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Topic: fast riffs using strings 1-4??? |
Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 5 Aug 2007 7:45 pm |
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I think my blocking is the problem with these top strings, I just can't get any fast licks ascending or desending those strings. I've always blocked with ring finger under style, but I just can't get it working on the top strings. And I love the sound of fast riffs using the 2nd string lower, along with strings 1,3, and 4. Any tips, tricks or anything else that might help me pick up speed on those strings?
Terry |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Aug 2007 12:51 am
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| You need to learn pick-blocking, it really helps with speed picking! |
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Jay Jessup
From:
Charlottesville, VA, USA
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Posted 6 Aug 2007 8:45 am
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| Yes pick blocking will help and maybe even some left hand bar blocking but if you listen closely to some of the guys who use these type of licks you will find that some of them don't block them at all, the notes go by so fast that they just let them ring out for the short amount of time they are there. Of course that will sound a little weird until you get them up to speed. |
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A. J. Schobert
From:
Cincinnati, Ohio,
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Posted 6 Aug 2007 9:11 am
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Just start slow, then speed will come naturally.
I use pick blocking myself. however on the lower strings I find myself palm blocking once in awhile. |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 6 Aug 2007 11:07 am pick blockin
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Guys, I don't have any trouble pick blockin from the 4th string down. As a matter of fact, I do more pick blocking than "palm blockin" or ring finger under blocking for me.It just sounds cleaner/smoother. I know both have their place. It's just on those top 3-4 strings is where I get hung up. I've had trouble with those strings ever since I started playing steel guitar. Somebody posted a descending scale from the 20th fret all the way down to the first fret a while back. It was played on the top 4 strings. Very fast descending. That's what I'd like to be able to do.
Terry |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 7 Aug 2007 9:31 am yep!
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That is it Russ. If i could learn to do that I'd be a HAPPY camper. Can you give me a hint as to which fingers your using to pick each string,and your blocking technique? I'd appreciate it much. You can PM me if you'd rather, or email me from the forum. Thanks
Terry |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Posted 7 Aug 2007 7:39 pm
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Terry -
A technique common to guitarists is to alternate the 'up' and 'down' strokes of their pick to get maximum effifiency (no 'wasted' motion).
The equivalent of this on steel is to alternate 'outward' (thumb) and 'inward' (finger) picks.
I used the Thumb and Index Finger for this particular run:
Thumb on str 3, then Index on str 1, then Thumb on str 4, then Index on str 2, along with 'palmblocking' to keep the notes from piling up 'on top' of each other.
Another benefit of alternating the 'inward' and 'outward' picking strokes is that it helps to keep the timing of the phrase 'evened out' rather than getting lopsided.
~Russ |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 8 Aug 2007 9:33 am technique
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Thanks a bunch Russ. That's goin to be tough for me though, because I've never been able to do much with my index finger. I've mostly used my thumb and middle. But I'll give it a try. 
Terry |
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Jim Eaton
From:
Santa Susana, Ca
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Posted 8 Aug 2007 3:02 pm
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Jeff Newman once said to me "I don't care if you use Thumb & Index or Thumb & Middle, pick the one that feels best to you and stick with it. This will eliminate any choice's along the way. Which one is next, the other one!
JE:-)> |
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Ken Williams
From:
Arkansas
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Posted 8 Aug 2007 7:20 pm
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Terry, different moves may call for different blocking techniques. But, one extremely helpful method, at least to me, is to block with the fingers of the left hand that extend beyond the bar. Someone here once said that the bar should only be foward enough to cover the last string being played. I don't know if I would go exactly that far but for the most part I agree.
If the lick only consists of playing some combination of 1-4 strings, the left hand method would be difficult to use on every note. However, if you could only block some of the notes using this method, it would take a little of the pressure off.
Ken |
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Posted 8 Aug 2007 7:59 pm
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Terry -
I didn't mean to infer that you should necessarily use your index finger rather than your middle finger - it just happens to be the finger that works best for me when playing this particular string sequence.
What I did mean to point out, and perhaps should have worded it differently, is to use the Thumb and 'Preferred Finger' in an alternating manner, whether you choose to use Index Finger or Middle Finger.
When using this 'alternating picking technique' on strings that are more 'in the middle' of the tuning, perhaps strings 9 or 8 thru 3 or 2, I use my Thumb and Middle, rather than Index Finger. My hand seems to feel 'better balanced' that way. This works for me, but not necessarily for others.
~Russ |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 9 Aug 2007 12:36 pm left hand
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| Quote: |
However, if you could only block some of the notes using this method, it would take a little of the pressure off.
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Hey Ken, good to hear from ya. I try to mute the first string with my middle finger of my left hand.
and sometimes even mute 2 strings, but for some reason the top few strings have always been a problem for me.
Russ, I think this is one of those licks that I'll just have to admit I'll never get it. I'm using the same fingering as your using, with the exception of the middle instead of the first finger. I ain't goin to give up yet, but I think this one has got me whooped! That's one of the best licks I've ever heard on the forum though. Great job!!
Terry |
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