# Newest technique in your arsenal?



## distressed_romeo (Sep 2, 2008)

What's the latest technique you've added to your bag of tricks?

Personally, I've been working at Bill Peck's technique of using the three spare fingers of the picking hand to extend legato runs and sweeps, and have just started playing with Ron Thal's trick of pulling off to a harmonic.


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## Luan (Sep 2, 2008)

Playing bass and melody at the same time, with some chords.


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## kung_fu (Sep 2, 2008)

Fretting chords with all 4 fingers and thumb (not wrapped around the back of the neck, but under/facing the fretboard)


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## TimSE (Sep 2, 2008)

finger picking (tommy emmanuel style) with a thumb pick


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## Drew (Sep 2, 2008)

Not COMPLETELY sucking. 

No, really, I'm kind of at a lull in terms of technical development - most of what I've done of late is getting better at techniques I already know (like, my sweeping has gone from horrid to sort-of-ok in the last month or two), rather than adding new ones. 

That's not good - I should try to expand a bit. I've always liked the idea of adding the occasional tapped note to legato runs smoothly, more as like a scale extension than something that sounds like a "tapping" run, so maybe I'll work on that for the next couple months...


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## 7deadlysins666 (Sep 2, 2008)

Time signatures. REALLY odd ones(see my 3 against 4 against 5 post). I've been browsing Chopsfromhell.com the past few days. I sliced my index finger open really good a few days ago at work, so I haven't been learning anything technical like I usually would. Waiting for it to heal a bit more to make sure I don't open it back up while playing.


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## Desecrated (Sep 2, 2008)

I'm still trying to get used to holding a pick and picking upwards.


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## voiceguitar (Sep 2, 2008)

Economy picking


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## DelfinoPie (Sep 2, 2008)

I was watching a bunch of reggae guitar technique tutorials yesterday on youtube, so I'd say rhythm techniques of that particular style


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## Maniacal (Sep 2, 2008)

Playing some new odd grouped phrases. 

Also, like distressed_Romeo I have been doing a lot of extended legato lines by using my pick hand fingers...its good fun

The thing I like using most at the moment is melodic minor and its arpeggios, not really a technique but something I am very happy with.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Sep 3, 2008)

Picking patterns. I've found that alternate picking doesn't work all the time, and economy picking is not always applicable. This is nothing new, but I've been working on it more as of late. Trying to make it more spontaneous, throwing in a bunch of upstrokes when it will improve speed and string skipping continuity, especially.


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## hide (Sep 3, 2008)

Trying to get slap & harmonics working together on guitar for a track I'm trying to write. TM Stevens' way 
Also, trying to get a better/new use of the effects I have.

As of today I don't work on single techniques just for the sake of it, which is shame, because in this awful year I lost all I had been building up in the previous 3 years. Since I was kicked out of my band because of being "too technical" I stupidly threw away all my books and will of improving, I'm only now realizing how may pineapples I had in my head at the time. 

I'm having a great time experimenting, but the vastity of possible uses of guitar makes my attention jump from one to another in 0.3 seconds. I think I need to focus


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## zapper1986 (Sep 3, 2008)

i been workin on my whammy bar alot. experimenting with hammer ons and pulloffs while i dive and tug the bar.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Sep 3, 2008)

i'v been messing with that eric johnson koto technique


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## Daemoniac (Sep 3, 2008)

Not really a technique, but im just trying to work up my progressions and chord work (i think i know 5 chords? and 2 of them are variations of the same chord; D and D minor, A and A minor lol...) Tend to be more of a power-chorder, but i find myself just doing weird stuff with guitar and figuring out ways to do stuff.
How does one play a pinch harmonic? I mean, i know 'how to', but how thehell do you pull it off when playing??


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## Trespass (Sep 3, 2008)

Discovering new inversions and arrangements of rather simple chords, all with a drone. Then playing exotic rhythms and moving the chords around (hence the simplicity of the chords)

I really, really like playing octaves above a drone and shifting along an exotic scale. But I've been breaking out of that foundation with more interesting drone inspired formations.

e -0----0----0----x---------0----0
b -5----5----5----5----5----0----0
g -4----4----4----5----4----1----1
d -x----2----x----2----3----3----2
a -3----3----2----0----2----2----2
e -1----0----3----0---------0----0
b ---------------------------------

Like that. Very flamenco inspired, with low tempo strums, switching after letting a chord resonate. Also moving that drone 5 on the b string (which the pinky always rests on) between phrases in a quick slide up and down to the 6th fret between chords. Also with other fingers as well. 


Also, I like playing a dissonant and arabian styled voicing using a tapped chord, as if one were strumming accross strings tuned this way.

e ------------------t7-------------- 
b ----------t5---t6------------------- 
g -----t4------------------------ 
d -t2--------------------------- 
a ---------------------------- 
e ---------------------------- 
LP Lm Lp Rm Rr

(Left Pointer, Left Middle, Left Pinky, Right midle, Right Ring)

You have to tap it in a way that it sounds like a let ring sustained chord. Not very difficult I find, (but I practice two hand tap daily) and it really sounds cool in between those phrases above.


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## soldierkahn (Sep 3, 2008)

ive been trying to wrap my mind around these, well i call em ascending and descending fills. Ive found it is in heavy use by one of my fav bands Lamb Of God. heres an example of stuff im tryin to figure out to write my own


heres an exerpt from Break You off of Ashes Of The Wake

(1:33) (x4) Did not tab the background guitar
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|-7\---------------------------------------4-3b-----------------|
|-5\------------------------------------------------------------|
|----0000-1p0-0000-1p0-1p0-000000-1p0-0000------0000-1p0-000000-|
PM .... .... ...... .... .... ......


|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|----0-1-0-1-3-1-0-4-3-1-0-------0--|
|--5-----------------------5-4-5----| Ending 1,2,3
PM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


|-------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------3----|
|----------------------------2-----1--|
|----0-1-0-1-3-1-0-4h5p4-1-0---0------|
|--5----------------------------------| Ending 4
PM. . . . . . . .



the fills of course being the bottom two staffs. i just dont know whether these guys just sit around for hours and just play with notes until they find the ones that fit, or whether they just automatically know which notes they can use.

Im still tryin to wrap my head around that whole genre of metal. Will and Mark are really great players, so they're sort of my current role models, lol.


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## Leon (Sep 3, 2008)

modes.








[action=Leon]has learned a LOT in the handful of guitar lessons he's had.[/action]


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## Demeyes (Sep 3, 2008)

Lately I've been playing much more acoustic, I've been learning a few basic chord songs to pick up some songwriting techniques and structures. Also I just picked up a few thumb picks again and have been messing around with those on the acoustic too for some more advanced acoustic material.
On electric I'm trying to get comfortable with faster picking runs and trying to get them more solid. Picking runs is something I'm never really happy with so I tend to work on it on and off. 
I also picked up a few nice harmonic ideas that I've never overly explored so I've played around with those. I started doing some melodies using only tapped harmonics, something I saw in a Kiko Louriero vid recently. As well as hitting natural harmonics in some clean parts for an interesting sound.


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## Joe Neal (Sep 3, 2008)

The koto thing Eric Johnsen does and caprice 16 by Paginini.


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## 7deadlysins666 (Sep 8, 2008)

I just learned Racer X - Technical Difficulties  3 or 4 years ago when I tried to learn this, it was insanely hard...but now....it was a breeze! I learned Paul Gilbert's bend harmonics too....awesome trick, Im going to use that a lot. I don't know what the technical name of it is....artifical harmonics? Basically you play a note, and then with your picking hand tap 13 frets above where you play the note. Sounds best on bends on the G and B strings.


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## TonalArchitect (Sep 8, 2008)

Well, it's not too new, since I learned it when I had to perform "Mediterranean Sundance" and later "Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars" (God weren't those _fun_ to learn), but crossing strings while alternate picking. 

Like when Steve Morse plays arpeggios, or in the introductions to those Di Meola songs, or in bluegrass playing (I think).

It's really difficult when compared to three or more notes on one string.


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## WillingWell (Sep 8, 2008)

7deadlysins666 said:


> I just learned Racer X - Technical Difficulties  3 or 4 years ago when I tried to learn this, it was insanely hard...but now....it was a breeze! I learned Paul Gilbert's bend harmonics too....awesome trick, Im going to use that a lot. I don't know what the technical name of it is....artifical harmonics? Basically you play a note, and then with your picking hand tap 13 frets above where you play the note. Sounds best on bends on the G and B strings.




EVH invented those broski. Or at least he made it popular. Much of Gilbert is composed of Yngwie and EVH.


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## 7deadlysins666 (Sep 8, 2008)

WillingWell said:


> EVH invented those broski. Or at least he made it popular. Much of Gilbert is composed of Yngwie and EVH.



Do you know what the technical name for it is?


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## auxioluck (Sep 8, 2008)

Sliding Sweep arpeggios. I'm still refining my two hand tapping as well.


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## distressed_romeo (Sep 10, 2008)

7deadlysins666 said:


> Do you know what the technical name for it is?



Tapped harmonics.


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## Maniacal (Sep 10, 2008)

My latest new technique is not playing guitar at all, and just drinking wine. 

Perfect!


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## Harry (Sep 11, 2008)

Maniacal said:


> My latest new technique is not playing guitar at all, and just drinking wine.
> 
> Perfect!


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## Zepp88 (Sep 11, 2008)

I've been working on my vibrato and legato lately, trying to get things more fluid. I've also been learning new scales and such here and there, trying to break into music theory, etc...


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## All_¥our_Bass (Sep 12, 2008)

Due to my new setup, my sustain is much better. As a result I've been using/practicing legato more. Also I been using more 4NPS lately.


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## Piledriver (Sep 12, 2008)

Mattias Eklundh style of harmonics,such as harmonics in the middle of frets...
and ive been practicing really fast tremolo picking also.


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## daybean (Sep 12, 2008)

my pinky, it just woke up a year ago and said it wanted in on all the action.


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## Zepp88 (Sep 12, 2008)

daybean said:


> my pinky, it just woke up a year ago and said it wanted in on all the action.



You work on a farm, so this can go in all kinds of interesting directions.


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## daybean (Sep 12, 2008)

thats true, sad but true.....pick up the new metallica!!!


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## Zepp88 (Sep 12, 2008)

daybean said:


> thats true, sad but true.....pick up the new metallica!!!






I started using my pinky a lot more quite some time ago, and recently I've been trying to do vibrato on all fingers so the pinky has gotten a work out, at some point I'd like to be able to bend with all fingers.


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## daybean (Sep 12, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> I started using my pinky a lot more quite some time ago, and recently I've been trying to do vibrato on all fingers so the pinky has gotten a work out, at some point I'd like to be able to bend with all fingers.



 it really is a new tool


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## Harry (Sep 12, 2008)

Got some 4nps licks happening.... not very fast, maybe 16th note triplets at 90bpm at most. 
After playing 3nps stuff for so long, it's hard to break out of it and be able to play much 4nps stuff, but I'm slowly getting there.


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## Anthony (Sep 12, 2008)

8 finger tapping.


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## oompa (Sep 12, 2008)

this is an awesome thread  

lately ive been focusing on these things:

fast repositionings, like sweeping at highspeed say around 5-10th fret, then do a slide between two 16th notes way up to say 14-18th fret and continue there. 

----------------------9------------17-------
------------8-------8---8------16----16----
----------7---7---7-------7/14--------------
--------6-------6---------------------------
------5-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------


second, ive been practicing hitting the turnover notes in sweeps, for example:

------------------------------------
---------------------------------10-
---------------------(9)-------9----
-----------(8)------8---8----8------
----------7---7---7------(7)-------
--------6------(6)------------------
------5-----------------------------

the circled ones i have a much higher muted/miss/x/crap-rate on at a higher speed, and my righthand is my weak point so i cant practice righthand stuff enough.

thirdly, incorporating right hand tapped notes without giving it a xth note of space in front. very basic example:

----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
------------T----------------T----------------
---0-4-5-7-19^7-5-4-0-4-5-17^7-5-4--------
--------------po--------------po-------------
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------


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## Harry (Sep 15, 2008)

Anthony said:


> 8 finger tapping.


 
Awesome stuff dude
I have trouble with 6 finger stuff, let alone 8.


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## distressed_romeo (Sep 15, 2008)

Great responses from everyone!

I've been messing around a lot with Frank Gambale's 'Speed Picking' book, and experimenting with personal spins on a lot of his fingering concepts (212113 licks and so forth). It's an awesome way of breaking old habits, and sounds really different to the diatonic sweeps that everyone does.

On the acoustic I'm also experimenting with combinding the repetitive picking patterns and right-hand tremolo I've learnt from playing Tarrega and Villa-Lobos pieces on classical guitar with the open-tunings and ringing chord voicings that I've always liked on the steel-string guitar.

I'd really love to form a prog metal band that makes hardcore acoustic playing a major part of the sound...


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## Harry (Sep 15, 2008)

Not particularly amazing, but I'm starting to use 6 string sweeps.
The patterns that need the fingers to roll across strings are just too hard for me at the moment, so I've begun using patterns that don't require finger bar rolling.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 16, 2008)

Well at the moment Im perfecting a technique Im 60% sure I invented.

Its pretty Top Secret at the moment but I might make a video or something once I have written it into my live set.

seems like a pointless post but I felt like sharing my excitement


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## distressed_romeo (Sep 16, 2008)

CrushingAnvil said:


> Well at the moment Im perfecting a technique Im 60% sure I invented.
> 
> Its pretty Top Secret at the moment but I might make a video or something once I have written it into my live set.
> 
> seems like a pointless post but I felt like sharing my excitement



You've got me intrigued now...


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## Durero (Sep 16, 2008)

I've been working on Bleed by Meshuggah and I never realized it until I tried it but the main riffs feel like a completely unconventional picking technique to me. It's extremely rare in my experience to have to change the speed of your alternating wrist strokes as a primary part of the riff, but in this song they use alternate picking for 16th notes with frequent interruptions of alternate-picked 32nd notes for which you have to suddenly move twice as fast for 3 strokes then fall back into 16th note speed. It's very wierd, and very interesting. 

So far I'm nowhere close to their performance speed (115)


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## TheSixthWheel (Sep 20, 2008)

Trespass said:


> Also, I like playing a dissonant and arabian styled voicing using a tapped chord, as if one were strumming accross strings tuned this way.
> 
> e ------------------t7--------------
> b ----------t5---t6-------------------
> ...




I've been toying with such techniques after getting back into Karl Sanders' 'Saurian Meditation' recently but because I'm not much good at using my right hand to tap, this one isn't very complicated. Still sounds good though. Maybe some kind of strange Bsus4/5? (Please feel free to let me know what it is)
e-----------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------12----------------12/13\12----------------13/15\13--
G-------10-----------------10----------------------10------------
D-----9------------------9-----------------------9---------------
A---7------------------7-----------------------7-----------------
E-0------------------0-----------------------0-------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------

Let them all ring out - I use my thumb to play the open 6th string, then left index, middle and ring to tap the 7, 9 and 10. Right index taps the 2nd string plus slides. Clean + reverb for those lovely drone notes. I'm pretty sure I'm way off on the chord name.


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## SevenDeadly (Sep 20, 2008)

fellatio


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## kung_fu (Sep 20, 2008)

It's not quite "in" my arsenal yet, but i'm working on classical tremolo and other finger picking styles.


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## abyss258 (Sep 30, 2008)

My friend and I make up some pretty awesome and sometimes useful techniques. Our latest one is called "Pendulum Picking".

This is where you hold your guitar up in front of you while fingering a chord or something and swing it like a pendulum while your picking hand is stationary. If you do it right, you swing the guitar into the pick to create utter insanity.


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## 7STRINGWARRIOR (Sep 30, 2008)

doug steele inspired me to rip paul gilberts hands off.........


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## Seven (Oct 1, 2008)

Being James Hetfield.

I bought a Metallica Riff By Riff book, and I'm learning them all upto speed and suddenly my right hand is tits, it's just too much fun to play really loud too.


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## The Atomic Ass (Oct 1, 2008)

Demoniac said:


> Not really a technique, but im just trying to work up my progressions and chord work (i think i know 5 chords? and 2 of them are variations of the same chord; D and D minor, A and A minor lol...) Tend to be more of a power-chorder, but i find myself just doing weird stuff with guitar and figuring out ways to do stuff.
> How does one play a pinch harmonic? I mean, i know 'how to', but how thehell do you pull it off when playing??



If you can pull off a pinch harmonic already, do it with the pick turned sideways, then play like that. Withdraw the thumb slightly for a normal note, move it forward for a PH.

It's one of those techniques I've been working semi-seriously on for the last year and I can almost play my bastardized version of Turkey in the Straw now. 



Durero said:


> I've been working on Bleed by Meshuggah and I never realized it until I tried it but the main riffs feel like a completely unconventional picking technique to me. It's extremely rare in my experience to have to change the speed of your alternating wrist strokes as a primary part of the riff, but in this song they use alternate picking for 16th notes with frequent interruptions of alternate-picked 32nd notes for which you have to suddenly move twice as fast for 3 strokes then fall back into 16th note speed. It's very wierd, and very interesting.
> 
> So far I'm nowhere close to their performance speed (115)



I've got a riff in my head like that, that I'm trying to get down. I just play the 16ths as all down picks, and the 32nds as alternate 16ths. Much smoother to me.


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## Snoop (Oct 2, 2008)

mh.. I'm training now legato/tapping licks mostly... which i never did before


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## Filip S (Oct 4, 2008)

slapping my sevenstring


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## kung_fu (Oct 5, 2008)

Working on my lenny breau style right-hand harminics


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## Luan (Oct 5, 2008)

playing more bossa and samba : )


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## guitarplayerone (Oct 9, 2008)

phrasing


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## The Atomic Ass (Oct 17, 2008)

Filip S said:


> slapping my sevenstring



Why, was it being bad?


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## SnowfaLL (Oct 17, 2008)

Tony MacAlpine's damn arpeggio sweeps where he taps the extended arpeggio note outside of your fretting hand position.. Thats a pain in the ass (esp since I never went thru any tapping phase) so Its hard, but its coming along.


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## Psychobuddy (Aug 18, 2009)

Salppin and Poppin, Hybrid Picking, and Mult-Finger Tapping, along with usual speed training stuff


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 18, 2009)

learning 8 finger tapping on bass. for some reason it's easier for me to learn on a bass than a guitar. 

on guitar i'm trying to sweep and then slide to another arpeggio to come back down. i've noticed that i tend to focus too much on the slide and the first sweep ends up sounding like a load of sloppy garbage.


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## FallenMartyr (Aug 18, 2009)

descending string skipping minor pentatonic lick using a series of tapping, hammer-ons, and pull offs inspired by michael romeo. trying to build up my speed to make it as fast and clean as he does it. 

Also been workin on tapping stuff in general

ill probably make a vid of it and post


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## vontetzianos (Aug 18, 2009)

Hybrid picking.


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## InCasinoOut (Aug 18, 2009)

Although I'm not a soloist, most of the riffs I write use a lot of legato, and i've been working on incorporating tapped notes into them. I've also been working on more string skipping in my riffs for wider intervals between notes to shake things up and bit and keep them less predictable.


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## TheSyncopath (Aug 18, 2009)

I've started incorporating a lot of hybrid picking in technical death metal-style riffing, a la Mike Haley from Psycroptic. There's a video interview with him on youtube where he plays stuff from the new album, and the way he slips those hybrid picking runs into his riffs is insane! :-O


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## Xiphos68 (Aug 18, 2009)

String skipping and tapping with the string skip.

Tapping with 3 or 4 fingers on my right hand. Any tips for that? Basically what Chris Broderick does in the tapping video.


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## TheSyncopath (Aug 19, 2009)

@ Xiphos68 - Check out TJ Helmerich NOW if you haven't already!


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## Fzau (Aug 22, 2009)

- Alternate picking, although I'm already more than decent with it you can't practice this enough IMO
- Speedy sweep picking Jeff Loomis-style (lots of diminished stuff)
- 6 finger tapping (greatly inspired by Tosin Abasi)


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## ralphy1976 (Aug 22, 2009)

errr.....learning C scales, Am pentatonic and being to use both ..... i know... pretty basic stuff....but one has to start from somewhere!!!!

oh, and of course applied to Blues in C or Am...loving it!!! my house is my little smoky bar in somewhere lost and bluesy!!!


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## Cadavuh (Aug 22, 2009)

Uhhhhhhhhh...I wrote a riff yesterday with a lot of really fast sliding in it that took me a while to get down good. My fingers hurt


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## All_¥our_Bass (Aug 22, 2009)

Mixing up and combining my smooth/melodic and my angular/dissonant phrasing.
For awhile a lead or solo would tend to be mostly one or the other, now I'm trying to get them to gel.


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## wannabguitarist (Aug 25, 2009)

I'm finally comfortable enough with my sweeping (well three string) and arpeggio knowledge where I'm incorporating it into songs/jamming. I'm not really any better at it technique-wise compared to a month ago, but it really feels like I've made a big breakthrough.


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## Bloody_Inferno (Aug 28, 2009)

Getting better at my sense of arrangement. 

It makes my playing much better especially in the context of the full song. 

That, and I'm now using key changes a lot. Some times too much.


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## Empryrean (Aug 28, 2009)

sweeps


I really have no idea what I am doing, but it sounds cool, and it's hard so I'm going somewhere with this


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## All_¥our_Bass (Aug 28, 2009)

I need to work on my arranging too.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Aug 28, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> That, and I'm now using key changes a lot. Some times too much.



Impossible!

I'm working on cleaning up my fast riffs. For a while now, I've been really chord-oriented, and then I was listening to some old favorites one day, and the death metal light turned on, so I have to get my chops back up.


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## Bloody_Inferno (Aug 28, 2009)

SchecterWhore said:


> Impossible!



4 key changes in a straight rock song hmmm... hell yes!  Prog-pop maybe...


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## danenachtrieb (Sep 1, 2009)

learning hungarian minor all over the fretboard


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## EdgeC (Sep 1, 2009)

Trying to figure out where E# is.


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## yetti (Sep 2, 2009)

EdgeC said:


> Trying to figure out where E# is.



Find the Fb and there you go.


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