Guitar Anatomy: The Four Fundamental Movements Every Guitarist Should Know

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Learning basic guitar anatomy is more than just vocabulary - it's an amazing way of understanding the movements you're already making. Which picking movements are the most common? Take our poll and help us find out! troygrady.com/2015/11/04/whats...

[@r34perpwnz]

You really deserve millions of subscribers. The amount of time editing and researching for your videos has to be astounding. Your work is much appreciated, I enjoy your videos a ton and I have learned an awful lot.

[@Erocapi]

In all my dummy years learning picking I’d have never figured this out on my own , so many times I have been thinking there was something wrong with me, Thanks so much for this 🙏

[@Apartekarate]

Don't break the arm.... Don't break it, we understand...please.... Oh My God, you broke the arm.... why???? why??? the point was perfectly clear to begin with... you monster!

[@LucasCrossleyGuitar]

I can't imagine how many hours you must have invested. Your work is really amazing. Been a fan for a long time. Cheers!

[@bootlegapples]

One of the extremely *RARE* instructors who actually address the mechanics in a meaningful useful way.After a gorrilian useless speed picking exercise videos I give this one a big thumbs up!

[@Julio3dc]

You just have covered all possibilities implied to the right hand movement. I was preparing some questions for our next videochat but you have covered pretty much it. Thanks +Troy Grady for your awesome work.

[@NonsensicalSpudz]

you sound like the voice i'd hear in burnout or a skateboarding game

[@deafeningmrm]

i wish i stumbled upon these videos like 15 years ago, could have saved me a lot of pain both physically and mentally and would have given me the answers that my head kept spinning around for over 10 years now. not even studying guitar at a university could teach me that :-D but still with 31 there's some years to go with the newly acquired knowledge. Thank you so much Troy. like seriously.

[@SixGunLover]

Troy I've said it before but it's worth saying again - you make the most interesting and useful guitar-related videos I've seen on KZbin. You're a fantastic teacher and have a real knack for conveying complex ideas in ways that can be more easily understood. Thank you so much for the immense effort (and years of trial and error) that you've invested in sharing this with the rest of the world.

[@tobias.mueller]

If I could travel back in time, I would show this video to my 14 year old self back in 2004. That would have changed my life, just as I believe it does to many kids today. Amazing work!

[@kingkpin100]

As always, awesome and informative. Thank you for sharing!

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Great breakdown! I hope you will use this explanation to further analyze the picking styles of specific players!

[@myoshin4623]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="506">08:26</a> Italian way to play guitar

[@mudb0ner]

hahaaa....dying here

[@Brindlebrother]

2 years later, hilarious

[@dejanmarkovic3040]

Much appreciation to whoever made this video...this is very informative, easy to understand and.....well, maybe not that easy to apply, but if you devote enough time, attention and patience to it, you can internalize this knowledge and use it intuitively while playing.....this video is impeccable. Thank you again and kudos for the effort!

[@DreamHeroGuitar]

I really love these videos.... Best tutor ever!

[@flaviobarretto]

Troy's simply the best guitar instructor that's ever lived when it comes to technique. Period. Congrats, and thank you.

[@brianwarner308]

this video production is incredible. and very informative!!

[@CamiloVelandia]

Amazing, man. Thanks for always sharing your knowledge and discoveries

[@dieterschanzer7075]

Troy, again this is the BEST course I have seen, i must get round to subbing and dusting down my ESP and finally learn to burn! Excellent excellent work! \m/

[@rustyshackleford4743]

Finally Troy! I saw you had been unactive for like 3 weeks. But I'm still waiting on the next episode in Cracking the Code. Keep up the good work.

[@usernamemykel]

One (or several) can't "unact". One can be inactive, but can't undo an act.

[@speedygonzales4707]

Love this guy's work. makes everything fascinating

[@Corey_G]

Hey Troy, Thanks for sharing these videos with us inquisitive minded! I have always loved analyzing things in life, especially in music. Wether its technique or Harmonic & Melodic structure. Are you going to do a video on the picking hand and forearm for playing chords? Or the mechanics of switching between chordal and single note picking? I love the video animations you have, they are very concise.

[@usernamemykel]

AWESOME use of graphics/video editing/ explanation of body mechanics/excellent scripting . Liked, subbed, almost hugged.

[@srisidvicious]

Really well explained, it's a complex set of movements!

[@felipearanhademarte]

This is SO valuable and cool! Thanks Troy and CTC Team!

[@METALLGOOD]

GREETINGS FROM ROMANIA! YOU'RE AMAZING, DUDE! THX A BUNCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND ART IN TEACHING GUITAR !!!

[@cyrilmoussoki3193]

L' Anatomie du guitariste, wow. Good work, thank you for sharing

[@stacey_1111rh]

Thank you for the work you do Troy. You rule brother. Best wishes!

[@Chiefqueef91]

This is the content I come to KZbin for.

[@MicheleFano]

This video is really awesome, so professional and interesting! Thanks! :)

[@guitarstruggles3140]

Never thought kinesiology could be this interesting. If college was like this, maybe I would have finished. Do you give out diplomas? :)

[@jefferylord3068]

your videos are appreciated sir!!!!!

[@jfo3000]

Takayoshi Ohmura does an incredible job of combining all the motions, particularly supinated neutral position with very quick thumb and index finger flextion AND forearm rotation all at the same time! Watching him after seeing Troy's videos and implementing his approach improved my picking exponentially. It is a lot of motion at once to get a handle on, but once I did, WOW! Search up "Takayoshi Ohmura vs Syu" for a great camera angle on his picking hand. Troy, maybe you could profile Ohmura, he sometimes plays with Marty Friedman.

[@GreaseThunderBird]

Absolutely amazing video and great channel content. Definitely subscribing :)

[@severalpaperclips]

What's interesting to me is figuring out what adjustments to make to my UWPS and/or DWPS mechanics (or my pick grip), to increase my efficiency for 2-way pickslanting. I haven't put in enough time with my current implementations to decide if their combined "ceiling" for 2-way pickslanting speed is as high as I want. Next on the list would be finding my groove for the Steve Morse and bluegrass 1-note-per-string alternate picking.

[@shantrahara7201]

Man I really appreciate the work you make studying those amazing techniques . So can you make a video about jason becker technique I think we all want something close to jason picking / blessings man!

[@chavamel]

you are awesome , i follow all your videos , thanks Troy

[@takityp491]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="265">4:25</a> ouch Great job thank you. I see here a lot of research and a lot of work in editing the video to display wrist movements. Excelent!

[@briann8911]

Very Cool, and informative. Maybe you can add finger motion to this as well.... or maybe that deserves a separate analysis.

[@MarkoPavicMusic]

Thanx Troy, another great video!

[@blindguymcsqueezy50]

You’re teaching is just SPECIAL!

[@bssin910]

Brilliant work!

[@whoschiliisit1752]

Super informative, this should be the new standard for guitar pedagogy so that we can all communicate and instruct clearly in these terms. A question for Troy, how do you feel about and will you do any videos on the thumb and forefinger movements I see going on in a lot of players? I forget who I first saw doing it, maybe Zakk Wylde, or maybe it just looked like he was doing something with those movements and it was just an illusion, but I started using using my interpretation of it for small sweeps across one string. For example 8-5-8-5 on the high E to 8-5 on the B, triplets, picked D-U-D-U-U-D, I would pick those two consecutive upstrokes and then the two downstrokes at the looping point with a flick of my thumb and index with just the slightest wrist deviation. I can play it the same way with just wrist deviation, but now that I'm used to the other way I feel like I'm moving more meat around than I need to, any thoughts? Thanks for everything!

[@a_handshake_of_carbon_monoxide]

this feels like an introduction to a common tongue for all the guitar players, great work.

[@dogarnruatdika4155]

man!! this homie really does his homework well....anatomy and shit....in guitar playing...i dig it....he's awesome, UR AWSOME TROY GRADY

[@sudharsanpaskaran]

bravo , well presented

[@jnnn1lll347]

this is some badass channel, so luckly im here thanks!!!!

[@boytjiejoolz]

Teacher extraordinaire....thank you. 68 and till picking the pick-fight and getting into trouble. Round ten-thousand- and....coming up

[@rishmatic]

Thanks a tonne Troy !

[@andym28]

Check out Shaun Baxters technique where he uses his thumb/finger to rotate for picking.

[@michaelmattson3515]

Not only can you teach but you play awesomely.

[@smahtt9902]

great work bro..

[@PEMAMETAL]

awesome explanation

[@sthengr]

Excellent!

[@Bmxmusikian]

Brilliant mate

[@Cohagentron]

Your channel is awesome

[@bernadusrikosantosa2002]

You take guitar playing into different levels Troy

[@babilonex]

Brilliant!

[@RHRHRH101010]

My biggest takeaway is at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="725">12:05</a> : Randy Rhodes REALLY liked ketchup.

[@nerijusvilcinskas7851]

Looks like all three of them Eddie, Randy and Yngwie REALLY likes ketchup :D

[@hamidrezaarzaghi]

hey man thanks again. your great

[@WintersunForever]

I noticed everything I do from speed alternate picking to sweeping etc its all in my wrist as a pivot plus my thumb and index for control

[@santysmokes]

wow thanks vvery helpful

[@JustinArmstrongsite]

Great video. Unless you're seriously talented, these mechanical distinctions aren't even on your radar as different possibilities. It's like a Donald Rumsfeldian "unknown unknowns".

[@SoulreaperWE]

I have some questions for you Troy (or anyone that wants to answer) Now i know (thanks to you videos) that i usually play with wrist deviation (+ elbow flex \ exte in some cases) with alternate picking and sweeping - DWPS for Ascending and UPWPS for Descending - using the leading edge for both or leading for DWPS and trailing for UPWPS depends on the lick. For some odd reason for the pentatonic scales i use Forearm Rotation and i notice that the Pickslanting it's easier and more stable to do with that. 1. That thing makes any sense or it's just me?? 2. The ''best'' way to navigate through the strings its by Two-Way Pickslanting with Forearm Rotation? 3.Can you apply this specific mechanics everywhere? Ave

[@mudb0ner]

Hi Troy, I think to make/ get a good tone you have to make contact with the string in some way that ensures that a part of your 'playing structure' is in fact in NEUTRAL. There are tons of people, who cannot get this right, including me. Resulting in slipping of the string or getting hung up in some way. I think the real code cracking is analyzing this. What does it take to play ONE note the correct way ( let alone 300 per minute) That would really be revolutionary, if you could figure that out. god knows I can't and god knows I've tried. Anyway, it's fun to see the fine arts being analyzed....Is it nature or nuture. What is talent, ect

[@JoeGambleGuitar]

Fantastic presentation. I can't help but think that the fingers are going to need to be included down the road. Much of my picking woes have come from having too many moving parts not working in concert- slight elbow extension coupled with ulnar deviation and some sort of index/thumb "extension" = a picking mechanic riddled with redundant movements that my nervous system attempts to correct through a tensing of muscles. Thanks for the language to continue my efforts to correct this.

[@troygrady]

Definitely! We'll be talking fingers with the Marty Friedman stuff and also with the John Taylor interview. He was the last person to hold the Guinness world record for guitar speed, but also has a really interesting medium speed crosspicking technique that uses thumb movement for intricate metal rhythm playing.

[@JoeGambleGuitar]

+Troy Grady I figured you would Troy. Your curiosity and drive to decode and articulate this stuff is peerless!

[@TheRye07]

uff one of the best videos a i ever seen

[@abigor731]

i believe anchoring your hand on the guitar can have quite an effect on the direction of the movement. when i look at myself it often looks like im using deviation, but if i imitate the movement in the air, it turns out to be flexion/extension.

[@troygrady]

Absolutely! You can see exactly this approach in the crosspicking elude clip on our channel. Flexion and extension are the unsung heroes of picking movements that many people use without realizing it, or use in combination with other more commonly discussed movements.

[@Minatomadara1]

Troy what kind of amp distortion do you use? Cause your tone is killer my friend!

[@davidegiancristofaro6066]

I am a physiotherapist and guitarist...What a perfect crossover

[@troygrady]

Our kind of people!

[@c4chris177]

Anyone else use forearm pronation with wrist deviation for picking? I feel like no one else does this. The only person I've seen that I think I pick similar to is Guthrie Govan but I'm not sure if he uses the same technique, I noticed he rests his big thumb muscle on the strings a lot which is what I always do. Yet when I pick fast it all starts coming from my elbow.

[@ThaSupaHeroReD]

Whats the name of that jam? Its pretty badass! Reminds me of a beat em up character selection song!

[@einarabelc5]

The closest you get to the equivalent of this in drumming is Secret Weapons For the Modern Drummer by the renowned Jojo Mayer, who's a genius of technique but much more a genius of music and art. Congrats for doing this for guitarrists!!!

[@sharavanaraj]

I just had entire college course on arm mechanics!

[@CharafB1]

great video,I have a question I hope someone answers asap, does planting fingers on the guitar pickguard affect the movemenet of the wrist ? I is it bad for wrist movement?

[@troygrady]

For every possible method of anchoring that you can think of, there are lots of players that use it, sound great, and have never been injured. Batio is one good example - there are many, many more. So I would have to say no until someone shows me evidence to the contrary!

[@CharafB1]

Thanks Troy ^^

[@Alextkirk]

Ok... now we got a clear explanation... I asked once, but I think you don´t respond to comments, have been in touch with Ms. Taubmann´s work? Also would be the final touchdown if came up with a series of exercices in order to put those movements at work... maybe some simple ones but that could really make you see how it works and make it a part of your playing...

[@parris.m]

I would argue a 5th being the concentric and eccentric motion of the elbow extending and contracting to go from one string to the next similar to a piston.

[@brunoraspudic9367]

So what do you think is better for fast playing ( Yngwie, Gilbert style), wrist deviation or supination?

[@troygrady]

+ledzepp94 Whichever one you are best at! There is evidence that elbow is fastest, but all are capable of plenty of speed. Go with what you are able to do soonest / smoothest.

[@brunoraspudic9367]

Troy Grady Right now I play the fastest from the elbow but I heard from many players that elbow playing can cause tendonitis. I want to change to playing with my wrist but it feels so damn unnatural.

[@troygrady]

I haven't heard this and I'm not aware of any evidence to suggest that elbow technique is damaging in the long term. Rusty Cooley is among the fastest players we've filmed, and he has played this way for decades and has no injuries that I am aware of. That's just one example and obviously one sample is not enough data. But I would be wary of sweeping (pun intended) statements about one technique being better or worse than another without hard evidence (or at least lots of anecdotal examples) to back it up.

[@greenandblue3809]

I don't know if you will reply to this or not, but I have a question, I have been playing for four years now. I think I'm a fine guitar player (if you don't count fast playing) but I struggle so much when i try to play fast. I practice a lot but It just doesnt feel that natural when I play some fast licks. and I'm actually a left handed person who plays right handed guitar. is that's what stopping me? I can play, hey joe, foxey lady, stairway, most of red hot chili pepper songs. but it's because none of them has anything 'fast' in them

[@troygrady]

Why do you need to play fast? Don't worry about technique you don't have unless it's really necessary for some kind of practical reason. Too many people waste time learning stuff just to learn it. Which is fine if that's your hobby - I have nothing against that. But if you're in a band or a songwriter, you only need enough chops to play your material.

[@greenandblue3809]

***** wow. that is something i really need to think about i guess. thank you your reply. you are a great player, and thank u for sharing all your awesome knowledge with us

[@clivebigsby4630]

Green & Blue a metronome helps a lot if you’re trying to build speed, learn your scales 3 notes per string and keep both hands synchronised. Paul Gilbert has lessons on KZbin with tabs that have some nice licks that can help you. Practicing daily with a metronome repeating a lick/sweep will improve speed drastically in a weeks time. Also be sure to mute all strings with both hands/fingertips(for adjacent strings). Best of luck dude.

[@sonnytjuh]

Will you make the same series for left hand techniques?

[@troygrady]

If we can find a problem to solve sure! But so far I'm not aware of one.

[@speriekoda]

BTW, is there also something on playing off of the RIGHT as opposed to the LEFT side of the pick for downstrokes like I understand George benson and Shawn Lane do (did) ???? Does Jimmy Herring do that too?

[@troygrady]

+Sperie Koda Hi Sperie! We call this trailing edge picking, and you can hear more about it here ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHa3gmB6msiCr68m45s ). The short story is no there's no secret there per se, both leading edge and trailing edge can work fine and there isn't any need to choose one or another.

[@killtrosity5168]

What about fretting hand mechanics?

[@fredriknordin]

What bridge pickup is that?

[@isolateddemon9438]

Shredding scientist...hands down.

[@cast390]

Now im gonna be thinking about Family Feud all day

[@danielsgrunge]

That's a beautiful Mustang

[@b1na276]

the poll is dead link?

[@jdrobinson3468]

Thank You... I don't even know what to say and you sound a lot younger than me.

[@jaydenhoward8670]

Does Troy make all the music in the videos as well ?

[@troygrady]

Yep!

[@gopalkrishnabehera3231]

Pronation/Supination, Deviation, Flexion/Extension

[@MastanehNazarian]

This is so important for any musician!!

[@myblueheaven4424]

I learnt so much yet so little.

[@bpabustan]

Now this proves it....guitar playing is also a science!

[@plantagenant]

What about finger movement?

[@steventhedeadchannelbaeza2441]

I just watched a video on that. It is real weird to use I would like to see him talk about that.

[@tydouglas3013]

@@steventhedeadchannelbaeza2441 finger moment is a must for crosspicking in bluegrass. All 8th notes, no breaks.

[@marcelomellado1969]

many teacher and players recommend avoiding any intent finger movement. It makes even hard to play fast, smooth and even.

[@usernamemykel]

Well, you have five choices...

[@usernamemykel]

@@marcelomellado1969 '' WTH???? Play without intention? That's like driving without gasoline!

[@DChunk]

fun challenge-analyze your normal picking technique and reply and describe it with the terms troy used (by normal I mean casual playing-not shredding or crazy strumming)

[@abhinashtechdeathchuck8855]

Great

[@BL4CK5M1TH0]

The challenge is finding what movements to make or are easily associated with a genre of your choice.

[@faustohernandez3434]

But does it djent?

[@sangyonglee635]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="463">7:43</a> the secret revealed !!

[@chaosdecides]

Would you recommend just learning to play songs from tabs if you're a beginner? As opposed to monotonous exercises.

[@severalpaperclips]

+chaosdecides Interested to hear Troy's thoughts too, but I think when you're a beginner, the most important thing is to do things that keep you excited about playing. That won't be the same for everybody. If you watch Troy's Albert Lee stuff, it touches on the fact that Lee is just about incapable of playing a scale straight up and down, because he never practices things that don't sound musical to him. Acquiring some knowledge about "good" technique early on can help you avoid developing bad habits, but there will be lots of time for "woodshed" type exercises once you've been playing for a while and develop a feel for how much improvement you are or aren't experiencing from learning songs. In my opinion (playing over 25 years) the best "starting from nothing" beginner guitar instruction online is from Justin Sandercoe (JustinGuitar), and it's free. Depending on your goals, Justin's stuff could literally keep you busy for years. But if and when you want to unravel the mysteries of elite picking, nobody else even comes close to what Troy offers. The most basic elements of Troy's insights are things that even beginners can apply, though developing a fast, accurate left hand and good synchronization between hands will take a lot of practice.

[@chaosdecides]

The chromatic march of death, as I lovingly call it, and similar exercises have made me put down a guitar and give up for months out of frustration. Zero excitement to be found there. I'll check out Justin's stuff and keep watching Troy's great videos! Thanks!

[@ShawnFumo]

@@chaosdecides +1 for Justin! A ton of great info on various topics structured in a good way.

[@monno2600]

So how about IngV that's mostly using his thumb

[@severalpaperclips]

+monno2600 Yngwie's picking is mostly based on forearm rotation, though he does use his thumb a bit. Probably the biggest example of thumb-centric picking technique is Takayoshi Ohmura, but even he has a forearm rotation component most of the time.

[@monno2600]

severalpaperclips Aaah ok thanks, I was wondering but thanks mate, cheers!