Guitar Tips and Techniques

[Wongtong]

Does anybody have any general guitar tips or techniques? e.g what are the best amp settings or tips on improving the speed of your picking.

 

 

 

I wanted to know if anyone had tips on pinch harmonics or tapping. I'm trying to learn Midnight by Joe Satriani but when I tap the first 3 strings it's very quiet compared to the bass notes which I don't want. (Couldn't find a youtube lesson or anything)

 

 

 

Share your guitar tips and techniques :D

[Johannas]

Clean your strings after every use otherwise they get dirty and the strings go dead fast.

[Azvareth]

what are the best amp settings

 

 

 

This is subjective and depends entirely on what sound you want. Please don't max out the bass though; this is universally bad unless you're in Kyuss or something.

 

 

 

improving the speed of your picking.

 

 

 

First off, these exercises are boring as hell, but they seriously improve your stamina and speed (in both right and left hand) faster than regular playing does. Here's a

of the exercise I usually do. Go through it a few times each time you play.

 

 

 

I wanted to know if anyone had tips on pinch harmonics or tapping

 

 

 

For pinched harmonics, the point is to basically pick the note, and barely brush your thumb across the string as you pick it. More distortion and treble makes it easier. Pinched harmonics also sound much better with vibrato.

 

 

 

As for tapping, I very rarely do this in the music I play, but you must realise that Satriani probably uses much better gear than you do. I watched a few minutes of the song and the way it's played would require a good amp and even better pickups. Also coordination, goddamn.

[Jernlov]

what are the best amp settings

 

 

 

This is subjective and depends entirely on what sound you want. Please don't max out the bass though; this is universally bad unless you're in Kyuss or something.

I used to do this (along with maxing everything else) and then wonder exactly why I had the worst tone ever.

 

 

 

As for tapping, well, on my gear it's insanely hard. I have to almost max my amp volume and gain to get any viable sound at all out of tapping. I wish I had a better amp. (I got some Marshall transistor, and boy is it hard work to get any sort of decent tone out of it.)

 

 

 

Thanks for that video Azvareth. I'll keep that in mind.

[rangeor]

With tapping it's just pushing down really hard and going really slow at first with a metronome. And practice it clean first, otherwise your fingers and ears will adjust to the ease of making a good tapping sound through distortion, and then have difficulty when trying to tap on a clean setting (if that makes any sense :? ). With pinch harmonics try to really dig in with the side of your thumb, and I find it's easiest to do pinch harmonics on the G string.

 

 

 

Also, for any of you guitarists that don't know music theory:

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... art_i.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... rvals.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... rvals.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... cales.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... scale.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... hords.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... ssion.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... ifths.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... ution.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... hords.html

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... heory.html

 

http://musictheory.net/

[FlameHawk18]

If you want to pick faster, one thing is to get low-gauge picks, and hold the pick with maybe 1 or 2 millimeters away from the tip of the pick. Then practice moving your pick up and down, increasing in speed. Try keeping a nice rhythm. You'll also probably need to know this for pinch harmonics, makes them easier.

 

 

 

This is probably common knowledge, but it's one of the things I didn't know about when I started. :lol: Found it worked for me.

[EGmaestro]

1. Leave the standby switch on your amp on at ALL times

 

2. Always have your distortion on 10, your eq's as well

 

3. Always anchor with your pinky, it will make you super fast

 

4. When in doubt, play faster, it will make you sound overall better

 

5. Never play with a metronome, it will throw off your natural groove

 

6. No matter what song or genre, always tap. Tapping is always impressive and never repetitive

 

7. Only play out of the bridge pickup, it gives the most distortion and everything sounds better with more distortion

 

8. Line 6 makes the best amps

 

9. Effects: If it's not a Boss, forget about it

 

10.Never buy a guitar with single coils, unless you're a pansy

 

 

 

most [developmentally delayed]ed list ive ever heard of.

 

 

 

wongtong what styles of music do you play most? itll be alot eaiser to give u advice based on your style.

 

if you wanna practice tapping, it will be much more noticeable with heavy distortion.

 

 

 

if your having trouble playing that satch song, try another one of his called "cryin" its a slower ballad but its tons of fun to play. i learned it back when i had only been playing for 2 years. if you have trouble with midnight keep in mind satriani has been playing for well over 30 years ;) hes a freaking beast at guitar, i had the opportunity to meet him once. got my gibson signed \

[Zierro]

1.) Calluses are your friends.

 

2.) Record yourself and be your own critic. Sometimes it is easier to pick up on errors while listening instead of playing.

 

3.) { o }===#

[EGmaestro]

now thats a good list :thumbup:

 

 

 

EDIT: lmfao wongtong nice sig picture. took me like a minuite to realize it was more than just a couch #-o

[Wongtong]

 

wongtong what styles of music do you play most? itll be alot eaiser to give u advice based on your style.

 

if you wanna practice tapping, it will be much more noticeable with heavy distortion.

 

 

 

if your having trouble playing that satch song, try another one of his called "cryin" its a slower ballad but its tons of fun to play. i learned it back when i had only been playing for 2 years. if you have trouble with midnight keep in mind satriani has been playing for well over 30 years ;) hes a freaking beast at guitar, i had the opportunity to meet him once. got my gibson signed \

 

I basically play anything but mainly metal-ish. (I'm a classical and electrical guitarist)

 

I can get pinch harmonics when my guitar is really distorted and on the metal setting (e.g when I'm playing Laid To Rest), but it's hard for me to get a pinch harmonic when I'm on other settings.

 

Do pinch harmonics work on a clean/almost clean setting or does it have to be completely distorted?

 

 

 

It's not that I'm having hard tapping the correct notes for 'Midnight' or anything, it's just that it sounds odd and I wanted to know the amp settings for it; if tapping works with distortion.. how does he get that clean sound yet still tap? -.-

 

But I'll check out cryin :) thanks.

 

 

 

And wtf @ leaving standby switch on at all times?! Why?!

[klankaos]

1. Leave the standby switch on your amp on at ALL times

 

2. Always have your distortion on 10, your eq's as well

 

3. Always anchor with your pinky, it will make you super fast

 

4. When in doubt, play faster, it will make you sound overall better

 

5. Never play with a metronome, it will throw off your natural groove

 

6. No matter what song or genre, always tap. Tapping is always impressive and never repetitive

 

7. Only play out of the bridge pickup, it gives the most distortion and everything sounds better with more distortion

 

8. Line 6 makes the best amps

 

9. Effects: If it's not a Boss, forget about it

 

10.Never buy a guitar with single coils, unless you're a pansy

 

^^ Blatant troll. Don't listen. =P

 

 

 

While we're at it, anyone got tips for a truly solid palm mute? I can do it reasonably well, but I can't get the awesome rhythm guitar pwnage that some people do - it could be because I can't EQ my amp worth a damn in my basement either, when I can't turn up the treble for fear of violent feedback (comes from having a hollow-body guitar, too - we need to move out to my shed soon).

[Intriguing]

most [developmentally delayed] list ive ever heard of.

 

And wtf @ leaving standby switch on at all times?! Why?!

 

 

 

If you thought he was being even a tiny bit serious with that list, I find it hard to believe you actually play guitar.

[Wongtong]

most [developmentally delayed] list ive ever heard of.

 

And wtf @ leaving standby switch on at all times?! Why?!

 

 

 

If you thought he was being even a tiny bit serious with that list, I find it hard to believe you actually play guitar.

 

:lol: The only one I thought could've been true was the metronome thing because I never play with a metronome. The rest I just skimmed over >_< But yes I do play guitar (mainly classical though and my teacher tells me not to play with a metronome.. uhhhhh. :S)

 

 

 

 

While we're at it, anyone got tips for a truly solid palm mute? I can do it reasonably well, but I can't get the awesome rhythm guitar pwnage that some people do - it could be because I can't EQ my amp worth a damn in my basement either, when I can't turn up the treble for fear of violent feedback (comes from having a hollow-body guitar, too - we need to move out to my shed soon).

 

Press down hard just before the bridge, make sure you're pressing hard and have it right before the bridge, doesn't work as great when your hand is right in the mf part.

[Azvareth]

 

3. Always anchor with your pinky, it will make you super fast

 

 

 

He's not totally off with this though. "Anchoring" your pinky (and sometimes also your ring finger) while playing will make it easier to jump strings without looking. It's not so much anchoring as it is just sort of gently resting your fingers there. Since you usually rest those fingers at the same point, it works as a sort of guiding point when playing; so that you know where you are without having to look. A lot of new guitarists just let their right hand stretch out into the air, and it makes playing a tiny bit harder.

 

 

 

It's not that I'm having hard tapping the correct notes for 'Midnight' or anything, it's just that it sounds odd and I wanted to know the amp settings for it; if tapping works with distortion.. how does he get that clean sound yet still tap?

 

 

 

It works when he's playing clean because he's got excellent gear. Sorry, but since you say you play everything correctly and it still sounds weird, I can see no other explanation. What amp and guitar do you have?

 

 

 

Do pinch harmonics work on a clean/almost clean setting or does it have to be completely distorted?

 

 

 

You should probably have "almost clean" in this case, but yeah, it works on clean as well. It just sounds a lot "more" when it's distorted. I had problem with pinched harmonics in the beginning too, just keep practicing. And like someone else said, dig deep with your plectrum and thumb when doing them.

[Lateralus]

Nobody's mentioned that there's certain sweet spots for pinch harmonics - Basically natural harmonic points that you can use. Move your finger around on the strings while picking, and you'll find one or two natural harmonic points. They're usually above the neck and bridge pickups. Use these points when you're trying to do a pinch.

[warri0r45]

Nobody's mentioned that there's certain sweet spots for pinch harmonics - Basically natural harmonic points that you can use. Move your finger around on the strings while picking, and you'll find one or two natural harmonic points. They're usually above the neck and bridge pickups. Use these points when you're trying to do a pinch.

 

 

 

Exactly. After a bit of practice you'll move to these points naturally.

 

 

 

As for tapping, I'm no expert at it but my tip would be to to try and "flick" off with your tapping finger to keep the sound from going dead. Not so much that you hit other strings, but a little manipulation rather than just hitting the string like a button will help with the sound a lot.

 

 

 

I suppose better equipment would make it much easier as well.

 

 

 

I'm definitely a fan of anchoring with the pinky as well - it helps keep the picking hand stable for tremolo picking and other techniques.

[Ragen]

I'm torn on the anchoring issue. I don't think it matters overly as some of the best players out there anchor but I've always found it restrictive to single note shreddy kind of things. If I'm sweeping I anchor my hand to the bridge and play from there but that's a damn bad habit to get into. I reconstructed my whole right hand technique recently to loosen up my hand from being in a palm mute position all the time and get it playing closer to the neck pickup to produce a warmer sound.

[Evil_Sabre]

1. Leave the standby switch on your amp on at ALL times

 

2. Always have your distortion on 10, your eq's as well

 

3. Always anchor with your pinky, it will make you super fast

 

4. When in doubt, play faster, it will make you sound overall better

 

5. Never play with a metronome, it will throw off your natural groove

 

6. No matter what song or genre, always tap. Tapping is always impressive and never repetitive

 

7. Only play out of the bridge pickup, it gives the most distortion and everything sounds better with more distortion

 

8. Line 6 makes the best amps

 

9. Effects: If it's not a Boss, forget about it

 

10.Never buy a guitar with single coils, unless you're a pansy

 

^^ Blatant troll. Don't listen. =P

 

 

 

While we're at it, anyone got tips for a truly solid palm mute? I can do it reasonably well, but I can't get the awesome rhythm guitar pwnage that some people do - it could be because I can't EQ my amp worth a damn in my basement either, when I can't turn up the treble for fear of violent feedback (comes from having a hollow-body guitar, too - we need to move out to my shed soon).

 

 

 

Are you scooping the middle out? Scooped tones don't work well with palm mutes

[EGmaestro]

I basically play anything but mainly metal-ish. (I'm a classical and electrical guitarist)

 

I can get pinch harmonics when my guitar is really distorted and on the metal setting (e.g when I'm playing Laid To Rest), but it's hard for me to get a pinch harmonic when I'm on other settings.

 

Do pinch harmonics work on a clean/almost clean setting or does it have to be completely distorted?

 

 

 

It's not that I'm having hard tapping the correct notes for 'Midnight' or anything, it's just that it sounds odd and I wanted to know the amp settings for it; if tapping works with distortion.. how does he get that clean sound yet still tap?

 

But I'll check out cryin thanks.

 

 

 

classical guitar is an incredibly good way to improve your playing skills, some of the best guitar players i've ever heard are classical players. keep it up :thumbsup: harmonics are much easier to do with heavier distortion, its possible without it but they wont be as prominent.

 

 

 

Nobody's mentioned that there's certain sweet spots for pinch harmonics - Basically natural harmonic points that you can use. Move your finger around on the strings while picking, and you'll find one or two natural harmonic points. They're usually above the neck and bridge pickups. Use these points when you're trying to do a pinch.

 

 

 

Exactly. After a bit of practice you'll move to these points naturally.

 

 

 

As for tapping, I'm no expert at it but my tip would be to to try and "flick" off with your tapping finger to keep the sound from going dead. Not so much that you hit other strings, but a little manipulation rather than just hitting the string like a button will help with the sound a lot.

 

 

 

I suppose better equipment would make it much easier as well.

 

 

 

I'm definitely a fan of anchoring with the pinky as well - it helps keep the picking hand stable for tremolo picking and other techniques.

 

 

 

the flicking off of your finger is a really good tip, i do that too.

 

 

 

If you thought he was being even a tiny bit serious with that list, I find it hard to believe

 

you actually play guitar.

 

 

 

first of i never said he was serious, second dont ever suggest that i dont play guitar. music is my life and ive been playing sience i was 11 years old..

[Wongtong]

If you thought he was being even a tiny bit serious with that list, I find it hard to believe

 

you actually play guitar.

 

 

 

first of i never said he was serious, second dont ever suggest that i dont play guitar. music is my life and ive been playing sience i was 11 years old..

 

Don't worry, think he was directing that to me but next time someone doubts that you play guitar, why give a [cabbage]? If you do then you do, no point trying to convince someone online that you play guitar.

 

 

 

I assume you're all talking about the motion that resembles a pull off when you're tapping.

 

 

 

Do pinch harmonics work on a clean/almost clean setting or does it have to be completely distorted?

You should probably have "almost clean" in this case, but yeah, it works on clean as well. It just sounds a lot "more" when it's distorted. I had problem with pinched harmonics in the beginning too, just keep practicing. And like someone else said, dig deep with your plectrum and thumb when doing them.

 

Are you supposed to put your pick on a slight angle when picking a pinch harmonic? Because I tend to turn my hand slightly to the right more when I'm picking it, so I'm basically picking with the pick 'sideways' instead of picking normally. (uhhh hope that made some sense...)

 

 

 

Or are you supposed to pick like normal?

[Azvareth]

 

Are you supposed to put your pick on a slight angle when picking a pinch harmonic? Because I tend to turn my hand slightly to the right more when I'm picking it, so I'm basically picking with the pick 'sideways' instead of picking normally. (uhhh hope that made some sense...)

 

 

 

Or are you supposed to pick like normal?

 

 

 

Hold it however you like. There really aren't any "correct" ways of holding the pick per se, it's just personal preference.

[rangeor]

Do pinch harmonics work on a clean/almost clean setting or does it have to be completely distorted?

You should probably have "almost clean" in this case, but yeah, it works on clean as well. It just sounds a lot "more" when it's distorted. I had problem with pinched harmonics in the beginning too, just keep practicing. And like someone else said, dig deep with your plectrum and thumb when doing them.

 

Are you supposed to put your pick on a slight angle when picking a pinch harmonic? Because I tend to turn my hand slightly to the right more when I'm picking it, so I'm basically picking with the pick 'sideways' instead of picking normally. (uhhh hope that made some sense...)

 

 

 

Or are you supposed to pick like normal?

 

Adrenal hasn't posted in this thread :P

 

 

 

Slightly relevant:

 

 

 

 

And MG's are the [cabbage]!

[Jernlov]

^ That picture just about summed up my rage when I was in my local guitar shop. Tried to sell me one of those damn things with my guitar I was buying. Also, revivng this for guitars, etc.

 

 

 

My guitar, by the way:

 

 

 

 

Mexican reissue Telecaster. Seemed to beat the crap out of all the other guitars in its price range. Although, after watching some videos on YouTube, I wish I'd saved up a bit more and bought a used G&L ASAT Classic. They seem to sound a lot more driving and forward (overwound, higher-volume pickups and such) - more the sort of sound I want, even if they are essentially Fenders.

 

 

 

Had a few lessons recently and I've got barre chords and some other stuff down now. But do barre chords get less painful with practice? I have small hands, and I find anything below 5th fret almost excruciating.

[warri0r45]

 

Had a few lessons recently and I've got barre chords and some other stuff down now. But do barre chords get less painful with practice? I have small hands, and I find anything below 5th fret almost excruciating.

 

 

 

Yes, and from what I can tell when you become comfortable with them it kind of stays with you. I remember learning barre chords years ago and I'm still relatively comfortable with them even though they don't feature heavily in anything I play.

 

 

 

If you play barre chords enough, certain points along your index finger will start to callus up, making them easier to play as well. I play drop-D most of the time, and due to power chords being a bar of the E(D) A and D strings, I've got a huge callus where my index finger meets the high D string.

 

 

 

Speaking of calluses, something weird has been happening to my right hand recently (the one I hold a pick with). I'm getting a callus on my index finger as if the way I hold the pick is causing it. I've been playing a lot of death metal lately, so perhaps all that tremolo picking is agitating the skin of the index finger?

[Jernlov]

 

Had a few lessons recently and I've got barre chords and some other stuff down now. But do barre chords get less painful with practice? I have small hands, and I find anything below 5th fret almost excruciating.

 

 

 

Yes, and from what I can tell when you become comfortable with them it kind of stays with you. I remember learning barre chords years ago and I'm still relatively comfortable with them even though they don't feature heavily in anything I play.

 

 

 

If you play barre chords enough, certain points along your index finger will start to callus up, making them easier to play as well. I play drop-D most of the time, and due to power chords being a bar of the E(D) A and D strings, I've got a huge callus where my index finger meets the high D string.

It's more the stretch of my hand than my fingers hurting. Say, if I'm doing a root 6 Fm barre, I can barely get my 3rd and 4th fingers onto the respective frets, and I often end up playing a B and an E when I should be playing a C and an F there. If I move my thumb, I can't barre well enough; so I've often resigned myself to using a capo if I play anything that low down (pretty much up to 5th fret root 6). For that reason I find myself playing higher up root 5 barres instead when it would generally be more musical to play them lower - and they happen a lot in the sort of music I play.

 

 

 

I usually play in standard also, unless something calls for E-flat.