There are actually a lot of different picking styles out there that most beginning guitarists are not aware of for their tunes, and one of them might be circle picking.
Circle picking is a very neat picking technique that can potentially speed up the tempo of your fast riffs by eliminating unnecessary muscle movement. By simply messing around with this technique only for a few minutes, you'll begin to understand the value.
Holding the guitar pick.
There is essentially no variation in how you hold the pick, but only in how the pick moves. Simply grab the pick between your thumb and index finger and hold in a firm fashion.
Decide what's most comfortable as to where you rest your strumming hand on the guitar body, because your hand needs to be stationary for the sake of circle picking.
Try placing your hand on either:
The guitar bridge area.
The pick guard area.
The motion.
Just like the name suggests, circle picking means taking the pick in a circular rotation as you strike strings with the pick. Two strikes will actually be made in a full rotation.
1. Move the pick in a counter-clockwise motion.
So, when you're pulling the pick the closer to you, you should be moving upward toward the lower strings. Oppositely, when the pick is moving farther away from you in the rotation, you should be rotating towards the higher strings.
2. Hit a string moving downwards and upwards.
When your pick rotates around, you should be make two pick strikes, imagining that they are at the points of 3 and 9 on a common clock.
The muscle seclusion.
This style of picking is all done with the thumb and index finger while tying to eliminate as much movement in the wrist as possible. (There should be no movement at all from your arm)
The most effective way of creating this smooth motion is when both of your fingers are holding the guitar pick firmly and working together to create the action.
This is very great for fast riffs and I just recently learned that Eddie Van Halen uses circle picking very often. (wink wink)
Fast-picking guitarists have all sorts of little adjustments and things that they make to their technique in order to refine a very personalized way of picking on the guitar. Similarly, to achieve a picking speed of a professional, it's your job to be just as meticulous and to decide what's best for you.
After you've done experimentation with finger and hand placement, then you'll be ready to maximize your picking speed. Check out these simple tips to help develop some better picking strategies to ultimately go faster on the guitar.
1. Practice one hand at a time.
A good way to increase your learning speed of a difficult riff is to take it one hand at a time. Take your fret hand out of the equation and just hash out the fast picking section on the guitar first before you move on with both hands.
2. Decide between the open or closed grip on the guitar pick.
I actually don't know if these are real terms, and if not, I'm coining them right now. But to me, open grip is holding the pick with your thumb and index finger and letting your other fingers spread out as if you're giving the "OK" sign.
Closed grip would be holding your pick with the thumb and index again but with your fingers curled in almost into a fist-like position. Both of these grips have a different feel, but one might suit you better for faster picking on the guitar than the other.
3. Remember that each string feels different.
As much as it sounds weird, but each string on the guitar is in a different place causing very minimal, but noticeable variations between how well they can be picked on the guitar. The low 'E' string might be easier for you to pick fast as opposed to the high 'b' string only because of where they are located and the strings adjacent to them.
That's why it's important to practice on each string evenly in order to balance your skill of fast picking guitar on all of the strings on the neck.
4. Adjust where your hand rests on the guitar body.
Where your picking hand is stationed in order to produce the most flexible motions is very important for getting faster movement on the guitar. Try a few different places on the guitar body and see where you can get the easiest amount of motion out of your hand without it feeling forced or awkward to do.
Experimentation is the name of the game when you're trying to develop a faster picking style. Practice and hard work are just as important, but be sure to explore all of your options as to HOW you set up your hands before you settle on a brutal practicing schedule.
I'm sure that we've all seen a fast picking guitarist and just thought to ourselves, "Wow! I wish that I could do that." The good thing about fast picking on guitar, is that you CAN, eventually, do that.
Really, all it takes to master fast picking guitar is consistent practice, dedication, and a few pointers to give you some direction. Here are some things that I've found can help you progress a little faster towards the fast picking style you want. * Find a guitar pick that's right for your playing style.
Most of the time, fast guitar picking is really dependent on the guitar pick that you're using since they can come in all sorts of varieties. They come in different thicknesses, lengths, shapes, and materials. Take some time to experiment with your pick choice and you might find your guitar picking getting faster immediately.
* Change the position of your fingers on the guitar pick.
Most fast picking guitarists find that holding the pick closer to the strumming tip greatly improves the speed in which they're playing. Experiment with a few different placements of your fingers on the pick and see what speeds up your guitar picking.
* Practice slow to go fast.
I know that it seems like if you play guitar slow, you're never going to make it to fast picking styles. Well, that's simply not true.
If you start your riffs and scales slow, you're going to develop better technique and form. With better technique and form, you'll create a solid foundation to starting building your fast picking guitar style.
* You should be double-picking (up and down).
If you haven't figured this out yet, you can't achieve a fast picking guitar style if you don't double-pick. Limiting yourself to picking downwards only will not only put a cramp in your wrist, but one in your brain since you won't believe how slowly you're playing. haha
* Accumulate a set of riffs and scales to practice in your down time.
To achieve fast picking guitar, you really need to have lots and lots of constant practice. Find a set of riffs or scales that challenge your skills and turn them into a fast picking challenge as well.
If you don't know any scales, take a riff from your favorite song and practice keeping a steady tempo and a fast hand. Try playing along with a metronome for added rhythmic skill. * Is your guitar right for fast picking?
Maybe you've been practicing over and over and nothing seems to be working. Could your guitar just be impractical to achieve fast speeds? It's very probable.
Play on other guitars with natural fast action like Jacksons or Schecters, and see if you notice a difference. It might actually be that old cliche of "It's my guitar, not me." * Adjust the string distance from the fret board.
When you're practicing for a fast picking guitar style and it seems like you have to press too hard on the strings to make a solid tone, maybe the bridge needs to be lowered. Lowering the bridge so the strings are closer to the fret board can help develop lighter fingers that allow you to move quicker across the strings.
Don't get discouraged if you can't seem to get a fast picking guitar style going after a few practices. It's going to take some time!
Heck, some of the fastest guitarists have decades of playing under their belts! The important thing is to keep your goal in mind and not get discouraged when things seem fruitless.
Finger-picking acoustic guitar is considered a very refined style of playing the acoustic guitar since people had been playing guitar (or an earlier version of the instrument) without picks (just their fingers) for decades. The acoustic guitar resonates very personal and intimate sounds when finger-picked. Consider finger-picking acoustic guitars for a change to your guitar-playing skills.
So, do you need fingernails to finger-pick the acoustic guitar? I've heard this question many times. At one point, I asked this question myself.
The answer however is no. You don't need to have long, strong fingernails to finger-pick on a guitar. I'm not simply talking about using those plastic finger-picks that are similar to standard guitar picks that you slide on your fingers either. Those are a simple alternative, if you would like a very distinct and strong string strike. (check out that awesome alliteration)
I'm talking about finger-picking with only the bare skin on the tips of your fingers. Yes, it's done more than you think and it's more of a skill adopted by more contemporary folk musicians and acoustic guitar players. Just check out this musician (William Fitzsimmons) and his very fluent finger-picking style with just his bare fingers.
I know what you're all thinking right now. Well, if he's not using a pick or anything like it, does he need to have callouses on his fingers? Yes, that's the idea. Finger-picking will become very fluid and easy once you have developed callouses on your finger tips just like the ones on your opposite hand used for forming your guitar chords.
If you're looking for a great place to start with learning finger-picking, consider Jamorama Acoustic Guitar. You can gain a lot of free information that will start you on the way to very refined acoustic guitar playing methods.
So, go out there and get those callouses on your fingers. I want to hear everyone finger-picking very soon.
There are actually a lot of different picking styles out there that most beginning guitarists are not aware of for their tunes, and one of them might be circle picking.
