WOW! He Just (Finally) Fixed My Picking! |ft Ben Eller 

What I learned most from this video is that nothing can really replace a one on one lesson with a teacher.

Thanks for having me on, handsome! Let’s do it again sometime. Oh, BTW, how’s the speed burst approach working for you?

As a 33 year old who's just now started addressing his picking technique after 20 years of stubbornly being like "I brute force some sort of speed out of whatever technique I've got," this was refreshing. It's not every day you see someone who's objectively a good guitar player already admit to a limitation and start working to overcome it. Kudos to you Robert!

Phenomenal! My two favorite YT guitar teachers in one room together sharing secrets. A+.

To acknowledge a weakness, even a tiny one, and then to take in some pointers in real time is a very brave and modest thing to do. That in itself is maybe the greatest lesson of this video. It helps explain why you, sir, are such a great player and teacher.

That was awesome, I totally get the pick trajectory and all the points. I’m not a fast picker at all so I’m gonna have a go at this adjustment and see how I get on. 🤘🏻

Uncle Ben is a gifted teacher…and not a bad picker either 👍

This video actually teaches an important philosophical lesson, in addition to the excellent picking instruction. Humility is the only way to improve. Admit you need to grow, and pursue that growth with humility, and the world is yours! Bravo, and thank you.

Uncle Ben is awsome, been a fan of his forever! Two great masters of guitar prowess. Both these guys are my absolute favorites, plus Dave at late night lessons.

The burst is powerful.

I know I've been watching Ben for years and learning along with y'all. But, watching him 1-on-1 teaching impresses me even more! Great teacher!

This gives me hope. Great collab. Thanks for doing it

Uncle Ben always has great exercises. Thanks guys!!!

Troy Grady is an absolute treasure to the shred guitar community.

Haha Keys the Lamborghini. Is a Michael Angelo Batio reference!

Love it. Two of my favorite guitarists/teachers on the same vid. Guess you guys live closer now.

Damn he articulates his examples perfectly

I gave you a "like" as soon as this started. Loved the idea of you and Ben pairing!!! Hopefully you guys can do it more, even virtually.

Wowww Uncle Ben And Baker collaboration... 🎉💯

I began working those speed bursts a few years ago and it did wonders for my playing. You start looking at those phrases as one single motion(s) and it works into other areas of your playing. Really wakes up part of the brain that comprehends what is possible, ya know? I mean, everything about the execution of playing is really just a big trust factor. You have to believe in what you are doing.

I could watch these kinds of lessons 24/7... so much collective experience yet hearing about how certain things were a challenge (or even continue to be) is actually super encouraging to all of us struggling with our own roadblocks...

It's amazing how well Ben can explain things. He's my teacher on Patreon I think he's the best

Those sixteen minutes went by quickly. Very helpful!

Freaking awesome video Robert!!!!! You two are so similar in how you deliver. Hope you can do more like this!

Since I am old and sentimental, I think this video will be very difficult to top. I've learned tons from both this amazing teachers.

Ben is my favorite person to learn guitar solos from. If it weren't for him I doubt I would ever have learned tornado of souls. I play it almost every day.

Two of my favorite RU-vid guitarists in the same video. Awesome! Uncle Ben's Walk This Way tutorial showed me how to play this song after 40 Years of trying

Great!! I'm not a shredder but as I've gotten older I've noticed how my pick accuracy has not kept up with my fingering on faster required runs. I do exactly the wrong motions (angle) as discussed. I'll soon find out if this old dog can learn new techniques. This video was spot on !! Robert and Ben Thanks and Cheers!!!

Awesome lesson. I like how Ben cuts straight to the picking issues and fixes them. He is honest, clear and demystifies. Some guys are great shredders, but Ben is that and a great teacher too. He gets what we don't get. Super!

Thanks for sharing these concepts! I had no idea about downward pick slanting technique.

Awesome. That was definitely a long time coming. Hopefully now that you guys are near the same area you'll be able to do more collaborations.

he "instantly wants to go joint" 9:36 haha

This was very insightful, thanks guys.

That was fun and very informative. Thanks!!

Man!! My two favorites. This is like when Daredevil and Punisher appeared in each others comic books pursuing the same criminal. Except that there was fighting, misunderstanding and little to no guitar talk.

Without question, the most helpful picking advice I ever received. Many thanks!

OMG! That instantly helped my speed and accuracy. Thank you Robert and Ben!!! Great video!!!

Thank you, Guys! I never considered the “escape angle, as Ben puts it. I would constantly get tripped up on fast runs and now I see my pick is getting caught between strings. Feel like my eyes have been opened!

Uncle Ben and Robert Baker!!! two of the guitarist I love so much I support their work and take lessons/courses from! Outstanding! You guys are awesome! 🤘👍

Lol "Don't Move Thumb!" Thanks Robert for an excellent t-shirt ideal. Great video!

And Robert is a very good man as well.

Now THAT! was helpfull! THANK YOU, SIRS!

He's my favorite biological step dad, uncle Ben. Very informative video and I've got more guitar homework to do.

Hi, my name is Antonio, and I am - I was (until I saw this video) a thumb wiggler. I couldn't figure out why I always had trouble with the B and high E on occasion when playing the intro to Sweet Child - and it was because my thumb was wiggling the pick out of position, away from the string. I knew I was doing it, but I figured I must be able to adjust everything else to compensate for it, because thumb wiggling gives me more flexibility - right? Wrong! It gave me less ability to aim - and the wrist is a much bigger & better muscle group than the thumb joint to control the pick - so, thanks again for another very useful lesson! Edit : After playing around for an hour and half, paying attention to the thumb, I'm catching myself doing it all the time - and as I mentioned earlier, on the Sweet Child intro, I had been missing the B and high E on occasion - and now I know exactly what the problem was - that thumb knuckle is usually a little bent, but to hit the B and high E, the knuckle was straightening, as if to try to push the thumb in more, which ended up also turning the index finger, which ultimately just pushed the pick down and away from the strings, in an arc. It is so clear now - no more twitchy thumb here = much better playing! This is pretty exciting, as this was holding me back - and this is one of those things that solves a problem across the board, and takes me to the next level, so thanks again 🙂

This is great. By the way, Paul Gilbert said in one of his teaching videos that he liked starting licks on upstrokes and had no idea why. It's amazing such great players kept at whatever worked for them but without much digging into the mechanics. FWIW, had pick and thumb 'waggle' issues until I changed my pick grip to make sure the index finger is in line with the thumb, not pointing down to the point of the pick. It helps lock the pick and thumb angle better.

I commented on a different video that I was going through a picking change with more of a closed hand and Ben Ellers videos is where I was getting the instruction! He is a great teacher and guitarist!

Ole Uncle Ben is a great guy and great teacher. Appreciate both you guys. Yall should write a song together .

Its great seeing 2 awesome players discussing their weakness on guitar, it really helps us all to learn and have confidence to get better, great lesson.

This is fantastic. I've been struggling with this for decades.

Really great stuff. Thank you both. And Ben you may not be the absolute best but you sure are up there with whoever is.

Already subbed to the both of you for several years. You guys are truly the very best on RU-vid.

i learn something every time i watch Ben. I'm playing along as i watch this and already feel myself breaking through the step dad speed barrier

Ascending with odd numbers of notes per string is way easier than descending also because of "swiping", that is breaking free with the trapped downstroke by plucking the next string while plan muting it. Troy talks about this too. Great video guys!

UNCLE BEN!!!!! Thanks for the tips fellas!

I think picking is one of the most overlooked aspects of guitar playing… once most people get “good enough” they move on because there’s so much for the left hand to do… but eventually everyone must submit to the alter of alternate picking…

I just watched a video from Ben yesterday that had a significant improvement on my picking already. Thanks for doing these videos!

You have a great channel also. I love uncle ben’s channel cause he can do it all and has that smart ass attitude that is a riot.

very happy to see them together!! Greetings from argentina!

I was today years old when I found out I'm a thumb wiggler. Ben is excellent, knows how to use analogies for his explanations so well.

Love Bens charvel - I’ve been keen on that myself!

Excellent video and captivating to watch. You're both great players in your own right, but you always learn more by playing with someone with more advanced skills. Just like going to school, it also proves the importance of having a great teacher. Both of you guys check that box for sure!

I got to tour with Unearth and Buzz is an amazingly consistent bad ass. Night after night, dude just doesn’t get sloppy or miss notes. Great video.

Thanks for this video. Ben is definitely a great teacher. I love all his stuff.

Fascinating. Like when you see a golf pro taking lessons and realise that everyone still needs help sometimes...

These two together, this is going to be classic. LOL

Fantastic video guys! I really enjoyed it, thanks. Ben is a great teacher indeed.

Hell yeah, 2 legends

Two of my favorite guitar teachers!!!

Ben's video explaining chord tones and Roberts 80s rock content. Two GOATs right there. 🐐🐐

Interesting tips in this Robert and Ben. I've made it a mission to strengthen my up stroked descending patterns for years, but lapse into lazy. I sweep pick with pull-offs. I also modify my picks to compensate for that ramped attack by giving them a forward bend. I've done this consciously for a very long time and now realize why. I have a vid up on arpeggios with a variety of picking attack to inspire my viewers. For myself, I tend to focus on weaknesses in my technique, and try to fix them. After almost 50 years of playing guitar, I'm ok to admit I'm still learning.

This is a better crossover than the Avengers movies.

2 of my favorite people on RU-vid together I one video. Awesome

Freaking awesome my two favorite guitar teachers together doing the guitar thang. Totally loved this!!!

I think Ben makes a great one on one teacher. His humor on his own channel sometimes detracts for me but here I was hanging on his every word.

2 phenomenal players. Great video. Thanks.👍

Thanks guys ,This lesson give me hopes.

I always wondered how Zakk Wylde could hit all of those notes when his picking looked so messy. It looks as though he's just shaking his hand around all over the place! Damn, my picking sucks! 😂

Uncle Ben - what a great teacher :)

Great seing you guys together \m/

My two favorite guitar content creators! Wow! Love it! 10 stars of 10 starts in quality teachers, players and humans. Greatness 360 degrees. Thank you!

Just following along my picking improved lol. Amazing video. ❤

Good stuff guys! Opened my eyes to some bad habits I've been attempting to hone to perfection.

God I wish I had these types of videos when I learned to play in the ‘80s. I have so many bad habits that have been holding me back.

Brilliant lesson!

The technical stuff in this vid is soooo far above me that I can appreciate these talents but am not likely to see much benefit from it in my playing. My main learning from this is to have an extra cable kicking about rather than having to keep swapping in front of all those amps,😜. Great vid chaps... love it! I can only dream of such skill!

EXCELLENT, loved it!!

I want to thank Ben for his in depth technique videos including this one. Nonetheless, I think wrist rotational picking is the most efficient (i think even EVH has a downward pick slant but a killer wrist rotation skill that you can't see well when he alt picks) but may be the most difficult to master. It effectively gives you 2 way pick slanting with smoothness and great flexibility regarding any type of lick. Other methods (one way pick slanting with in/out movement, side to side wrist translation, finger movement) are less efficient "in general" with the caveat that you can always find people who excel (clean shredding over 180-200+bpm) despite using a "sub optimal" method (whether because of a >> amount of practice than the average player or greater skill and a subconscious choice to go down the path of a particular technique). For the average player with average skill or potential (and by potential I mean for a given a fixed/limited amount of time available to practice), investing all your time in rotational picking is a risky proposition (I believe) because you may never succeed (at higher speeds). On the other hand, if you commit to learning another "sub-optimal" method, it may be easier for the average joe to make some real gains with average skill or potential. I think the best way to approach the whole thing is to take 1 month to try wrist rotation and benchmark yourself to see if you can make a meaningful gain. If not, it might indicate that investing more time to go further down that road could be a long disappointing slog. In such case, a one way pick slanting approach could be the fallback that works best for the most players of differing potential levels.

Uncle Ben is in the house!!!!!! Hell Yeahhhh!!!!!!!!

Thank you very much for this video, it’s very educational.🙏

holy s*** Mr.Eller´s word´s... i had the same problem and now its fixed. i cant belive it. feels like a dream...

@BenEller rocks!!! One of the best on RU-vid. Spell his name right Robert!

Making some Tennessee connections I see. Awesome!

You guys are the best!!

Good work boys😊

My two favorite RU-vid Guitar Teachers in a room full of Amps, with ONE Cable.

Muy buenos los dos, gracias!

woah this just completely opened up my mind in looking at how i pick! thank you!

Great lesson, first time checking out your page. Looking forward to going through your content. Thanks for what you do.

OK, sign me up with Ben for a lesson. Love his guidance and approach to teaching