How do you use this site effectively?

[ianmgull]

Hello everyone.

I’m new to this site and wondering how to use it most effectively? First a bit about myself:

I’ve been playing guitar for about 25 years. I’ve toured, recorded, even taught for several years. While I consider myself a fairly advanced rhythm guitarist, I’ve decided lately I want to practice my lead playing a bit more methodically. I heard good things about the Cracking The Code method, so I thought I’d give it a try.

So my question:

Is there a recommended order to go in? I see the pick slanting module, volcano, antigravity, etc… Are these meant to be completed in any order? Or is there some order that makes more sense pedagogically?

Furthermore, when watching a video in a given chapter, do you play through all the tabbed clips and try to master them before moving on?

I’m sure there’s no one right way, just curious how folks more experienced with this site get the most from it.

Thanks!

Ian

[jzohrab]

Interested in this as well! @ianmgull I don’t have an answer for you myself, but welcome. Do you have any vids or links to your stuff? Cheers! jz

[joebegly]

Hey @ianmgull, welcome! Generally going through the Pickslanting Primer first is the advised method. The seminars like Anti Gravity or Cascade (while amazing!!!) may not make sense if you don’t have a fundamental grasp of what’s required to effectively change strings and pick efficiently. The primer covers it all from the ground up. You’ll learn your options for grip, what main joints are responsible to move your pick (and their implications, regarding whether you can use that motion to change strings after an upstroke or downstroke).

I know Troy goes to great lengths to lay things out in the order they make sense. I’ve seen many directed here to start with if you’re eager to just jump in and not necessarily do things in order:

Testing Your Motions

You’ll learn what motions you inherently are fastest at. That may give you some direction on how to cherry pick your way through stuff. For example, if you learn that you’re fastest at rotational movement, the chapters on playing with the elbow won’t be immediately useful to you.

Hope that helps, and good luck! You’ve definitely come to the right place if you’re interested in playing fast picked leads!

[jptk]

Welcome!

I would advise going through the primer in order. When I first went through it, I did not go through it in order, nor did I go through all of it, and I misunderstood many things and practiced this way for a long time and got nowhere. I didn’t even know where my picking motions were coming from and I was trying to make a motion work, without really knowing what I was actually doing! I came back, went through it in order, posted in the technique critique section for some advice, and now finally I feel I am making progress.

[Shredd]

One more benefit to going through everything in order is with the fact that Troy has a wonderful way of putting things in words in general. Even if you’re watching a chapter that isn’t about your specific motion or grip, the same central ideas come up in different wordings. Troy’s narration may very well include some really well thought-out bits and pieces that can help something click for you. Eventually you’ll form a good mental picture of how you should be approaching all of these CtC things. The larger vocabulary you have armed yourself with, the stronger your understanding!