Conference napalm::guitar

    Well, this is just a guess, and it's not even someone on your  
    list, but I believe John McLaughlin picks all his notes (and   
    he's quite fast at it).
    
    One way to find out may be to listen to an acoustic solo. It
    seems to me that it would be much harder to do a lot of hammer-ons
    with an acoustic than an electric (i.e. Eddie Van Halen's "Spanish
    Fly")
    
    Alan S.

    	I would guess(notice"guess") they all do both,however there
    phrasing would be different and hammer-ons at different points
    for passing notes or tones. I've come to realize and hear tonality
    or phrasing differences with solo's picked or hammered as a viable
    effect.(maybe effect is the wrong word) As far as speed is concerned
    or gaining speed I wonder how effective hammering is,but then again
    playing some sort trill with hammer-on's sounds better than picked.
    	Whether a hammer-on solo or picked they all have there place
    and effect.
    
    							Rick
    

    
    Yngwie - every note (cept for taps)
    Gilbert - every note  "    "   "
    Gimbale - Well, he does that sweep picking, on scales and arps so
              I'd say he falls into the hammer category
    Buckley - Both, more hammers than picks (I'm from the satch school!)
    ;^)
    
    wjb
     

    John McLaughlin is a picker.  Also Paco de Lucia, but he uses fingers
    instead of a plectrum.
    

    I find it difficult to believe that any really advanced guitarist
    (which all of these guys obviously are) would use one technique
    exclusively.
    
    Personally, I feel that picking and hammering are simply tools to
    develop certain kinds of phrasing. Picking is basically what classical
    musicians refer to as staccato, hammering is legato. That is, when you
    pick there is an abrupt transition from one note to the other.
    Hammering tends to give a smoother transition, simply because the
    finger is softer than the pick (and the left hand action is weaker than
    the right hand, because it is finger motion only as opposed to wrist
    motion). 
    
    That's my analysis. Why should a good musician (as opposed to a guitar
    technician) arbitrarily restrict his playing style?

    - Ram

    
    I wasn't sure where to put this so I stick it here.  On the intro
    to Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" is EVH mostly picking or hammering??
                  
    Just Curious...
                  
    Kind Regards, 
    -Tony Dallison

    
    I agree with Ram (.5).  For mutes or "crunch," it's better to pick
    'em all.  But phrasing is much easier when pick-hammer-pull techniques
    are blended ... pick for accents only.  In fact, I usually try to
    make the sound of a picked note the same as for a hammer/pull, so
    that I'm free to accent whatever I want (when it's all working).


    
    But for fast picking of every note, it's best to pick gently with a
    bow stroke rather than a broadside slap.  Digging-in with your pick
    wastes time.  Grip the pick firmly, squeezed between the outside
    edges of the forefinger and thumb.  The last knuckle of the forefinger
    should be bent sharply inward and your thumb should squeeze the
    pick against it.  Damn hard to explain without a picture.  Only
    about 1/4 inch of the pick should be showing.  Approach the strings
    at an angle so as to bow them, more like scratching them across
    the tops.  
    

    
    Maybe ya gotta have someone SHOW you up close.  Have you considered
    buying or renting one of those "Star Licks" video tapes?  I've never
    seen one, but seeing one made by one of your favorite guitar players
    could probably advance you more than anything said here.
    
    	t
    

    Another vote for using both techniques. One other picker that has
    used blazing speed as a tool is Jeff Beck. The original king of
    blazing speed was Alvin Lee. Lets not forget the little-known
    Roy Buchanan, who was blowing people away with speed as far back
    as I can remember.
    
    Another topic that goes hand in hand with this discussion is the
    use/misuse/overuse of blazing speed. I believe that blazing speed,
    like any other technique/effect should be used with some discretion.
    It should be a musical treat that is savored rather than gorging
    ones self, and ones audience with blazing speed for a full show.
    The same can be said about playing loud. I believe volume should
    be kept within reason for most of a show, and at certain points
    the volume should be brought up for maximum power/impact. If you
    play at 120db all night, you are going to wear out your self and
    your audience. This is what "Dynamics" is all about.
    
    "Too much of a good thing is no good" !!!!
    
    Mark Jacques
    
    ps. I am not the fastest picker in the world by any stretch of the
    imagination, but I am also not real interested in playing at blazing
    speed most of the time. I think it is more important for certain
    types of music like Metal and progressive stuff (neither of which
    are my bag, anyways).
    

    re: .6
    
    The beginning of "Hots for Teacher" was done with two hand tapping.
    
    	db

>    Yngwie - every note (cept for taps)
    
    That is really amazing!  Listening to some of those arpeggios it sounds
    like he can cross pick just as fast as he can pick successive notes on
    any one string.  As I've said, I just can't conceive of any human being
    alternating any limb that fast.  And he does it so darn CLEAN too.
    I wonder how much faster he can go if he was willing to sacrifice a little
    bit on his timing (not that I think it would be a good idea).  Boggles
    the mind.
    
    WJB, do you get the impression that his technique is to some extent 
    dependent on a high gain setting?  My own observation is that without 
    gain you have to pick a little harder and muting is more
    critical/difficult.  Have we heard Yngwie play as fast on a clean
    setting, or on an acoustic?
    
    With Steve Vai, it's really impossible to tell how he's doing something
    unless you watch him.   I was rather surprised to discover that many of
    the really fast licks on "Skyscraper" where done with two hand taps,
    even though they weren't anything like the kind of licks you
    typically hear tapped (repeating arpeggios).  He has the ability to
    make  picking, hammering and two hand tapping sound almost
    indistinguishable from each other.
    
    Part of what motivated this question is watching Satch play and being
    rather surprised that he hardly picks at all, and yet gets a similar
    kind of attack to the pickers.
    
    	db

    
    Well, Yngwie sounds so clean because all his notes are VERY staccato.
    He has a lot of distortion, but none of the notes last very long
    ...how could they, it would sound like noise (no comments!).
    ;^)

    
    My only exposure to Steve Vai was the movie Crossroads. He was
    truely incredible in that movie. One comment though. He used
    a lot of effects like echo, which tend to make anyone sound faster.
    Compared with the blues playing done by Ry Cooder and mimed by
    Ralph Mazzio. The thing that made Ralph Mazzio seem better than
    Vai, (and won the duel with the devil) was the fact that he was not
    using any effects for the most part, and still managed to equal
    and surpass Vai's playing.  I know "IT'S ONLY A MOVIE".
    
    	I guess I can't add any real advice about blazing speed cause
    I never really had it as a goal to begin with. I am more into
    taste and style than technical ability. I believe taste and style
    can be lost, and is often sacrificed, for blazing speed.
    
    No flames please. Hear I go opinionating again.....
    
    Mark Jacques
    
    

    Hi, Graham here from London, 
    		New to Guitars (playing? 12 months nearly)
    		New to this notes file.
    		
    
    Re: 12. Ry Cooder was credited for the music in CROSSROADS 
    (Tony Hatch I thought !,The Brits may understand that!?)
    This was only due to a contractual (SP?) wrangle.
    
    Arlen Roth,only credited as the instructor to the actor Ralph ?
    actually compossed and played all but two of the 'Blue's' passages
    in the film.
    
    Off the 'I know the film soapbox !'
    
    I'm reading this file with much interest, keep noting, lots of good
    info' for beginners like myself.
    
    Arlen Roth for 'Guitar Hero' or perhaps ... see next topic !
    
    Thanx Graham *8^)
    
    

    BTW, the concensus in the MUSIC_V2 notesfile was that Steve Vai won
    that duel hands down and going away.

    re: .11
    
    Actually Bill, one of the things that really impresses me about Yngwie
    is how long the notes DO last.  With a lot of players, you hear more
    picking sound than note when they start to play fast, and they often
    partially mute the strings (DiMeola) and so not only is the initial
    attack longer, but the sustain is shorter and you end up with less
    "note".
    
    Yngwie seems to be able to remove a lot of that and get mostly note
    and all the notes are very even (the latter could be a convenient side
    effect of the gain which tends to compress the dynamics).  
    
    Almost makes you think it's a synth or some other instrument with 
    a relatively short attack.
    
    	db

    I hope I don't draw flames for this, but it's interesting to note that
    everytime speed is merely mentioned, it always draws two or three
    "speed isn't everything" dissertations, as if anyone interested in
    some aspect of speed doesn't know that already.
    
    I know of no "speed freaks" in this conference.  
    
    I think the mechanics of speed is an interesting topic.  And the
    "mechanics of speed" really go beyond speed.  It's more a matter
    of proper technique and economy of motion. 
    
    	db

    	The speed vs no speed is always a debate no matter when and
    where,however I interpreted the note as a musical discussion of
    phrasing/picking and not a "technician" type note. I'd be interested
    in a phrasing discusion with regards to speed/hammering. I'd be
    also interested in how connections of picked,appegiated and hammering
    are used by noters. 

    
    Some people say 'speed is garbage' and 'less is more', but there
    are those like Trevor rabin and Dimeola who do a good job of
    incorporating it into a respectable style.
    
    Actually, most produers like less notes in the studio it seems.
    
    

    re: .20
    
    Anyone who says "speed is garbage" is full of it and probably has
    some alterior motivation for saying it (maybe even because they are
    envious of those with speed).
    
    Speed is like one word of the musical vocabulary.  It's not essential,
    but it's nice to be able to use as many words as you can.  Any true
    student of the guitar is at least "interested" in expanding his
    vocabulary however possible.  Thus, while he may be pragmatic and
    determine that time is best spent on some other aspect of the
    vocabulary, he'd never deny the value of speed.
    
    	Dave "Slow Hand" Blickstein

    Hard to stay objective....
    
    Reading the base note, I thought "Hmm this seems interesting,
    I too would like to know just what those guys do" Instead, it
    seemed to get into a philosophical discussion regarding guitar
    techniques. I agree with the previous note (.-1), I personally
    use many techniques, some I can't even name, to get a sound 
    I am after, why not ?, If I am after that sound, why not ?
    
    Anyway, it would be nice to continue with the base note. Just
    what does Larry Carlton do ?  I can't tell, I play some of his
    songs, but do I apply the same technique ? I don't know. I 
    would just like to know what he does, if anyone out there knows.
    
    RE. 13 I think,,,,
    
    I do believe that VAI did do all of his own licks in CROSSROADS
    and the last couple of Macchio's too. Ry Cooder did the preceeding
    licks before the end two licks.  Check Guitar Player a couple of
    months back, they had an article on it.
    
    Regards,
    
    Tony

    I sure would like to know what Larry does.  With all the accolades
    we hear about Yngwie, Larry played the fastest lick I have ever heard.
    It comes in the middle of the "Point it Up" during an ascending 4th
    chord progression during a bridge between the two parts of the solo.  
    It's only about about a bar long.
    
    	db

    One thing that I noticed (just last year) was that on 'Walk this
    way', Joe Perry picks that lick the first time, and then hammers
    it the second.  I just noticed it after listening to the RUN-DMC
    version!
    
    As far as bending notes being 'non-pure', that's garbage.  The great
    thing about a guitar (as opposed to piano, vibes....) is that you
    *can* bend notes.  This is why I think that a guitar is *the* most
    expressive instrument.  You can have dynamics, bent-notes, and more
    styles than any other instrument.  Yeah, sure you can play prepared
    piano, and bend a vibe note with a hard mallet; but with a guitar,
    you can do a Montoya-type left hand hammer arpeggio while trilling
    the high strings, and immediately do a power-dive with the wang
    bar, and go into ultra-speed tapping or power chords.
    
    The best guitarists use *all* of the tricks.
    
    Ashley *Valley Guy* Morris

    
    I apologize if I dragged this note down the ole "Speed is garbage"
    rathole, but in all honesty, I never intented to make that point.
    I would like to build up speed as much as the next guy. The only
    difference in my philosiphy is the simultaneous use of discretion.
    
    Back to the base note. 
    
    I have a cassette copy of Carlton's "Strikes Twice" lp. It doesn't
    have the songs listed on it (a friend made it up for me), therefore
    I can't talk about tunes by name. One tune (I think it is the
    one right after the vocal tune (the Magician) blows me away. It
    is based on a simple progression like G, Em, Am, D. To my ears 
    it sounds like he used a lot of bends and hammer-ons to achieve the 
    incredible speed in that tune. The string bends also give a much
    smoother sound than picking every note, especially when moving up
    the neck (obviously, it is difficult, if not impossible to use
    a bend to slide down the fingerboard. It is no problem if you
    just bent a string up a few steps, and want to slide back down,
    otherwise I don't see how it could be done effectively). At one point 
    in this tune, he hits a compressor-sustained note that rings for about 
    8 bars. The rest of the band has time to go through the four chord 
    progression twice. This "passes" the listener's attention to the
    rest of the band for a few seconds, then steals it back. This
    is a perfect example of the "discretion" and "taste" that I have been
    advocating, without playing like ole Slow-Hand.
    
    I sincerely hope this reply was more constructive than my previous
    attempts to contribute to this interesting topic.
                                                     
    Mark Jacques

    re: .25
    
    > I apologize if I dragged this note down the ole "Speed is garbage"
    > rathole, but in all honesty, I never intented to make that point.
    > I would like to build up speed as much as the next guy. The only
    > difference in my philosiphy is the simultaneous use of discretion.
    
    There is no reason for you to apologize.  I should probably apologize
    if anyone.  Let me explain:
    
    We know you weren't trying to make that point.  You're point is that
    "speed" is nothing if it's not applied with "taste" and "discretion".
    Unquestionably words of wisdom.
    
    MY point is that we all know that, and I'm amused how whenever speed 
    (or even just Yngwie) is mentioned, it is INEVITABLY followed by a 
    lecture.   I know it's a bizarre thing to derive
    amusement from;  it's just that it's so reliable.  It's sorta 
    become cliche, y'know?  
    
    Back to business.
    
    The LC tune you're talking about is "Strikes Twice".  BTW, the note
    that you described as being achieved by compression/sustain was actually 
    done with controlled feedback.
    
    If you think his playing on that tune is fast, you MUST get "Room 335"
    (my favorite LC album) and listen to "Point It Up".  It's among the
    top two or three killer solo's I've heard.  I think it also amply
    demonstrates that "speed" isn't exclusive of "taste" and "discretion".
    
    	db

    speed isn't everything. it's the only thing.
    
    I've always found that changing from, say, .010's to .008's
    causes me to (almost unconciously) go from a mostly picked
    approach to a mostly left-hand hammer and pull approach. I
    end up going from one to the other when I get sick of playing
    in one style too long.
    
    -Dave

    I have to wonder if guys like Carlton are human beings or devils
    sent here to frustrate us "mere mortals".
    
    On a serious note, I sencerely hope that Larry snaps back after
    his convulescence, and returns to playing. Jerry Garcia did after
    his diabetic coma, and actually played better and faster, too.
    Unfortuneately, I hear he is back to his old tricks again
    (coke and herion can ruin a friendship).
    
    On another topic, has anyone ever tried using one of those half-
    speed cassette machines to figure out fast licks. I realize they
    cannot help to build up speed, but probably can be handy for figuring
    out what so-and-so did on a certain tune.
                                           
    Mark Jacques
    

	I once played with a sax player who was into Sonny Rollins(his 
favorite album was "The Bridge") and Stan Getz. He advocated slow melodic
playing was the only way to go.......
	 I asked him if that was the case what about John Coltrane or Oscar 
Peterson? He had very little say after that. 
	I've never used a tape machine slowed down to learn solo's and
    have found the best way to learn is to try to sing/hum bit's and
    pieces of the tune.
    
    							Rick
    

    Tape machines are very helpful for learning fast parts where it's hard
    to hear each individual note.  LIstening to someones playing at half
    speed will also give you a lot of insight into how clean they actually
    play.
    
    Steve Morse at half speed sounds great,  Steve Howe at half speed
    sounds terrible (uneven notes, dead notes, uneven timing, etc.).
    
    	db

    Sorry, couldn't resist...
    
    gh

    Ritchie Blackmore uses a circular picking motion, claims it's faster.
    I know that when I saw Rainbow at Uncle Sams he was blindingly fast
    and appeared to pick every single note... the other times I've seen
    him I've been too far away to really tell... 
    
    The most amazing thing about Jeff Beck's speed to me is that he
    swore off picks about 7 or 8 years ago..all the speedy flash on
    the Flash Album is done by fingerpicking...I dunno how he can do
    it so fast...I can fingerpick leads but not that fast...but it's
    real useful for certain blues licks....
    
    Speed is a great tool but some of the nicest stuff I've ver heard
    was done nice and slow....where technique matters more.
    
    dave also a slowhand bottom

    Dave,
    
    	After hearing you at Springjam, I wouldn't call you Slowhand.
    
    
    Mark
    

    Blush gosh...blush....well thanks Mark, any encouragement is always
    welcome...
    
    db2

    I think I understand Hammers okay, but I have a question on Pull-Offs.
    Until I tried it, I thought it was just the opposite of a Hammer, but
    it doesn't sound right.  Do you have to grab the string with the meat
    on the end of your finger before pulling off?  
    
    This seems to be the only way I can audibly sound the note, but it is
    awkward because I usually hit a neighboring string too.
    
    Mike

    I kinda use the endge on the meat as you put it.  Then I pull it off
    perpendicularly (is that a word?) to the neck creating a "pluck"
    if you will.  Takes a little practice.  Just sit there and hammer/pull
    until your wrist and arm turn into marshmallow fluff and you think
    your gonna die...Then you'll have it.  It takes some new muscles I
    guess.  Oh, and practice hammers and pulls with ALL the fingers, not
    just your ring.  Before  you know it, you'll be doing these over the
    top of the neck like a real poseur.  ;)
    
    jc

    
    Fret the A note on the high E string (5th fret) with your first finger.
    With your little finger fret the C note on the 8th fret  (same string).
    Pick the high E string and leaving your first finger where it is, pull 
    your pinky slightly downwards, and then completly off the string, so it 
    plucks the E string and sounds the A.
    
    Its a lot easier to do then describe!!

    Thats something like I practice doing except I use the 5th and the 8th
    on all strings then gradually bring in other some of the other frets in
    between.This a good meathod of practising technique and the better you
    get,you could try moving up and down the neck and strings,try not to
    grip too tightly,that is a common complaint and can cause pains in the
    hand.
    
    
    
    
                                  STAYNZ