Introduction/video of playing for CC/advice

Introduce Yourself
#1

Hi Folks,

I have been playing guitar for roughly 18 years. When I was a teenager I picked one up and learned more in those first six months then I ever have since. I am almost entirely self taught and to be honest there were a lot of up a downs with my playing as life became a little more complex. I wound up binge watching cracking the code on youtube and something floored me. In the beginning I naturally held my pick at the downward angle as shown in the video, but this, along with many other things were always “corrected” when I sought out any advice and as I result I spent about 10 years earnestly trying to unlearn it. So here I am now.

Here is a video of me improvising to a random youtube video. While I have been to few jams, improvising on the fly was always something that I never felt comfortable with. I hope that I can change this, and in someways I feel like I already am thanks the lessons on this site. Any ways feel free to post an constructive criticism/ advice or anything that you might feel is relatable.

-thanks

1 Like
#2

Welcome aboard!

everyone thinks CTC is all about DOWNward pickslanting. Its not lol. There is also the reverse which is “upward” slanting. Either way works just fine as does “2 way” slanting.

So in the end its all about learning the various mechanical possibilities and then practicing to build a nice vocabulary using those possibilities. its all about efficiency.

the way u r playing in the vid is good basic “phrasing” type playing. Nothing technical or mechanical about it etc. You can start from there and begin to bolster up the technical side of your playing to add much speed and expression etc

enjoy the ride

out the door to work, peace, JJ

2 Likes
#3

Hey, welcome and thanks for joining, glad you found us! I’d definitely suggest starting with the Picklanting Primer, which is our best all around intro to technique and covers a variety of motions / picking strategies as well as things like pick grip.

After going through these lessons you may also want to check out this page for some detail on using the Technique Critique section of the forum for specific video feedback if that’s of interest.

Also, we’re working on adding a bunch more intro tutorial material this year, so if you think of any questions / suggestions / things we may be able to help clarify as you go through our stuff, definitely let us know!