The techniques for posture and playing correctly are covered in Chapter 11. You should be comfortable with these aspects of technique first, and then move on to extended techniques covered in Chapter 12. Too many players tend to place too much importance on playing fast without realizing that the way to play faster is to develop good technique first. Having good technique allows you to play anything, and that's why you should develop it.

Picking-Hand Problems

The picking hand has three challenges that come up time and time again. People tend to have a hard time learning string-skipping, string-crossing, and upstroking. No matter what you try to play, whether it's a scale or an arpeggio, gaining mastery of these elements will serve you well; the following exercises should help you to do just that.

String-skipping refers to playing notes on nonadjacent strings. Because your pick has to make large jumps, it can be hard to control. FIGURE 17-1 shows a simple string-skipping exercise using an open-position E-Major chord.

String-crossing involves changing strings when you alternate-pick. If your last pick was a down pick, then when you cross strings, your next pick will have to be an upstroke. Try the example in FIGURE 17-2 to see what it feels like.

Because your pick has to travel quite a distance to the other side of the string for the upstroke, this is typically a hard movement and can really hang you up on fast alternate-picked scales. FIGURE 17-3 is a great example to work on. Watch the picking carefully!

The only reason that most players find upstrokes difficult is because upstrokes aren't used a lot. Most rhythm playing is done with down strokes, and most licks and examples in this book start with down strokes, too. So, if you were to make a mistake in alternate-picking, it would probably be to play two down strokes in a row. To correct yourself, you can try two things. First, try to start licks with upstrokes and continue to alternate-pick from there. You can also try to play with just upstrokes for just a few minutes, although it's very fatiguing, so don't overdo it. After doing a minute or so on this, go back to alternate-picking to see how much more comfortable you are now.

The Fretting Hand

If you play slowly and synchronize both hands, the fretting hand gets to come along for the ride. If you're playing clean scales and everything sounds good, then don't worry. But for a lot of players, getting their fingers to work independently is the hardest thing. FIGURE 17-4 is a drill to kick those fingers into shape. Watch the fingerings—they are vital to success.

With the exception of your fingers, which might need help with an independence exercise, your fret hand should naturally strengthen from practicing scales and arpeggios. If you believe that your hands have a problem in a certain area, the best way to attack that problem is to slow the problem down and keep working through it till you conquer it.