Pickslanting Primer - average time to watch the whole Primer?

Masters in Mechanics
#1

Hi!

I wanted to ask, if there is a suggested or average time-window, in which you should watch the entire pickslanting primer?

I might take some time with learning some stuff usually, but i’m at a point, where I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the information i get through the primer. Currently i’m at the start of the “Elbow Motion” videos.

Some things i do look right, like the double escape motion, but then follows a lesson with for example the blended motion or the eddie flexed arm stuff which i’m absolutly not familiar with formwise and throws me completely off guard.

Shall i give it some more time or is it more a “get it, or get it not” kind of thing and i’m missing some points?

Anyway, i feel like the explaination is great and your doing fantastic work. It’s just, that it’s so much to learn :smiley:
I did expected, that pickslanting is a hard thing to do, but i never thought, i get to become a “master in arm anatomy” first bevor i get to shred :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Thanks for your help!

Also - i can’t wait to get my magnet to hone my picking skills.

Cheers

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#2

Just my opinion, but the Pickslanting Primer has evolved from a sort of beginners guide to pickslanting to a full encyclopedia of different picking mechanics. You can’t really go start to finish and then be “done with pick technique”. Most players only specialize in 1 or 2 of these mechanics. Paul Gilbert, Di Meola and many “pure alternate” players do only 2-way pickslanting (except when sweeping arpeggios). Yngwie, Zakk Wylde, Eric Johnson, George Benson almost only do Downward Pickslanting. Many bluegrass and country players only do Double Escape “crosspicking” (but Steve Morse uses this for arpeggios too).

If these great players can have a fully capable, professional technique with only 1 of these picking systems, there’s no need for anyone to expect that learning ALL of them is needed to get good. Focus on the approach that makes the most sense for you, and create exercises that help to develop it.

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#3

I’m not sure what @Troy might suggest, but for me, when I encounter any new instructional material, I like to read/watch once all the way through before I try to apply anything. It has the potential to save effort in the long run by putting you in a better position to decide for yourself which parts are most applicable to you and will give you the best return on time/effort invested. And often, reading ahead can help clarify earlier material for you and/or give you more context for decisions you might need to make about how to apply the earlier material.

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#4

well, i think that should be my first priority - getting good at something specific and then jump to new stuff (if necessary).

Thanks for your reply :slight_smile:

#5

I will definitely watch throught the whole primer and come back to specific parts later. It’s nice, that there is a bookmark feature, which i gladly used at “hot topics”.

Thanks for your reply. I’m happy, that this forum is so understanding and helpful :slight_smile:

#6

That’s what I generally suggest. Generally, you need a picking motion that’s working. That’s the biggest early stage bottleneck most people will have. Learning the motions is not trivial, and for someone who is great at elbow motion, learning a Gypsy type forearm technique might feel pretty different and even getting it to work might not be so obvious. And vice versa. We see that a lot here.

That’s fine. If you already have a motion that’s fast, great. If you’re not sure, watch the motion chapters and try them. One of them might be similar to what you already do. A lot of experienced players are already good at a picking motion, they maybe just never realized that this motion might be specific and only related to a certain kind of phrase and not others. Once you know what that is, move into phrases and songs that utilize that motion specifically and make sure the attack sounds good, the motion is fluid, and the hand sync is good.

Over time, we’re trying to update the Primer to make it more obvious what you should watch or read next. To @Frylock’s point, as a learner, I personally definitely like to always have a “big picture” in mind, even if I don’t read or watch everything at once. I want to know from the outset what the few big challenges are that I’m supposed to do, and I want to know where all that material is covered. I might even skim the outline or table of contents to see what’s covered there. But in actual practice I might only go directly to the parts that are relevant now, like overview/intro stuff, diagnostic stuff, and specific teaching on the motion that’s relevant to me: elbow section, forearm section, and so on.

Right now it may seem as though we’re directing you to read and watch everything but that is not the case, and I think can be a distraction from the very first goal, which is getting at least one core motion happening and making it sound good. I know this isn’t represented well / clearly at the moment, but we’ll make sure it becomes more so down the line.

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#7

alright. I know what to do then. Maybe i’m also a bit too impatient. Practise makes perfect and that takes time.

I’ll search for the motion, that works for me and keep honing that skill.
Also, i’m thrilled to see, what’s next at the primer.

Thanks again for all your quick and helpful replies.

Have a nice evening or day! (from austria)

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#8

It’s ok to be impatient! If you already have a picking motion that works, then excellent. Go directly to playing music with it. What motion are you currently using and what does it look like? Feel free to post a Technique Critique clip and we’ll take a look.

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Regular_John Picking Motions
#9

thanks Troy. I will post a video of me playing some phrases tomorrow :slight_smile:

#10

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