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Date Posted: 12:03:34 07/01/02 Mon
Author: Mike Rewa
Author Host/IP: spider-wm034.proxy.aol.com / 205.188.199.164
Subject: Re: shawn-picking
In reply to: Chris Keeney 's message, "Re: shawn-picking" on 23:28:03 06/14/02 Fri

>A few notes about Shawn's picking technique:
>
>-actually uses the joint where his first finger meets
>his hand as his pivot point (in conjunction with the
>wrist) for a good hunk of his slower playing
>
>-uses wrist motion, almost exclusively, when playing
>fast
>
>-for virtually all of his fast picking, Shawn also
>rotates his forearm slightly so the pick is exactly
>perpendicular to the strings
>
>-also for faster playing, Shawn tilts the pick at a 45
>degree angle to the side (while maintaining the
>perpendicular relationship to the strings) in order to
>have a smoother pick release from the strings and also
>to round out the tone
>
>-a few good players move their forearms when they're
>really shredding (Steve Lukather, Cooley, etc.) but
>this is due more from tension in the wrist and arm
>that, over many years, developed into a usable
>technique
>
>-the fastest of the fast (with Shawn as the top gun)
>all pick from the wrist when shredding...its possible
>to use the arm as well, but the size and strength of
>the wrist muscles make them ideal for fast yet compact
>movement
>
>Hope this explains some of the more general points.
>Shawn's instructional videos allow a close-up look at
>hand position and movement. For concepts involving
>unnecessary muscle tension and how to get rid of it,
>check out the website www.GuitarPrinciples.com for
>some basics.
>
>-
This is less of a comment about Shawn's technique than about picking in general. You obviously have a very good understanding of Shawn's approach, Chris. Thanks for the detailed explanation!
A couple of the very fast players that I know use an extremely rigid forearm/wrist when picking very fast, ala Larry Coryell. I believe this is because their left hand approach is less developed than their right ( or picking) hand. So if anything their left hand is trying to catch up to the speed of their right.
For players that have developed a very good left hand ( or fretting hand) approach, it is more of an issue for the picking hand to catch up with what the fretting hand is doing. Hence the shifting pick/arm/wrist approach. More for reasons of economy of movement or attention/energy, as their fretting requires less attention.
It is possible to play extremely fast and detailed lines with the pick gently dangling and extended perpendicular to the strings and the pinky/ring fingers extended nearly perpendicular to the body of the guitar and resting barely on the body of the axe. And with the fingers extended fairly straight between hand and strings. This would typically be done with the pinky resting very close to the neck and the pick actually over the neck between the 15th and 24th frets. The picking motion is only wrist motion here, the forearm stays dead still and perfectly relaxed. The opposite of the stiff arm style.
I believe Shawn's left hand approach is so well developed that he does not need to be concerned with his picking approach much, except possibly to emphasize the different attack which is audible with the stiff arm style. Since it is possible to play a great percentage of riffs with the barest minimum of picking the picking approach can be modified to accent the overall sound tastefully, rather than being compelled to use one picking approach. Which it seems to me that Shawn is doing here. There is certainly a lot to be learned from Shawn regarding both approaches.
Thanks again Chris for the explanations!
Best Regards, Mike Rewa

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