# Picking from the wrist correctly.



## Black_Sheep (Jul 27, 2011)

Yeah i know it sounds stupid. I've been playing guitar for about 9 years now, and my picking has always sucked. I used to take guitar lessons when i began playing, loooong time ago, but the teacher never said anything about picking techniques really. 

So, i held the pick completely wrong for like first two years, and had to learn that over again, it was a pain in the ass, and my playing got a lot better when i leared the "right way". 

The only remaining problem i have, is using my wrist while picking. I noticed this whole issue half a year ago, and have been trying to fix it ever since, so i could reach a "higher" level in my guitar playing. Now this might sound like i suck ass at guitar, but i believe im a pretty decent guitarist, i've just learnt somethings the wrong way, and in time learned to live with it, and now i've realised that it blocks me from doing something i'd like to do, i can't play the way i want to, and that's fucking annoying. 

So, let's get to the details: While picking, instead of picking everything from the wrist, im moving my whole forearm, and that makes my playing stiff, slow, not-flexible and definetly not relaxed. And that, makes everything harder to play. During the last six months, i've been trying to pick everything from the wrist, and i've succeeded in it partly. I can play riffs etc without no problems, at least mostly. BUT leads and solos. Especially fast solos, are a nightmare to play. I just CAN'T seem to do it. It's like i can't control my arm or wrist. 

Also, whenever i pick fast (alternate) and move my whole arm, it tends to touch the low B (or E) string and make a bit noise, and that's damn annoying as well. 

I've watched some instructional videos about it, but most of them just say something like "instead of this, go like this!" and that's it. 


What should i do?? How to aprcoah this problem? what is the best way to get rid of it? I want to pick "normal" and use my wrist so that playing fast leads and solos (along with EVERYTHING else) can be easier and more relaxed.


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## Pooluke41 (Jul 27, 2011)

Metronome and Play Rusty Cooley stuff Slowly, But Alternate pick. And Economy Pick. Practice both.


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 27, 2011)

Also, learn to pick with your forearm, wrist, and fingers. They all have different uses.


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## AySay (Jul 27, 2011)

It really can only be achieved through practice over time. One thing I did, was keep my forearm steady on the guitar and focus on only picking with my wrist. Start slow, and work your way up. Eventually, and I mean after a long time, it just became natural. It's not like, "oh I'll pick with my wrist now." and 2 days later, the technique is there, it's a gradual process that takes so long, you won't even notice a transition. One day you'll suddenly realize you pick from the wrist now...


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## bhakan (Jul 27, 2011)

Maybe try practicing alternate picking while palm muting? If you are palm muting, you can't really move your whole arm, so you are forced to pick from the wrist/fingers.


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## SirMyghin (Jul 27, 2011)

You are likely trying to jump into this too quickly, you aren't ready to play the really fast passages with your wrist, so your other techinques that might be fast enough are trying to take over out of habit. You need to slow down and relax, you will get there when you get there, and not a moment sooner.


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## HyperShade (Jul 27, 2011)

I was in your shoes exactly (And I still sort of am.) Firstly a good observation to make would be what kind of wrist movement are you using? It'll either be Translational, Rotational, or Oscillational movement. Translational is moving your wrist up and down as if you were shaking hands with someone (Excluding elbow usage.) Rotational is when you twist your forearm slightly back and forth, as if you were twisting a door knob. Oscillational is by far the weirdest and least commonly used (But Ironically it is also the simplest movement for your wrist to make), and it is the act of bending the wrist up and down, as if you were knocking on a door. 

Once you know which group you fall into, you can observe your wrist and fine tune your muscle memory to work better for that particular type of picking. If you're having trouble identifying what type of movement you make, Petrucci uses Translational, Paul Gilbert uses Rotational, and Frank Zappa used Oscillational picking. Watching videos of them playing will get you to see the bigger picture. I'd say just find what ever feels the most comfortable to you and practice it slowly.

Also, you want to have your pick at an angle. I'm going to assume you know this already, but if you don't than it will help you out a lot. You want to "Cut" the strings with the pick.

Something that recently has helped my technique IMMENSELY was the purchase of an Insanity V-Pick. They are 11.85mm, and because they are so large it kind of forces you to relax while you play. After a couple of weeks of usage, my technique improved like 10 fold, no joke. The only problem is that they are kind of expensive, I bought one in NYC for 35 bucks, but It was worth every penny in my opinion.

Other than that, all I can say is practice extremely slowly with a metronome, make sure you start out slowly and don't try and speed blitz things. Always stretch your wrists out before playing as to avoid injury and loosen yourself up, and simply stay relaxed. If you are growing frustrated or tiresome simply put the guitar down for a bit and approach the instrument later with a different mind set. Usually after a lot of hard practice, putting down the instrument will actually improve your muscle memory, oddly enough.

This is merely what I have found helpful for myself, but clearly there are other paths that can be taken. Hope this helps. Good luck.


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## starslight (Jul 27, 2011)

One thing to watch for when overhauling your technique is to make sure you're doing things the same way every time you pick up the guitar. Hold the guitar the same way every time, make sure your pick is striking each string the same way every time (my pick used to flatten out on the low strings, and until I realized this and started attacking the low strings from a higher angle my tone and technique really suffered), and make sure you're fretting notes the same way every time. Use a mirror if you have to; just make sure you're practicing the same technique every time you play. 

Until you get comfortable and start automatically doing things the new way, you've got to be vigilant about not falling back into old habits. Otherwise you're haphazardly practicing two different techniques, and that will severely slow your progress.


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## SirMyghin (Jul 27, 2011)

Hypershade, translational is using your elbow/forearm movement to pick, there is no way around that. Your wrist can only oscillation and rotate, you need other parts of your body to translate. Aside from moving between strings Petrucci undoubtedly is oscillating, how just doesn't anchor in the sense he picks from different locations depending what strings, instead of all from one place (changes the pick angle less, is more consistant).


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 27, 2011)

Alright. 

Thanks for all of your replies, they've been very helpfull. 

I guess i'll just have to go slowly. Exactly the same thing happend with the way i holded the pick btw, one day i just realised that i don't do it anymore thanks to practising the "right way" for it. 

I also checked out some good alternate picking exercises and im going through them now. Every day from now on i believe...


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## HyperShade (Jul 27, 2011)

I see, well then what I read was wrong ^.^ in any case, even using rotation or oscillation you still have to use your elbow and forearm to properly move through the strings.


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## SirMyghin (Jul 27, 2011)

HyperShade said:


> I see, well then what I read was wrong ^.^ in any case, even using rotation or oscillation you still have to use your elbow and forearm to properly move through the strings.



I have seen some players who don't , they anchor HARD and just flex their wrist in odd directions. It is odd as heck, but works for some folks. The consequence is the attack is inconsistant from string to string, as the pick angle of attack changes every time. Not to mention each string effectively has a unique picking motion, so you need more individual string practice, same goes for transitions.


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## 7TheWayToHeaven (Jul 28, 2011)

Well one thing I've found that helped me speed up my playing and relieve the strain from my forearm was picking with a rotational movement using only the thumb and index finger. I only use this for alternate picking on a single string though, when it comes to moving across strings I rely on wrist movement.

Also, another way I've found to make the wrist more relaxed and accustomed to the down up movements is to play funk. You don't really have to play actual funk but just pick a chord and start going up and down till your wrist is relaxed. I find it's a good warmup to get the wrist ready.


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 2, 2011)

A new mistake i've discovered: 

I still can't use my wrist properly it seems, i just "glue" my right hand to the guitar so it won't move as much, but otherwise it's the same shit over again. Trying to pick with the wrist seems extremely difficult for anything but slow riffs. 


Also, i noticed that when i manage to use my wrist and pick correctly, i move the thumb of my picking finger back and forth. Just a tiny bit, not much, but enough to notice. Is this a bad thing? And funny, this seems to happen only when im playing a bit slower, dunno. 

Im getting really frustrated. If this doesn't seem to work in any way i'll give up guitar and start drums! (just kiddin  )


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## starslight (Aug 2, 2011)

Black_Sheep said:


> Also, i noticed that when i manage to use my wrist and pick correctly, i move the thumb of my picking finger back and forth. Just a tiny bit, not much, but enough to notice. Is this a bad thing?



Nah. If you watch guys like Gambale, Yngwie, and Gilbert they all move their thumb a little bit as they go up and down the strings. Gambale and Gilbert seem to do it to keep their pick angle consistent, and Yngwie uses an outward thumb motion to efficiently push the pick through the strings for the swept downstrokes in his ascending scale runs.


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 2, 2011)

^ Thanks for the info. I just saw a Rusty Cooley vid, where he told how it is important that you don't move the joints in your fingers or thumb while picking, or else you can pick only as fast as you can do that.


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## stuglue (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi there, first of all id say avoid the picking from the thumb approach, it lacks solidity when holding the pick and it gives an overall lower volume compared to wrist picking. It is the guitar equivalent of a drummer playing bass drums heels down versus heels up. 
Id say avoid angling the pick at all costs otherwise you'll get that swishy swishy scratchy tone resulting in less definition of your notes. Try to keep the pick parallel to the strings and dont anchor any fingers to the body, it will hinder your movement. 
I make sure my arm is pointing straight down the neck rather than have my picking hand pointed More towards the floor this puts less strain on your wrist. 
Paul Gilberts first Intense Rock video is a good example of working from the wrist. 
Most importantly relax, its amazing how much you can relax your muscles


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## ShadyDavey (Aug 4, 2011)

Paul Gilbert also stresses that he uses an angled pick.....the only real constant for picking is that there are no constants, only the technique that works for you.

Don't flick your thumb? Danny Joe Carter does.
Don't angle your pick? Shawn Lane, George Benson, Paul Gilbert etc etc....
Use just your first finger and thumb? Eddie Van Halen, Chris Poland, Steve Morse......
Don't anchor? Guthrie Govan, Yngwie, MAB, Steve Morse.....

Just experiment. What feels incredibly odd for other players may work perfectly for you or perhaps there's just a period of acclimatisation you need to work through. Either way don't give up


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 4, 2011)

^ Thanks. 

Well. The thumb movement isn't as bad as i thought, and i've gotten it down almost completely now that i start paying attention to it. And otherwise i've been practising my picking like hell and can already feel it getting better. I have much work before i can reach my goal of course, but it's easier now. Trying to learn some fast alternate picking runs at the moment


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