How to Zakk Wylde 2 NOTES PER STRING pentatonics tutorial
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2024
- Check out Tony Martinez - / tonymartinez
The "Alternate Picking Tricks Lesson with Tony" video - • Alternate Picking Tric...
0:00 - Demonstration and my story with Zakk
0:59 - Video structure explained
1:48 - How I discovered Zakk, the 2 useful tutorials and the theory behind 2 notes per string alternate picking
8:26 - Fast alternative/hack for fast 2 notes per string
10:55 - Full tutorial: pick choice, sitting, arm parts, forearm rotation, locking forearm+wrist+fingers, finger tips tension, stabilizing picking, picking depth, rest picking practicing on single string, string transitions "triangle" paths etc.
I wanted to make this video since 2017, when I just discovered it:
• Practicing Zakk Wylde ...
I'm sure it's the kind of tutorial many frustrated Zakk fans were looking for and I hope I made it decent enough for everyone to understand and implement. Sorry if it's too long, but sometimes complicated things ARE complicated and it takes few weeks to get all the details together. It's easy to understand, but you will need to develope some new habits.
I believe, with this tutorial, 1-2 weeks should be more than enough to reach the speed and accuracy levels like in intro demonstration. From there you'll get much better and faster than I am, if you keep practicing and using it on a daily basis. If you can strum a chord on a guitar - you'll be fine, because it's much easier than learning Paul Gilbert ^-^ - เพลง
So happy my video changed ur playing :)
DUUUUUUUUUDE!!! Thank you so much for passing by! And of course your videos!!! What an honor ^-^ Imagine how happy I was after finding out it actually works!!! Literally couldn't go to sleep for a week :D I hope Shreddy Cat is still shredding 🎸🐈
@@DimaPavlenko haha killer man ! I just opened a Patreon btw with lessons etc if u are interested ;)
Does Tony have more videos about two string picking and other pentatonics runs?
@@georgealberto1985 i just opened a Patreon man where I m covering all of this and more techniques :)
@@TonyMartinez I'll check it out Tony gracias!
I woke up from a coma in 2019. I forgot how to play guitar.
This just give me more hope and don't quit. I'm a big fan of zakk wylde technique. Thanks. From the bottom of my heart ❤️
I hope you got your chops back
@@8KilgoreTrout4 i did not fill but there's now videos of my playing, i even be in the Seymour Duncan contest for this year
@@heey_George8904 🤟🤟
'Its not pick slanting, it is forearm slanting' you've just helped me so much. I don't know why but thinking of it as forearm slanting has massively helped my string transitions.
This is without question the best demonstration of Zakk's technique. In the beginning, it is awkward to pick this way, when your use to being a upstroke picker. But he cracked the code on this, as it is just a matter of time with the metronome and repetitions to get up to speed and clear.
Dude, thank the gods for people like you willing to painstakingly create, edit, and post life-changing videos such as these!
I just read everyone else's comments and I've never seen a TH-cam video the benefit of everyone that watched you deserve a TH-cam Nobel prize if they had one..👍
Dude you have completely saved my picking technique!!! I grew up using economy picking and could never get alternate down with any speed. I've been visualizing a triangle while picking (and switched to a jazz 3 pick) for just a week and I'm already shredding pentatonic runs and my pick hand feels in total control with massive pick attack. I can't believe how much this little video has changed my picking.
same as you dude! My right hand would always get cramped and stuck at a certain tempo and could never go above it. I tried changing picking styles and holding my pick differently but most of it was no use!
Omg the fore arm slant changed my life, no wonder my 3nps was much better I was naturally slanting my forearm to achieve the pick slant facing down, but on the opposite I was unnaturally twisting my wrist.
Homie cracked the code in 5 seconds vs Grady and his hour long videos
Hi Dima, I'm 49yo, self taught guitarists. About 2 years now. Alot of stop starts and frustrations. Im like a kid with short attention span. Will learn somethi g for a while and then get distracted with a new technique or theory and then move on before achieve a competent level. I watched this video a few years ago and just couldn't concept it. Have re watched it now by chance thanks to you tube algorithm. Really want to focus and practice as per your great advice. Thanks for the video and i hope your still playing/enjoying music. Cheers from Australia :)
Hi ^-^ If you keep comming back to playing then you most likely do like guitar :) The rest may take some time and getting to know your own habbits and tendencies. Keep exploring, it's totally fine. After all, there's an abundance of tutorials and approaches, so it's easy to skip between them. I did the same for several years.
I can suggest to start recording short videos/solos on TH-cam, like TH-cam Shorts. Record them as small tasks, everytime envolving any technique/thery you explored. Either with a backing track or you may as well take drum lessons. Maybe you're a "one man band" person and taking on several instruments will help you focus on each.
I can also suggest trying a bit more structured approach next, like subscribing to Paul Gilbert online guitar school. It really helped me with left hand technique, vibrato, bends and rakes (a.k.a "chikas" in his words). Pretty much every video there can be used to record some short video, so many cool and simple licks.
Getting left hand right can help you later with focusing on right hand techniques, which was much harder for me and I think most people.
@DimaPavlenko great advice thanks!! My message to you was a good prompt to write down a more structured learning plan for myself. Subscribing to a program will compliment that for sure. I will record a pre Dima and post Dima techniques video for myself as progress too. Giving myself a goal of 3 months to have some sort of basic/lpw level intermediate fluidness and speed.
i wish this had popped up when i was lookin at pick slanting vids. it's a lot better than a lot of those vids at explaining the technique
Thank you so much!!! Those vids are exactly why I wanted to make this one as thorough as I can ^-^
Your tutorial is the only real useful one I found for this. God bless you thank you.
Zakk Wylde has a ferocious picking technique.
Zakk wylde's a beast in speed picking...thanks so much, your lesson helps me in my picking
Rock on!
Really useful thanks. Having this problem for nearly a year so will try this technique
Best of luck!
I think you do a killer job of explaining specifics. Thank you Bro…I got a lot from your cameras view also.
Bro ur 3 rats are from ikea i hope, i got one as a kid and i was attached to him my entire childhood man, awesome tutorial btw Zakk is the master of the boxes!
Pavlenko,
I’m right where you are brother, Ben Eller turned me on to this and Troy Grady. Then Troy Grady turned me onto Frank Gambale. Once I learned I was an upstroker with a down stroke escape, everything has been opening up for me. On on the same path as you, and your explanation provided another piece🙂👍
Thanks for taking time to analyze and film and break down this lesson. Many may not reach this level of proficiency but it nice to see the mechanics broken down.
thank you so much dude, now i can easily practice no more tears by ozzy osbourne. Got stuck at 87 bpm. Finally got a breakthrough with this.
Your English is excellent. I've spoken with a lot of Russians over the years and, even when their grasp of English is good, their accents are often so thick as to make them difficult to understand.
And of course the video itself is great, per all the comments before mine. Молодец!)
Your examination of the position of body parts really helped me, especially the shoulder. I found I had my right shoulder cranked up. Great video and analysis! Thanks!
Yep, I'm still fighting this habit. When something feels wrong/awkward/uncomfortable - 90% of the time it's either my sitting position or right hand doing weird stuff in the air instead of resting on the guitar body properly.
Спасибо тебе добрый человек. Ти мне на многое глаза открыл. Жаль что таких детальных видео мало
That is amazing how you recorded your picking.. I've been trying to figure this out for about 30 years.. it's like every guitar player that knows find a contract not to show anybody I guess. I've asked people and they acted like I was an experienced enough when but I guess they weren't experienced enough to explain it like you..
Спасибо огромное за перевод! Очень ценный материал, особенно для фанатов старины Закка🤟
Bro seriously, God bless you! I am going to take lessons from Anton thanks to your testimony. For someone (myself) who has been playing over 30 years and string hopping/ terrible technique, I'm more than ready for the mental challenges that lie ahead. Thank you so much.
Very useful thank you so much
Dude you opened my eyes 🎉
Парень, спасибо тебе огромное!! Лучшая и актуальная информация на всём просторе интернета!
I still struggle with these, I've recently realised it's my fretting hand, so I practice these drills with my left hand only, trying to make it loud and clear with just one hand, it's helping massively.
Understanding the problematic areas is indeed the main obstacle, those who watch videos about technique never lack motivation or practicing discipline :D as long as you're not satisfied with something and giving a try to new things/making small changes and trying again - your chances for success are getting higher. If you struggle with anything regarding this video after a while - feel free to send me a video via the Facebook link on my channel page, or a link to unlisted video on TH-cam. I'll respond sooner or later :)
You are doing GOD’S work sir; I salute you!!!
Also: you saved me a nervous breakdown today🙏🏻
Nice video, salute from Brazil
Thank you!!!
Dear Dima, thanks for this very interesting and useful video. Amazing work. Regards from Italy.
superb teacher
Great video!
Excellent analysis and tutorial.
Excellent teacher! Thank you!
Thank you for making this!
Excellent video. One of the best technique videos I've cone across.
Great lesson, thanks.
tnx bro for sharing ❤❤❤
Fantastic video 🤘
Amazing video!!! Thanks so much!!!
Dima, I've watched so many videos on this and always the small details are skipped. I'm a wrist player and trying to learn to play from the forearm has been challenging. I've spent a lot of years playing 80's style shred like Lynch, Jake and DiMartini so trying to switch now to forearm picking just isnt working. Thanks for the incredible detailed explanation here, and using the wrist on some. I think I'll just learn to be comfortable . Thanks again, well done.
Very good lesson; well delivered both by examples and overall explanation answering the why question!
Thank you very much! ^-^
Thanks for this
Great video my friend.
such a great vid!
Keep making videos my man I like your style good work
Thank you very much! I'll do my best ^-^
Man, thank you so much by such a detailed and usefull video!
Thank you very much! Good luck and have fun! ^-^
Didn't know Roki Bazooki played guitar : p
Great lesson nonetheless, thanks!
wow!!!! gracias!! muy buen laburo! gracias
Thank you very much! I hope it will work for you!
Ооо спасибо чувак, хорошо что я нашел это видео, сто лет не мог понять как он так правой рукой хреначит!
Great video dude 👍
Thanks man!🤗
It is better to practice the right technique than practice trying to figure out the right technique
Indeed!
Cool stuff. Above my ability but I still took some things away from this. Thanks for sharing!
You are my hero ❤️
Thank you!!!
Thank you. It's a body lesson!
AMAZING !!!!!!❤❤❤
thank you so much
Thank you and good luck!!!
So happy to have found such a content! So great! Lost a couple of years trying to develope alternate picking without knowing about pick slenting, but was just a scrap.
Thank you!
Unfortunately, there are so much rubbish on TH-cam concernicg this topic.
Hope, could stay in touch.
Cheers!
Thank you! I guess it's just easy to speculate on different guitar techniques, because there are always successful exceptions to every "technique", even if it's not the best one and 99% will never be able to implement it - you can still claim "that's the correct way". And I'm no different, "wasted years" apparently is part of the craft lol :D [crying internally]
Now you watched Max Ostro's channel and he is the most amazing guitar player I've ever heard.. he was 15 and playing on a level I think higher than Joe satriani yngwie malmsteen and Steve Via.. after seeing him I just wanted to quit guitar. I'm 49 I've been playing since I was 12.. thank God I watched you now I'm not going to Quit lol
Thank you Dima. Been a fan of Anton since I saw him as a small kid ripping Racer X's Frenzy like it was nothing. Even when you didn't reveal Anton's secret on your other video I think I finally know what I was missing. My picking is getting more consistent now. As a fan of Gilbert you would love Petrucci's picking. He is more creative in using patterns. Try As I Am solo from Dream Theater album Train of Thoughts. It's a challenging solo for alternate picking with unusual sequence&pattern.
The secret is basically the way he approaches "pick slanting" and the explanation seems to me more robust than Troy Grady's. Currently I'm experimenting on some other "Anton's secret" that Anton himself, from what I can tell, haven't formulated yet. At least what I think we were still missing in understaind his wrist motion/pick grip and everything in between. From my research and tests so far, most other (Paul, Yngwie, Buckethead and a more recent Russian player/TH-camr Gleb Oleynik) seem to have a very similar grip and wrist motion based on Paul's reverse pick grip. Hopefully it'll be my next video on the channel. Petrucci is obviously a very skilled player, there are many techniques and approaches that I wish to be able to perform, I just need like another 10 years or so lol.
@@DimaPavlenko cool man. I’m from Bali Indonesia. Come here it’s a beautiful place to visit. Cheers
@@iganpparamarta8813 I would love to! The drum store I took lessons at began collaborating and importing beautiful percussion instruments from Bali, glad to hear from you over there ^-^
Made them a logo and shot few cajon pictures: drumbite.co.il/קטגוריית-מוצר/כלי-הקשה/קחונים/?swoof=1&pwb-brand=drum-factory&really_curr_tax=1126-product_cat
Excellent presentation.
Can you explain the turn around?
Hey Bryan! What do you mean by turn around? Moving from thick strings back to thins?
@@DimaPavlenko Dima,
I meant the even number of notes on a string to turn around.
@@brythecracker Hey Bryan, sorry I've been away from guitar and computer for a few days. It would be great if you could send me a direct message on Facebook and show what exactly do you mean by "turn around", so I could answer propely. A link to my profile is in my channel header.
Every shredding video "ALwAYZ ChOOEs the MinmAL pCIk moVEMNT". Zakk wylde: *pick flapping everwhere, yet hitting every note perfectly"*
lol indeed !!!
They taught me how to practice well. thank you. I will try it now and have a question. I can't mute, what should I do?
1) Playing precisely is a very big factor - once you get used to this technique you'll see you can also do wide motions, but still be very precise. Watch Zakk's acoustic performances, he's nailing incredible stuff, while it's looks as if he strums all of the strings at once lol.
2) At 11:57 I suggest using Les Paul style guitar, but most importantly getting used to Paul Gilbert's muting style - this well add some level of muting security for near by strings that you might hit.
3) Watch Zakk's TUTORIALS on TH-cam carefully - you'll notice he's often uses A LOT of overdrive/distortion. This masks a lot of noise, especially if you already play precise/controlled enough.
4) In the same tutorials - notice he also often mutes with his right hand in between long notes, like during vibrato. It's not as noticeable as Marty Friedman muting, because his right hand position is not as radical as Marty's.
5) Zakk has an Instagram channel (and Facebook), with a lot of his solos played in a room - use these as well for reference (or even learn some of his stuff from there, great angles). For example:
instagram.com/p/CkNCGsjsOZP/
in this video every vibrato starts with a "rake" - so he mutes everything that was played earlier. Paul Gilbert has amazing tutorials in his online guitar school, there he calls them "pentatonic chikas". The key is muting with both hands properly. I'll make a video about it. The key to right hand is moving it closer to pickups (away from the bridge) to do the rake, so it sounds percussive rather then getting the boomy palm mute "chug chug" sound near the bridge (not muting enough).
All those small factors together produce pretty clean result, that is pretty much clean when it's in a mix or on stage. If you isolate his playing you'll notice there's still some level of noise whenever there are longer gaps between riffs - hence I suggested watching the tutorials for reference (as you'll probably comparing his stage performance with you playing at home).
Thank you so much my man. Could you the same video on 3 note per string patterns and how to combine them with 2 note per string parts?
3 Notes per string is usually in the realm of wrist picking (Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Bonamassa, etc.) which is by far more complex than Zakk's elbow picking. I recommend checking out Anton Oparin lessons, because it requires a very robust wrist technique and string crossing mechanics. At that level it's really not about "counting" notes, but a pure wrist control to play any number of notes, variations and combinations. The thing with wrist alternate picking is the less notes you play on each string - the more robust your technique must be. Like these 1 note per string patterns/arpeggios Anton demonstrates here th-cam.com/video/mVPB3NJwRmg/w-d-xo.html at 11:05. In a month or two I will post a video with my personal findings and tips on wrist control, but it will be mostly for those who went through the basics ( a.k.a "to hell and back" lol ) with Anton. If it's your jam - consider investing your time learning it properly. Sadly, it's not as simple as pure 2 notes per string :D
Great video... inside picking has to be the toughest I think ..
Bro, thanks. The same shit: playing 2 nps from upstroke everytime
Awesome lesson bro
Can u teach synyster gates picking style
Thanks bro! I'm not that familiar with his style. The only thing I'm pretty sure in is that the picking concepts are the same for all great players (in terms of picking in straight path and optimized string crossing paths) but some use wrist (Paul Gilbert), some use arm (Zakk Wylde), some use thumb movements and some combine the others somehow (Malmsteen/Vai). Once you watch enough Anton Oparin/fredguitarist videos - you can analyze most of the aspects without even being able to play them. How to practice those techniques - is another story :)
maybe im seeing wrong..but you need to down stroke first note... upstroke next..upstroke next... down stroke next..continue pattern..that will get you faster than always that down picking alt...use directional and get used to upstrokes..in fact take 1 string and start doing ONE two three four... ONE two three four.. exercises with the beat on 1 starting with upstroke..so always accent with the upstroke..get used to that and you will get so fast it will be unbelievable to yourself..and if you really want to get even faster...I have a video to show ya how..I think its first one on beginners talking about picking where the pick never leaves the string..and you never have to deep pick..that will slow you down big time..all IMHO....but overall great vid for people..cheers from Canada
Thanks! I believe you're talking about "economy picking". I'm really glad if it worked for you, it's a very timing challenging technique as far as I messed with it years ago. Pretty much "sweep picking" with changing direction frequently. So, in theory it is faster than alternate picking but much more challenging to maintain, at least for me and from what I saw Paul Gilbert talking about why he always preferred alternate picking over economy/sweep. Controlling picking depth though is important for dynamics (especially on less distorted guitar parts). Anyways, thank you for this comment! It is indeed an important alternative to think about.
@@DimaPavlenko and thank you for being so gracious :)..BTW my sister got to party with Zak and a few people a few years back..I was so jealous..lol..its because of my step bro tho..hes a little bit famous..and knows all sorts..
Очень крутое видео, хороший "research" темы! Пробовал оба варианта, ИМХО играть с апстрока намного рациональнее по скорости и звуку, что и показал чувак на 9:38
Спасибо! :) C апстрока ещё автоматически правая рука удобно приглушает верхние/толстые струны. На счет звука могу только подметить что овердрайв и яркость у него там выкручены наверное на 120%, как и у Закка собственно :D Динамики по громкости практически не остается, во всяком случае когда я занимался этой техникой - с даунстрока физически первый удар обычно получался существенно громче чем последующий апстрок. Благодаря этой разнице в динамике мне всегда казалось, что звучит ближе к оригиналу, чувствуется что ноты звучат раздельно, а не грубо говоря "каша" (как у меня на то время получалось с апстрока). Но видимо и апстрок можно прокачать хорошо. Замечал часто что Joe Bonamassa как раз и играет так запястьем пентатонику, иногда с даунстрока иногда с апстрока. Он играет то, что ему нужно и не ограничивает себя. То есть удобно если можешь и так, и так.
Zakk would have got this stuff from the Jazz giants John McLaughlin Al Di Meola they do this stuff! Brilliant lessons thanku
Waw amazing
Have you tried hybrid picking? Like a 2 string mini sweep?
-Down up up down-
Looping down up up down down up up down.
I’ve had some success with this, but haven’t mastered the bonamassa/Johnson descent using hybrid picking. Watching their picking hand, I’m sure it’s what they do. It’s tricky but very effective when pulled off properly
Short answer: Kinda "yes" and "no", mostly "no", but enough "yes" to not try it anymore :) at least not as a solution for 2nps. It is an implicit skill though you get if you achieve proper wrist control and then practicing sweep picking (I'll elaborate next).
Joe Bonamassa uses 2 tricks:
- One is switching to starting from an upstroke on fast parts - I slowed down few of his fast runs and saw he switches direction right before, forearm gets rotated outside (for those triangular "saw tootg" picking paths.
- But the second "trick" is that he can actually play starting from a downstroke really well - because he controls his wrist and plays very efficient small "saw teeth" picking paths.
I made a gif recently (trying to learn some Adobe After Effects for next video) showing how it looks like if you would pick 6 string:
drive.google.com/file/d/1KWYccOUFO-uxk37xXIUa0lhZyWnijf90/view?usp=share_link
Sergey Golovin, another awesome Russian guitar player (calls himself "grumpy introvert"), uses same robotic/efficient pentatonic runs a lot:
th-cam.com/video/bBXTIULWvo4/w-d-xo.html
there someone asks if he's using same technique for 3nps and 2nps and he delivers :D
Just found a nice example of how I essentially worked on wrist picking overall and used 2nps to practice playing "into guitar" forearm rotation (learning to control the picking depth with palm rest properly) with very small picking range and straight thumb:
th-cam.com/video/bBXTIULWvo4/w-d-xo.html
very small direct motions - for some reason that works miracles for developing general wrist picking technique. Practice efficient small motions => Develops Control => Speed (actually it's about "frequency", thus small motions are the key).
=== Economy is essentially sweep picking - requires same level of wrist control ===
As of my recent progress with wrist picking (not published yet) my wrist control improved dramatically, meaning I feel the difference like night and day from what I though "wrist control" really means. It got to the point I started messing around with sweep picking, since I tried learning it like 10 years ago, I think Avenged Sevenfold was one of the reasons I tried back then.
Today it's night and day from what I tried 10 years ago. Not because the time passed, but because wrist control and proficiency (together with proper pick grip) are the key to effortless sweep picking - it frees from right hand related worries, makes it consistent and comfortable. Eventually as Anton mentions in some dedicated video - it's really hard to make sweep picking as reliable as alternate picking, so you better invest in alternate, because that's the key to wrist control, and wrist control is the only thing on which sweep picking can work at all.
Great lesson😳😳😳👌🙂do you always start with up stroke?have a great day
Thank you^-^ I always start with a downstroke and nowadays even practicing it with a wrist, which is much harder for me, because the forearm angle is the opposite of the upstroke way.
I hope one day to achieve wrist proficiency of Paul Gilbert, Anton Oparin, Gleb Oleinik and Sergey Golovin.
Oleinik example: th-cam.com/video/QpSO0Mxhdes/w-d-xo.html (right at the start of the video, you can slow it down)
Golovin examples: th-cam.com/video/bBXTIULWvo4/w-d-xo.html (he also plays the Gilbert lick at 33:08 and 3 vs 2 notes per string at 33:58)
And that's exactly where "the upstroke way" comes in:
1) Understanding the correct motion (angles, motions and ranges) and then mirror it to develop starting downstroke (use it aa a reference).
2) Having the option to DO start with an upstroke - both as a fun gimmick and as an everyday technique (like Joe Bonamassa, more often than not, switches to upstrokes during the transition to fast pentatonic riffs).
3) Using it as a reference for learning other techniques - by understanding the deviation from what works very well for you, meaning figuring out "what changed" and which ways you can tackle the issues. That's the second tricky part in my opinion, the first was nailing the upstrokes to the point that you know you got it right (hearing and feeling it).
@@DimaPavlenko wow 🙂🤘thank you .Gleb 😳its amazing its so funny😅i have to check more his video.Sergiej is amazing to.I think we all overthinking 😅the secret is hourse of practice.Them must play hourse .Thats why all looks so easy.I really like Max Ostro🙂amazing player.Wish you all the best.
@@przemyslaw1235 Glad you mentioned him, watched his interview many months ago, then dived into Gleb's tutorials, then Golovin and then Anton's recent video (mentioning "muscle recuperation"). I'm gonna make a video with my progress and insights. One of them is where I had to put those hours exactly:) Many of them into a simple lick I stole from Gleb's "Guitar Battle" performance, that became an incredibly effective exercise for decreasing picking range and learning to use the palm rest properly.
Great tutorial on Zakk's picking which we can use for other pentatonic style licks :)... 2 things:
1. Your wrist angle. It is flexed pretty significantly versus the wrist (watchband area) being flat on the body of the guitar. Looks old school Zakk wrist positioning. Does this slow you down or it's comfortable to you?
2. Around 18:21 you said the picking motion is a combination of wrist and forearm as one unit. Not to confuse anyone reading but when you are picking like this, do you feel your wrist moving up and down and the forearm rotating side to side all at the same time? In Cracking the Code terms that's a wrist forearm blend. I ask because when I practice this I want to mentally think in real time what individual muscles I'm activating. Because otherwise, we'd probably be picking as if we are doing full strumming which I doubt is the case. To recap, once we enter into our forearm/pickslanting position with our right arm, you still feel some rotating of the forearm and wrist yes?
Thanks for the insights :)))
Thank you! You rock! As always ;)
1) It was very strange at first, but it got very comfortable even during the initial practicing on the second string. I tried to copy Zakk and at that moment using the fingers + the forearm on the guitar body = gave 2 very good contact and reference points. So, I started relying a lot on the fingers on the guitar body, and that week I did like an experiment every day, changing the forearm rotation which led intuitively to wrist bending. It will just happen naturally in a few days. Playing faster is even easier than practicing slow - because I don't lose the "feel" of where the edge of the pick is, relative to the string. But practicing "slowly" was responsible for the progress, because I could experiment different rotations/wrist bending on each stroke. Like on "down" I am rotating less, but then on "up" I hit the upper string, so I rotate the forearm more and bending wrist a bit on my next "down". But having the fingers on the guitar body and sliding them on it - is a must. Like I mentioned in the emails - it's hard on top strings, like the beginning of "Sold My Soul" so it might be better to slide the side of the wrist near the bridge on the string (solves the muting problem as well).
2) It is indeed something that I "feel" now, if I concentrate on what I'm doing when going faster and shallower, but it happens very naturally, and I believe it will be the same for everybody after mastering the single string and moving to 2 strings. I think it's a very subtle detail that will happen naturally for everyone, but telling people to "practice rotating the forearm a bit inside during string transition to the upper string" - will do a lot of harm, because they will not lock the wrist and the forearm enough, that joint will start wiggling here and there on them. And now that you made me think about it, this small rotation is a speed optimization for 2 string transition only, because I can't keep rotating the forearm inside if I want to transition 3-4 strings at a time. I'll show more in the response video. Thanks for asking!
@@DimaPavlenko Dima! It is funny you mentioned keeping fingers on the guitar body. If you look at Michael Angelo Batio's (MAB) playing he is like a perfect machine gun. And he keeps his fingers rested on the guitar. However I don't believe he uses a Les Paul so for some model guitars, resting fingers may not be an option. Like you said, keeping the side of the wrist firmly planted on the strings will give control. Especially on the lower/thicker strings.
On #2. Guitar terminologies suck in general. Our analogies as guitar players confuse each other. Not on purpose, but it's not straightforward like piano or brass instruments. I've been told to rotate the forearm a little more to pop the pick out of the strings so it's free to move to the next string. And it makes sense. But you can't lose focus on the wrist and hand and forearm being one unit. So I guess it's a toss up until we all speak the same language in guitar. This is why I'm very grateful to Cracking the Code. It's not perfect but it's making more sense over time... But short story long lol, there is some individual movements happening in your arm regardless of the arm being thought of as one unit? I'll send you an updated video later today! Thx :)
@@DimaPavlenko One more thing! Regarding transitioning to 3 or 4 strings and covering distance- Tony who you referenced in this video, he uses a sawing motion from his elbow to maintain the SAME hand positioning when crossing strings. I can't think of any other way except to literally move the elbow up and down like a saw to accomplish this? Just 2 cents.
@@ASI1811 I almost wrote you a response but then picked up the guitar to try it and yes, it seems you're right! I did a 6 string run (slowly, because I never got to practicing those, they are very rare) and I move the elbow up+ a bit back, to maintain the same motion I'm used to from practicing on 1/2 strings. So the pick is almost parallel to the pickup and it feels the same on every string.
Here is a part of the response, about how rare those extreme transitions are, and what Anton thinks on a similar topic:
"
Such extreme transitions, 4-6 strings at a time are quite rare. Even Anton in his school says that if you don’t need to make a 6 string scale/lick run, and, let’s say, he plays some part on the top strings - you don’t need to bother with keeping the wrist in “the perfect” spot for 6 string run (to reach all strings, as he teaches), and you can position the wrist higher, to make playing on top strings more comfortable for long periods. In case of Zakk style we put the arm/elbow/forearm in the most comfrotable position based on the context (where are the few strings we need to play next).
"
Hello brother thank you for this video. I just wanted to share that for some reason I have a hard time doing this and I don’t know why but what I did discover is that I find myself having an easier time doing 2 notes per string by using economy picking. I start with a down stroke then continue with that same motion and down stroke the lower string. Then I up stroke the lower string and continue that same motion and up stroke the upper string and repeat. Maybe you can look into this and maybe make a video stating if you like it or not.
Occasionally I get comments gere about economy picking, but that's quite a different topic. Meaning that they both achieve playing 2nps on 2 adjacent strings, but what if you want to do a 3 string descending run? Like E-B-G, how do you transition from B to G after a downstroke on a B? So it's quit different techiques for different purposes. As long as economy works for your specific riff/task - use it. But it can't replace alternate picked 2 nps in every case.
I lately went back to experimenting with sweep picking, after long work on wrist alternate picking and man what a difference. Meaning it's hard to master sweep/economy pocking without proper wrist development. These are my insights:) Anyway use whatever does the job and you're satisfied with (tone/ease/esthetics/etc.)
Very nice video bro, thanks a lot
What do you think about an ibanez s521? I want to buy a new guitar, do you think it has the right cutaways and balanced?
I apreciate your answer
Greetings from México!
Thanks man! I never tried an Ibanez S model, just missed an opportunity to get a used one (old listing just disappeared). So in terms of forearm cutaway I can only assume it may be less comfortable than a regular SG, because it's thinner. If you have any music store to compare an S with RG - I suggest doing it first.
I'm more concerned with the stock bridge that it looks like it comes with. Saddles based non-floating bridges often have sharp saddle edges and poking height adjustment bolts. I bought a cheap Chinese Ibanez PGMM31 (signature Paul Gilbert micro guitar version) from Thomann a while ago - terrible bridge. Terrible frets as well but the bridge was absolute garbage. I wouldn't eve sell such guitars if I were in charge at Ibanez :}
As and alternative I suggest looking at used Ibanez RG Prestige models. Anyway the floating bridges I think are the most comfortable ones and most of the time installed on decent guitars (metal oriented like Jackson/Solar), since they seem to be made for comfort and don't have sharp edges.
Once I tried my Ibanez prestige in store, compared to a white Fender Strat I considered and to the Gibson I had for years - I knew it's the one I'm obligated to go with. Absolute practice workhorse.
@@DimaPavlenko I'm sorry what happened to you with that Chinese Ibanez XD.
I have always refused to buy a guitar with a floating bridge because legend says that they are problematic, but I am starting to consider it.
I see that Anton uses an Ibanez SA120 (similar to an s521, I think) in his videos, so I thought they were more comfortable than the RG haha.
Your advice will help me a lot to make my decision.
Thank you very much bro, and good job :D
This video is awesome I still dont get one thing, how the hell does he mute, if you see him play nowadays before he let's call it tenses up he's all over the place it almost looks sloppy but it's not it's actually very controlled
Edit- should have watched all the video before commenting, muting is a problem I've been doing the Paul Gilbert thing as you called but Im so used to muting with my right hand that it almost feels like riding a bike backwards.
Hey! Sorry for a late response, I don't get comments notifications lately :( Yeah Zakk is surprisingly accurate in his picking, there are a few of his acoustic guitar performances where I was like "wow I didn't think arm picking can be so precise". Paul's left-hand fingers muting hack is awesome, though indeed doesn't solve all the problems. But somewhere in the video after this one I was experimenting with playing on the fatter strings (E A D) and looking at Zakk's videos - in this case it is very convenient to do sort of a palm muting. Basically, doing the same picking paths but instead of resting the fingers on the guitar body - we rest the palm near the bridge (we can relax the fingers and open the palm of the hand to lay in near the bridge). It feels like "jumping" slightly with the palm as we pick, essentially compressing the flesh of the palm on downstroke and slightly release the palm pressure on the upstroke, keeping the same "triangle" picking paths. The bike metaphor is spot on!!! lol old habits die hard ^-^
Thanks for a lesson man!
Can you explain how to mute the other strings (E6 A5 D4)? Wrist is in the air!
On distortion it sounds horrible!
For long fast picking sequences you can try actually adding more distortion. If you play cleanely - it will help masking the other resonating strings. It's hard to find Zakk isolated fast picking without an insane amount of distortion or absolutely clean guitar. I think it's either that or the rest of the instruments in a song simply hide the noise. Having a Gibson Les Paul might also help, since the strings usually further from the pickups. In other cases, when playing relatively slow (like vibratos and pinch harmonics) Zakk changes his technique to a sort of a wrist picking. Like here at 5:10 he strums the strings to start a vibrato th-cam.com/video/RuZEWv8vg9w/w-d-xo.html and quickly silences the rest of the strings with his palm. During chicken picking he is always palm muting. Mainly because that's his support point. I don't think there are any other secrets. If you find any - please tell me :D
Hi
thanks for this video, very helpful!
But could you please tell what kind of camera mounting you used? looks like as if you made this on your own?
Since I began this channel I've acquired some video gear, one of the pieces happened to be a "magic arm" (a.k.a "friction arm"). It's usually a 2-piece flexible arm with a single knob, which you tighten to set it in certain position (increasing the friction in the joint and ball thread ends on each side). These arms usually have a 1/4 inch male thread on both ends. For one side you can get a dedicated clamp, on the other you can add whatever you want. In this case I put some thick cardboard pieces to clamp the arm to the guitar body, on the other end I put my old Logitech C920 webcam, which had a 1/4'' thread hole (like all standalone cameras and camcorders have for a tripod quick release plate). It's one of the most useful pieces of gear I have, so I got a bunch of magic arms, with different lengths. Great for boom microphones, overhead shots, putting a bunch on a tripod to hold other devices like a teleprompter, screens, phones. Especially phones. I've recorded whole outdoor lectures, at my previous workplace, just by putting a phone clamp and clamping the arm to a tree branch. You get very creative with it, even for general home use.
@@DimaPavlenko not sure if I got it. Do you have a link with an example? A picture or where you bought it?
@@wickiederchef7126 I bought mine on Aliexpress.
This one looks identical to the one I used: www.aliexpress.com/item/4001019060961.html
(these come with a clamp and a bunch of adaptors)
There are many variations here: www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&SearchText=magic+arm
I suggest Googling for something like "guitar camera clamp", you'll probably find some better and safer devices and gadgets (so you don't scratch the guitar by mistake).
More professional and expensive friction arms can be found on dedicated camera gear sites like B&H: www.bhphotovideo.com/
Troy Grady has his "Magnet" phone clamp: th-cam.com/video/_f0P8NbD6yg/w-d-xo.html
@@DimaPavlenko thank you so much! So do you install directly it at the neck? And how do you avoid scratches at it?
And I would immediately buy the Troy Grady tool but unfortunately it's not available for buying
Sorry, I read the hint with the scratches afterwards 🤭
@@wickiederchef7126 The clamp is on the guitar body (in the bottom curve cutaway), below the neck, thus parallel to it. You can see the clamp on the left at 0:20, clamping on the pickguard with a piece of cardboard to protect it. You can add some black cloth, from old shirt or jeans around the clamping area for additional protection.
Good stuff! I highly recommend folks check out Troy Grady's concepts of in Cracking the Code. He goes into HUGE depth about pick slanting
Great content bro :) One question if you happen to see my comment, do you think that the wrist flexing approach works equally well with 3 note per string crossing patterns, or does it have certain areas of application? 🙂
Guitar technique, especially the wrist, is a tricky topic to discuss in text. Please point me to the time in the video you're talking about or send me a short video on Facebook with your questions. I simply want to prevent misunderstandings or cause long term technique damage, typically caused by us not approaching learning properly. Like trusting TH-cam comments alone :D
But when u do this how are you muting the low strings?? If your palm is lifted like that why aren’t the low strings just ringing like crazy??
The muting is spread between right and left hand, in sort of "Z" shape. The thinner strings are muted by the left hand index finger, the thicker strings by the palm of the right hand. Plus the Paul Gilbert trick is to mute the upper string with left hand index finger tip.
Usually the tilt of the forearm/wrist is not that extreme, so in combination with the above muting strategy - every string is under controll.
Can you tell me what the mount is that you are using on your guitar?
The Logitech webcam is mounted using a basic "Magic Arm" (a.k.a "Friction Arm") from Aliexpress. It is mostly utilized in the video industry, to hang stuff (like external mics and video monitors) onto camera tripods, light/mic stands, shelfs, ceiling rails and pretty much everything everywhere. In this case a flat body guitar. The clamp is clamped on 2 pieces of thick cardboard, which I cut from a beer coaster, to protect the finish.
These clamps come is variety of lengths, turned out to be extremely useful so eventually I got several of these in multiple sizes. Like hanging multiple cameras around the room for shooting an event or a video clip.
The light (since it's heavy) is barely holding on a Joby GripTight tripod (usually used as a phone holder with a springy clamp), which I fought to wrap and hold around the Ibanez top horn. The parts touching the guitar are all silicone, so it didn't hurt the finish.
The Magic Arm is a cool device, but consider Googling for guitar camera mounts and gadgets, to see if there is a more fitting clamp. Like something with silicone/rubber feet and wider grip, to make it easier to mount and protect the guitar.
So wait. At 9:00 are you changing to upward pick slanting and doing it by starting on an upstroke. ?
yes, exactly :)
Руки базуки)
٩(^ᴗ^)۶
Question about the triangle. Does it matter what direction of the triangle you go? Like are you picking the g string to the left of the b string or vice versa?
Doesn't matter, it's just a concept of moving to any other string after an upstroke.
Hi, what do you use to record ? I mean . Whats the name of the thing you mount on the arm ?
Hey, the main camera was a static Canon 80D on a tripod, cropped from 9:16 to 1:2 ratio (wider view).
The secondary guitar camera was just a Logitech C920 webcam, recorded into OBS with pretty high bit rate setting.
Together with the strong Aputure MX led light (barely hanging on JOBY GorillaPod mini tripod) and manual webcam settings set in OBS - the quality is very decent in my opinion.
Webcams became even better since.
The webcam screwed on top of a basic "magic arm" (a.k.a "friction arm") from AliExpress, on the other end the magic arm is screwed into a clamp it came with.
This specific clamp is not great to clamp on flat surfaces, especially not a guitar. So you can see small cardboard plates I've put under it to protect the guitar.
I'd get one of these clamps instead, to screw both the webcam and light on magic arms.
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004845958187.html
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004828867888.html
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004937767972.html
Ideally, if I had to record these angles on a daily/weekly/monthly basis (e.g. recording covers or teaching guitar online), I'd drill holes in the guitar and add 1/4" mounts everywhere, so I could mount anything I want all over. This would incredibly simplify the setup logistics, which is a huge setback when recording in small spaces/rooms, that you have to teardown after every video.
Furthermore, both footages were adjusted later in Adobe Premiere (now there's a popular free alternative "Black Magic - DaVinci Resolve" software)
@@DimaPavlenko thanks a lot for this complete information
So is it best to start with upstroke or downstroke pls?thanks
From a learning curve stand of point, I'd start with upstrokes. While the tone won't be the same - once you get it right you'll have a reliable reference point for switching to downstroke. I think eventually being able to do both is a great tool in your guitar skills arsenal. After all, getting proficient in alternate picking requires independence, not even bothering to think "should I start with downstroke or upstroke" in a middle of a phrase. Of course it's a matter of style as well, while Zakk plays "alternate picking", he's not implementing all the variations of it. Like 3 notes per string scales, rarely he does it using economy picking/small sweep. Most of the time he's playing even number of notes.
@@DimaPavlenko thank you Dima that clears it up a bit more for me, this video you have done is the best demonstration on YT.. do more pls 🙏👍
@@darrenmuso2621 Will do:) thank you!!! This summer I'm planning to make a video of my experience with wrist picking, significantly correlated to the technical aspects learned from this technique.
@@DimaPavlenko looking forward 🤙
Need help with my alternate picking
Your alternate picking on the Kramer Assault guitar video looks great :)
@@DimaPavlenko thank you but I need to improve
Zakk is economy picking for the very fastest licks he plays. Use economy down down up up for two notes on two adjacent strings. It’s way faster than antiquated slow (for 99% of humans). You must MUTE appropriately or it won’t work.
The imaginary triangle keeps your motion tight and controlled hence faster.
Sorry Marshall. This lesson is for humans. You as a meta-human don’t belong here. Go jam with that Silverhawk cowboy haha
What gauge pick is that?
Dunlop Ultex Sharp 1mm. As far as my research showed - that's the pick Zakk uses. Usually with his custom tour logos.
🌞🌞🌞🫵🏻
Ты если это все на лесполе делаешь качество и стабильность страдает?
С техникой Зака к счастью не страдает. Игра от локтя (в отличии от запястья) на Лес Поле даже удобней в плане высоты струн и веса гитары - она стабилизирует сама себя даже если махать очень сильно. Осваивал её тоже на Лес Поле (тут видео 6 лет назад, примерно поняв основы : th-cam.com/video/IyXaMWus_8M/w-d-xo.html ). С ПШ запястьем было намного сложней и не советую Лес Пол на время обучения.
Почему лп не советуешь?
i learn 2 note poer string a little faster let s say if i pl,ay 180 i play 200 bpm (4 note per string beat, not 1) but my problem is 3 notes per string...because u start in 6 string 3 notes is D U D u change is U D U ....next D U D next U D U ...u understand my problem?????????? this is or if u make 3note on 6 string (or all string u chooseone) and u make 3 note per 3 and again on 6 string like 123 123 u change on 5 string u start again with D U D (OR U D U ) me? i think have more attack when i start with upstroke ..and what u see on video with paul g...say the same thing ..not attack but like upstrokes...and look at NAMM show ..gizuz...but man u save us ...tnx u so much ...but at 3??? can u make another video and?oh u have dunlop ultex 1.0?? , ultex is amazing1.14 ...same me ...hte purple 1.14 is from tortex or dortex something but is not so sharp ..1 u need a confortable pick..is jazz is triangle is in penis form ....u play with that....period..gauge pick is 1.00 is 1.5 etc satriani 1.00 plastic, steve vai nylon 1.00 gilbert 1.,20 celluide ...i don t know how and 2 sharp, not rotund...u can do with rotund but the TONE SUCKS maybe jazz 3 are red one it have to be more rigid u can find, ultex is the material james hetfield has one black are 1.14 is a monster with greeen amazing too....and grip ibanez 1.20...good luck all!!!
Can you by any chance do this with 3 notes per string?
Zakks alternate picking technique is naturally optimized for 2/4/6...even number of notes on each string. I think he plays 3 or odd number of notes very rarely, usually by adding hammer-ons/pull-offs and even hopping when playing slower. 3 notes per string is the Paul Gilbert universe:)
Think I got the technique down just not the speed!! then there's zakks 3 note per strong technique from bleed for me solo and house of doom solo
edit: ok 9 hours later i don't have the technique haha fuck this is hard
How the hell did anyone learn ANYTHING before TH-cam?
Almost nobody did lol. Consider the number of electric guitars sold worldwide vs the number of "technical" players. It was achieved mostly by chance. Our guitar heroes were just lucky enough to go through some experiences and have their body motor skills work in such way that they happen to figure out some true MECHANICS of picking "naturally". The con of such an achievement is the lack of ability to understand and explain their own technique. Like professors in universities, most of which usually are terrible teachers, leaving you learning math with Indian guys on TH-cam :D Another con is that every picking technique has its own limitations and they won’t be able to learn any other way of picking, since they don’t understand the basic mechanics.
Lmao it took me 4 days to learn it