Snap Picking Technique | Speed Soloing - How To Play Guitar Fast With Andy James 

As soon as he said "Shawn Lane" I was sold

There are lots of videos on building up speed but I never saw anyone(until I ran across this video) that talk about this little thing which is the ultimate key that unlocks speed... I get decent speed but my picking hand use to lose stamina until I implemented this method...trust me, this micro thrusting is not only like a nitro boost on your top speed but also prevents your picking hand from cramping...

You are the best teacher I have ever known!I grew up with Thrash,and I have known tens of performers,you are the most useful musician instructor I have known...I would love to be your student...Thank you sincerely...

That's awesome! I'm happy someone else is teaching Sarod picking. I picked up the technique by watching Pebber Brown lessons, but it seems to be the technique that every badass guitarist uses. Just like he said, Lane, Gilbert, Govan, and my personal favorite, Buckethead, all use this amazing style.

Solid lesson brother!

Very instructional. Thanks for sharing.

Nice. It's nice to see a lesson on this as I've seen a few people picking like this, Frank Zappa used to pick like this alot.

Michael Paget anyone ?

great lesson

Nice!!

Wow, exacly what Dave uses in the Holy Wars solo.

I use the extending thumb technique for pretty much everything except slow licks and down stroke riffing. It has replaced my wrist. Never really thought about it before it was too late

Bruce Lee way of picking B-)

Andi James... good tehnik

:O!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE RECOGNIZES BUCKETHEADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

This is one tough lesson im trying to get through, im not given up still. Neither with sweep picking!

I Bruce Lee'd the strings of my guitar till my hands got numb.. Comfortably numb..

Guitar god

I doubt there's anything most people could teach Andy James about efficient technique. Sweeping would be one downstroke, he's playing a downstroke + upstroke. He describes it in great detail if you're interested.

Using more thumb and finger than wrist or arm...works for bluegrass mandolin too!

Nice, you know, tutorial

Aww same here, I actually go a bit faster by doing a full picking ._. Gonna work on this technique tho, It looks really powerfull considering the small amount of effort you have to deploy in the picking hand !

Fuck man, I just devasted my room because of you! My mom is gonna be awful sore :(

It's a pretty cool concept for sure. To me it seems strange that you wouldn't just pick all four by extending the right hand motion from the first two notes (down up) then continuing that upward stroke to the next string to do the last two notes (up down) and following the down stroke back through the first note to make it one cyclical and repetitive motion instead of two separate ideas strung together - it's same number of up and down movements in total, except paced evenly over the cycle. It feels more natural because you can feel all four notes with both hands, you can get more consistent attack between all 4 notes - especially for clean playing, and when you're used to moving between strings like this it opens you up to all sort of other fast techniques and runs. I guess my point is, if you can do it in a way that is just as fast, but with a higher potential for consistent timing and attack - esp over long period of continued use why wouldn't you? unless you are specifically looking for the sound of the hammer/ pulloffs, but with the attack in this video you can't really tell much difference anyway. I feel like this is the kind of thing that if you already learned the hand choreography this way, there no reason to change now, but I feel like if you're just learning how to solo and play for speed you may as well just learn to do it as an economy picking burst that you can cycle because the muscle and hand sync training learned through building speed on a 2 string cycle like this can open you up to loads of other speed techniques.

OMG Thanos plays guitar

I think this may have been one of his first videos. Any new ones that I've seen he's got a half tribal sleeve i think.

@4:32 to skip all the talking. ps. this is for the people that knows how to pick already.

Because they kick ass!

I can see your point that it gives a different sound. I somehow missed that he used legato too haha... Even so, I don't see how this could actually speed up anything, unless you don't know how to pick a note and then use legato and then do the same on the next string..

What guitar is that?

Does anybody on here know if Andy responds to questions on this subscription? If not, does anybody know where I can ask him something?

The two picking notes are on the 1st string and the 2nd string is a hammer on and a pull off. Very very weird. How does he get such attack on the hammer on? I have to try this. I have never seen this before, but it is awesome when he does it. This guy is an amazing player.

queria muito o material de estudo,mas infelizmente não falo ingles :(

Shawn Baxter does this too.

a "devastating" style of picking lol :D

so are they making a steel panther dvd

You are 100% correct, Andy being in a band and all that other stuff in and of itself does not make him a good guitar player. However, as you said, he is a great player. My comment was only in reference to Andy in the context of replying to Plinkplink4life's criticism of Andy's technique. I did not intend for my opinion to be extrapolated to all famous players. Your example of Hammett is perfect, I can't think of a worse player with his level of fame, fortune and fans.

What guitar picks he uses?

what tempo is this at the top speed?

auwww ~

Im hoping for a "facebook picking" video!

Shaun Lane shout out :)

why are you posting old andy james videos licklibrary?

should be called 'Bruce lee picking' !

Anyone recommend this DVD?

hair scrunchy. muffles the strings at the nut and behind it (depends were you place it) keeps it clean. stops unused string vibration. i personally have to use one behind the nut on some of my guitars when getting some tight djenty tones because the strings from behind nut to pegs actually vibrate and its very audible.

i have trouble playing guitar solos with picking and i usually have to tap and it doesnt sound right when i do it. i cant pick the solos slowly but when it comes to full speed it comes out all sloppy

vai and petrucci as well

I always thought that restricted wrist movement was bad (to a certain extent), I'll stick with alternate, I can almost play this lick just as fast (not quite though...) with alternate picking.

if you want to get really fast at picking, master miogy, says to master bate faster and more often, but beware of strokers elbow...

is he picking the b string?

how do you hold you're pick

Great technique, but there's bound to be some minor wrist movement and i feel it's totally alright

Is he ragnar lothbrok from viking series?

Spider Silk!

Buckethead woooo!

Pebber Brown's sarod picking.

Yeah, I did that earlier. I guess now I play the waiting game.

i pick like this naturally but slow picking of arpeggio from hell bug me more

But basically you have to use delay?

is he picking the two notes on the b string? I can't tell.

whats that fuzzy thing he at the top of his neck anyone

write to him on facebook

please subtitlie in portuguese br

This is Shawn Lane at 12 years old on 33 speed.

lick from 60s sped up 80s

music man john petrucci signature..

That's what is great about Andy! He doesn't have that good of technique yet he can pull it off. There really is no correct technique for electric guitar. So many different playing styles that you should play how you want. I wouldn't do it. It would just ruin how I play. For some people it will help others will not like it. Everyone has different hands and different coordination.

Pretty sure it's a Music Man Steve Lukather signature.

i'm gonna do a jimi hendrix on my guitar... set it on fire

He certainly knows how many beans make five. ;-)

Oh... so this "snap picking" is just a single string alternate picking on notes 1 and 2 followed by a hammer/pull on notes 3 and 4. It seems that what truely makes this lick fast is that not every note is picked. Otherwise, just do what Zakk Wylde does and alternate pick every note with downward pick slanting (different than edge picking which Andy talks about in this video when he mentions the 45 degree angle).

are his pick ups wired out of phase? I don;t know, my guitar is pretty noisy.

So is he only hammering and pulling the notes on the B string?.... Anyone?

how isn't it? did I miss something?

This might lead to tendonitis in the thumb or some repetitive motion injury. There is too much flexing and contracting of that tendon in the thumb.I think playing with a rotating wrist (not moving it up and down but rotating it like when turning a door knob) is the most relaxed way of speed picking. Any opinions on the safest and most relaxed way of speed picking?

Why do you consider Kirk such a bad player?

not picking the B. only the first 2 notes out of the four.

Isn't he suppose to have arm tatoo's ?:DDDDD

This is pretty much circle picking

so he's hammering the 3rd note? sounds too crisp

"It's pretty fast lick.".....

Great video but this HUGE adverts in the middle of the video SUCKS and disturbs a lot

i tried this without knowing that it is a technique. but its not easy... -.-

Bruce Lee way of picking.... Lol

0:48 "Fortnite Pattern" *Disclaimer: I don't play Fortnite, it's just very popular.*

isnt this just sarod picking?

I don't see the point of picking the first two notes then legato'ing the other two. If you're in that ballpark may as well legato all of it.

I can't fucking do that.

haha! No!

I don't know why but this seems fucking impossible to me

"Many moons ago" wtf

Annoying. I can't do that technique. My thumb doesn't work that way, it has this... resisting "click" on the first joint and the tip turns sideways a bit whenever I bend it. It's always been like that. Same thing with my left thumb, although not as pronounced. My dad also has the same thing in his right thumb, but his left works normally so it's something I got from him. I suppose I need to learn another way to pick fast. Oh and excuse my english, I'm not native.

I don't understand how him being in a band and all the other stuff you said makes Andy a good guitarist. I mean, he is, he's probably one of the best out there and is my favorite. But dude, Kirk Hammett is in a more legendary band, but that doesn't make him a great guitarist.

no.

Kirk isn't a bad player, but he has very little creativity as he uses the same solo for pretty much every song

you need to practice more Andy James youre so fucking slow. jk

There's really no correct technique for electric guitar. I wouldn't want to do this. I don't need to. It would just ruin how I play now. Just do whatever the hell you want! For some people it will work for others it will slow them down.

No tattoos, old vid, not that badass :c

If you want wise, listen to Joe Satriani and Guthrie Govan.