Hi, I need a little help. I'm trying to play Big Bad Moon and my left hand is fine for everyhting but my picking on it is very sloppy sounding for the solos. Like when I'm doing this

|--12----------
|-----15p12---
|-------------14
Can somebody tell me how to pick it without sounding sloppy?

i actually hammer the 12th on the 2nd string too instead of picking. that way, i need to pick only 1st n 3rd strings. give it a try.

Seriosly man just do it SLOW over and over, then do it fast and if it's still sloppy slow it down a bit, u will get it.

I pick up on the 1st string (first finger on 12), down on the 2nd string (4th finger on 15) then pull to the 12 (first finger again), then pick up on the 3rd string (third finger on 14). If you aren't used to alternate picking, it will be awkward at first, but believe me, it is SOOOO much easier when you change your habits to alternate picking...and be sure to use that 4th finger, it is a tough habit to break, but if you have 4 fingers, why not use them all? :lol:

js

yup, use all 4 fingers, start slow , n bui;d up speed eventually.

You don't really need to use 4 fingers. You'll find you can play it much faster with 3. This is how I play it, and likely how Joe plays it as well. Pick up on the first string, then hammer-on-from-nowhere with your ring finger on the 15th fret and pulloff, then fret the 14th fret of the G string with your 2nd finger and use a downward pick stroke. Alternatively, you could use a 2nd hammer-on-from-nowhere instead. Another option is substituting the G string note (A) for the flat 5 (Bb), or you could even switch back and forth for variety. Good luck!

What is your reasoning behind saying that alternate picking is easier? Not to criticize, just curious. IMO, it would make the lick much more difficult than it has to be if you AP'ed every note of the lick.

Well, how I would play it, there would be 3 notes picked. One note on first string, one on the 2nd string, then a pull off, then the last note on the 3rd. It is easier IMO to use alternate picking (up/down/up) rather than using the traditional "all down" picking. I have watched Joe carefully to see how he gains his speed without compromising his accuracy, and I find that he uses alot of alternate picking. I mean with this lick, yeah most likely you can do it with any picking style you want and it will turn out just fine, but for more advanced stuff, I think it is better to pick up on alternate picking on the easy stuff so you create that as a habit, a good habit IMO. Yeah I know some of those punk rockers will tell you that alternate picking is "weak" and everything should be played all pick strokes down, but hey, I take my lessons from the master, Joe Satriani himself. If alternate picking is good enough for him, then its good enough for me too :lol: So to further answer your question, it is really a matter of what you are comfortable with and what you can use more accurately. When I was first told to "break the habit" of all down picking strokes, I got very frustrated and found myself screwing up alot. But as I got more accustomed to it, I found my speed increased as well as my accuracy...and it even helped out my rhythm guitar too :lol: That is just my 2 cents, hope it answered your question.

play it your own way :rock2:

or as I like to say...whatever floats your boat. :lol:

I think your idea of what alternate picking is is slightly skewered. No offense...Joe definitely does way more legato than alternate picking...A few examples of guys who employ alternate picking almost exclusively would be Zakk Wylde, Al Di Meola, Yngwie (when he isn't sweeping), John Petrucci etc...Guys who employ the legato approach as the main part of their style includes Joe Satriani, Allan Holdsworth, Brett Garsed etc... Tehnically, yes you are alternating pick strokes within the context of that lick, however, it is only really considered alternate picking if you were to pick every single note of that lick instead of utilizing a pull-off on the B string. I have never heard of anyone saying that using "all downstrokes" is the traditional method. There is no traditional method. It's up to the player and how he chooses to play it, whether he uses strict picking, strict legato, or a combination of both. Don't think of using all downstrokes as a bad thing, especially when playing rhythm/riffs. Try playing Master of Puppets utilizing alternate picking, then try it using all downstrokes. You get a much more aggressive, driving rhythm sound using all downstrokes...An example where it wouldn't work would be, say, the intro to When I Come Around by Green Day. If you were to use just down picking, you'd find the feel wouldn't be the same, and you would get a much better result being loose and using a mix of up and down strokes. ;) So many ways to skin a cat! :P

Oh yes I do understand that Satriani emplores alot of legato runs and such. I am mainly referring to his works such as the intro to Turkey Man (i.e. before Rubina on LISF) and such pieces like that where he doesn't use legato. I just referred to all down as "traditional" since that is how the majority of us started when we first picked up a guitar before formal studies...or maybe just me :lol: As for defining alternate picking as "if you were to pick every single note of that lick instead of utilizing a pull-off on the B string" well I would have to respectfully disagree. Alternate picking is simply changing the direction of your picking stroke within your playing. Using the pulloff is just using another technique at the same time. And yes, I agree that there is a time where all down strokes utilize more "energy" and such to a rhythm section of a song. Don't get me wrong, during Metalica's Enter Sandman, I love the deep growl of the E chord in the rhythm. The actual "traditional" method of all down strokes came from the punk rockers. I heard Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers talking about how in punk music, the utilization of alternate picking strokes is considered weak, and "unauthentic". And I totally agree with playing being much easier being loose and mixing up the up and down strokes. I remember being a rookie guitar player and cramping up because I didn't quite get the technique down because all I could accurately play was with my downstrokes. So when I forced myself to switch up my pick strokes, it made me a better guitar player. Sorry if I seemed to be animately against other picking styles, I didn't mean it that way. :lol:


js