I have often been asked how
I, and other players, are
able to play really fast
without playing sloppy.
Playing sweep picked
arpeggios cleanly while
using a lot of gain
(distortion) can be a big
challenge. Many players
have a hard time keeping all
of the lower strings from
ringing out while soloing on
the higher strings, causing
a sloppy noise.
When I was first learning
how to develop a fast
picking speed, I was
sloppy and had no idea how
to solve the problem. The
guitar teachers I had at the
time were not virtuosos and
really didn't know how to
play both fast and clean at
the same time. Fortunately
in 1993, I began studying
virtuoso guitar playing with
George Bellas, who has
flawless world class
technique. At my first
lesson I asked George to
show me how he developed his
extremely virtuosic playing
so impeccably clean.
Unlike most players who
try to mute the lower
strings with the palm of
their picking hand, I
use my right hand (picking
hand) thumb. The thumb
rests on all of the lower
strings lower than wherever
the pick is. Here is
an example: If the pick is
currently playing a note on
the B string, then the thumb
would be muting (touching)
the G, D, A and low E
strings. The high E string
would be muted by one of the
fingers on the fretting hand
(usually the first finger).
Practicing this thumb
muting technique can be
frustrating at times and may
feel unnatural at first.
The most common problem
that players / students have
is the new positioning of
the picking hand. If
you are used to muting with
the palm, then it may feel
awkward to reposition your
hand so that it is more
parallel with the strings.
The solution is to stop
trying to rest the palm on
or near the bridge of the
guitar. It may feel awkward
at first because you are not
used to holding your hand
this way, but keep
practicing and at will begin
to feel natural soon.
Another common problem is
inadvertently muting the
very string you are
attempting to pick.
This is caused by the thumb
getting in the way of the
picked string and
unintentionally muting it.
This usually happens when
the thumb is not centered on
the pick and the tip of the
thumb is hanging over the
pick near the string you are
attempting to play. If this
happens when you are
practicing this technique,
reposition your thumb so it
is holding the pick more in
the center and is not
hanging over the edge of the
pick.
Playing some fast
virtuosic lines can really
add fire and passion to the
music, but if those lines
are not executed cleanly,
you won't get the desired
effect. Getting my own
picking hand disciplined
to keep my playing clean
took a lot of work
initially, but it has paid
off greatly for me and it
can for you too if you keep
working on it and don't give
up. My original goal was
mainly to clean up my
arpeggio playing, but I
later discovered the
benefits of expanding the
thumb muting technique to
all types of lead playing.
Now I pick this way all the
time. If you decide to
implement this technique in
your own playing, try the
ideas above. If you
discover, after practicing
it for awhile, that you are
still having difficulty
perfecting the technique you
should consider seeking out
a guitar teacher that can
competently teach this well.
See my previous article on
choosing a teacher, in that
article I talk about how you
can find a good teacher who
does not necessarily need to
live near you in order to
teach you.
