. 

Hope that helps


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## whywhyzed (Jan 28, 2008)

I_cant_play said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMcT_NiaWo
> 
> 
> Hope that helps


"This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

any other links? interested to see it now....

I sort of hold it where I can dampen with my thumb to get a harmonic which can make a real "scream" with overdrive but can also make some nice neat clean sounds...nees more work still tho'
I also use very thin picks with electric and acoustic. .5mm max


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## DMac604 (Jul 8, 2007)

I_cant_play said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMcT_NiaWo
> 
> hey, sorry for the late reply. I didn't see the thread until today. Even if you're not a shredder I think the advice will apply. Pay particular attention to the part when he first starts talking about how to hold your pick. He pretty much explains perfectly how I hold it. When I started holding it that way I noticed huge improvements in my playing. I noticed I was moving my hand much less and it was much easier to play faster and faster.
> 
> Hope that helps


who was the shredder in this video? 
I guess Paul Gilbert or Micheal Angelo Batio but I'd like to know


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

Al Di Meola has a dvd out that goes into picking technique, of wich he is one of the best at...a true master of the plectrum:bow: he can travis pick with only the pick....DOH! how he do dat


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

it was Paul Gilbert. I just searched "Gilbert picking". I remember seeing other ones where he explains the same stuff so it shouldn't be too hard to find.


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## DMac604 (Jul 8, 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YvsOKTPaks


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

DMac604 said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YvsOKTPaks


Takes a long time of practicing to get that (playing at that speed) to sound good? No kidding. That's exactly how I hold a pick and I'm considerably slower than he is.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

NB-SK said:


> Takes a long time of practicing to get that (playing at that speed) to sound good? No kidding. That's exactly how I hold a pick and I'm considerably slower than he is.



Picking isn't the only consideration for speed. Albeit and important one.


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

Well pick angle doesn't play a big part in speed... it's all about the small movements, where the motion is coming from and playing the same lick for hours and hours and then some with the metronome.

Joe Stump plays with the pick completely flat and picks from the wrist and thumb, Zakk Wylde doesn't pick even close to a 90 degree angle and uses his wrist and arm, Paul Gilbert picks at a 90 degree angle and uses all wrist, etc. 

The only importance of the angle of your pick is to get the tone you want. Paul Gilbert, as shown in that video and many others, prefers the 90 degree angle and thinner picks so he get's and I quote "a chello-y Rush-y kind of sound", lol. Grab his instructional DVD for his "Get Out of My Yard" album and there's a whole part dedicated to picking... he plays with all different angles to show the different tones. He even mentions he used to hold the pick backwards for the first 8 years of his playing but it started to hurt his thumb so he switched.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

might i suggest using a jazz III if you dont already? small, and really really good for playing fast and accurately.

damn i love those picks. i dont even know why they make bigger picks, after discovering these lol


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

Budda said:


> might i suggest using a jazz III if you dont already? small, and really really good for playing fast and accurately.
> 
> damn i love those picks. i dont even know why they make bigger picks, after discovering these lol


Hey I've got those little red ones, I think they make black but they're thicker or something? I always kept dropping them 'cause they're so small lol. Personally I don't like the tone I get with them but I will admit they're great when playing palm muted metal riffage thanks to the small/sharp tip.


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## DMac604 (Jul 8, 2007)

Pebber Brown
1a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Zj5wMrwTE
1b http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk66bhKW-cU
1c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcNhPxsxNNY
1d http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUF8vkNyWK4


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## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

Robert1950, what style are you interested in? I ask because the style of playing matters. For example, a country player would attack the strings differently from a shredder.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

violation said:


> Well pick angle doesn't play a big part in speed...


It's not the be all & end all it's sometimes made out to be--but I do know that I can play a lot faster with my pick angle changed so it's steeper--the faster I want to play the more I change the angle off of flat. And I've tried those Dunlop Speed picks that come already slanted--they work for me--but I don't use them very often, as I don't like them for playing chords.


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## Stevo (Apr 3, 2008)

Another interesting pick technique that I picked up from an Eric Johnson video is circle picking. The pick moves in a circle around the string with alternating strokes. Arm movement is minimal with a bit from the wrist. Most of the movement is from the fingers making it very economical in motion.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Circle picking was big in some circles in the early 90's--I remember reading a lot about it--but I could never quite get it down right. But those who could do it usually had great results with it.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

dolphinstreet said:


> Robert1950, what style are you interested in? I ask because the style of playing matters. For example, a country player would attack the strings differently from a shredder.


British and electric blues, Allman Bros, Gov't Mule, SRV (I wish), Early Classic Rock.


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