travis1991

Hello all, My brother left to move overseas and he let me keep one of his guitars, which is a Jackson rr3 v guitar with a floyd rose. I have come across 2 youtube videos for picking which seem precise but because of the shape of guitar i don't know if one would be better than the other. Which one of these methods would be better?

Wild_One

As far as I know, I think there is no exact rules on picking technique / position, because every guitarist have different way of picking.

IMO I think the best way is to try all the picking technique and see which one is the most comfortable for you.

In the video above, even though they have different picking technique, but both of the guy there are pretty much comfortable with their technique.

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Jyrgen

Do what feels natural efficient and functional.

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astholkohtz

there's no best way. there are, however, millions of very bad ones. those two techniques you linked seem fine, pick whichever you like most.

B&J

I want to add one little tip my teacher told me, next to a great way to learn proper technique it enhances the tone of your guitar tremendously.... stone picks. Since there's no leeway on them you have to play from your wrist making it very easy to play with regular picks. But you probabaly dont want to play with regular picks no more because you will love the tone you get from the stone ones.

travis1991

Alrighty then, Thank you for the responses

MasterGuitar126

I always pick using my pinky as an anchor for alternate picking. It's really entirely up to you. One thing I would say is a must, move the pick with your elbow, not your wrist. A lot of older guitarist, I personally know... not that they're famous , Say that it can lead althritus and discomfort later on. But "technique" is up to you.

Zaphod_Beeblebr

I would say that the people you know have issues because they've got back technique in some other way or have a predisposition to the disorder. There are plenty of older famous people who pick entirely from the wrist and have no issues at all.

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MaaZeus

I have to thank you for bringing this video to my attention, because right now my index finger is in some pain, particularly in the first joint from the tip, after practicing several hours today. Even though I do not hold the pick tight there is still tremendous stress put on the index finger, propably more because I have pretty flexible joints, and I feel it now.
I am so used to playing with fingers straight, so having them curled up feels odd (particularly palm muting, have to figure out how to make that feel good again) but it definetly gives more support to my poor index finger, it immidietly alleviated the pain.

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MasterGuitar126

Really? I didn't know there were any. I was always told to keep my wrist straight. Lol. Can you name some of the artists you spoke of?

Zaphod_Beeblebr

Uli Jon Roth is 57, Satch is 56 although he's not known for his picking, Robert Fripp is 66, John McLaughlin (70), Al Di Meola (58), Les Paul was still damn good when he died at 94... I could probably go on but you get the idea I'm sure.

Keeping the wrist perfectly straight is somewhat impractical, you should aim to keep it at a pretty neutral angle but completely straight is counterproductive.

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Anon17

Noooooooo, TS use your wrist to pick. You'll avoid so many issues later on if you do this now.

yourguitarsage

For speed picking there are two basic schools of thought. Strict alternate picking and economy picking. Yngwie Malmsteen would be an example of a player that uses strict alternate picking. Alternate picking is always down up down up. Economy picking is based on what direction your next pick motion is. Steve Vai does both methods, but is REALLY good at economy picking. Difficult to explain in a thread. Much easier to understand in video. YouTube search for these two items.

Zaphod_Beeblebr

You've missed the point of the thread, this is much more about the physical mechanics of the picking motion rather than the directions you choose to use.

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