Tosin Abasi | Ben Eller | ULTIMATE Selective Picking Primer

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Part 1: optimal setup, tone, and the cold hammer technique: 2:42
Part 2: palm muting: 4:27
Part 3: hand synchronization and left hand leading: 6:08
Part 4: cold hammer combos: 9:03
Part 5: selective picking phrasing: 10:10
Part 6: selective picking arpeggios: 12:09
Part 7: using odd note groupings: 14:57
Hey kids! Its your good buddy Uncle Ben Eller here with a very special guest: my main man Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders! And we are here to give you guys the ULTIMATE primer on his selective picking technique!!!
This cool technique is a combination of fret-hand "cold hammers" (or hammer-on's from nowhere, in the language of Eddie Van Halen) plus notes that are selectively picked on fretted or open strings. It produces a very machine-like, percussive, and rhythmic effect that you can't get from alternate picking or legato! Its all over the music of AAL, and now you're going to learn how to do it.
Tosin and i are gonna show you the basics of hand sync, tone and effects, palm muting, creating arpeggio patterns, cold hammers, and even more! Its everything you need to get ready to tackle those awesome SP etudes Tosin has put up on his channel! Tosin Abasi ! And don't fret if you don't have a dope 8 string, we both are using 6's through this whole video!
Playing my Suhr Modern Satin through the Axe FX 3. No DOD Grunge pedals were harmed in the making of this video.
Be sure to check out Tosin's channel to learn even more, and listen for him on the soundtrack of Bill and Ted Face the Music!!!

[@BenEller]

Thanks for watching the ultimate selective picking primer with Tosin Abasi!!! Now head over to his channels and get to work on some of those sick etudes he wrote!

[@prawtism]

Link to his channels? I can find them, but was expecting to find them in the description or in the pinned comment.

[@satchrules101]

Hey ben cool lesson , i noticed you were using small pick strokes .. but when u try to change to a new string it gets stuck in-between ... i guess u have to use swiping if using small strokes .

[@aymanarznifa259]

@@prawtism kzbin.info

[@infernalpriest8190]

You should dissect some Nile riffs

[@johnnycongamusic]

@@prawtism lĺi

[@Andreas_K_III]

Uncle Ben, nice to see that you also give rather unknown guitarists the chance to share their knowledge on your channel. That's what a real stepdad does.

[@afonsotopa9164]

"Unknown"... Ok then...

[@Andreas_K_III]

@@afonsotopa9164 Irony off ;)

[@BenEller]

Hahahaha

[@grayaj23]

Sadly, it's not a joke for a lot of my classic rocker / 80's metal friends. "Who is that guy? That sounds weird."

[@Guitarplayer724]

Afonso Topa yup, was unknown to me. But now thanks to Uncle Ben, I’ve been introduced. 👍

[@yesman8564]

plugging your buddie's go fund me for fighting cancer is the most wholesome thing i've seen a youtuber do

[@BenEller]

Haha thanks man. Cancer sucks!!!

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

That Tosin guy is pretty good. He should start a band or something. Build some guitars, too. Why not. 😆

[@metaldad1967]

Or even revolutionize picking.....

[@guitarsteve940]

like and reply if your gullible

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

guitar steve - r/woosh

[@762Faneto]

@@guitarsteve940 lmao

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

Wow

[@APKyle]

The Lethal Weapon reboot cast we didn’t know we needed.. Plentiful of value this video has, yes. Thanks, Tosin and Uncle Ben!

[@BenEller]

HA!!!!

[@m0th3rst4r]

Im too old for this s**t!

[@davidgatto8042]

dude id watch that

[@BJSepuku]

Instantly shidded my pants upon the sight of the notification. Insane this isn't behind a pay wall

[@LuisSalgadoG95]

First Bill Kelliher now Tosin Abasi, this channel is too good, we don't deserve it.

[@maciek_p]

Now we need a video of Ben and Brent Hinds smoking weed and playing guitar banjo style for 30 minutes.

[@NickBurbeyGuitar]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the coordinated shirts?

[@BenEller]

We’re basically twins

[@NickBurbeyGuitar]

@@BenEller I mean. Obviously.

[@SHKEVE]

I know you did this because it's my birthday today. Thank you, uncle ben!

[@BenEller]

Happy birthday, nephew!!!

[@n34z3r]

Because he's that type of guy. 👍🏾

[@kaladin783]

32 seconds in and there’s already a John Petrucci warmup.

[@sadfasdsfgs5941]

Selective picking gives me Adam Jones vibes

[@torinthunder3039]

I LOVE ADAM JONES ONE OF MY TOP 5

[@brettguitarlessons]

@Noah Wood Yeah man I've tried to get through Rock Discipline so many times bro caught it right away!

[@ExoShaman]

The DOD Grunge pedal gag gets me every damn time. lol

[@OnlyAson]

I like Ben Eller because he teaches me things about my guitar that I didn’t know before. Things like my guitar has a taint! Thanks Uncle Ben!

[@yohanonshine4664]

Ok so my right hand is in the taint, Missy Elliot is flipping and reversing it and the open G stiring is getting hammered on till it comes thru the hamburgers.....I got this!

[@SuperHorsecow]

Flipping and reversing a cold hammer to the taint

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

If I had nickel every time I heard that...

[@failuretocommunicate4976]

Smell my finger 👈🏻

[@RizoftheDead]

I’m so glad you got Tosin on. He has always awed me with his playing so it’s great to see him breaking down some techniques.

[@stalker11421]

dude, I've been practicing this technique the whole day, and it is sooo addicting, i freaking love it!

[@ukcats82]

It's a real relief to know I'm not the ONLY guitar player in the world who holds their pick weirdly, Tosin is with me lol

[@jasonmorgan4716]

if it is anything like selective hearing i should be good at this.

[@j.r.morrison89]

Man, being a drummer for 20 years before finally deciding to tackle difficult guitar techniques has basically been a cheat code for this stuff. I found this to come pretty natural

[@psionic6126]

playing this Petrucci warmup for 20 years now and it is still in my daily routine. I recommend this to every beginner. It will take your alternate picking and your left/right hand sync to another level

[@dmillaz]

The "guitar taint" bit got me. Well done uncle Ben.

[@denniskielton2447]

Ya know, I've watched this video honestly several times now, & I must say. This has to be one of the most inspiring technique videos I've seen. It's pretty rare when someone makes not only such a relevant video, but also making it just as entertaining as it is informative. This isn't just exercises, it's VERY useful info on how exactly to use this technique and really apply it to your own style, your own chords and your own favorite scales and songs rather than just copying Tosin, it's really a good break down. Usually breakdowns that are in depth enough to make the point are hard to follow because their either super boring or have zero visual aids. You may not have the visual aids, but it hardly matters because this is just done so well & to-the-point. Thank you, & Bravo to this one.

[@Classic_DionysuS]

Repeating notes on the guitar is probably one of those things you don't see happening as much as other instruments. His tech with the pedal tone is basically making a flamenco approach work with a pick almost. I remember when I first starting learning flying in a blue dream, I was like ohhhhh you can play a lick like (1)5-7-(1)7-9-(1)9-10 without out the need to double pick, you just start each repeat with finger 1.

[@IDGAF_PLUS]

The "make sure to take your DOD grunge pedal...and throw it in the trash" always makes your videos better.

[@wphill2]

A well thought out step by step tutorial on how to begin studying this technique. Lots of other ‘tutorials’ are just guys showing off, but this is both shredding and explanation. Thanks!

[@jackiefrett3235]

It’s surreal to see somebody besides Tosin to pull this stuff! 😂 It had to be Uncle Ben though, I would trust him to break down any insane guitar-related madness! 🥰

[@Pit_Lord]

The thing that helped initially with selective picking was thinking of it as playing a guitar like a piano; your left hand plays the low end, the right hand plays the high end. Your mileage with this mindset will vary, but it helped me a ton.

[@bestboy897]

really love your hawaiian shirt uncle ben, its so snazzy.

[@BenEller]

Thank u

[@geraldpeck7602]

Caught a glance at this technique last year and already coming up with new rhythm ideas.This video is just excellent.I still need to work on my legato,this is a huge push towards that.Endless possibilities with an electric guitar, seriously.It never ends.

[@thepiperofsimms9974]

What a gift to have Ben spotlight this style for us. Going to start today with a simple pattern because percussionating on the electric will ascend my kundalini. Serious.THX Ben

[@wilydingus]

Jokes on you I'm stealing part for and joining tool. Thanks so much for doing this yall! Also shoutout for my two fav teachers joining forces, was wanting some more specific selective picking help so this is awesome! Stay cool

[@guanoApe]

Some people r such great musicians that they can’t make a song someone just wants to listen to

[@sikzo4628]

Heeey, it's the right angle thumb person :D (jk, love Tosin, he's a beast on guitar)

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

He's got the craziest hitchhiker's thumb I've ever seen

[@RobertMimms]

My thumbs do that too, am I as good as tosin yet?

[@kaladin783]

His picking technique looks like a car wreck

[@crowing3886]

That's crazy. My terrible normal playing was selective picking this whole time!

[@OmiP42]

Uncle ben, i dont wanna be disrespectful or nothin to you, but Tosin was just on another level. Then again, none of us could hope to compare anyway.

[@BenEller]

Just trying to keep up!!

[@AbasiConcepts]

Actually I think you did a fantastic job explaining and executing this technique. You actually made some insights into how to practice it that I hadn’t thought of. Thanks for having me on!🤘🏿 🌴🦜🌸🌞

[@ashutoshJMJK]

I couldn’t have asked for a better collab! Thank you Uncle Tosin and Uncle Ben!

[@hollowthere3850]

Anyone that doesn't know much about this guy needs to listen to the first Animals as Leaders album from beginning to end. It's incredible! You're welcome.

[@es4564]

An unexpected continuation of your "Thumping" video lesson from 2013. I'm all here for it.

[@KerryLiv]

Hmm, Today is quickly turning into a "Selective Picking" kind a day. There's enough top-notch info in this vid to turn it into a "Selective Picking" kind of life! Thanks, Tosin & Ben

[@nathangreen5097]

Soooooo that’s something I’ve stumbled upon in the past and I’m glad someone, Tosin especially, is the one to coin it and use it effectively and not like some dude teaching himself how to play guitar for his own self gratification and sanity. Thanks y’all!

[@NathanFazekas]

I wanted to play along with all of your exercises, so I got the pleasure of hearing "very smoothly over a beat" at 16:44 as I played that pattern over and over again probably 30 times

[@michaelblack9458]

I've been doing that since the 90s I stumbled across did it when I figure it out I couldn't sweep pick I had to figure out other ways to make arpeggios sound fast

[@bobjason7540]

Same situation except i discovered it on bass a few years ago cause my string swapping wasn't good then

[@TobyKBTY]

THAT OLD PETRUCCI ARPEGGIO EXERCISE. Man that brought back some harsh practice memories from when I was a shredi knight in training

[@glenjamin2703]

Last time I was this excited for an episode was Saturday morning cartoons in the 90’s. Super cool to see Ben and Tosin collaborating. 2 awesome dudes with incredible talent. The guitar community is so amazing!

[@patrickrocha4283]

My favorite lesson of yours, thank teaching this new technique. Definitely going to use in my playing

[@ashesog4204]

Thanks so much Ben for this great video helped me finish my new song!!!

[@non_brewed_condiment]

Wow, It's really awesome to see Tosin in this video. I just finished watching part 1 and 2 of your thump video from like 7 years ago and it was such a helpful way to learn that technique. It's really awesome to see how far you've come with this KZbin stuff since then. I've watched quite a few "KZbin Guitar Lesson" Creators but your videos seen to just click with me. I get a lot out of them and I can't wait to check out more. Definitely subbed, gonna go get on your patreon too because this is some really helpful stuff. Thanks Uncle Ben, I really appreciate all the help I've gotten from your videos.

[@BenEller]

Thanks a bunch, dude!

[@non_brewed_condiment]

@@BenEller thank you, man! You really are a great teacher. The way you explain things makes it very easy to follow. Very glad I found this channel.

[@mountain_girl]

I will henceforth be unable to think about that area just aft my bridge pickup and fore the bridge-proper as anything else but the taint. Thanks Uncle Ben!

[@eddiedoyle3607]

This is crazy good ! I have practiced legato playing , using fret hand hammers and pulls combined with some picking , and that’s cool , but this technique opens up possibilities of a more vertical playing in addition to the open string , and the variation of timing , I really like this whole idea , however it is simply obvious that it would take years to get good enough at this to incorporate it in my playing , but great stuff ! Opens up many new ideas in my mind

[@xcodychaosx]

Well better start now :b

[@charliebowen5071]

This is very useful for violin too

[@dariendingus7038]

Thank you guys for making this kind of knowledge more accessible to mortals.

[@PhobosDDeimos]

First Bill Killiher now Tosin Abasi. Man, you bring the best together, Uncle Ben! 💜

[@Krullmatic]

Wow Uncle Ben, what a treat! You're so good to your nieces and nephews! I love that Tele style guitar that Tobin created!

[@cebastianlayneOffical]

Bless you for helping the fight against cancer ✨✨😎😇🙌

[@SingingSimplified]

4:51 Ben is the 1st guitar teacher ever to utilize the word "taint" in his lessons. BRAVO!!!!!!! *throwing roses*

[@ratfacedudeguy_]

Wow. This is how I built my personal picking style from the beginning, but with all the tutorials out there about alternate picking this, hybrid and sweep picking that, I started to second guess myself after a while given my affinity for legato techniques heavy with 'cold hammers' and 'left hand leading' (definitely appreciate the terminology here!) when I began to develop my voice 20 years ago. All these years later, I'm pretty thrilled and almost feel a sense of vindication and legitimacy having these techniques endorsed by a titan of the modern virtuosic guitar scene! Nice demonstration, and great video overall! A couple things I picked up through my travels: a) Just like hammer-ons, this technique sounds awesome when blended with pull-offs to both open and fretted strings alike. b) Another awesome thing I found by accident is that over certain positions, when combining the cold hammers and pulls with tapping, you can utilize the same picking hand's edge usually reserved for palm muting to break the iron rule of avoiding contact with the strings by lightly resting on the harmonic nodes on the upper half of the neck to produce some super interesting harmonic effects that have a unique sort of muted, almost robotic or chippy suggestion of tonality. If you have your guitar in your lap, then I have an example you can try to mess around with: My personal favorite example I found was with a repeating pattern of descending quintuplets based on the Am pentatonic shape from barring your left index on the 5th fret of the top 3 strings. It takes on an additional modal character from starting with a tap on the 1st string-10th fret, and ending with the D on the 3rd string-7th fret. Altogether the pattern is thus: t10 p5 /h8 p5 /h7; t=tap, p=pull off, /h=cold hammer on the next string down - rinse and repeat. While you're repeating this pattern, the natural sort of claw shape your right hand takes from being anchored in place for the tap with either or both your pinky and thumb on the side(s) of the neck will drape the corner of the muting edge and the butt of your palm to hover above the 15th~17th-ish fret. If you do it right, you should end up with an A from that 2s-8f hammered harmonic tone, sounding a major 2nd HIGHER than the initial 1s-10f tap's G (I'm going from memory here on the notes so I'm not 100% sure it's a G & A, but it is certainly a whole step interval), and each hammer/pull on the way down WILL produce notes in varying degrees of loudness and staccato, with the 10 and the 8 being loudest and capable of ringing out the most (I prefer to accent the 8). You'll probably have to mess around for a bit to get the palm positioned just right, because I think its success arises from allowing your palm to relax and follow the general curvature of the fretting pattern, so it's *just* slightly closer to the bridge on the 1st string than it is on the 3rd. Now I know this explanation may appear rather dense, but I promise if you follow along carefully and methodically, you should end with success. If you feel like you're struggling to make the stretch from the tap to the harmonic nodes, you can experiment with transposing the pattern up and down to fit your hand size. This is just where I found the most success in what eventually became a reliably reproducible outcome. It also is at least semi reliable that open string pull-offs will also produce a harmonic tone in this position over any transpositions. If anyone decides to give this a try, please let me know if you got any results and if there are any questions I can answer to help you along!

[@EPIALUS]

The first chord to your intro score sounds like the first chord in The Cure’s love song

[@BenEller]

It sure as hell is, and it’s for that reason!!!

[@DanKleeman]

The collab of the century!

[@raybergstrom]

Thanks for this video! I've started working on this and it feels like I have to unlearn everything I thought I knew about playing the guitar.

[@g99se9]

How did I know you were going to say “taint of the guitar”? Stepdad superpowers, that’s how.

[@yogiguitar1]

great vid uncle ben & papa tosin!

[@tyler_m_tunes]

The tutorial makes me think I could actually do this.. we will see. Thanks for the lesson!

[@RikJSmith]

What the frikn heck , Ben ?! I've been playing and learning for about 35 years. And I feel like I just recently became solid with Economy Picking. Now I'm seeing this video and I'm trying like hell to not trash my Les Paul. A lot of you Guitarists out there , Ben , are just ridiculously good.

[@Gregorypeckory]

I love the "arm hands" idiom you added to the language! 😂🤣😂

[@Brookzplayzmuzic]

Dude I swear to God. I have never understood a lesson more than this one..ty!!

[@Pericles777]

I have been working on this for the past few months im so glad you made this video

[@aramaroian5831]

Thanks as always for keeping guitar practice fun!

[@han36solo]

Oh, oh ok I thought selective picking was when band security would hand out backstage passes to certain "selected" concert-goers, ala VH.

[@BenEller]

Hahahahahaha wow

[@Cognitoman]

Lol

[@DissidentDissonance]

Shaune Kelley and Erik Rutan actually invented this technique in the early 90's in the band Ripping Corpse, they both continued to utilize it periodically in their later bands, Hate Eternal and Dim Mak

[@joshuadaniel4443]

I saw both of these guys in GTA: Vice City.

[@prateekgautam5514]

Wow!!!!!! Thank you so much for bringing him here!!! Now I'm gonna spend some years watching this video and practising it!!! I hope you bring some more guests!!!!

[@vicentcarro]

Tosin is a guitar beast, seriously

[@gunslinger80sguitars]

Good gravy, good thing its a long weekend to get this going.

[@tpags7398]

Sup uncle Ben! Thanks for lessons on the heavy... Notification gang needs a Ben Sanctioned name, any suggestions?

[@adamguitar1498]

Wanking Benjamin's

[@shredmechanic]

Not sure what's more amazing, Tosin's playing or the fact that he does it in an office chair with arms...

[@rjprivate]

Some wicked cool licks came out of this

[@adrianurrusuno2607]

Wow Ben, this content is over the top. I mean, REALLY. This is gold. Keep'em coming please!

[@ErikAnders]

thanks for breaking it down even more. i get it but this helps even more.

[@weightoawesome3455]

Lol 8:32 missy Elliot style, flipping and reversing. Dude, I love you.

[@THEItchybruddah]

Lots for this ol dog to chew on. Also dug the fashion tips and the weapons grade more goodlier language abuse. As always, thanks for taking the time to put these together!

[@steinnbjorn7627]

9:45 that's a nice country guide

[@joshkguitar]

Okay is it just me, or did anyone else friggin lose it when he said "this part is like the taint of your guitar" 🤣🤣 Great lesson 👍

[@luxuriousfir]

Great video! Concise! Thank you!

[@han36solo]

Great lesson Ben! ..and Tosin!

[@whitecollarguitarhero687]

Great and insipiring lesson! I am now looking forward to hearing some selective picking with the DOD Grunge Pedal activated.

[@dougarnold7955]

🙃...I love the don't use the DOD suggestions lately...😄 Awesome stuff! Thanks.

[@SpectresOverVenice]

The Uncle delivers yet again and makes your day even goodlier!

[@s1NPHL]

You had me at Hamburger pickups lmao. Keep up to making these amazing videos man!

[@Jopeymessmusic]

The pattern involved in this technique remind me of two things that already exist. Cynic have loads of riffs similar to this, just without the ridiculous speed element. The other example was an old sweeping lesson that I followed from metal hammer magazine.

[@fauxshowyo]

I love that you're still managing to bring up that grunge pedal in every video. It's hilarious because I had that piece of shit way back in high school, for some reason.

[@JohnSmithiuyytw]

Thanks both for a fine video.

[@stricknine8623]

Very interesting video. Enjoyed the insight. This video just set me back 10 years as a guitarist. I have learned that Ben has a definite second career to fall back on in the event that he ever falls out of his chair landing in such an unusual way to tweak his back rendering both of his arms paralyzed. Temporarily. A Comedian ...Ben you are hilarious....I think it's largely in the delivery. You know,..like great phrasing and tone.

[@danielreeves4171]

Yessss i was hoping you'd have a video on this! And the toasty feature is frickin sick!!

[@Redline_Kouki]

I almost cried in laughter when he broke out the dod grunge... I thought I was the only one who sarcastically hung on to one 😂😂😂😂

[@macdietz]

How did this only get 40k views in a month? This is one of your coolest videos!!!

[@steveg.3022]

Good one! I haven’t heard “t’aint” since I was in the Navy 40 years ago!

[@benmorris118]

I've been doing something similar for a few years, but I never considered trying to go this far with it. I only did it because my picking hand wasn't fast enough and this was easier to coordinate

[@JusticeXFalls]

This was super helpful thanks!

[@jeffreytaylor6257]

Such talent. Well done.

[@jayseb]

What a great video and subject!

[@feebypeels2883]

I'm so glad there's a name for this technique I've been using for years. I used to just think it was cheating to sound faster. Tosin is definitely using it to it's fullest!