Hey all...newbie here, and could definitely use some tips and advice

Introduce Yourself
#1

Hey guys! So happy to be a part of this forum…thanks in advance for anything you do to help me improve :slight_smile:

So, I’ve been playing nearly 30 years…but almost entirely self-taught.
I don’t say that proudly because what it really means is that I’ve got nearly 30 years of bad habits that I need to unlearn. I’ve been playing hard rock and classic rock primarily…and I’d say my songwriting skills and overall understanding of theory is pretty good.
What I am really struggling with is TECHNIQUE and SPEED!
When I mention ‘speed’ I don’t mean that I wanna be a 240bpm shredder…but I absolutely want to play faster and cleaner.
Due to the fact that I taught myself and typically took the lazy approach to certain techniques, I would say that my best technique is my legato picking.
I can play quite nice and fast with a legato style…but I can’t pick individual notes for the life of me!

I’ve spent the last couple of days looking over the CTC site and I’m not totally sold on the fact that we need to have such a deep dive into all the little weird details about picks and angles. I only say this because I know so many amazing players who do not apply any of the stuff what I’ve seen here on CTC.
However with that said, I’ve tried to play like those other guys and I just can’t get there for some reason…so I figured I would see what the CTC program is all about. I’ve also see a lot of people in this forum achieve some pretty great things so there must be something to it that I’m just not picking up on yet.

In any case, I would love to hear from everyone how they recommend I approach the lessons on this website. Where would be the best place for me to start? What sort of licks, techniques, songs, etc…should I start practicing?
How do you guys recommend the best way is to practice this stuff…metronome, repetition, etc?

I know these are a lot of broad questions that won’t have one straight answer, but that’s ok…I will consider everyone’s feedback.

Thanks again everyone!

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#2

Thanks for signing up! Re: deep dive, we did a lot of work to learn the things we know. But we did that so you don’t have to. Each time we upload new lessons to the site, they get simpler and more hands-on in nature as we get smarter about how things work.

You want to start with whatever your core motion is. First you want to determine whether the motion itself is one that is fluid and efficient, and not stringhopping. If you can do it faster than 150bpm sixteenth notes without massive arm tension, then you’re probably in the ballpark on this. If not, then we need a new core motion.

The next thing you want to know is what kind of escape motion you’re making. The fastest elite-level picking motions all move diagonally, building in an “escape” where the pick goes up in the air. That’s how you get over the strings at high speed. Once you know which escape you’re making, that tells you which lines you’re going to be able to play while mainting cleanliness as you move from one string to another. Not all picking motions work with all lines.

When you get a minute, take a look at the “Picking Motion” section of the Primer and see which of these motions looks closest to what you do now. Then feel free to film a short clip of yourself playing a single note on a string at whatever a comfortable “fast” tempo is for you now. Here are some filming tips:

The “down the strings” angle is key, with the camera placed at least reasonably close to see the picking hand and some of the arm. Once you’ve got that we’re happy to take a look. Just post it on YouTube, unlisted if you like, and link it in a “Technique Critique” thread.

1 Like
#3

Hey Troy, that’s very cool of you to reply…especially with such an informative response.
I will absolutely take your advice and send over a video as you suggested as well.

Thanks!