I really have trouble with the Paul Gilbert lick. Specifically playing 3 notes with ups on a string then switching to dps to grab that 1 note on the next highest string before returning to the original string.
no wonder, it is one of the toughest licks ever, even Paul Gilbert admitted that and that he shouldnt have taught his students this lick in the first place
I’ve made more progress chops-wise in the last few months doing these exercises than I had in the 10 years prior doing whatever I was doing. In 20 years of playing, the Troy Grady school of thought is the first one I’ve come across that gets into the actual mechanics of picking. Most teachers just give you tabs and say, “practice.” It’d be like a hitting coach saying, “The goal is to hit a homerun or hit a line drive. Here’s a bat, see ya later!” Thanks for doing this, Ben. I hope making these videos is as rewarding for you as it is for the viewers.
Thanks for breaking this down Ben. I've watched most of Troy's videos and I don't think I ever latched on to the simple rule of "if you end on a down stroke, then you need up slant picking... If you end on an upstroke you need down slant picking." I guess I was watching/hearing the wrong message. This is GOLD Ben!
Thank you so much for these pick slanting videos. Not long ago I noticed I was always downslanting no matter what and I think that extra stress when using it at the wrong times was a factor in the tendinitis in my shoulder. Now things are going smoooooth and relaxing.
Hands down one of THE best guitar teachers on YT. My playing has grown so much simply because of your videos. I'm definitely no guitar god, but I'm learning daily, practice 5 hours a day, follow your advice & directions to T, and everything started to fall into place with my playing. My hand sync isn't the greatest at higher speeds, but I work on it daily. Much respect to ya Uncle Ben! Thanks for making these videos free, really appreciate it. Many best wishes to you & yours. Happy shredding!!!!
Thanks for this lesson Im in both Troy Grady and Paul Gilberts online school and although they're amazing instructors you seem to explain these concepts better. Keep it up. You're making a huge impact.
This is really great stuff. A very clear and concise explanation and demonstration. Thanks a ton, I'll be working this concept in to everything I play, even slower stuff, to drill the slanting into my picking so it becomes automatic. You're a good dude, Ben 👍🏻
I've been practicing that scale and discovered that I do the 2 way slant SOMETIMES. I realized that this is exactly why I can play the scale clean some times and other times I can't (because I don't do the 2 way pick slanting). But doing it consciously is very tough because I have to make myself aware of when to switch between upward/downard pick slant and that confuses me.
Sweet! I've been playing for 25 years, and consider myself a good player, but I still learn every day by watching TH-cam videos! No matter how good you are, you can always learn more. Side note: That Les Paul sounds hella good. It has that nice hollow/woody tone.
Thank you for this. Breaking it down to what’s the last stroke opened the door. I be had the Gilbert video since it came out and watched Troy’s videos and missed that key point band consequently been frustrated. This did it. Game changer.
This was super helpful. Even though this video was about two-way pickslanting, the thing I really took away from this, since I’m naturally an upward pickslanter but can’t seem the get the hang of downward pickslanting, is that your “split sixes” pattern is really useful! I can just play 3 notes on the first string and then 6 notes on every string after that and I’ll be able to play the entire pattern while upward pickslanting. Cheers!
Great intro. Kinda late dropping in here but I wanted to point out that this gets trickier when you're dealing with fast pentatonics, particularly patterns that involve 2NPS, sometimes alternating with 1NPS. Eric Johnson does those cascading pentatonic runs using sweeping (downstroke to downstroke). Wondering what you'd advise for those kinds of phrases.
Awesome lesson. I think I was already doing this by necessity without thinking about it but it's going to help to actually intentionally practice it and use it.
I (like most others) developed my pickslanting naturally after years of stumbling over certain licks and thinking it was an inside/outside picking issue. For me practicing Paul Gilbert licks for hours was what made me start to pickslant unconsciously - especially that trademark Scarified lick where the two notes in the middle of the pattern bounce back and forth.
Now I've officially accepted you as my Uncle... The way you explain is really good... It makes sense unlike most guitar tutorial available in TH-cam... Thanks Uncle Ben
You've made me a better player in so many ways man I can't tell you how much I appreciate it because the words don't exist... I wasn't making too much progress any more untill I started watching your videos . And unlike others I can actually can understand what you teach, it's like you say the perfect words to convey each lesson tailored to me somehow lol Best guitar teacher and maybe even player on youtube in my humble opinion. Rock on
Wow i was not aware of that at all ! THANKS uncle Ben ! I just start economy picking and i always thought that when you go down on the neck you downpickslant.
Ben this is all well and good but I am sure others will tell you also, at high speeds you can not adjust to different slanting in the middle of a riff. So what would be your answer to this?
Magnificent lesson as always Uncle Ben. For our next lesson, can we have a dummy-proof guide on home recording using Reaper or other similar tools? I can't help but notice how much your own recording has improved and I'd like to be able to do cool TH-cam guitar videos to make my stepdad jealous. More power to you Uncle Ben!
Thanks Ben, awesome video. I've watched a couple of Troy's videos and you explain it more simply and clearly, as far as I'm concerned. I'd love it if you could do a similar video on two way* pick slanting for alternate picking one note per string arpeggio's like Steve Morse.
Ben you are awesome and I am proud to call you my Uncle. This is a basic query for you or for any other intrepid commenter about this technique... how does the planning that it takes to choreograph where you pick slant WHEN you know the design of the lick translate into open improvisation where you may not know where you’re going? Do you ever get caught missing the right slant when the phrase isn’t already mapped out?
I think the usx/dsx association with ascending/descending lines comes from when you are economy picking through a descending line, like Yngwie's Black star line
Awesome video and awesome explanation. Can you talk a bit about how to hold the pick for the pick slanting?! I know it might sound silly but whenever I try the downwards pick slating my index finger get in the way touching the string below the one in play. Really annoying. Cheers.
Uncle Ben, are you changing slant suddenly when needed, or are you gradually changing slant while picking through a few notes. Get me? Is the wrist rotating towards the new slant while picking the 3 or 4 notes before the new slant is needed?
I hope this helps me nail the last part of the first Bark At The Moon solo. It's always given me problems. I usually do something weird right now and can get away with it, but would love to be able to nail it more solidly.
Hello Ben, great tips as per usual. In one of your videos you explained that the choice of economy of motion or constant up-down strokes was pretty much up to the player. I've followed Petrucci for quite a while, yet he seems pretty adamant about keeping up/down motion as opposed to let the inertia of the economy save us plectrum hits. After this one last video I wondered what do you think. Many thanks in advance.
Thanks, Uncle Ben! Btw, can you also do a lesson to strengthen the pinky? I've been havin' some trouble playing with my pinky for the last 2 years and can't seem to solve it myself! My pinky sucks!
Anchor your 3rd finger down on a fret, don't move it and trill with your 4th finger on the next higher fret...total 4th finger isolation. It might take days to achieve a moderate speed trill for like eight cycles. Do it every day, stick with it, don't give up. A lot of musicianship is about conditioning.
A more fun way is to practice short repeating Legato licks, like 4,1,3,4,3,1... Or 4,1,2,4,2,1 over and over on a string. You can move it around anywhere you want, and you can even use it to work on scale positions, using that legato pattern on each string across a position of a scale. Trills are good, just do them at a tempo that is slow enough that you really get a good hammer and the note is as clear as you can make it, and make sure you actually pull off and you don't just lift your pinky and release the hammered note. Another good way to improve your pinky independence and coordination is with some trickier chord changes, especially some of the stuff you'll come across with arpeggiated lines that have some scale tones mixed in, often using open string notes. John Petrucci has some lines that require some stretches and changes that are pretty difficult. To practice a tough change, I'll finger the first set of notes, then lift my fingers off and hold them in that position, then put them back, and repeat a few times. Then I'll lift them, and without touching a single finger down, try to move all my fingers to the position they need to be in for the next chord or set of notes, then put them down. Things like getting your middle and index fingers to pull back and curl some while you extend your pinky outward in a stretch can be demanding for the muscles in your hand that aren't used to doing that, and for your brain to make them do it! It takes some practice and repetition to make it even somewhat smoother and easier to do at the same time. Practicing those changes in the way I described not only improved my finger independence but it helped get those chord changes a lot faster and smoother, too. As someone else said, conditioning is a big part of physically being able to play. Hope these ideas help you out.
Dude i slant my pick depending on the feel and i do it all the time. Didnt know it is actually a thing. Thought I invented it lol. Only thing is that i slant it controlling the pick's angle with my fingers not really moving my entire hand.
Man I wish I knew this stuff when I first started out. It may not have made a difference in how successful I was as a musician, but at least I could have played in more bands that did music I loved. I missed out on a bunch because my picking sucked no matter how hard I worked on it. I was legato king and had to improvise all the time instead of learning solos (which is fine sometimes but a lot of bands need note-for-note on at least some of the stuff they do).
Question: I use very slight downward pickslanting for most of the time. It is almost 90 degrees to the strings. I found I change the pickslanting to upward pickslanting but I change it always on the last note of the string. For this lick I start with downward pickslanting and on the last note on the A string I change it to upward pickslanting thus going to D string with my tip of the pick aiming at floor and string is not in my way. Then on D string I change it back to downward pickslanting. I see no difference in speed but it feels much more natural to change it like this.
Thanks for great lesson My question is Can I make slanting for just last note before string exchanging ? My opinion it is much easier because slanting direction would be normally with same stroke direction ( up / down ) without thinking every time and change my rest direction before swith to another string
Ben, what confuses me is: why don't you start with DWPS? If I remember correctly, in the michael angelo batio video, the idea is that you change pickslant everytime the notes on the strings are an odd number. So the first 6 notes would be: (DWPS) DOWN, UP, DOWN (CHANGE TO UPWS AND CHANGE STRING) UP, DOWN, UP. Starting with an upstroke and UPWS, it would be (UPWS) UP, DOWN, UP (CHANGE TO DWPS AND CHANGE STRING) DOWN, UP, DOWN. Isn't it just natural to use DWPS in patterns that start with a downstroke? Am I missing something here? I can't concile your video and batio's one :/
You're right. And I think it makes more sense if you're improvising. You can't plan ahead how many notes per string you're gonna use. Batio's way makes it easy to change strings at will.
I've been trying to follow your pattern of playing the first 3 triads (A string- A string- D string) with upward pickslanting and then the next triad ( in G string) with downward pickslanting, however when I land on the G - string I tend to only change the pickslanting angle (from upward to downward to the end of the triad, i.e when hitting the G in the 12th fret). In other words, during the last triad of the phrase in the G - string, first note goes upward, second goes neutral and the last one goes upward, just in time to start the pattern from the beginning...
I didn’t Comprehend this one bit. I think i slant my pick at like maybe 20 degrees down and don’t hold perpendicular to the strings. So I guess I’m a downslant player . A buddy of mine holds his pick between the tip of his thumb and flesh of his forefinger and his pick angles up almost slicing thru the strings. A definitely up slanter. I can’t imagine switching my pick slant every time i change strings . Absolutely brutal
Great video! And swear to God I was just working on a solo for a new song with my band and it's in the key of D minor! The saddest of keys. Ha. Hope you don't mind I stole this.
Keep it simple so you can FOCUS on you PICK Play frets 5 6 7 on B string then 5 6 7 on E string, for a nice six note pattern that can be repeated over and over to get a nice flow with pickslanting. DPS - download pickslanting NPS - neutral pickslanting, no slant UPS - upward pickslanting This will give you an easy 3 note per string exercise with one string change . Start with DPS for first note (pick is now trapped) NPS for second (pick is still trapped ) UPS for third (this slant allows the pick to escape an get ready for next note on e string) UPS for 4th note NPS for 5th note DPS for 6th and final note (this will let you escape back up to B string again where you begin the sequence again ) MAKE IT EVEN EASIER Don’t play any notes Just mute the strings so you can COMPLETELY FOCUS on your PICK and the movement pattern of the slants
A curious thing is that Troy's videos show the player rotating between slants towards the end of the three notes, wheras you appear to be rotating as you launch into the three. I wonder if you really do that at speed?
Uncle Ben, always diggin the knowledge and expertise...is this strictly a three note per string technique? I'm thinking about 4 note licks like the solo from Practice What You Preach and chromatic runs. Thanks for the great lessons!
Fade to Black intro solo is haunting me with fast descending section. I usually fail this even though I practice it for a very long time. Maybe this lesson will help me to break that wall and nail the solo in one take because its driving me nuts.
I need to be clear on this. Is the last note on a string the only note you need to pick with a slant? Depending if that ls to be played with an upstroke or down stroke? All other notes you don't have to slant one way or the other, just the last note on a string?
Thank you all for watching this lesson on two way pickslanting, alternate picking, and your now-bright future! What do you want a lesson on next?
Next lesson on how you recorded your guitar in this track so that we can record ourselves and sound professional, thanks
I really have trouble with the Paul Gilbert lick. Specifically playing 3 notes with ups on a string then switching to dps to grab that 1 note on the next highest string before returning to the original string.
no wonder, it is one of the toughest licks ever, even Paul Gilbert admitted that and that he shouldnt have taught his students this lick in the first place
How to move the right hand only with the wrist, without the elbow? I started to play from the elbow from 140 bpm 0_0
Could you do a lesson for the solo in He-Man Woman Hater?
I’ve made more progress chops-wise in the last few months doing these exercises than I had in the 10 years prior doing whatever I was doing.
In 20 years of playing, the Troy Grady school of thought is the first one I’ve come across that gets into the actual mechanics of picking. Most teachers just give you tabs and say, “practice.”
It’d be like a hitting coach saying, “The goal is to hit a homerun or hit a line drive. Here’s a bat, see ya later!”
Thanks for doing this, Ben. I hope making these videos is as rewarding for you as it is for the viewers.
Thanks for breaking this down Ben. I've watched most of Troy's videos and I don't think I ever latched on to the simple rule of "if you end on a down stroke, then you need up slant picking... If you end on an upstroke you need down slant picking." I guess I was watching/hearing the wrong message. This is GOLD Ben!
same as me haha :)
I gave troy my whole allowance and my stepdad still makes fun of my guitar playing
Completely agree! Well done Ben, that simple thing was what I was missing. Amazing.
Daddy Ben Does It Again
As always, very well presented! Thank you,now I've got to spend the next 3 months working on it just to get to step dad speed..
how is it now
I must say, this is a very great and informative video Ben! Great work! You and people like Troy Grady are absolutely helpful!
Thank you so much for these pick slanting videos. Not long ago I noticed I was always downslanting no matter what and I think that extra stress when using it at the wrong times was a factor in the tendinitis in my shoulder. Now things are going smoooooth and relaxing.
Hands down one of THE best guitar teachers on YT. My playing has grown so much simply because of your videos. I'm definitely no guitar god, but I'm learning daily, practice 5 hours a day, follow your advice & directions to T, and everything started to fall into place with my playing. My hand sync isn't the greatest at higher speeds, but I work on it daily. Much respect to ya Uncle Ben! Thanks for making these videos free, really appreciate it. Many best wishes to you & yours. Happy shredding!!!!
Thanks for this lesson Im in both Troy Grady and Paul Gilberts online school and although they're amazing instructors you seem to explain these concepts better. Keep it up. You're making a huge impact.
This is really great stuff. A very clear and concise explanation and demonstration. Thanks a ton, I'll be working this concept in to everything I play, even slower stuff, to drill the slanting into my picking so it becomes automatic.
You're a good dude, Ben 👍🏻
I've been practicing that scale and discovered that I do the 2 way slant SOMETIMES. I realized that this is exactly why I can play the scale clean some times and other times I can't (because I don't do the 2 way pick slanting). But doing it consciously is very tough because I have to make myself aware of when to switch between upward/downard pick slant and that confuses me.
Thank you Ben! I had some doubts about two way pickslating applied to 3NPS. I think you summarized perfectly from min 10:12 to 10:29
So nice to see a Camp Crystal Lake shirt with no bloodstains on it. Great lesson as usual. Thanks!
Sweet! I've been playing for 25 years, and consider myself a good player, but I still learn every day by watching TH-cam videos! No matter how good you are, you can always learn more.
Side note: That Les Paul sounds hella good. It has that nice hollow/woody tone.
Wow!!!....awesome lesson as usual Sensei...you have a gift for breaking down a complex topic and making it simple to understand....you da man UB!!!!
Thank you for this. Breaking it down to what’s the last stroke opened the door. I be had the Gilbert video since it came out and watched Troy’s videos and missed that key point band consequently been frustrated. This did it. Game changer.
Nice to see focus on the details of this technique. Thanks!
This was super helpful. Even though this video was about two-way pickslanting, the thing I really took away from this, since I’m naturally an upward pickslanter but can’t seem the get the hang of downward pickslanting, is that your “split sixes” pattern is really useful! I can just play 3 notes on the first string and then 6 notes on every string after that and I’ll be able to play the entire pattern while upward pickslanting. Cheers!
Cheers, i prefer your vids because your explanation it's more affordable and the speed is way more friendly! Thanks for your lessons
Great intro. Kinda late dropping in here but I wanted to point out that this gets trickier when you're dealing with fast pentatonics, particularly patterns that involve 2NPS, sometimes alternating with 1NPS. Eric Johnson does those cascading pentatonic runs using sweeping (downstroke to downstroke). Wondering what you'd advise for those kinds of phrases.
Great job! I got a answer for my last last 30years long picking trouble. Thank you very muchhhh!!!
Great way to summarize Grady's pickslanting technique. Thanks!
Awesome lesson. I think I was already doing this by necessity without thinking about it but it's going to help to actually intentionally practice it and use it.
I (like most others) developed my pickslanting naturally after years of stumbling over certain licks and thinking it was an inside/outside picking issue. For me practicing Paul Gilbert licks for hours was what made me start to pickslant unconsciously - especially that trademark Scarified lick where the two notes in the middle of the pattern bounce back and forth.
ben i must say you are showing us thing on the guitar from time to time that would make even Baker envious... keep it up dude man...
i like that you took the troy grady theory and just made it simple
Thank you Ben and Troy!
Thank you for existing, uncle Ben!
Now I've officially accepted you as my Uncle... The way you explain is really good... It makes sense unlike most guitar tutorial available in TH-cam...
Thanks Uncle Ben
Love the vids uncle Ben
Thanks for the awesome videos Uncle Ben!!
You've made me a better player in so many ways man I can't tell you how much I appreciate it because the words don't exist...
I wasn't making too much progress any more untill I started watching your videos . And unlike others I can actually can understand what you teach, it's like you say the perfect words to convey each lesson tailored to me somehow lol
Best guitar teacher and maybe even player on youtube in my humble opinion. Rock on
Love your guitar. I am sure it is one of your, if not the most favorite.
Much love Uncle Ben
Really like how he explained it, I actually watched Troy gradys course . But he explains it much better n faster!
As much as i like the lick and the slant picking technique, the T-shirt is where its at! Chuuu chuu chuu...
ha ha ha...
You and Troy Grady are godsends
Outstanding lesson. Thanks!
You are my teacher... Thanks dude
Thanks a bunch man I was doing it correct but I was thinking I was doing to many of one motion.i just didn't realize I was doing it
GENIUS!!!!......THANKS A LOT FOR SHARING THIS KNOWLEDGE!!!
GREETINGS FROM ARGENTINA!!!!
I've definitely got to try this exercise! I made huge progress using your punisher exercise. Thank you
Would love to see a lesson on Nuno's solo in War Heads. I've seen a few different ways to play it but most don't seem to be quite right.
Ahhh yeah! Rockin that slasher shirt!
Great explanation. Thanks Ben!
Wow i was not aware of that at all ! THANKS uncle Ben ! I just start economy picking and i always thought that when you go down on the neck you downpickslant.
I also strive to be so successful that I have a painted picture of myself on the wall. Cheers uncle Ben!
Ben this is all well and good but I am sure others will tell you also, at high speeds you can not adjust to different slanting in the middle of a riff. So what would be your answer to this?
Camp Crystal Lake? Automatic Thumbs UP!
That shirt is so awesome!
Thank you for making me thought my TV was broken! (around 4,20 min.) 😂
Oilid lol weird upload glitch!
Ben Eller LOOOOOOL
Great video. Thanks
I really like your videos. I'm just playing guitar for fun, but you made me get into theory more. Maybe I'll surpass step-dad some day.
It’s really good actually, 3 note per string ends on the down stroke and 6 per string ends on the up stroke 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
You're such a beast of a shredder!!!
Brilliant, super succinct!
Magnificent lesson as always Uncle Ben.
For our next lesson, can we have a dummy-proof guide on home recording using Reaper or other similar tools? I can't help but notice how much your own recording has improved and I'd like to be able to do cool TH-cam guitar videos to make my stepdad jealous.
More power to you Uncle Ben!
Thanks Ben, awesome video. I've watched a couple of Troy's videos and you explain it more simply and clearly, as far as I'm concerned. I'd love it if you could do a similar video on two way* pick slanting for alternate picking one note per string arpeggio's like Steve Morse.
Greg Mc donald check out my video titled “crosspicking CrossFit”, that’s what you need!
Ben Eller cool, thanks! Off to hunt it down.😊
Ben you are awesome and I am proud to call you my Uncle. This is a basic query for you or for any other intrepid commenter about this technique... how does the planning that it takes to choreograph where you pick slant WHEN you know the design of the lick translate into open improvisation where you may not know where you’re going? Do you ever get caught missing the right slant when the phrase isn’t already mapped out?
Great lesson! Thank you a lot.
Thanks for this.
I can come up with an infinite variety of exercises to practice pickslanting, but unfortunately they are not musical....
lol
I think the usx/dsx association with ascending/descending lines comes from when you are economy picking through a descending line, like Yngwie's Black star line
Love you! uncle ben
Thanks Uncle Ben..
Jason Voorhees is a KILLER Guitar player!
Awesome video and awesome explanation. Can you talk a bit about how to hold the pick for the pick slanting?! I know it might sound silly but whenever I try the downwards pick slating my index finger get in the way touching the string below the one in play. Really annoying. Cheers.
LOVE the shirt Uncle Ben!!!
Uncle Ben, are you changing slant suddenly when needed, or are you gradually changing slant while picking through a few notes. Get me? Is the wrist rotating towards the new slant while picking the 3 or 4 notes before the new slant is needed?
I hope this helps me nail the last part of the first Bark At The Moon solo. It's always given me problems.
I usually do something weird right now and can get away with it, but would love to be able to nail it more solidly.
Sick lesson and shirt!
Hello Ben, great tips as per usual. In one of your videos you explained that the choice of economy of motion or constant up-down strokes was pretty much up to the player. I've followed Petrucci for quite a while, yet he seems pretty adamant about keeping up/down motion as opposed to let the inertia of the economy save us plectrum hits. After this one last video I wondered what do you think. Many thanks in advance.
Great video man...
This is like giving guitar ppl a superpower! The magical musician's guild will ban u Unkie Ben, for revealing their golden sekrets!
We should all meet at the Knoxville Guitar Center and demonstrate how we're doing with pick slanting at the same time in an uncoordinated fashion.
Thanks, Uncle Ben!
Btw, can you also do a lesson to strengthen the pinky?
I've been havin' some trouble playing with my pinky for the last 2 years and can't seem to solve it myself! My pinky sucks!
hey man i aint no expert but honesty just using it not goofing up your hands with gimmicky devices works fine
Anchor your 3rd finger down on a fret, don't move it and trill with your 4th finger on the next higher fret...total 4th finger isolation. It might take days to achieve a moderate speed trill for like eight cycles. Do it every day, stick with it, don't give up. A lot of musicianship is about conditioning.
A more fun way is to practice short repeating Legato licks, like 4,1,3,4,3,1... Or 4,1,2,4,2,1 over and over on a string. You can move it around anywhere you want, and you can even use it to work on scale positions, using that legato pattern on each string across a position of a scale.
Trills are good, just do them at a tempo that is slow enough that you really get a good hammer and the note is as clear as you can make it, and make sure you actually pull off and you don't just lift your pinky and release the hammered note.
Another good way to improve your pinky independence and coordination is with some trickier chord changes, especially some of the stuff you'll come across with arpeggiated lines that have some scale tones mixed in, often using open string notes. John Petrucci has some lines that require some stretches and changes that are pretty difficult. To practice a tough change, I'll finger the first set of notes, then lift my fingers off and hold them in that position, then put them back, and repeat a few times. Then I'll lift them, and without touching a single finger down, try to move all my fingers to the position they need to be in for the next chord or set of notes, then put them down. Things like getting your middle and index fingers to pull back and curl some while you extend your pinky outward in a stretch can be demanding for the muscles in your hand that aren't used to doing that, and for your brain to make them do it! It takes some practice and repetition to make it even somewhat smoother and easier to do at the same time. Practicing those changes in the way I described not only improved my finger independence but it helped get those chord changes a lot faster and smoother, too. As someone else said, conditioning is a big part of physically being able to play.
Hope these ideas help you out.
Do push-ups using only your pinky fingers. That's how I did it. I am also lying.
That’s some tasty tone.
Dude i slant my pick depending on the feel and i do it all the time. Didnt know it is actually a thing. Thought I invented it lol. Only thing is that i slant it controlling the pick's angle with my fingers not really moving my entire hand.
That's what Teemu Mäntysaari does as well!
Man I wish I knew this stuff when I first started out. It may not have made a difference in how successful I was as a musician, but at least I could have played in more bands that did music I loved. I missed out on a bunch because my picking sucked no matter how hard I worked on it. I was legato king and had to improvise all the time instead of learning solos (which is fine sometimes but a lot of bands need note-for-note on at least some of the stuff they do).
Question: I use very slight downward pickslanting for most of the time. It is almost 90 degrees to the strings. I found I change the pickslanting to upward pickslanting but I change it always on the last note of the string. For this lick I start with downward pickslanting and on the last note on the A string I change it to upward pickslanting thus going to D string with my tip of the pick aiming at floor and string is not in my way. Then on D string I change it back to downward pickslanting. I see no difference in speed but it feels much more natural to change it like this.
Great content! Do you have a pickslanting breakdown on paul gilbert popular 4 notes alternate picking lick by any chance?
Thanks for great lesson
My question is
Can I make slanting for just last note before string exchanging ?
My opinion it is much easier because slanting direction would be normally with same stroke direction ( up / down ) without thinking every time and change my rest direction before swith to another string
The D position @Ben Eller explained is the same as part of the solo for AX7 Beast and the Harlot
Cool whip.
David RF why are you putting so much emphasis on the H?
BlackDogsMatter What are you talking about? I'm just saying it. Cool Whhhip.
Ben, what confuses me is: why don't you start with DWPS? If I remember correctly, in the michael angelo batio video, the idea is that you change pickslant everytime the notes on the strings are an odd number. So the first 6 notes would be: (DWPS) DOWN, UP, DOWN (CHANGE TO UPWS AND CHANGE STRING) UP, DOWN, UP. Starting with an upstroke and UPWS, it would be (UPWS) UP, DOWN, UP (CHANGE TO DWPS AND CHANGE STRING) DOWN, UP, DOWN. Isn't it just natural to use DWPS in patterns that start with a downstroke? Am I missing something here? I can't concile your video and batio's one :/
You're right. And I think it makes more sense if you're improvising. You can't plan ahead how many notes per string you're gonna use. Batio's way makes it easy to change strings at will.
Epic shirt bro
Is it possible to download that backing track you are using in the lick? Nice lick btw.
I've been trying to follow your pattern of playing the first 3 triads (A string- A string- D string) with upward pickslanting and then the next triad ( in G string) with downward pickslanting, however when I land on the G - string I tend to only change the pickslanting angle (from upward to downward to the end of the triad, i.e when hitting the G in the 12th fret). In other words, during the last triad of the phrase in the G - string, first note goes upward, second goes neutral and the last one goes upward, just in time to start the pattern from the beginning...
Muito bom fera
nice lick
I didn’t Comprehend this one bit. I think i slant my pick at like maybe 20 degrees down and don’t hold perpendicular to the strings. So I guess I’m a downslant player . A buddy of mine holds his pick between the tip of his thumb and flesh of his forefinger and his pick angles up almost slicing thru the strings. A definitely up slanter. I can’t imagine switching my pick slant every time i change strings . Absolutely brutal
Great video! And swear to God I was just working on a solo for a new song with my band and it's in the key of D minor! The saddest of keys. Ha. Hope you don't mind I stole this.
Xdd
Hi Ben what’s your stance on economy picking? Do you prefer to just alternate pick instead?
Keep it simple so you can FOCUS on you PICK
Play frets 5 6 7 on B string then 5 6 7 on E string, for a nice six note pattern that can be repeated over and over to get a nice flow with pickslanting.
DPS - download pickslanting
NPS - neutral pickslanting, no slant
UPS - upward pickslanting
This will give you an easy 3 note per string exercise with one string change .
Start with DPS for first note (pick is now trapped)
NPS for second (pick is still trapped )
UPS for third (this slant allows the pick to escape an get ready for next note on e string)
UPS for 4th note
NPS for 5th note
DPS for 6th and final note (this will let you escape back up to B string again where you begin the sequence again )
MAKE IT EVEN EASIER
Don’t play any notes
Just mute the strings so you can COMPLETELY FOCUS on your PICK and the movement pattern of the slants
A curious thing is that Troy's videos show the player rotating between slants towards the end of the three notes, wheras you appear to be rotating as you launch into the three. I wonder if you really do that at speed?
Uncle Ben, always diggin the knowledge and expertise...is this strictly a three note per string technique? I'm thinking about 4 note licks like the solo from Practice What You Preach and chromatic runs. Thanks for the great lessons!
metaldad1967 any 4 note run that starts with a down will end on an up, so that means DWPS!
Ben Eller Haha! The light bulb is lit! Thank you fine sir!
Fade to Black intro solo is haunting me with fast descending section. I usually fail this even though I practice it for a very long time. Maybe this lesson will help me to break that wall and nail the solo in one take because its driving me nuts.
In this video, I pet Ben's head for teaching me the lick:
th-cam.com/video/fm-cnHhu_mg/w-d-xo.html
Did Uncle Ben already release a video lesson about the downward pickslanting and upward?
João M.M.B I had a video called “two way pickslanting Secrets” that dealt with similar stuff
Thanks Uncle! I will check.
At 10:12 is that efficient for three note patterns/string? All the changing of your wrist and forearm won't lead to errors?
I need to be clear on this. Is the last note on a string the only note you need to pick with a slant? Depending if that ls to be played with an upstroke or down stroke? All other notes you don't have to slant one way or the other, just the last note on a string?