Learn To Count And Fix Your Pickstrokes - Alternate Picking Lesson

Check out Bluegrass Breakfast:
www.bluegrassbreakfast.com/
Hey folks, hope this quick video on counting and pickstrokes helps answer some questions I've been seeing in the comment section for a while!
---
SIGN UP FOR SKYPE LESSONS:
lessonswithmarcel.com/product...
Like the music? Listen to my album!:
open.spotify.com/album/3iEy7d...
Check out my website for free lessons and more tabs:
www.lessonswithmarcel.com/
Follow me on instagram (@lessonswithmarcel):
/ lessonswithmarcel
Like my Facebook page (@lessonswithmarcel):
/ lessonswithmarcel
---
AFFILIATE LINKS:
Releasing an album? Sign up for DistroKid and get 7% off your first year!:
distrokid.com/vip/marcel
Get Guitar Pro 7!:
www.guitar-pro.com/#ae156
Need strings? LWM20 for 20% off your first order of a single set of strings!:
straightupstrings.com/pages/s...
30 Day Trial Of Strum Machine!:
strummachine.com/marcel

[@alegreone]

I’m a mountain dulcimer player and I’m learning so much from your videos that I wish I had a long time ago. Thank you!

[@richtfingers]

For relative beginners, this is a very important lesson. When you are learning bluegrass guitar you find that you don’t sound like the pros. The reason is that you just fire the pick strokes off with no solidity so the musical content of your playing is somewhat scrambled, resulting in an unmusical and unsatisfactory sound to your playing. Listen closely to Marcel here, it may not be instantly captivating (although Marcel presents it perfectly) but follow it closely and it will pay dividends later. A powerful and significant lesson, Marcel..!

[@lukesampeck5689]

Woah, i don't know why i completely missed the concept of the numbers get a down, and the ands get an up! i know that once i get this to sink in, my rhythym and fluidity are going to improve! I run into a problem a lot where i get "stuck," but the few lessons we had a few hundred years ago have already helped in a very big way!

[@robertshorthill6836]

It is a fairly simple concept. I'm not the best player in the bunch, or the fastest, but I taught a mandolin workshop a few years before Covid put everything out of order and my 50 minute topic was how to count these notes on a page of sheet music. Basically, at the end of the session, the folks understood that 8 1/8th notes or their equivalents equal a measure. And that there can be a combination number of notes as long as they add up to 8 1/8th notes. I gave out sheets to illustrate several of these combinations. We had a good time and the folks learned something, which is why I was glad to be there teaching. Bob

[@BeefDynamite]

Awesome video man, thank you!

[@benjaminthorpe7990]

Nice, this was really useful!

[@jccopeland100]

This is a really great video. Well done!

[@judwatkins9478]

Solid teaching, important content, well organized! And so often overlooked. Thanks, Marcel.

[@dancom3207]

Very helpful!

[@mbaker589]

A great video lesson.

[@wimvandijk6275]

Aside from the awesome content of this lesson… perhaps you could try some indirect lighting to prevent the distracting reflection in your glasses? Just some positively meant feedback. 😊

[@danielshaver6083]

It's awesome to see what I've learned to play by trial and error on a set of tabs. It all makes sense now! Would you consider blowing our minds with dotted rhythms and syncopation? All the greats seem to credit Tony Rice for his characteristic syncopated style.

[@richtfingers]

Another superb lesson from Marcel. Innovative content, important stuff but stuff that would be missed by other tutors. And again, a very well produced video. Thanks, Marcel ... you are the chap (or to translate into American: you are the man .. errr man (or dude..).

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Thanks dude (Pip pip, old chap)!

[@Del_Puerto_Musica]

Great video!! Also cool new camera angle!!😉🎶🎶

[@YogidancingBear]

The lighting on you glasses is so distracting. Glad you fixed that. Love you buddy 🎉

[@sundaydiver]

Would you consider doing a video sometime that clears up what seems to be a constant source of confusion with regard to straight time vs. cut-time counting in flatpicking?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Yeah, the problem is pretty simple. The answer lies in what you feel as the fastest subdivision and what a reasonable tempo marking might be. I'm not going to get into it here but I briefly touch on that in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2PNiGZtna52jqs

[@jeffloewi5632]

First time viewing this and all went well until those nasty rests. It started getting easier when I allowed my right hand to "infer" the appropriate up or down stroke for each rest.

[@xXxGANTZxXx]

I feel attacked. lol, thanks for this one man, I was hoping I wasn't the only one.

[@benmeyer7767]

Are you tapping your foot on the 2 and 4 or 1 and 3? I always tapped on 1 and 3 which feels natural but was recently told it should be on 2 and 4 by an experienced player. Thanks for all you do

[@browser9571]

Anyone who knows this please answer. The question I've been struggling to find an answer to is what happens when the last note of the triplet is played on the downstroke, and then is following by an eighth or quarter note? Is that played on the downstroke again to get you back to proper technique (i.e. downstrokes always on the downbeat, I guess other than with consecutive triplets), or on the upstroke which it seems will throw you off going forward?

[@hillbillyguy9034]

Well done Marcel!!! I have trouble from time to time with timing especially on those fast licks, did you see that pun lol! Thanks for the vid! I was wondering if you could possibly do a video on Baby Why You Been Gone so Long by Toe Knee Rice? Lol! I love that shirt! Also wondering if you could do Blue Virginia Blue by Larry Sparks. Thanks man!

[@michealjohnson5700]

How would one convince you to tackle Molly's cover of "Keeping the cats happy"?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

I've been trying to secure a sponsor for that one! I was even talking to someone a week ago and haven't heard back from them. You can order transcriptions on the bottom of this page: lessonswithmarcel.com/tab-store/ I'll probably do it no matter what but I definitely make videos out of transcription orders!

[@gregbaugh7463]

Ok, I have to ask a non-music question. How did you do the pie graph for your video? That was an awesome simple graphic.

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Honestly, it was a fair amount of work! I made all of the assets in Illustrator: the "pie", the cut lines for quarters and eighths, the different counts, etc. Then I put all of that into Premiere Pro and animated when certain things would reveal, rotate, fade out/in, expand/contract, etc. It took a couple hours. One of my favorite videos graphic-wise is the one on modes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4fToGenj9CSbc0 The whole thing has this retro 1950's instructional vibe and it took a couple weeks to make.

[@gregbaugh7463]

@@LessonsWithMarcel Thank you so much for your quick reply. I thought it might involve assets like illustrator. Your lessons are awesome.

[@caseymoon105]

Awesome...so I just spent the last 15 years of my life trying to alternate every single pick stroke, no matter what, just to find out that’s wrong 😕

[@FRL1344]

Good thing you found out you’ll be really good at picking now since it’s probably harder to do what you were doing

[@martinaardans645]

Thank you. I feel like this video was made just for me. Was it? 😊

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Yes it was!

[@mgibby63mg]

I've been playing for years . I've never counted I've never used a metronome...I play plenty fast and in time... this stupid crap holds people back... unless you have no rythym ability and can't even tap your foot in time rhythm yes you need this... I've never payed attention to pick strokes..I play using alternate picking and never had an issue..I play plenty fast and in time and good volume. Play however works for you.. You're holding people back with unnecessary bullshit

[@procarpenter1788]

Wow. And you’re… proud of that? Let me guess; you only play by yourself.

[@mgibby63mg]

@@procarpenter1788, nope. I've been playing probably longer than you've been alive. I play with others in jams all the time. No issue. Everyone doesn't need that stupid shit BOY !!! I'm very proud of my abilities. Aren't you proud of yours ? Boy, you're a badass online huh lil feller. I'm probably better than you, lol.. When practicing tho I use backing tracks and or play along with cds..I guess kinda the same thing... A total beginner should try and do it the way he says.