"Pick
And Choose" by Will Landrum
So much emphasis is placed on playing well
with your fingering hand that often our
rhythm hand technique falls behind the
curve.
For example; can you play faster and cleaner
notes using hammer-ons and pull-offs rather
than picking each note individually?
Using your pick and choosing what strings to
play is extremely important in developing
your overall technique.
Picking the proper strings precisely enables
you to add more depth and color to your
music.
One of the most useful ways I applied this
to my playing was with distinct sounding
power chords. This involves playing only the
notes of a chord that produce the heavy
sound we rockers
like so much.
For example, one of the ways an A power
chord can be played is like this using only
2 strings:
A5 (Power Chord)
6 5 4 3 2 1
E A D G B E
x o x x x
Fret 1 | | | | | |
- - - - - -
Fret 2 | | 1 | | |
- - - - - -
Fret 3 | | | | | |
- - - - - -
See how, in order to get the proper sound,
you must be accurate and play only the 5th
and 4th strings, keeping the others quiet.
Another advantage is the ability to
accurately pick individual strings when
fingering chords. This also adds a lot of
flavor to your playing and, when mixed with
alternately picked scales, can really allow
your creativity to soar!
I've tabbed out the intro to one my tunes,
"Over Age" that will help you focus on your
picking accuracy. It involves manipulating
the basic Am and Em open chords using string
skipping and single note runs.
A minor E minor
6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1
E A D G B E E A D G B E
x o o o o o o
Fret 1 | | | | 1 | | | | | | |
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Fret 2 | | 2 3 | | | 2 2 | | |
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Fret 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Intro to my tune "Over Age". (this sounds
great on a 12 string!) This is played in 4/4
time and the general feel of the notes are
16ths.
Click here to listen to this piece.
LEGATO
Am form
p
E
----------------------------o---------------------
B
------1-o-------------o-------o-------------------
G
----2-----2---------2---2-------------------------
D
--2---------2-----2-------2-----------------------
A
o-------------------------------------------------
E
--------------o-1---------------------------------
Am form
h p
E
------1---o---------------------------------------
B
------------o---3---2---o-1-o---------------------
G
----2---2-----2---------------2-------------------
D
--2---------------2---2---------------------------
A
o-------------------------------------------------
E
--------------------------------------------------
Am form Em form
E
--------------------------------------------------
B
------------------------o-----2-----o-----3-------
G
--------------------------o-----o-----o-----o-----
D
2-3-2-o---------------2-----2-----2-----2-----2---
A
--------3-2-o-------2-----------------------------
E
--------------3-1-o-------------------------------
E
-------------------------------------------------
B
o-----2-----o-----3------------------------------
G
--o-----o-----o----------------------------------
D
----2-----2-----2--------------------------------
A
-------------------------------------------------
E
-------------------------------------------------
FIRST ENDING
E ---------------------------
B ---------------------------
G o--------------------------
D --3-2-o--------------------
A --------3-2-o--------------
E --------------3------------
REPEAT
SECOND ENDING
Am form
h h p h p h p h p ~~~~
E ---------------------------
B o-2---o-2-o-2-o-2-o-2-o----
G o-----o--------------------
D 2-----o--------------------
A 2-----2--------------------
E ---------------------------
END
"Remember, your goal is a clear crisp sound
as well as keeping all the notes flowing,
especially when the single note runs kick
in."
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