How do I pick faster?

[George]

Now alternate picking from string to string is one thing but I just can not seem to pick fast on ONE string. Just plain old up and down over and over agian like when your soloing. Is there a certain angle I need to hold the pick, a certain pick thickness or is it just more practice. I notice that it is easier for me to do this while I am playing on the higher frets, 12-21 range because the strings get tighter.

[StoneDragon]

For fast picking, you really need a stiff pick... one that doesn't bend as you pick the string.

After that, you need to find your hand position and picking motion. For me that means resting my forearm on the face of the guitar and the "karate chop" portion of my hand restin lightly on the strings over the bridge. All my picking motion comes from the wrist, but the forearm moves in order to line my pick up with the strings and keep my picking angle constant. I don't worry about the angle of the pick. If my wrist is in a relaxed position, the pick will be at a good angle.


Then it comes down to practice. You've got to allow the muscles of the wrist and forearm to develop. If you're just starting out, it's going to take a while. Consistent practice is the key.

[FINGERPICKINGOOD]

When i want a FAST shred - i tend to lock up my wrist a little more and vibrate my hand and arm by tensing the muscles. Using my wrist mostley for angle and my arm for speed. This works very well, but is this bad technique? I cant seem to figure out how too get incredible speed relying only on wrist.

[Deadbeat]

Interesting...that's kinda opposite from how I do it FPG. I tend to go fast by twisting my wrist back and forth and holding my arm more or less steady. If I were to just use my arm I don't think I'd have accurate enough control.

[StoneDragon]

I'm not the fastest player alive, but I've managed to go from super slow and wondering if I'd ever be able to pick like my heros to pretty fast and accurate. I have to keep on top of it with consistent practice, though. If I miss even a couple of days, my picking starts to deteriorate.

If you want speed and control, it's all in the wrist. Seeing DiMeola up-close and in-person convinced me of that.

You've got to relax and allow the muscles to develop.

[George]

Thanks guys. It is nice to know that I have a place to start now. I should be getting a lot of practice on this being that I just cut the tip of my ring finger last night on my forklift. I am having fun trying to see which chords I can still play with my other three fingers. http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[joe blow]

the key to blinding pick speed is this
1 relax! this is so important(tension makes it harder to getcontrol and accuracy)
2 try to keep the pick as close to the string as possible this is called economy of motion basically using as little energy as possible.pivot entirely from the wrist and keep the pick straight to the string.This gives your notes more clarity and does'nt sound swishy swishy if you angle your pick.