This and the one about balance finally did it for me. Massive improvement in just 2 days. Thank you so much for putting this out. Had been stuck in this rut for ages!

Thank you Great information

I was able to play very fast with my fretting hand, but my picking was very slow The trick was a loose grip while playing fast and a firm grip while playing anything else. The only down part is that I am quiet on the acoustic guitar, but then again I play electric 95% of the time

I used to have the pick catching strumming up on the electric guitar and keeping my wrist movement the same is all it took. I couldn't believe just focusing on that was like night and day. I sheared the knob off my elbow years ago pulling the rope to start the engine on a 600 hot tar kettle when the rope jammed halfway on my pull. So I know I still have issues with pain and movement of my arm because I can't even straighten my arm all the way. As long as I'm conscious of it until muscle memory takes over I feel really good about it now. Thank you for all your help. I don't even know your name?

Great video! This is something I’ve been thinking about and practicing recently. There are not enough videos talking about this technique. I should be taught from day one when learning guitar.

That was very helpful, thank you!

Thanks, very informative. Yes, Balance the weight. That's the method I'm looking for exactly.

learning cello taught me that tension is bad. you can get pretty far in piano without learning to play without tension, but not cello. i learned eventually that the "right" technique is "whatever allows for best control/least tension." unsurprised this is any different!

i can't tremolo pick on the low e string because there is no bridge to rest my hand. hope you can help my with that

Thank you for the video, I'm a self-learner and this helps a lot! I have a problem I've been dealing with for a long time so I wanna ask for help. I'm stuck with my picking hand on rhythm, always doing the same thing naturally, without thinking about it. I'm always thinking about a rhythmic pattern in my head to follow a beat (like a bar of 4) and when I try to get out of the loop, I'm either not tght or of tempo. When I'm playing with other people I can get on track easy enough but when I'm alone I just lose focus and rhythm. Is it just that I should learn a shit ton of rhythm or is it something else? Thank you.

If I rotate my hand like this my fingers are starting to mute other strings

Appreciate ur detailed explanation & is helpful indeed….. however, I'm curious about the best pick angle to prevent it from catching or creating uneven sounds while strumming up or down. Should I focus on strumming with the pick's tip or its side edges for smoother play?

I struggle big time at trying to learn guitar. When I close my fingers like you did at the beginning of the video they crowd in on each other kind of like someone doing. Sock puppet.. Currently have to use my pinky to comfortably play the third fret from my index finger.

Shame he stopped posting, he would have been a great addition to the youtube guitar community

When I hold the pick like it shows in this video, it feels like I’m scraping through the strings.

Genius channel name. 👌

This video is awesome !

I so appreciate this lesson! I've been determined to improve at guitar and have developed the habit of practicing for at least 10 minutes/day over the past two months, but I have struggled with the fretting mechanics, and I know I've been forming bad habits along the way that I'm going to regret unless I fix things sooner than later. Just subscribed. THANK YOU!

Great advice!

I’m a beginner and learning on my own, this kind of content is exactly what I need! Easy subscribe

For many yesrs I thought all those things you mention in the beginning, I found out 10 yrs later I had axonal polyneuropathy and it felt like I had to fight for every note, self diagnosis would be, if your doing say, your scale exercises and suddenly your arms feel stiff like they turned into wood, when I told that to my Neurologist he immediately knew I had a demyelinating autoimmune disease. It's just a public service announcement. I hope it helps anyone out there with similar issues

Thank you! This was game changing for me even after a decade of playing.

this is for me.. i have strength and was watching videos of children doing things i thought i have no strength enough for 😂.. so there i thougt.. i have to do something wrong if she can do that so easy without getting tired or tensed while playing😅 also at first i sucked with picking strings.. the wrong one above or below or two at once . so i was willing to learn fast picking and shredding.. but my left hand cannot follow that fast.. so that one stays behind now

The problem with this is that if you have a lick that requires more stretch you need to switch to the classic hand position so the pinky can reach the furthest fret. Just try it. A minor is easy. Now do a major. 3 more per string each one fret in between each finger. My pinky won’t stretch your way. But the classic way strains my wrist which caused tendinitis. Also on the wound strings your technique falls apart unless you have long hands like yourself.

Great video!

This highlights the problem of teachers trying to insist ALL guitarists use classical hand position. It only works if you play neck high in the air - _which nobody but classical guitar players do._ Drop the neck to typical electric position and classical hand positioning goes out the window for most of us. There's a reason that virtually nobody (famous or otherwise) ever plays electric guitar with 'perfect' classical form - it ain't natural down south, it hurts and most of all, _it ain't necessary_ to be damn good and fast as you want. And you CAN make the guitar conform - low action, lowered tunings, lowered gauges etc. I make my guitars as easy to play as possible.

Great video, thank you for sharing!

Ffs I've sucked for 40 yrs! Still done over a thousand gigs but I've always found it really hard work and always broke strings. It's only very recently I've started to relax and play properly. Thanks to vids like these and great advice like this! Thank you. Loving your lessons 😁

You still around ?

Thank you so much. My instructor gave me an exercise to learn how to arch my fingers. I wasn't able to do it until I saw your video. I finally got it.

Jesus christ, the exercise at 10:28 is incredible. SO SIMPLE, yet SO USEFUL. I've been struggling to get past 190 BPM while playing sixteenth notes without getting stuck for MONTHS. I've seen a lot of these videos, and while they were really helpful, nothing helped me as much as that one exercise you mentioned. I'm beyond grateful for this amazing video, man. All the best.

Well if you switch to the classical guitar position, putting the guitar on your left knee, you will not have any of your problems. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Very new to guitar, but my swim coach would always say, "only perfect practice makes perfect." I like the concept of micro relaxation. After 20 min it's already feeling better. Thanks!

I bought my first guitar two days and I was already getting super frustrated with how difficult it was to fret with my hands. I just could not figure out how to place my hand on the neck to be able to fret and play cords, and every video I've watched has told me the only way to hold my hand so is to spread my fingers apart and have my knuckles parallel, rather than rotate my forearm. This makes things so much easier for me and its so nice to hear that I don't actually have to do that if it makes it a lot harder, especially as someone who is trying to teach themself and stick with this without getting so frustrated I give up. Thank you so much for this video!!❤

This was great thanks!

Excellent overview of the issue. Extremely valuable. Nice to relate to someone who's had similar issues in the past. Thanks for posting! It's certainly a gnarly issue and there are many factors. A few thoughts: 1) String tension seems to be a big factor. I find that lower tension increases the likelihood of failure. This is affected by string gauge and the scale length of the guitar. Shorter scale like Les Paul or even shorter scale guitars are worse. 2) Which strings you play is a factor. The lower wound strings may stick less often than higher strings 3) How far from the bridge you pick is a big factor. Closer to the bridge tends to stick far less often for me. But of course, this can adversely affect the sound. 4) The design of the tip of the pick is key. Try rotating the pick 120-degrees and picking with the rounded, top part. I find that I can pick like crazy and it never ever gets stuck. On the downside, the attack of the notes suffers and the action isn't as precise. Perhaps a compromise. Choose a pick with a less pointy point. 5) The thickness of the pick is a factor, as mentioned. Relatively thin picks (ie EVH) recover from sticking so it eventually pulls away and doesn't totally fail or break a string. But...the hardness of the pick material is also a factor. I mean how plastic/elastic the material is and the durometer rating. This is never spec'd by pick makers. Some picks historically have been made with metal, glass and all sorts of hard (and sticky!) materials. I find softer is more forgiving. Not sure how bluegrass pickers use metal finger picks so successfully. I struggled and gave up years ago as the picks kept catching and flying off my fingers ballistically.

Bro !!! I solved my problem of getting stuck on the strings... I been trying for a year to figure it out... my picking slanting, picking leaning, and doing 30-45 degree angle on pick... and I’d still get stuck.... come to find out it was my arm angle !!!😂 right away it fixed it when I made my wrist straight with arm for a neutral position .... thank you so much!!!! I also noticed my forearm would get fatigued on the side like 6 inches above wrist because my range of motion with my up picking was very limited, so when I would gallop or play metal I was doing a lo of chugging

this video is SO important man thank you

Hope this isn't too dumb a question but do you have to have your amp on a particular setting to get the guitar ringing out like that?

I can't believe I've been struggling for over two years with this. I tried to do things the "right way" and assumed I wasn't built for guitar. Seriously, I've given up numerous times because of this. Thank you.

Use a 4mm pick, or thicker.

I always felt this way as a beginner. But due to me having small fingers, playing with this angled approach was not possible for many practical application as I couldn't reach the lower strings. So, I had to go with the classical way of fretting the notes.

Classical guys have left hand technique working for them just fine for over 200 years. The "one finger rule" for classical guys you mention is horse crap. The real rule of thumb is to make the fingerings easiest and as natural as possible without stupid ridiculous stretches.

As soon as i saw the guitar i knew this guy knows what hes talking about

Bunch of bullshit

Watch Troy Grady's channel two way pickslanting is the motion you use to play fast through the strings combined with the pick angle allows you to pick and clear the string with less effort

My pick used to stuck on the strings. Then I turn it so the tip of the pick starts aiming to the 12th fret instead of stomach (not 6 o'clock straight, but 7 o'clock, that kinda angle) ↙️ instead of ⬇️ if you look down on your pick

Hey Dude, you will help me in the future but before i can get to the point where i can focus on my low Tension Fretting Hand Technique, I have to find a way to get a Better Fretting Hand Posture I have a Video uploaded to show how i play and what im doing with my Fretting Hand (it was made for an other youtuber i asked for help on his request after i tried to explain my problems) im Learning since 7 Month now (god damn how fast the Time runs...) and if you could look at it and give me some advice that could help me, then you would make me much Happier and Thankful for finally Getting in the "almost perfect" direction

Just found your channel (by stumbling on the old video) - this is the best advice I have come across as a new guitarist - thank you.

This was super helpful. Thanks!