Spoiler: Yes, they can. Focusing intently on short rhythmic figures will up your picking game immensely.
Beginner
Intermediate
• Develop better right-hand technique.
• Learn how frequent rests can help you prevent injury.
• Understand how to isolate and improve picking weaknesses.
Whether you’re a lead player looking add some fast-picked lines to your vocabulary or a metal player who wants to play faster riffs, you’ll need a solid foundation to tackle the heavy-duty alternate picking that’s needed. It’s always good to have that technical headroom to express yourself without hitting the ceiling too quickly. In this lesson, we’ll look at how “speed bursts” can help you with short- and long-term technique goals.
There is no “correct” way of picking. Picking techniques vary from player to player and there are some odd ones, like Marty Friedman’s approach where he bends his wrist at almost a 90-degree angle.
MARTY FRIEDMAN - MIRACLE (Official Video)
Notice how other players pick from different parts of their arm. Paul Gilbert’s picking motion comes mostly from his wrist, while shredders like Vinnie Moore and Rusty Cooley derive their power from their elbow. It’s not important how you do it, just make sure not to create excessive tension. Now, some tension is ok, but if your tone gets buzzy or you’re having trouble controlling the rhythm you should probably slow down and relax a bit more. This is a trial-and-error process, so it’s important to be honest with yourself and reflect on what your hands are doing. You’ll get a feel for how much tension is appropriate.
That brings us to the next important point about picking: rhythm. It’s all about being in time. At a certain speed—which is different for everyone—our brains stop processing each note individually and think of them as a group of notes. At slower speeds, our brain processes each note we hear before sending out the signal to play the next note. This is what neuroscientists call an open feedback loop, while fast playing occurs in a closed feedback loop, where our brain sends out the signal for an entire group of notes that is processed as one unit. That means that playing slow and playing fast utilize different neurological processes and the old adage of practicing slow to play fast doesn’t work.
Yes, you do need to first practice something slow to properly learn the phrase or lick, but once you have it under your fingers, you must crank up the speed and focus on the first note that falls on each beat and let your brain build up those note groupings. This is known as a speed burst. That’s why being in time and having good rhythm is so important for this process.
Practicing at fast tempos will also expose problems in your technique and efficiency that don’t show during slow practice. I’ve included some basic exercises first to help you really feel the rhythm of the right hand.
Ex. 1 introduces the idea of speed bursts. I’m playing 16th-notes on the first three beats of the measure and then one beat of 32nd notes. That will help you to get used to how it feels to play fast and dial in your right-hand technique with these short bursts. I play four measures of this and then take a short break so as not to fatigue my hand too quickly.
Ex. 1
Start at a comfortable speed and, once you get a feel for it, increase the speed in increments of about 5 bpm until the point where the burst starts to feel a little uncomfortable. At that point I’d recommend single repetitions and focusing on the rhythmic feel. Take short breaks between every repetition. When you feel comfortable at that speed, add more repetitions. When you can do four comfortably, bump up the metronome until it’s uncomfortable again. This forces your body to adapt to the speed and actually get better. You don’t get faster by staying in your comfort zone. Also, don’t do this while watching TV as some people recommend. Mindful practice reaps much faster results than noodling away while being distracted, by a TV or anything else. I also find being really focused on what you’re doing prevents getting bored quite effectively.
Ex. 2 does the same but adds a triplet feel for the burst, forcing you to focus on the rhythm and timing even more. I try to feel the sextuplet as two groups of three. Personally, this gives me more rhythmic control when applying fast picking to string changes as opposed to feeling three groups of two. Try both and see what feels better to you. There are never too many ways to feel a rhythm.
Ex. 2
I use a triplet feel throughout Ex. 3, flipping the picking direction every measure. You’ll start with an upstroke in the second measure and the burst in the second measure will reverse the picking pattern. Take it slow at first to really get comfortable with that and then follow the above procedure again. This is a great exercise to lose excessive tension and focus on your upstroke. You can and should of course also practice starting all the other exercises on an upstroke as well.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4 is more for metal rhythm players who want to work on downstrokes at different subdivisions and then then add an alternate picked burst at the end.
Ex. 4
I use these first four examples as a right-hand warmup every day. Of course, there’ll be a point of diminishing returns once you hit certain speeds and you’ll reach that point rather quickly, which is why I focus most of my practice time on other aspects of my picking.
Let’s dive into some alternate-picking workouts. These are combinations of different short licks for you to work through. Practice each lick (marked by the letters in the notation) until you’ve got it under your fingers and then work through them back-to-back as a little routine. Start around 60 bpm and every time you get through about eight repetitions perfectly, bump up the speed. Once you start feeling uncomfortable, take a short break between every repetition. I prefer working through the licks in order because that improves your technique on a more general level and will translate better when you try to learn new songs or solos.
I usually spend about 25 minutes on one of those workouts building up speed. After staying at my limit for a few minutes I pick the lick that’s the least comfortable and lower the speed to where I can play it for about 30 seconds before I get sloppy. When you can play it cleanly without excessive tension for a full minute you can increase the speed there as well. If you comfortably hit 200 bpm or above, you can also start using 16th notes or sextuplets to work on different rhythmic feels. One you get comfortable with that you can even go up to 32nd notes to practice the feel of playing fast over slower beats. First up is Ex. 5, which focuses on eighth-notes. Once that’s in your fingers try Ex. 6, which works out a triplet feel.
Ex. 5
Ex. 6
Move these exercises to different scale positions and fingerings to mix it up. Also practice on different strings and with different tones so you can confidently play fast with clean and distorted tones as each one exposes different weak spots. Once you get those under your fingers you too will be praising the benefit of the burst.
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With built-in effects, headphone output, and AUX connectivity, these compact devices are designed to provide ultimate versatility for practice sessions at home or on stage.
Aguilar is introducing the amPlug3 Tone Hammer, a portable headphone amplifier inspired by the iconic Tone Hammer sound. Ideal for practicing anywhere, this compact device packs dual channel Clean and Drive modes for ultimate versatility. To help keep practice sessions inspiring, the unit includes reverb, chorus, and compression as built-in, onboard effects and a built-in rhythm feature to keep any players favorite basslines in time. Lastly, the amPlug3 features AUX connectivity to allow players to play along with tracks, or via a TRRS cable, record straight to a phone or laptop with ease. Whether at home, in the studio, or on the road, the amPlug3 Tone Hammer offers a convenient practice solution without compromising tone.
In addition to the amPlug 3 Tone Hammer, Aguilar has revamped their iconic Tone Hammer Preamp pedal. Built upon the original design that has become an essential tool for bass players seeking tone and flexibility. Incorporating customer feedback and refining key features, the new Tone Hammer Preamp offers enhanced drive functionality featuring an expanded gain range with a separate "drive" control for greater tonal precision, allowing users to refine their overdriven and clean tones independently. New Practice-friendly features include the addition of a headphone output and auxiliary input, allowing the pedal to double as the perfect practice companion at home or on the road. The updated, compact enclosure has a modern aesthetic, complementing the Tone Hammer series of amplifiers.
“We are thrilled to expand the Tone Hammer family with these new products,” said Jordan Cortese of Aguilar Amplification. “The reimagined Preamp/DI pedal and the all-new amPlug3 Tone Hammer provide bassists with even more options to achieve their perfect sound, whether they’re on stage or practicing on the move.”
Street Prices:
- Tone Hammer Preamp Pedal $299.99
- amPlug3 Tone hammer $59.99
Aguilar amPlug 3 Tone Hammer Bass Guitar Headphone Amplifier
amPlug 3 Tone Hammer Mini AmpWith buffered bypass and top-mounted jacks, this compact pedal is perfect for adding punch to your playing.
Carl Martin has introduced the Tone Tweaker, a 12dBboost pedal designed to unleash the full potential of your favorite gear. This subtle yet powerful booster pedal is built with an internal voltage booster that provides extra headroom and makes your beloved tube amp sound even better. It is perfect for cutting through the mix during solos and adding extra punch to your rhythm playing.
Tone Tweaker features an efficient 3-band equalizer, allowing you to fine-tune your sound with dedicated controls for Mid, Treble, and Bass. Whether you want to add warmth to your midrange, more sharpness to your treble, or extra depth to the low end, Tone Tweaker gives you the tools to shape your sound with exceptional effect – subtle yet powerful.
Key Features
- 12dB Boost: Instantly enhance your signal with a clean, transparent boost that preserves the integrity of your original tone.
- Internal Voltage Booster: Increases the amount of voltage sent into the pedal’s circuitry, providing extra headroom and boost.
- 3-Band Equalizer: Customize your sound with precise adjustments using the Mid, Treble, and Bass controls. It's far more powerful than you think.
- Buffered Bypass: Preserves signal strength and tone quality, ensuring your sound remains consistent even when the pedal is not engaged.
- Top-Mounted In/Out Jacks and Compact Design: Designed to take up minimal space on your pedalboard, with top-mounted jacks saving space and providing a cleaner setup.
You can purchase The Tone Tweaker for $149 directly from Carl Martin and, of course, also at leading music retailers worldwide.
For more information, please visit carlmartin.com.
Carl Martin Tone Tweaker | Simple and Effective - YouTube
A loving homage to the Boss CE-1 is addictively vintage in form and function, and offers enhanced chorus control and immersive rotary-like vibrato tones.
Liquid, immersive, addictive modulation tones. Beautiful vintage-style enclosure. Useful impedance switch lends extra headroom. Sturdy. Spacious control layout.
Big footprint—if you care about such things.
$189
Warm Audio WA-C1
warmaudio.com
In the impetuousness of my youth, I was, among other things, a reactionary chorus hater. Such were the obligations of a lad that preferred the Pebblescompilations to the Police in the 1980s. So, upon my regular visits to the old Starving Musician on El Camino Real in Santa Clara, I would often peer at a cheap, used Boss CE-1 and think, “Damn ... looks cool. Wish it wasn’t a chorus.”
It took a long time for me to get right in the head about that particular issue. Long enough that Boss CE-1s weren’t very cheap by the time I figured it out. Once again, Warm Audio has stepped in to grant me the chance to heal the wounds from my foolish ways. The all-analog, bucket-brigade-driven WA-C1 is the company’s latest, mostly faithful homage to a classic. In this case, Warm Audio enhanced the functionality of the chorus—splitting the CE-1’s chorus “intensity” control, which combined depth and rate functions, into independent depth and rate controls. It also adds a Hi-Z impedance switch that enables selection of a vintage-spec 50 kHz and a 1.1 MHz mode that improves headroom and clarity in the high-mid range. And while this may be sacrilege, I’d venture that the WA-C1, with its more compact dimensions, looks almost every bit as cool as the original.
Dimensional Contractions, Utility Expansions
One of the best things about Warm Audio’s pedals is that they concede little to the concerns of modern pedal-footprint obsessives. By Warm Audio’s standards, though, the WA-C1 is nearly petite—certainly compared to its inspiration. And even in this guise, it’s a lot larger than it needs to be. But there’s a lot of upside to the generously sized enclosure apart from just looking awesome. The knobs are easy to manipulate thanks to their larger size, and the space between the footswitches means you can stomp with abandon on the chorus/vibrato switch, which can yield dramatic shifts and contrasts in color. The WA-C1 is also just inviting. It begs you to use it, in a way. And the marriage of lines, chrome, and the tough industrial finish is a lovely antidote to dull post-iPhone design—even if it is grey.
“If the mono output is lovely, the experience of the WA-C1 in stereo is more like a summer Saturday-morning-sleep-in dream.”
Washed Up from the Depths
In both chorus and vibrato modes, the WA-C1 possesses an unmistakable vintage glow. The modulations and pulses are syrupy, elastic, and hard-edged in all the right places. If you love the sounds of James Honeyman-Scott (who used the Boss CE-1) and Smiths-era Johnny Marr (who used the Roland Jazz Chorus and Boss CE-2), the mono voice will find you laughingly swimming in pools of sunset shimmer. But if the mono output is lovely, the experience of the WA-C1 in stereo is more like a summer Saturday-morning-sleep-in dream. At the most archetypal Honeyman-Scott settings, the chorus is syrupy, slippery, and aqueous. The vibrato is more than a little evocative of a Fender Vibratone rotary speaker, particular in slower-to-medium-speed modes that give the modulation room to breathe. Mind you that, apart from the WA-C1’s rotary-like vibrato tones, the WA-C1’s main attraction, the 1970s/1980s era chorus sounds, still don’t approach the top of my hierarchy of must-have tones. I fell in love anyway. This is a pedal that can take a practice or writing session deep into the night.
The Verdict
Obviously, the Warm Audio WA-C1 is not the only very nice chorus that sounds awesome and offers stereo functionality. The Boss CE-2W Waza Craft, for instance, runs in stereo and even has a very nice CE-1-style voice in a more compact package. But it’s also 30 bucks more, and the WA-C1 features a truly transformative Hi-Z switch and the expanded chorus control section, which makes switching between contrasting chorus and vibrato settings especially striking in the right setting. And if a certain kind of vintage aesthetic has the effect of being musically inspiring—a valid position, as far as I’m concerned—the combination of smart style and addictive, immersive modulation sounds makes the $189 WA-C1 a deal.
This year marks a watershed for Taylor Guitars as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary of building high-quality instruments and contributing to the global music community. Over the past five decades, Taylor has grown from a small guitar shop in California to one of the world’s most innovative and respected guitar manufacturers. This milestone is being commemorated with several exciting initiatives, including a limited-edition anniversary guitar collection and the launch of American Dreamers, a new podcast miniseries featuring Taylor’s co-founders, Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug.
A Limited-Edition 50th Anniversary Collection
Three standouts in Taylor’s new 50th Anniversary Collection.
To kick off the celebrations, Taylor has introduced the first wave of models from its limited-edition 50th Anniversary guitar collection. These instruments, featuring exclusive appointments and designs, are crafted to honor Taylor’s tradition of innovation and excellence. Throughout the year, additional models will be released, each representing a chapter in Taylor’s journey over the past half-century.
In addition to the guitar collection, Taylor has launched a detailed timeline on its website that chronicles the company’s major milestones, innovations, and breakthroughs. This interactive resource allows fans and guitar enthusiasts to explore the evolution of Taylor Guitars and learn about the advancements that have set the company apart in the industry. From pioneering guitar designs to their commitment to sustainability, Taylor’s history is a testament to the company’s enduring passion for quality and innovation.
American Dreamers: A Podcast Miniseries
One of the most exciting parts of Taylor’s anniversary celebration is the release of American Dreamers, a podcast miniseries that offers listeners a unique glimpse into the history of the company through candid conversations with co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug. The podcast, hosted by Taylor’s Director of Sales, Dave Pelletier, dives deep into the personal and professional lives of Bob and Kurt, tracing their early beginnings and exploring the journey that led to the creation of Taylor Guitars.
The podcast starts with Bob and Kurt’s childhoods in San Diego, where they developed an interest in music and craftsmanship. Bob recalls how, during his teenage years, he became obsessed with making guitars, a passion that would later define his career. In American Dreamers, listeners get to hear the story of how Bob and Kurt first met at the American Dream guitar shop in Lemon Grove, California, when they were just 19 and 21 years old. The shop, with its free-spirited, hippie vibe, was a hub for musicians and guitar enthusiasts in the area. It was here that the seeds of their partnership were planted, leading to a business venture that would last over 50 years.
Bob Taylor (left) and Kurt Listug (right) circa 1973 – on the cusp of launching Taylor Guitars.
The Journey from a Small Shop to a Global Brand
In the inaugural episode of the podcast, titled “Episode 1: The Road to the American Dream,” Bob and Kurt reminisce about those early days, sharing the challenges and triumphs they faced in launching their own guitar company. After meeting at the American Dream shop, the duo eventually decided to buy the business and turn it into something even greater—a company dedicated to creating innovative, high-quality guitars.
Throughout the podcast, Bob and Kurt reflect on the pivotal moments that shaped the company’s growth, including their decision to implement groundbreaking guitar designs and their commitment to sustainability in later years. Taylor Guitars became known for its patented bolt-on neck, a feature that improved playability and ease of maintenance, as well as its forward-thinking use of responsibly sourced tonewoods. These innovations have solidified Taylor’s place as a leader in the guitar industry, setting new standards for craftsmanship and environmental responsibility.
Bob Taylor (left) and Kurt Listug (right) enjoy some of their new instruments in 1985.
American Dreamers isn’t just a historical retelling; it’s a treasure trove of insights for fans of Taylor Guitars and those interested in the art of guitar-making. The conversations between Bob, Kurt, and host Dave Pelletier offer a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build a successful guitar company from the ground up. For aspiring entrepreneurs, guitar enthusiasts, and anyone curious about Taylor’s success, this podcast provides invaluable lessons in creativity, perseverance, and the spirit of innovation.
A Year of Reflection and Looking Ahead
As Taylor Guitars celebrates its 50th anniversary, the company is using this moment to both reflect on its past achievements and look ahead to the future. The limited-edition anniversary guitar collection and the American Dreamers podcast are just two ways Taylor is commemorating this milestone year. By sharing the personal stories of its founders and showcasing the craftsmanship that has made its guitars world-renowned, Taylor is giving fans and musicians an opportunity to connect with the brand on a deeper level.
New episodes of American Dreamers will be released periodically throughout the year, and listeners can tune in on their favorite podcast platforms or watch video versions of the interviews on Taylor’s website. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Taylor Guitars or someone interested in the art and business of guitar-making, this podcast promises to be an engaging and informative series that highlights the passion and dedication that have driven Taylor’s success over the past 50 years.
Be sure to follow or subscribe to American Dreamers to stay up to date on the latest episodes and visit Taylor’s website to explore the full range of anniversary guitars and learn more about the company’s 50-year journey.