# Fret/pick Synchronization



## Dead Undead (Feb 16, 2011)

What are ways I can get my fretting and picking hand synchronized? I've been having trouble with this lately. My fretting hand is slower and less accurate than my picking, and it gets on my nerves when I can't play something well because of it. Any advice?


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## Xiphos68 (Feb 16, 2011)

Play slowly on a clean channel. So you can hear the notes you're playing and the attack of your picking hand. Play with a metronome as well. Start of slow and gain speed as you go.

Don't move on to the next speed without getting it 5 times in a row accurately. 

It takes discipline and patience.


Hope this helps and God Bless, Xiphos68


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## SirMyghin (Feb 16, 2011)

Synchronization for more complicated playing between and across strings is going to take a lot of devotion. Start slow is the pristine advice above. 

As far as playing clean, that is good for keeping your attack level and even (you should do it). Playing clean however lets you get away with a lot in terms of muting/release as it isn't picked up. So play distorted too, at whatever gain you fancy, this will clean up your style otherwise as you will be all 'OMG ma ears' until you do (aka you should play distorted too).

As far as moving to the next speed 'when you get it right and no sooner' I don't abide by that, sometimes it just isn't going to click and you need to go 15-20 bpm farther and burn it down, then try again at the speed you were trying.

Very odd your fret hand is slower, the picking hand is generally the part people REALLY need to train more.


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## Dead Undead (Feb 16, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Synchronization for more complicated playing between and across strings is going to take a lot of devotion. Start slow is the pristine advice above.
> 
> As far as playing clean, that is good for keeping your attack level and even (you should do it). Playing clean however lets you get away with a lot in terms of muting/release as it isn't picked up. So play distorted too, at whatever gain you fancy, this will clean up your style otherwise as you will be all 'OMG ma ears' until you do (aka you should play distorted too).
> 
> ...



It might be my picking hand for all I know, but it feels more like my left hand is struggling. My left hand has good days and bad days. On good days it'll keep up. Bad days it just won't play in time at all. I wanna get it more consistent. Thanks for all the advice!


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## Guitarman700 (Feb 16, 2011)

Xiphos68 said:


> Play slowly on a clean channel. So you can hear the notes you're playing and the attack of your picking hand. Play with a metronome as well. Start of slow and gain speed as you go.
> 
> Don't move on to the next speed without getting it 5 times in a row accurately.
> 
> ...



This. X100000.


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## stryker1800 (Feb 17, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> As far as playing clean, that is good for keeping your attack level and even (you should do it). Playing clean however lets you get away with a lot in terms of muting/release as it isn't picked up. So play distorted too, at whatever gain you fancy, this will clean up your style otherwise as you will be all 'OMG ma ears' until you do (aka you should play distorted too).
> 
> As far as moving to the next speed 'when you get it right and no sooner' I don't abide by that, sometimes it just isn't going to click and you need to go 15-20 bpm farther and burn it down, then try again at the speed you were trying.
> 
> Very odd your fret hand is slower, the picking hand is generally the part people REALLY need to train more.



 
Though when I got started I had a slower fretting hand, it was really really annoying though that problem has since been remedied.


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## SirMyghin (Feb 17, 2011)

stryker1800 said:


> Though when I got started I had a slower fretting hand, it was really really annoying though that problem has since been remedied.




Part of the issue may be I went from bass to guitar, so had a fret hand solid and no picking ability (at all, it was so very foreign)


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## stryker1800 (Feb 18, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Part of the issue may be I went from bass to guitar, so had a fret hand solid and no picking ability (at all, it was so very foreign)



Since you came from bass to guitar, you might be fretting too hard which could create some issues, though I don't know how true that is. 

Either way even if that's not creating an issue with syncing your hands you may still want to watch the pressure you're putting on the strings for intonation reasons.


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## Deadnightshade (Feb 18, 2011)

What works for me:


Lery low guitar action 

Starting with thin strings , I calculate even or progressive raise in string tension across the neck and so i pick my gauges.Hell a relatively cheap guitar i had felt way better with a set of 9s where i substituted the 2nd string with a .012 and the 6th with a .046

Classical style left hand (not 100% strictly that,but when i need it it works) 

I try to avoid feeling like i'm supporting even a little the neck.I try to balance the guitar both standing and sitting down so that i don't need to support it with either hand.

I try to apply minimum pressure on the strings,so that it's no big deal to lift the finger quickly in order to fret another note,or even fly back/forth a few frets.Just forget if your fingers can play something,just go ahead and play it.(I think Holdsworth said something like that??)

I keep the pick on the string as short as possible,and I try to keep my dynamics consistent while doing that.

I use heavy picks ( 3 or 4 mm).They help attack a lot.

I practice on clean channel , with the BRIDGE pickup.If it sounds too brittle roll up your lows and a pinch down the highs and mids,but make sure that it still sounds "annoying" when you pick a note harder relatively to the others ( for example the first note when you change a string etc)


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## SirMyghin (Feb 18, 2011)

stryker1800 said:


> Since you came from bass to guitar, you might be fretting too hard which could create some issues, though I don't know how true that is.
> 
> Either way even if that's not creating an issue with syncing your hands you may still want to watch the pressure you're putting on the strings for intonation reasons.



You don't need to push any harder on bass than guitar, when you get enough contact on the fret to sound a note you are done. My touch is extremely light, on either instrument. All my guitars have 6100 (see jumbo, .055" high) fretwire also, if you have a heavy touch you will sharp the note. 

This thread is about your technique, not my excellent well practiced touch


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## Maniacal (Feb 18, 2011)

alternate picked trills are a good one


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## ShreddingDragon (Feb 18, 2011)

Good tips for my situation too, thanks guys!

Something that I've found helpful: using a metronome, play some simple figure (1-3-4-3-1-3-4-3 --- 3-4-6-4-3-4-6-4 --- 4-6-8-6-4-6-8-6 etc) and see which fingers' notes seem to "cut out" the fluent flow of sound for you. I noticed that it was in fact my index finger that had a lot of slack in keeping up with sync. Try to become aware of all possible lapses in your consistency. Fretted notes not syncing with upstrokes? Pinky not rising in time to let the ring finger fret ring?

It sometimes feels like the problem isn't the same every day. One day it's more like the first upstroke is the bad note, while sometimes it feels like the second downstroke is neglected instead.


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## Semi-pro (Feb 18, 2011)

I was struggling with the same thing today. I realized that doing the 4-1-2-4-2-1 shape was a bit more difficult when starting with an upstroke. So... haha, jäbä on suomalainen, nyt vast tajusin 

...so, be sure to exercise beginning with the upstroke too.


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## stryker1800 (Feb 18, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> You don't need to push any harder on bass than guitar, when you get enough contact on the fret to sound a note you are done. My touch is extremely light, on either instrument. All my guitars have 6100 (see jumbo, .055" high) fretwire also, if you have a heavy touch you will sharp the note.
> 
> This thread is about your technique, not my excellent well practiced touch



I'll take your word on that since I rarely touch a bass but when I played bass it seemed like it took noticeably more energy to push down the strings though it could be the way the basses were set up compared to my super duper low action. 

back on topic, I have an exercise my teacher wrote specifically for this purpose I'll have to hunt it down and put it up for you, it really helped me out.


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## SirMyghin (Feb 18, 2011)

A bass string has about 40-50 lbs pull, but you only work against resistance with finesse, not slam it down when there is no resistance (like on a guitar string) . I like my bass action fairly high too. 

GL with your exercise.


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## Dead Undead (Feb 18, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice guys!



Maniacal said:


> alternate picked trills are a good one


This is gonna be on of my main exercises now. 


Anyway, I got my playing cleaner and more accurate just by shifting the position of my hand in relation to the bridge. Just need to take time to refine it.


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## Maniacal (Feb 19, 2011)

If you are going to do trills, also try alternating between legato trills and picked trills


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## StratoJazz (Feb 20, 2011)

Sweep picking may help. Sweep picking demands you to have your picking hand and fretting hand in sync so you don't sound like you're playing a chord. There are millions of videos and lessons on the net to help with sweep picking, just try to stick to smaller sets of strings, then go to bigger sets of strings. Ex. start with 3 string sweeps, then try 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.

Sweep picking might not be where you want to start. If you want to work on your picking, tap your foot(or use a metronome) and keep a steady tempo. Once you can do that, practice picking and emphasizing the foot taps(downbeats). Be pretty critical, if it doesn't sound good, keep doing it and changing your strategy until it does.

Start with one string, then 2, 3 4,5 etc. There are also billions of tabbed, notated and other licks on the internet that will help you accomplish this goal.

Hope this helped.


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## StratoJazz (Feb 20, 2011)

Also as some of the other posters mentioned:

*PLAY ONLY ON THE CLEAN CHANNEL OF YOUR AMP*, when practicing this stuff.


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## Dead Undead (Feb 20, 2011)

StratoJazz said:


> Sweep picking may help. Sweep picking demands you to have your picking hand and fretting hand in sync so you don't sound like you're playing a chord. There are millions of videos and lessons on the net to help with sweep picking, just try to stick to smaller sets of strings, then go to bigger sets of strings. Ex. start with 3 string sweeps, then try 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.
> 
> Sweep picking might not be where you want to start. If you want to work on your picking, tap your foot(or use a metronome) and keep a steady tempo. Once you can do that, practice picking and emphasizing the foot taps(downbeats). Be pretty critical, if it doesn't sound good, keep doing it and changing your strategy until it does.
> 
> ...


I've been doing this stuff since I started playing electrics. It's helped me stay clean with a lot of stuff, but what I'm talking about here is really high speed playing. Slower and moderately fast stuff is no problem, it's just the really fast scales and arpeggios that get me.
I think it's because my fretting hand is always too tense. I can never get it to flow smoothly. Any tips on that?


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## SirMyghin (Feb 20, 2011)

Dead Undead said:


> I think it's because my fretting hand is always too tense. I can never get it to flow smoothly. Any tips on that?



The only thing you can do is RELAX. I don't know how to explain it , but how it works for me is this. Don't think about how fast you are trying to/ are playing. Just think like a fluid, flow to the next note. I had issues with tension very early in my speed building regimen but I realized it only happened to me when I thought stuff like "wow this is fast", not when I just sit back and say something akin to 'here we go'.

Think of how you want the outcome, think of how you would move your hand in the ideal scenario and then work towards that. You should be able to imagine how to play it perfectly.


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## Dead Undead (Feb 21, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> The only thing you can do is RELAX. I don't know how to explain it , but how it works for me is this. Don't think about how fast you are trying to/ are playing. Just think like a fluid, flow to the next note. I had issues with tension very early in my speed building regimen but I realized it only happened to me when I thought stuff like "wow this is fast", not when I just sit back and say something akin to 'here we go'.
> 
> Think of how you want the outcome, think of how you would move your hand in the ideal scenario and then work towards that. You should be able to imagine how to play it perfectly.



Sounds pretty Zen, man. I dig that! I'll be sure to try that. Like, envision where you wanna go with it. Kinda like that one rifle guy.


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## rug (Feb 21, 2011)

Yeah - there's no huge secret to playing fast. You just have to play slowly for a REALLY long time, and gradually increase the tempo as you get control. If you practice something with mistakes (ie, too fast for you to play it PERFECTLY), you will learn how to play those mistakes. If you play something sloppy 20 times in a row, the 21st time is going to be sloppy too. Practice at the tempo where you can play it perfectly, and with control, and the speed will come.


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## StratoJazz (Feb 27, 2011)

You could practice in bursts. Starting slow and then trying to play as fast as possible. But really the key to playing really fast is to be relaxed. I know when i'm nervous when i play there is a whole realm of licks, melodies, etc. That become off limits because I can't relax. It sucks....

However, while you perform, i've found that it works to consciously stop, breath in and out at the same speed taking in and releasing the same amount of air. This is good if your playing in a jazz combo because if the guys are good, they can outline changes with out your help.

Usually, what's fucked up is that you will find that you could already play most things on guitar, it's just a matter of mental attitude as well as strong confidence in a particular set licks, melodies, etc.


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## Dead Undead (Feb 27, 2011)

StratoJazz said:


> You could practice in bursts. Starting slow and then trying to play as fast as possible. But really the key to playing really fast is to be relaxed. I know when i'm nervous when i play there is a whole realm of licks, melodies, etc. That become off limits because I can't relax. It sucks....
> 
> However, while you perform, i've found that it works to consciously stop, breath in and out at the same speed taking in and releasing the same amount of air. This is good if your playing in a jazz combo because if the guys are good, they can outline changes with out your help.
> 
> Usually, what's fucked up is that you will find that you could already play most things on guitar, it's just a matter of mental attitude as well as strong confidence in a particular set licks, melodies, etc.



Exactly this.
Thanks!
I've learned to relax and I've gotten much cleaner and faster. Thanks for everything you guys!


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## viesczy (Mar 2, 2011)

Check out this:



Done.

Derek


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## Dead Undead (Mar 3, 2011)

Yes! Paul Gilbert exercises really helped me.


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## freepower (Mar 9, 2011)

> Think of how you want the outcome, think of how you would move your hand in the ideal scenario and then work towards that. You should be able to imagine how to play it perfectly.



This is a big deal. If you know what you're aiming for you can get to work and you know when you're making progress.

One thing I'd strongly suggest is doing this exercise - 

YouTube - Lesson on Finger Independence

Basically your hand is tense because muscles are tensing that should not be. 

They are tense because usually your hand works as one big claw - thumb and fingers all working at once to grasp or release. You need to train your fingers so that only the correct fingers exert pressure or lift, and all the other remain relaxed. 

Do this for me (go, get guitar, do this) 

- play a chromatic scale. When you're on your pinky on the low E, are you still pressing down with your index finger? If you are, you're putting in _at least_ 4 times as much work that needs to be done.

As regarding right/left sync, finger independence will help (as for example, there may be a weak finger "slow" to fret notes causing problems) but the key is incredibly slow practice. You need to practice fretting and picking the note at exactly the same time. If you pick first and then fret, even by a small margin, the note is markedly muted. If you fret first and then pick, you get a "flam" - 2 notes instead of one.

To give you an idea of how slow I mean, I mean starting at 60bpm WHOLE NOTES, and getting this down.

Try this out and let me know how it goes. All of this stuff can just be done as an extra ten minutes on your practice time and it'll start to take effect pretty quickly.


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## Dead Undead (Mar 9, 2011)

freepower said:


> This is a big deal. If you know what you're aiming for you can get to work and you know when you're making progress.
> 
> One thing I'd strongly suggest is doing this exercise -
> 
> ...



Thanks a ton man! I did the chromatic thing, and I had only my pinky down. A while back I trained myself to use only one finger at a time for single note passages and it helped a lot. However, what is off is my picking/fretting synchronization. It's pretty damn close, but not close enough for things like sweeps and chromatic passages. Thanks! This should really help.


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