Guthrie Govan on Picking Techniques in Context 

When Guthrie says it's difficult, it is difficult.

Oh my god those fast lines he plays... They're so clean it's almost outrageous

Guthrie is the most complete guitarist theres ever been

2:25 He misses a note, acknowledges it, but immediately corrects it with the following licks. All without missing a single beat.

I saw Guthrie in a small club last summer from about 15 feet away and I've seen a lot of guitar players in 40 years, some of the so called best in the world, and Guthrie tops them all. A guitar guru in the truest sense of the word, he explores the depths of the instrument well beyond what most of the rest of us ever even think about.

Rumor has it they found this guy on a deserted island after 20 years with nothing but a guitar.

He has a wonderful voice.

Even the chirping sound of his picking is above all other guitarists.

The mad wizard of virtuosity and excellence himself. You gotta love this guy!

we live in a world in which we are not used to paying attention to things we should. and the same thing happens here, there is a lot of wisdom and guidelines that Guthrie is talking about, like the heading of specific cases at a time. there is no point really in seeing how his mastery over the instrument is and cry, thats just childish. he sounds overwhelming, but that's his experience, he worked to be the instrument that he is ( yes , he is the instrument, not the guitar, havent you notice how his face makes weird things when he plays?, no aint about making faces) he's the instrument, the guitar is just a means to an end. and there is nothing but wisdom here. as always one of the most prolific musicians of today's world, (whatever that is), and as usual, humble af and just playing his part, which is to be a messenger:) thank you Guthrie, i wish people felt your music instead of seeing whats outside, they would get it more:)

Where does Guthrie end and the guitar start?

He's such a great player and speaker. Thanks for the uploads.

I feel so validated after learning that Guthrie thinks of those long sweeps as a "trick" as well

Always grateful for sharing your content with us. He is in a class of his own.

I love Guthrie. He's and excellent player and teacher. A rare combination. He breaks things down in a way that just makes sense.

Eternally in awe at the humble modesty and friendly openness of the master - the God shredder - such profound depth of understanding and skill and WHY this works musically , rhythmically, ethically ,beautifully and naturally . Reminds me a bit of Shawn Lane in some of his “tutorials “ - on such a next level and to be perpetually awestruck - thank you SO much Mr Govan 🙏🎸🎼👏👏👏👏👏👏

Guthrie has a hard time demonstrating wrong technique. It all sounds so good.

I remember naturally doing economy picking when I was learning to play at 13 yrs old. It was a problem for learning stuff like Dream Theater, but yeah, it is such a natural and relaxed picking technique.

Maybe an overlooked thing about Guthrie is how great his compositions are. He’s definitely more than a shredder

The most expressive player! The most expressive facial expressions! He OOZES genius!

I love this guy. What an absolutely Phenomenal guitar player. oNe Love from NYC

Such a chill genius guy man🌟💯

This Man is a Genius

I remember the feeling of realizing my hand was finding the path of least resistance on its own. It was years later that I realized it was called economy picking. 🤯

That beginning sweep is kill me thats so clean than my life

Guthrie Govan is actually a sage who found an instrument on his travels.

Well, I must say...at 471 likes to 0 dislikes...finally we are all in 100% agreement.

I feel soo good, I just bought a new guitar all stoked to cut my chops...then watched a few Guthrie vids...my guitar is now the most expensive kindling I've ever owned...thx guth I'm now taking accordian lessons

Govan is a fantastic player but songwriting is a talent too. Thats where I'd like to see him go further in his career. Memorable songs that he wrote like the greats of the past you can associate with him.

Guthrie speaks through his guitar. His guitar playing is an extension of himself and his spirit.

The humble wizardry on display here is just staggering. Such thoughtful commentary. Yoda level insights. 🤟🏽

Such a softly spoken man.... Contrasting to his playing a flurry of different notes as he said it

You make super technique look accessible thank you

Man what a cool dude, awesome guitarist/musician and Brilliant teacher!

That's probably the best explanation for alt pick vrs eco pick and why it's important to learn both.

I save this video to watch like 400 times just to try to comprehend his logic of model swiftness.

Great lessons, thanks for sharing!

The late mikio fujioka said he alternate picks with his index and thumb flicking vs strict wrist rotation because it's less harsh and closer to legato. I think you can still achieve dynamics with alternate picking that way

great lesson

Nice One. .. Very Good Appreciat Guitar Technic and Lesson. .. Thank' s so Much Mr. G. Govan ... ☺😊😀/💙💙💙/👍👌👏

This makes think about what kind of picking technique he uses in Rhode Island Shred

at 3.24 Because the sound is just as important as the name of the notes! What a legend!!!

Such a high level.

Great cool content

Brilliant Guthrie.

The guitar hero's guitar hero

So, slow down the thing to 75% -) then realise he's already faster and clearer than 99% of guitar players -) Cry a little.

It’s one thing to have his playing technicalities …. It’s also a WHOLE nother level of talent to create / improvise the way he does …

Interesting that he does the involuntary mouth movement thing even in this context.

One really cool alternative to that is what Michael Romeo (probably among many others) does. He does the arpeggio, but he makes it string skipping, three notes per string and does all of them legato with a tapped note in it. That way you have more control on the timing and power of the notes in my view, you can also add all kinds of embellishments and variations in the pattern. I suppose it's somewhat similar to what Paul Gilbert does with his string skipping legato with picked first notes. Avoids sweeping the scale back and forth and inserts variation. Mattias Ekhlundh also stated that he was never a guy who was able or bothered to practice to become really fast, so he "cheats" by adding legato with tapped notes all over to give some faster bits. And he has definitely made his patterns and dynamics an art in itself.

Two different players, both with huge intellects: Guthrie Govan and Billy Gibbons. I love to hear those guys talk about guitar, or about anything for that matter.

Just... wow.

I enjoy the life or death consequences in GG's explanations, like a jump master teaches packing your chute.

If Guthrie had been my guitar teacher, I would have been a different guitarist now. He explains the material very well, is a great guitarist and a friendly person.

this is the best guitar player of all time.

What a genius.

I would gladly listen to Guthrie talk about his digestive problems.

Man that’s good shit dude I wanna learn to play stuff like that I’m not too bad I’m just basically a beginner but I can catch on quick

Why, in a guitar instructional video, is it necessary to have two cameras and one of them doesn't show the guitar at all and it's used while he's playing?

I’m gonna take my beloved Telecaster out onto the garden, and ceremoniously burn the damn thing. Why? Because I could never hold a light to this guy if I lived for a thousand years... Pure genius...

This aesthetic aspect that Guthrie points out is tipically overlooked when discussing picking techinque. The efficiency or "speed" tends to be the focus, without considering that every technique or style affects the tone in a particular way, which invalidates the argument for an absolute ideal.

this man is a genious and one of if not the best guitarist out there today:)

Did he say Maximum Headroom? Guthrie is the Max Headroom broadcast interrupter confirmed.

You talk perfect eloquent sense buddy

this guy gets it

When I learned to sweep reasonably well my exact thought was, "I don't know what to do with this. It's a stupid trick."

Are these videos part of a course available for purchase?

What Guitar make and model he is using??

1.not over value sweep picking, because it's prepared lick. 2.learn small arp. instead. 3.sound-wise, sometimes you'll need that soft attack from economic picking,so it's best learn case by case

Can we all agree this man need some speed?

G.G doesn't need a guitar, he is 'guitar'.

Why is there a camera angle with just his face when he's there to show us guitar stuff?

Guthrie Govan IS The Stig!!

What's that thing wrapped around the nut - been seeing it a lot in videos.. camera of some sort?

I think the most of us are ate home looking for a Guthrie tutorial on picking, then you see his effortless demo and it's like... ok, f*ck it!

O'h wow

Anybody know the name of that thing he's got over the nut?

What is economy picking? Pick hammer pull off?

The title of the video isn't promising, (you're gonna learn about picking in 3 minutes?), but it appears that GG is a hologram, so any part of him reveals all of him. The vid is worthwhile.

Different planet

The Alan Watts of Guitar

Guthrie Govan and Justin Hawkins are two sides of a very rare coin indeed

watch this at 0.75x speed to feel only slightly inept

Everybody: You can't be the best at everything, all of the time Guthrie: Hold my beer

Is it me, or does Guthrie remind you of Alan Partridge?

He just cannot play things slowly. He has such energy, he can't help it.

This guy is plugged into something maybe 5 or 10 people on the planet have a handle on. The invisible world is speaking through him. So my message to the Masters Of The Musical Universe is this: if you could dumb it down anywhere from 7% - 15 % you'd probably triple your audience.

Love how he apologises when messing up despite playing something phenomenal 🤯

guitar Jesus

It appears that Guthrie's brain knows no significant hurdle which stops his hands from doing what his imagination demands from them, performatively. It's like his imagination does the playing, not his hands. He is truly at one, mechanically, with his instrument.

what model guitar is that ???

Dude's from an alter-Nate dimension

That sweep😂

Guthrie Picking

GOVAN FOR PRESIDENT

Well.... that was a pleasant teabag

Steve Morse alternate picks his arpeggios.

"Oh sorry" for what?being the most insane guitarist ever.i think we can accept ur apology

his "easy" is my "nope"

There was a glitch in the Matrix when he played those lines.