Thanatos

Band is called "Gouchos"

Ages, 12, 10. and 7

The guitarist's playing (12 year old) reminds me of myself at his age. 7 year old (drummer) is a fucking beast. This shit puts a smile on my face.

Wow... that kid does not sound like a 12 year old.

Dayum.

And you played like that at 12, Metal? Fuck you! I can't play like that NOW lol.

Teach'm me.

These are old (but funny still). The drummer is actually pretty impressive, I can see him going on to bigger and better things.

[THANATOS Wrote:.Shiver-"]Dayum.

And you played like that at 12, Metal? Fuck you! I can't play like that NOW lol.

Teach'm me.

In time, young grasshopper.

Seriously though, I've told you before you can ask me anything. I won't steer you wrong.

[THANATOS Wrote:.Metal"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.Shiver-"]Dayum.

And you played like that at 12, Metal? Fuck you! I can't play like that NOW lol.

Teach'm me.

In time, young grasshopper.

Seriously though, I've told you before you can ask me anything. I won't steer you wrong.

Haha I take that back, partially. I can play the entire song perfectly (and rock out while doing it, I might add. what's the point if you can't get into it? ) ... I just can't fucking solo like that, jesus. That's what I need to learn, step-wise. EDIT: The Trooper, that is.

I'm making a goal to take at least 20-30 mins a day to practice for at least the month of April. Gimme assignments, teacher lol. Scales, runs, exercises, whatever. I can tell you now my pinky control is slightly subpar (most particularly on bends and pull-offs), and have difficulty with multiple hammer-on & pull-off runs. Plus, I only know the basic pentatonic scale (and not even all the shapes lol), blues, and major from the thick E. The way I hold my pick is still not "proper," and on the reeeally fast tremolo stuff, I still go from the elbow (and have tried from the wrist, but it's too slow). By the way, I highly recommend these Brain picks from Snarling Dogs... haven't worn at all yet (1.14mm).

I just watched the 2nd vid and that little girl creeps me out when she has her hair down in front of her face, can't explain why.

[THANATOS Wrote:.Shiver-"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.Metal"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.Shiver-"]Dayum.

And you played like that at 12, Metal? Fuck you! I can't play like that NOW lol.

Teach'm me.

In time, young grasshopper.

Seriously though, I've told you before you can ask me anything. I won't steer you wrong.

Haha I take that back, partially. I can play the entire song perfectly (and rock out while doing it, I might add. what's the point if you can't get into it? ) ... I just can't fucking solo like that, jesus. That's what I need to learn, step-wise. EDIT: The Trooper, that is.

I'm making a goal to take at least 20-30 mins a day to practice for at least the month of April. Gimme assignments, teacher lol. Scales, runs, exercises, whatever. I can tell you now my pinky control is slightly subpar (most particularly on bends and pull-offs), and have difficulty with multiple hammer-on & pull-off runs. Plus, I only know the basic pentatonic scale (and not even all the shapes lol), blues, and major from the thick E. The way I hold my pick is still not "proper," and on the reeeally fast tremolo stuff, I still go from the elbow (and have tried from the wrist, but it's too slow). By the way, I highly recommend these Brain picks from Snarling Dogs... haven't worn at all yet (1.14mm).

You said yourself in that post what you should be working on. Start holding the pick properly (yes, it's a bitch to adjust at first, but it will feel natural after some time, and you won't want/be able to go back to your old ways once you've got it down), work on articulation with your pinky, and concentrate on picking from the wrist.


The main reason you are not able to pick quickly from the wrist is: Improper grip on the pick. The sooner you start holding it correctly, the sooner you'll be able to get your picking in shape. I WOULD START HERE FIRST before trying to fill any other holes in technique.

Observe Paul Gilbert on youtube, he does a really good job of explaining proper pick grip. What he doesn't mention though, is you should only be gripping the pick hard enough to keep it in place. Your thumb controls the dynamic range of your pick attack when using proper technique, this he does explain. TIP - When trem picking from the wrist, you don't need as much pressure on the bridge as you would when picking from the elbow. That should help with the speed, and will also get you fuller tone from your attack B-)

Fret hand issues - Most of these can be solved by being conscious of the amount of tension you carry in your fretting hand. Tension in your hands (either of them) is the enemy. Only use enough pressure to get a note to ring solidly (you should never be touching the wood with the strings). If you have issues getting the feel for it, go to a guitar shop and play a guitar with a scalloped fretboard until it sounds good. Then thank the employees and go home to practice with your new, more efficient fret hand. For a while, you're going to need to concentrate on the amount of tension you're carrying. This is normal, and goes away with time. Do the exercises I already gave you once a day while paying attention to tension, and it'll feel more natural more quickly.

Pinky articulation: Bending with your pinky by itself is not recommended. I used to do it (and sometimes still do for a certain kind of vibrato), but it really jacks up the callous on that finger. Get in the habit of reinforcing those bends with your other fingers behind the note you're playing on your little finger. Set up those fingers on the next notes that you're going to be playing so you don't have to adjust position for them. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOUR THUMB IS DOING ON THE BACK OF THE NECK. Keep it in the center.

Learn the first half of the lead section from "Floods" by Pantera for pinky bends/vibrato. Stacked fifths are really gonna stretch you out if you aren't used to doin' em. The second half (quick half) of the lead section is for overall bend control. You'll notice you have to cut the bends off to get it to sound right.

For right hand speed - learn anything by Zakk Wylde. lol OR, pick every note in a line that you're comfortable with. Play it non-stop for one minute, and GRADUALLY pick up the pace, then come back down. Mix it up, play 16th notes at a certain tempo, then do short bursts of 32nd notes and come back to 16ths. Go from regular time to triplet feel, quartet feel, and fives (giant pain the the ass when you first start with five time and five-lets). You're looking for a solid connection between the fretted notes, and picking. If your left hand can't fret the notes fast enough, your right hand isn't going to pick them in sync. It really comes down to boring ass repetition here.

As for scales: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://freakguitar.com/scales.html">http://freakguitar.com/scales.html</a><!-- m -->
I believe that covers just about every scale known to man. Keep in mind, it's pointless to learn scales you're never going to use. Find out what's going on musically with your influences, and learn the scales they use.

This is a lot of stuff to work on, yes. But the idea is to get to where you can play whatever the hell you want and have total freedom on the instrument. Consistent practice key. Every mother fuckin' day, pick up the instrument, and work on something.

These are a lot of good starting points, thanks. I'll have to make out a few goals of what I want to accomplish and by when, and then start up on them tomorrow (so I actually stick to at least the month of April 20-30min/day).

I didn't completely understand the "Hybridized Dimebag/Machael Batio warmup routine" thing you sent me, there were a few things I was confused about. Those combinations... are you supposed to supposed to pick 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 etc up the strings on the first 2 frets, then move to the 2nd and 3rd fret with the same combination (I assume that part is right)... are you picking every note? You mentioned alternate picking, but also pulloffs, so I wasn't exactly sure where you meant (the video was kind of helpful) for each of these. I'm pretty sure you meant the different finger combinations all the way up the fretboard, but it's the manner of picking I was unsure of.

And I'm posting this here because my PM box is pretty tight at the moment, and I don't wanna clean it up lol. Plus who knows, others might benefit .

Also, I'm downloading that Death album now you mentioned before, and I downloaded some Iron Maiden and At The Gates . Figured I might as well check the influences of my influences lol (at least before some of them went all gay grindcore ::cough:: In Flames, Soilwork ::cough:.

And what's this mean: "When trem picking from the wrist, you don't need as much pressure on the bridge"?

EDIT: Tried the pick holding style that Gilbert shows in his youtube video, and tried some of the angling here and there. My main problem is still that my pick on certain playing things (tremolo, and palm mute riffs) rotates counter-clockwise. Tried tweaking a few ways to keep it from moving, but it seems pretty damn insistent on it. Regardless, it's better than how I was holding it because I can actually do triplet palm mutes now (which I really struggled with before), so it's a start.

[THANATOS Wrote:.Shiver-"]These are a lot of good starting points, thanks. I'll have to make out a few goals of what I want to accomplish and by when, and then start up on them tomorrow (so I actually stick to at least the month of April 20-30min/day).

I didn't completely understand the "Hybridized Dimebag/Machael Batio warmup routine" thing you sent me, there were a few things I was confused about. Those combinations... are you supposed to supposed to pick 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 etc up the strings on the first 2 frets, then move to the 2nd and 3rd fret with the same combination (I assume that part is right)... are you picking every note? You mentioned alternate picking, but also pulloffs, so I wasn't exactly sure where you meant (the video was kind of helpful) for each of these. I'm pretty sure you meant the different finger combinations all the way up the fretboard, but it's the manner of picking I was unsure of.

And I'm posting this here because my PM box is pretty tight at the moment, and I don't wanna clean it up lol. Plus who knows, others might benefit .

Also, I'm downloading that Death album now you mentioned before, and I downloaded some Iron Maiden and At The Gates . Figured I might as well check the influences of my influences lol (at least before some of them went all gay grindcore ::cough:: In Flames, Soilwork ::cough:.

And what's this mean: "When trem picking from the wrist, you don't need as much pressure on the bridge"?

EDIT: Tried the pick holding style that Gilbert shows in his youtube video, and tried some of the angling here and there. My main problem is still that my pick on certain playing things (tremolo, and palm mute riffs) rotates counter-clockwise. Tried tweaking a few ways to keep it from moving, but it seems pretty damn insistent on it. Regardless, it's better than how I was holding it because I can actually do triplet palm mutes now (which I really struggled with before), so it's a start.

OK. For those exercises, you can do it one of two ways. You can walk it towards the high E doing hammer-ons, and walk it to the Low E doing pulloffs, OR you can walk it doing trills in both directions. Both of these will develop a different kind of speed. The first way will speed up your position shifts (Also try doing it backwards - pulloffs going to the ground, hammer-ons to the roof) , the second way will build strength for linear runs. Either way you do it, you're picking once, new string, pick once, etc. Alternate picking, down, up, down, on a new string each time. Alternate picking every note in those isn't BAD for your picking hand, but there are much better ways (like the one I described earlier) for developing picking technique. Not to mention, the goal of those exercises is to get your left hand burning. Legato requires more effort from the fret hand, and picking every note in those exercises will cheat the workout for your left hand. Performed on a consistent basis, that shit will drastically improve your ability. Remember, speed is a byproduct of control and accuracy. The faster you go, the smaller a motion (control) is necessary to accurately maintain tempo.

Getting ahold of what influenced your influences is a fantastic idea. Learning the theory behind the direction you want to go with your writing is only going to make you a better writer.

As for learning theory, you can try to soak up as much info as possible as quickly as possible (putting everything into short-term memory and losing it as quickly as it came), OR you can try this: Pick one day of the week and learn a concept, for the rest of that week, apply the concept in your improvising. Be it a scale, a progression, a time signature, whatever. Improvise with it (rhythm and lead) for a week or until you feel you've got the idea totally ingrained in your mind and fingers, then move on to the next concept.

From my experience, here's the theory you need to know to write killer music:

Time signatures
How chord progressions work (tension and release)
How to add color and inflection to the chords you want to use.
Arpeggios.
Major/Minor triads
Major/Minor pentatonic and blues (no, they're not the same) in all positions/keys
Major/Minor diatonic in all positions/keys
Understanding the concept of modes


Name any guitarist you look up to. I bet they have this information tattooed on the inside of their skull. There might be a little something here and there that differs between players, but they ALL have these theory concepts as their foundation.


As for the pick point not being steady, I had the same problem when I started holding it correctly. Keep playing with the pick in a proper grip and you'll develop the right amount of pronation and supination in your wrist to stop that from happening.

For your bridge pressure question, the mechanical aspects of the way the pick displaces the string when using the wrist instead of the elbow as the point of motion allows for a lighter lay of your right hand on the bridge of the guitar. You don't have to push down as hard to get the same dynamic effects. This also lessens the amount of tension carried in your hand/arm, giving the potential to play faster.

I'm moving to Arizona for 1 on 1 lessons.

[THANATOS Wrote:.Homebrew"]I'm moving to Arizona for 1 on 1 lessons.

NO HOMO!!!!!!!!!

[THANATOS Wrote:.-Hades"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.Homebrew"]I'm moving to Arizona for 1 on 1 lessons.

NO HOMO!!!!!!!!!

As I was writing my first comment, I thought to mysel, "how long will it take for Hades to find this and make a "No Homo" comment".

My comments are always "no homo", like I've stated before :x

[THANATOS Wrote:.Homebrew"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.-Hades"]

[THANATOS Wrote:.Homebrew"]I'm moving to Arizona for 1 on 1 lessons.

NO HOMO!!!!!!!!!

As I was writing my first comment, I thought to mysel, "how long will it take for Hades to find this and make a "No Homo" comment".

My comments are always "homo", like I've stated before :x

As Shiver would say, "fixed."

There is no such thing as 'proper' picking grip, metal. As long as the only movement taking place is in your wrist picking grip is entirely up to personal choice. Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio both use a non standard style of picking and they are faster than 99.9% of us will ever be. I use a non standard picking style and I can easily do your boring zakk wylde/dimebag style 'shred' stretch pentatonic. It's more a matter of perfecting what you find to be most comfortable than attempting to emulate somebody elses style.