Post Your Favorite Picking Exercises!

Tim Heidner · From: Groves, TX

I just started, so I don't have any. I like that Zane King at the speed of sound one, but I'm only at the speed of molasses so far.

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Tim, I use the last part of Lloyd Green's Ride Ride Ride as my speed picking exercise. Been working on that for years and years and on a lucky day I get up about 1/8th of Lloyd's speed Embarassed

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Ray McCarthy · From: New Hampshire, USA

Check out Mickey Adams on YouTube. Just go to YouTube.com and type in "singpilot" in the search box. He's got plenty of speed-picking stuff on there.

Roual Ranes · From: Atlanta, Texas, USA

"Cotton Eyed Joe".......pedals down, key of A, 12th fret. Use only frets 10, 12 and 13

Franklin · Posted 11 Jul 2010 7:56 am

Tim,

Just learn the guitar, slowly, memorize where the notes are, by learning things that sound musical, slow or fast.......Focusing on speed is pretty much a waste of time without musical knowledge.......Why build up knowledge using technique mistakes as your foundation?......I prefer the classical approach to learning technique on any instrument. Learn everything "slowly".......I'll explain how this is accomplished in the last paragraph.

Some stringed instrument musicians primarily use forward and backward rolls like Liberace did to achieve amazing speed on the piano. I've heard a lot of fast pianists who could not begin to play an Oscar Peterson solo because they never learned the hard stuff, they were satisfied with the speed the forward and backward roll brought them and never pushed beyond that hurdle......To accomplish Oscar's, Garland's, Parker's, and numerous others level of technical proficiency, musicians have to develop every type of fingering pattern with the same proficiency they have using the forward and backward roll.

I see a compositional problem with focusing in on any one type of fingering pattern and building musicality around it.....Most fast compositions like "Sugarfoot Rag", "Devil's Dream", "Got A Match", "Oleo", "Spain", "Jordu" "Donna Lee" and so on, are written, using variations of scale or picking patterns. Accept this as factual, most fast compositions, like these, "can not" be played fast, easily, no matter what tuning, or copedant you choose..... It takes hard bloody work, and an undying devotion for learning to execute these difficult compositions.

About learning the steel guitar using the classical approach:

First off....The speed of great compositions should not take away from its harmonic value.....A great fast composition should sound beautiful when played as a ballad....

All scales, Slow and Fast songs, should be learned using the tried and true Classical music approach, pick it slowly, using a metronome to keep your timing exact, while you learn to execute the lesson at ballad speed..... Until you can execute it flawlessly, without any thought to what, or how, your lesson is played, you should not try to play it faster.......after you can play the lesson flawlessly, at that slower tempo, you should have developed the mindset for listening to yourself and judging how it sounds, without any other playing thoughts cluttering up the process......After your slowest speed is achieved, perfectly, many times over, you can bump up the metronome a few beats.... Now play it again until you reach the next tempo that causes you memorization problems.....you'll know what tempo is next, because you start to screw up the lesson...Stay at that tempo and repeat it over and over until you can play it perfectly many times......Repeat this procedure until the perfect tempo is achieved for what you want to learn......May take hours, days, weeks, months, until the song is completely learned.....How long it takes to learn a particular lesson, depends on the scale structure or picking patterns, the harmonic complexities within a piece of music, and your level of expertise on the instrument. Regardless, this is the best way to increase speed, if your desire is to become musical at any speed.......

Paul

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

ahh..right on. 'musical at any speed'!

Rick Schacter · From: Portland, Or.

Winnie Winston:

-Pedal Steel Guitar

Jeff Newman:

- Right Hand Alpha
- No Speed Limit

I like to use Band In A Box to practice.
Jeff Newman lessons also come with rythm tracks.
As Mr. Franklin said, start out slow.

Rick

Edit- I forgot to mention that I like to use the loop function in Sound Forge to figure out solos that I like.
Any run that I can't pull off becomes an excercise.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

It would be a swell idea to cut 'n' paste that Paul Franklin post into Word, blow it up to poster size and tape it over your TV set's screen.* Tape one over your bathroom mirror! Or tattoo it somewhere convenient... if ever there was a profound comment about "attaining speed" that was it, kids. Speed for what....

*(thar's a hint thar, too! Mr. Green

)

Rick Campbell · From: Sneedville, TN, USA

Ben Lawson · From: Brooksville Florida

Paul first of all thank you for all your contributions to the forum and steel community.
The common thread I notice in all of Paul's postings is common sense. If you can't play it slowly you won't play it fast. As much as I take away from watching videos of the better players, I know I'll need hundreds of times of playing it to just start to feel confident about playing it on a job.
Paul's previous post about hitting the fret accurately and in time has helped me greatly.
I think stepping out of your comfort zone or "rut" is absolutely necessary to move forward in your playing and it's not going to happen overnight.
Paul your generosity in sharing these tips is indicative of the Gentleman that you are and have always been. Thank you.

Paul E. Brennan · From: Dublin, Ireland

Those of you who've had any classical music training will also recognise Paul's invaluable advice. The classical music pedagogues have the benefit of hundreds of years teaching people how to play to an incredibly high standard. Just because the pedal steel is barely fifty years old doesn't mean we should ignore this vast body of experience. Take it slowly and accurately. One day you'll find the speed will just be there as a by-product of your dedication and hard work.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

a favorite basic lil' major scale exercise in a cycle of 4ths to warm up before playing anything
C to F to Bb to Eb to Ab to C# to F# to B to E to A to D to G & back to C
you get to know & play in all the keys !
pick that cycle 10 times everyday !
( there's more if you want too )
this will help you improve : bar control, pick blocking, use of the 2nd string - anticipating your next move
fingers : t = thumb - i = index - m = middle
start on fret 8 then 1 then 6 then 11 then 4 then 9 then 2 then 7 then 12 then 5 then 10 then 3 & back to 8 ( play it 10 times)

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

As an aside to the particular exercise, in one of the DVD courses that I did with JayDee Maness, in response to a query about how many times he would practice a new phrase before playing it live in a recording session or a gig his response was "hundreds or maybe thousands" or something to that effect.

Nathan Golub · From: Durham, NC

I like this one a lot. Set the metronome slow, start at the third fret and work up to the 15th one fret at a time, then back down. Set the metronome slightly faster each time through, as long as you hit it cleanly on the previous speed. Good way to zone out and warm up for a practice session.

Bob Kagy · From: Lafayette, CO USA

Thanks (again) Paul - so nice to have your comments.

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

They won't be my "favorite" until I can do them from cold the first time without screwing up... Smile

Paul, nice work on the new tunes coming out on the radio. A joy to listen to.

Of course, thanks for your guidance and direction. It is greatly appreciated.
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Tim Heidner · From: Groves, TX

pshaw! If Paul Franklin had a favorite picking exercise he might actually get somewhere! Smile

just kidding, of course, don't nobody get sideways on me. Smile

Thanks for the advice, Paul. I really enjoy your work with Mr. Knopfler.

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