Pickslides, Tricks to make you look amazing

[azndreamerboy]

I just thought i'd start this poem so we can discuss some of em catchy moves they do live that make you look cool / sound better a bit?,

we all know the pickslide, sliding your pick down the strings

but does anyone else know anymore? ive seen people slide their fingers dwon the frets similiar to a pick, but i have no idea how it really works or how your supposed to do it.. anyone have suggestions

[Concretekiller]

Here's a suggestion.. TRY IT at home.. it does wonders compared to asking people on the internet. -Jason

[mik]

try using your trem do some pitch dives and watch steve vai how he uses his and try to emulate it it sounds awesome if you do it right especially with harmonics

[StoneDragon]

There's the old classics:

pick with your teeth

play behind your head or behind your back

solo on your knees

swing the guitar around your body

light your guitar on fire

[YowhatsupT]

burn a guitar??? what corrupt foul evil do you now preach stone?? while it looks cool when its done it is evil......evil...eeevvviiiilll.....ya burning a musical instrument...even the acoustic your dog peed in and then took a crap in is evil....though you might wanna sell that acoustic.... :hmmm:

[StoneDragon]

Everybody thought it was so cool when Hendrix did it.

[hammer]

Does anyone know how to do a pick slide without leaving great grooves in your pick that will undoubtedly catch on the strings and may even break one? Or do you just throw your pick into the audience and grab a new one.

[b3n]

Everybody thought it was so cool when Hendrix did it.

People tend not to argue with god.

[azndreamerboy]

LMAo now that was funny

well thanks for the tips

but you guys seen metallica and other metal bands play live.. they constantly slide their hands up and down the fret board and makes this sound which i cannot describe.. it's on the fine line of muting and sliding, but i ju dont understand lol it look scool though but still thats not the point

anyway thanks for tips

[100%TEXAN]

People tend not to argue with god.

I'd argue with 'god' - if she ever had the nerve to show here face . . .

Oh yea, azndreamerboy,

A really good one is to climb up on the bar, lay down on your back, hold your guitar out above, past, your head, and play while scootching yourself from one end of the bar to the other. If you are lucky, the folks you are headed towards will even move their drinks for ya.

Another good one is to jo climb up on a table and walk/jump from table to table.

A wireless rig really helps for both those stunts by the way . . .

Don't play with your teeth if you have caps on any in front . . .

[supercobra]

Hey Tex,
Sliding down a string is a good effect. It works especially well if you are starting a measure with E or A. Like if you're playing Blues in E, and your riff starts with E, just fret at the 12th fret and slide your hand down, hammering off at the end to the open E. Its particurarly effective if you hit the E on time.

I'm not good at pick slides- it just comes out as an annoying noise. Is there a particular technique to it?

[b3n]

I once experimented with a small U shaped magnet. I'd hold it over the string in my right (picking) hand and rock it so that only one end hit the string at a time. As I recall I got some pretty wild noises out of it but never actually practiced it as a technique...this probably doesn't help you much hey? But my point is - apart from merely playing well - people will probably be impressed by something they haven't seen before, if you do it well.

b3n

[YowhatsupT]

People tend not to argue with god.


my point exactly

[ImagineBagism]

i would suggest hammor-ons and pulloffs. make up a cool lick on the higher frets mostly on the same string and learn to play it fast(rushing to learn it will spoil your timing)so take the time to practice. once you have that one down add add add to it so its long and smooth. you dont want to play it and be sloppy thats worse then playing a power chord progression. then turn up your tone to its highest setting lose your picking hand so you are playing it with one hand(thats where the whole effect comes from)and throw the peace sign in the air while you are laying that babie down. if its from a performing perspective you might want to cut out the rest of the band in the middle of the song and play it alone.(humor the crowd)

:toohappy: also have fun with it you might want to dance like this fellow

[Splatter]

Go pick up some concert dvd's.............Van Halen Live without a net is a good one. Watch eddie.........then give it a try. As for lighting a guitar on fire.......Eric Sardinas puts on a great show and then lights that puppy up.......

[tiredollie]

a legato solo, leaving your right hand to either: pick up your glass of beer, poke someone with a stick or anything else you can think of.

Thats what i do and it works for me

[tiredollie]

or left hand if you play the other way

[Rayman]

I muck around at the end of songs all the time. Pick slides. Tap harmonics followed by a whammy bar dive. But mostly just some speedy and tasty and flashy rock licks in whatever key the song was in. Like Angus Young often does at the ends of songs.

[StoneDragon]

Thanks tiredollie, that reminds me.... play a slide solo with a beer bottle.

[YowhatsupT]

interesting idea SD....dont leave out running around on stage...dueling with your bass player....power stances etc.

[mutant!]

There's a popular one doing the rounds in Stellenbosch (South Africa) at the moment: if you have a (more or less) 7-year old kid/sibling, get them on stage to dance with you and lead the crowd. Better yet, do what I did and teach your 7-year old brother a short solo, get him a mini electric, and let him run on stage in full punk dress, throwing out this screaming lead to finish the song with. (Believe me, girls love this one.)

[mutant!]

I can think of a million other party tricks as well:

- With a tele or strat, get your distortion and overdrive as high as possible, then play a nice, high chord (like say an E on the 12th fret) and then bend the tremolo until the strings touch the pickups. "Screaming" doesn't even come close to describing the effect.

- During a song, get the bassist to go into a looping 1- or 2-bar riff, and the drummer to do a buildup roll on his snare. Then go stand right at the back of the stage, run forwards, do a misty flip, and pull off a rocking lead the moment your feet hit the ground. (I've seen this done before by local prog band Rocket Soldier. Amazing.)

- Don't strum the strings, but rather punch the back of the guitar. (Don't try this with a hollowbody, ***.)

[socialparasite]

buy an old guitar at the pawn shop real cheap that will get you through the last song played lived then smash it on stage :D I will do that one soon cant wait :toohappy:

[Staff]

Everybody thought it was so cool when Hendrix did it.

Everyone used to think Fred Durst was cool.

[tweetersaway]

You can throw your guitar like 20 feet up in the air and when you catch it(if you catch it) pull of a killer solo like KISS does. This doesn't work well if there's a roof under 20 or 25 feet.

[socialparasite]

Everyone used to think Fred Durst was cool.


Hendrix will always be cool :thumbs: :headbang:

[modfather]

People tend not to argue with god.


agreed.

[lenchmob]

Everybody thought it was so cool when Hendrix did it.

Or Pete Townsend smashing an SG into oblivion lol... :cool:

[Rayman]

Or Pete Townsend smashing an SG into oblivion lol... :cool:

That's horrible. I can't stand it when people smash expensive equipment. It's like going to somewhere where there are starving people, then having two clowns throw pies in each others faces.

[cantdrive55]

You can throw your guitar like 20 feet up in the air and when you catch it(if you catch it) pull of a killer solo like KISS does. This doesn't work well if there's a roof under 20 or 25 feet.
Doesn't work if you're Kurt Novalihadghuabeutbasbntaustdua I don't know how to spell his name, the bassist from Nirvana either.

[lenchmob]

That's horrible. I can't stand it when people smash expensive equipment. It's like going to somewhere where there are starving people, then having two clowns throw pies in each others faces.

True but still Townsend in his time was notorious for trashing SG's along with the complimentary wall of Hi-Watts or Marshalls or any number of given amps he was using at the moment.

[JimmyBlood]

I just think it's sad and lame when people do that... geez. I'd have happily taken all those SGs that idiot smashed.

J.

[crusty]

Does anyone know how to do a pick slide without leaving great grooves in your pick that will undoubtedly catch on the strings and may even break one?

Use the butt end of the pick. I don't consider pickslides to be flashy things, it's just a sound effect. A cool one that Satrianni does is mute the strings with your fingering hand and hammer the edge of the pick into the strings (above the pickups), do this over and over (seceral times a second), moving down the strings as you go. This is how he gets the "laughing" sound at the beginning of "Big Bad Moon".

[crusty]

Play slide with the microphone stand.
Play a transistor radio into your guitar pickups.
Tape a mirror to the back of your guitar and reflect a spotlight into the audience.
Play your guitar with a violin bow.
Play your guitar with a rubber chicken.
Get the drummer to play your strings like a drum while you finger different chords.

[madvora]

I'd say to do anything Marty McFly does in Back To The Future.

"This is a blues riff in B, watch me for the changes and uh, try to keep up"

[crusty]

Marty McFly, hmm. I heard he was the guy who inspired Chuck Berry.

[Slipstream]

Anybody see on TV that guy that has his dog bite on the strings? I think it was on Animal Planet or somethin'. I cringed for the guitar, but it did sound pretty cool.

[crusty]

Was he playing "Black Dog" by Zep?

[Slipstream]

:smile: nah, it was some on-the-spot improvisation :smile:

I think it was a tune about a three legged dog called "I'm Lookin' For The Man Who Shot My Paw".

[0.1 watts]

If you are soloing up and down a certain scale, try playing the same notes in different positions across the neck so you arent just caged in the scale. This makes you look really good. Also work out where the best harmonics come from on your guitar and play some of your notes as harmonics (if u have a trem try some dive bombing). Just remember the spotlight is on you when u are soloing so remember to try and look cool, but dont get distracted with all the stage acrobatics cos u need to concentrate on pulling off a great sounding solo. When doing a solo just swing your guitar around a bit and look at the audience as much as possible (or stand at an angle where u can look at your fretboard and also look towards the audience at the same time), also remember to smile :P

[Asperjames]

if you're playing chords keep your left hand on that position then with your right hand, pick up the bottom of the guitar and thrust it above your head with your hand still on the chord position.

[rockD]

I heard the great Paganini did this trick to wow the audience in his hey day. He made a groove in the strings by filing it so it will snap as he play fast licks. You can try this on your bottom strings (E,B). Do your solo and finish it with a fast pick tremolo and a full bend on those strings. The minute the strings snap, stare at the crowd and stick your tongue out ala Gene Simmon. :eek: