"New picking style"
"New picking style"
Posted by Zachary Zumbaugh on Jun-04-02 at 12:34 PM (EST) |
I have recently tried to convert to Ney Mello's suggested(I think he suggested this ;)) picking style. What I gathered from a past post is that to obtain maximum speed, you should not touch the guitar with any fingers from your picking hand. This went totally against what I was doing. As many, many people do, I would "prop" my hand up by putting my pinky and ring finger on the pick guard. This gave me great stability most of the time and I was able to pick very fast. (Couldn't play very accurately, but at least I had the picking down) Now I'm trying to relearn how to pick without using my fingers as a crutch. It is VERY hard.
One question I have is, should I not touch the guitar at all with my picking hand? Right now, sometimes I rest my hand slightly on the strings. So far it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects, but I cannot pick very fast right now so I don't know what it will do down the road when I get faster.
Also, has anyone else tried this? (coverting picking styles) and if so, how much success (or lack of) have you had?
Thanks to any and all!
Zachary D. Zumbaugh |
1 . ""new"picking style"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-04-02 at 02:33 PM (EST) |
HI ZACHARY,
It is ok to rest the palm at the base of the thumb and the base of the thumb itself (the third joint which connects it to the wrist) on the strings AS LONG AS IT IS DONE VERY LIGHTLY.
In fact you need to do this to mute the strings when you bend notes and when you are playing with an overdriven sound like Holdsworth,Vai. Satriani, Stevie Ray,E.johnson,Malmsteen etc...
This free floating technique is not really that new it is described in the excelent book by Ivor Mairants "perfect picking technique" which you can order through various web sources.
By using this technique you can play BOTH ACOUSTIC
AND ELECTRIC with equal virtuosity(watch John mC Laughlin and AL di Meola or Jack Wilkins and Jimmy Bruno to see it in action). If you rest your fingers or palm on the guitar you cant get enough dynamic range and you cant get heard on acoustic the minute you play with another acoustic guitar or other intrument. You just dissapear in the blend.
The acoustic guitar is the purest of the two and does not tolerate any technical or artistc weakness without mercilessly exposing it to the listener. The electric guitar is very forgiving in comparison as long as you can tame its ability to amplify every single little noise you make with your left hand and pick. Resting your palm ligthly on the strings will do it for you . It is also how you get the muted runs originated by AL DI MEOLA and the metal rhytm chops a la George Linch for example.
I had to re-learn my right hand too from resting my pinky on the guitar for "stability" which turned into immobility and tension and demanded that I change my approach 28 years ago.
Dont worry too much it does not take forever. Just do Jamie's gradual pressure techniques described in the book. This will accelerate your growth immensely as well as prevent the onset of tendonitis once you have to play very fast for extended periods of time.
All my best to you,
NEY MELLO
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2 . "picking"
Posted by Zachary Zumbaugh on Jun-04-02 at 04:57 PM (EST) |
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Excellent. Thanks for your highly informative response!
One thing I have noticed about some of the artists you mentioned, such as Malmsteen and SRV, is that they stabilize their hands on their guitars, and yet are both virtuosos at electric, and highly capable on acoustic. It is hard to imagine, especially Malmsteen, being able to get any faster by changing picking style. |
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3 . "HIGHLY CAPABLE"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-04-02 at 11:52 PM (EST) |
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HI ZACHARY,
There is a difference between highly capable and master playing . I have not heard SRV play acoustic but I have heard Malmsteen and other great electric players who specialize in resting their hand (Malmsteen does it to a very limited degree due to his very large hands which is another entire subject by the way..)and they sound embarrassingly handicapped and cannot be on the same stage as AL or john Mc Laughlin or Birelli Lagrene without being acutely made aware of their very glaring shortcommings... to say the least.
There is no short cut to true greatness and versatility on.. BOTH... instruments. Django Reinhardt was the historical precursor of the complete pick grand masters of today. Every student HAS to check him out on both electric and acoustic to get a proper perspective of what it all about.
It is best to face the truth early than regret it later although you can always change at any time.
It is the same as those classical players who let their left hand make those nasty scratching sounds when they drag their left hands on the strings between chord changes...because they did not have the patience and spiritual discipline to wait a little more to truly learn the movement.
You don’t hear John Williams doing this sort of thing and that is one of the factors that distinguishes him and Julian Bream from many others. We have to face the truth in art. Greatness is hard, and few have enough love to take them through the journey. only great love will take an artist through what no amount of ego will.
All the best as usual,
NEY MELLO |
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4 . "Al DiMeola"
Posted by Zachary Zumbaugh on Jun-07-02 at 11:38 PM (EST) |
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WOW! I just listened to Splendido Hotel and Elegant Gypsy and I'm totally blown away! Al DiMeola has got to be the cleanest guitarist I have ever heard! His playing sounds like MIDI it is so clean, and doesn't deteriorate at high speeds.
My old goal was to be able to play like Yngwie, but now I'm crazy about Al! |
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5 . "ALDIMEOLA"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-08-02 at 09:41 AM (EST) |
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HI ZACHARY,
AL has been a personal friend for many years now.
Here is some information you might like:
He uses extra heavy fender picks or Fender -like customized with his name on it.
His guitars are all strung with medium gauge (acoustic) AND electric . The action on his Di Meola Gibson model is actually pretty high and stiff and that surprised me when I first played it in his N.Y. studio as was his Ovation' action.
recently I played his tour guitar and it was set with low action(not super-low..)and medium strings.
Al always told me to practice VERY SLOWLY with a metronome or drum machine ( JUST LIKE THE PRINCIPLES...) to get the runs IN CORRRECT TIME. That is play the fast things starting and ending exactly on time, whether you are syncopating or not.
Another key point Al likes to point out is: THE UPBEAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BEAT, not the downbeat when keeping time (he constantly taps time with his foot while playing). That's because in Latin music and jazz so much happens on the upbeat and you have to feel it as intensely as the down beats.
Al has a very good video where you can see him up close. Keep in mind that he is not a teacher of technical details and subtleties but you will be able to see him using perfect right hand technique as well as the subtle wrist -forearm high speed-combination which is almost imperceptible because the movement is so fast and small.
Finally to all students who have small hands:
So does AL DI MEOLA.
Catch him at his next tour near you...
All my best to you,
NEY MELLO
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6 . "CLARIFICATION"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-08-02 at 09:51 AM (EST) |
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The last sentence should read: ...because THE FOREARM movement is so small.
The wrist swings normally and the index and thumb adjust the pick to angle it( like jamie shows in the video clips on this site).
NEY MELLO |
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7 . "Thanks"
Posted by Zachary Zumbaugh on Jun-08-02 at 09:15 PM (EST) |
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Thanks again for your invaluable information! |
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8 . "JOHN MCLAUGHLIN"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-09-02 at 09:46 AM (EST) |
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ZACHARY,
CHECK OUT ALSO, THE POST :"PERFECt PICKING CONCERT VIDEOS", on this forum for a link.
There is some amazing footage by grand master John Mc Laughlin to be downloaded.
All my best to you,
NEY MELLO |
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9 . "SHAWN LANE"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-09-02 at 04:30 PM (EST) |
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ZACHARY.
Check out also the great SHAWN LANE'S
videos: "POWER LICKS" and "POWER SOLOS" on REH/WARNER videos.
They are also essential for in depth musical demonstration of extreme-fast playing at the highest level in its creative expression.
ALL MY BEST TO YOU,
NEY MELLO |
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"perfect picking concert videos"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-05-02 at 03:04 AM (EST) |
To ALL students:
Check out the FREE downloadable concert videos in this website and you will see what I mean by masterful command of the plectrum using the free floating technique on both acoustic AND electric guitars,by the same person: The co-father (alongside ALLAN HOLDSWORTH'S electric legato revolution) of post Hendrix modern virtuoso guitar: JOHN McLAUGHLIN.
Htpp://www.italway.it/morrone/WBTG-videos.htm
No limiting tension-generating gimmicky shortcuts here... just the bare truth.
Prepare to be blown away and enlightened and primed for practicing the principles.When you see the real deal there is no going back to limiting ways...it is just too clearly evident.
NOTICE THE DIVERSITY IN REPERTOIRE ,FROM CLASSICAL TO JAZZ AND ROCK AND FLAMENCO INFLUENCE AS WELL AS INDIAN CLASSICAL;all done with a pick and fingers technique.
Notice the purity of the flow at the service of music. It takes a lot of work to attain this technical level but it can be done,and has been done by others already including, in part, some of my most devoted students. But we must pay our respects to those who pioneered the way by breaking the mental barriers that existed before...
All the best,
NEY MELLO |
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2 . "INFORMATION"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-05-02 at 10:43 PM (EST) |
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Dear Jim,
You are very welcome.
...The best of luck to you in your practice and study.
NEY MELLO |
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3 . "Not principled?"
Posted by Zachary Zumbaugh on Jun-10-02 at 10:36 PM (EST) |
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Two things I would like to to point out that I noticed about John McLaughlin. For one, I noticed when there was a closeup on his face, whenever he started to play fast, his face got crinkled up, like he was tense. My understanding is that things like this wouldn't happen if you played completely by the Principles. Second, I noticed, even though Mr. McLaughlin can play VERY fast and VERY accurately, his pinky was flying all over the place. It would stick straight up in the air almost when he was playing a speedy run. This I feel is in direct contrast to fully living and playing by the Principles.
Just wanted to bring up these points and see if they were valid. Just by seeing those few videos I can tell John McLaughlin is one of the worlds elite guitarists. |
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4 . "Re: Not Principled?"
Posted by El Presidente on Jun-11-02 at 01:55 AM (EST) |
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I've only downloaded the video for the Mattinale intro so far (they're big files!) and I too noticed the things you mentioned. I'm not sure if the faces he makes are a direct result of excess tension; in the video I have he still seems pretty relaxed, so perhaps he's just expressing himself.
It does seem as though his right arm tenses up a little whenever he speeds up though. When he reaches down to play the first string, the fingers that aren't holding the pick quickly spread out and touch the tremelo bar then curl back up, as if to stop his hand after the picking motion, or for momentary support. It looks like he doesn't move his right arm at all, even when changing strings, his wrist seems to do all the work.
His left hand always has the thumb over the top, even when using his little finger, which doesn't seem to follow the principles, but his fingers are quite long so I guess it doesn't hinder him much.
Does anyone else have any comments on his technique and how closely it follows the principles? I'm particularly interested in his apparant lack of picking arm movement. Regardless of what he's doing, he still sounds like an excellent player. |
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5 . "COMMENTS"
Posted by NEY MELLO on Jun-11-02 at 01:08 PM (EST) |
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The right hand fingers are contantly being used to push down the BIGBY ARM to bend the notes down as he plays. That is why they extend periodically. He does this so fast and fluidly that you need to pay attention and know what he is actually doing.
Note how closely to the fingerboard the left hand fingers are held between notes. and how cose the pinky stays when in use.
The arm movement is as it should be :Very subtle and almost invisible, because it is a support movement, not the main one which is always the wrist. The cut "Matinale" has very fast passages in it but they are not as fast as he can play by any means ... You need to check out some other clips to see a bit more forearm...but it still will be subtle to see especially on a jerky internet low-fi clip.
Get the video"Meeting of the spirits" from Stefan Grossman's mail Order outfit, to see more.
All the best to you ,
NEY MELLO |
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"WORK HARD EVERYDAY...."
Posted by NEY MELL0 on Jul-16-02 at 09:33 PM (EST) |
I am happy to report that another one of my students (VIK MEHTA) of Rockville MD has broken the 200 bpm barrier/16th notes. He is now around
220bpm.
Vik follows the principles (I make sure he does because he is a bit impatient...) and has a copy of the book as do all my students at all levels.
It is the only mandatory textbook that I require after 29 years with the instrument.
The principles in book form have forced him to transform his practice habits and elevated his right hand into the super speed realm. Vik is married and works in the IT industry like many students, he does not have many hours to practice but the principles have proven themselves once more to be of great assistance.
I have also been training SUKI HIRATA who also has a day job unrelated to the guitar to his current 280 bpm/16notes.
He just told me last week:
"It does not seem that fast anymore like in the beginning..."
When flow is established and no tension is in the way it really becomes familiar to think that fast.....if you work hard at it everyday...
NEY MELLO
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"Left Hand Wrist"
"Left Hand Wrist"
Posted by dox on Jul-24-02 at 06:09 PM (EST) |
Hello.
I want to know what is the best
way to place my left hand wrist
Should it be straight
or may be it should be bent and forward like
Jamie does.
Here is a quoute from http://www.cyberfret.com/classic/right_left_hand_tech_2.htm
which talks about Left Hand Wrist:
"In all cases, the left hand wrist should be straight. Many with bad
thumb habits tend to rest their palms against the back of the neck.
Avoid this! Also, many who adapt the "good" thumb position tend to jut
their wrist forward. You should be able to place a straight edge from
the back of your forearm to any of your last knuckles."
I would like to thank you Jamie for your
great great work that you put every day for us - the guitar players around the world!
Thank you very much! Keep it up!
I'm sure I would of quit playing the guitar
if I wouldn't have seen your
website and your book.
Thank you very much.
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