Paul Gilbert - Right Hand

[@cleaningsuplydepot8595]

I won a 30 minute guitar Skype lesson with Paul he complemented me on playing and then proceeded to have me start with only upstrokes and then lastly my index finger vibrato...Paul is a very humble and a excellent teacher! =)

[@DojCity]

Dude, that's awesome!

[@hummarstraful]

I have to ask you, why did Paul make you use only upstrokes? He has said that he started with only upstrokes himself. I wonder if that is one of the reasons his technique is so amazing. Did he give any insights about that?

[@tapsmiled]

Honestly, my playing is so bad, I would’ve just said, “Can you please just shred for 28 minutes straight and leave me 2 minutes to stop crying before the feed cuts out?”

[@cleaningsuplydepot8595]

@@hummarstraful Paul asked me to play something to start with, so I did he complemented my playing and speed, we spoke about warming up so he showed me just the upstrokes to begin with, lastly he told me I need to work on my index finger bends and vibrato and was very helpful to show me how to do that...I hope this helps you! =)

[@cleaningsuplydepot8595]

@@tapsmiled Yes it was definitely a very humbling experience for me...I won some of his picks and artwork beside the lesson very cool and something I will always remember.

[@nojyeloot]

Paul Gilbert is a gem and a gift to all guitarist's.

[@Korus2023]

I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@mekrum]

Duh, he made Buckethead...

[@Johnmannish]

I've been expecting a video of him from this angle for 21 years

[@OrcsMustDie-tl3dj]

And then we finally get it, but it is in 360p :(

[@StevenBrown-me]

So true🤘

[@DiegoPujolT]

“… because you could play this even without a pick.”. No, Paul, YOU could.

[@davidsoukup138]

😭😭

[@danielgonzaleztejedor9486]

His articulation shows up.

[@cleangoblin2021]

How blessed are we to have one of the greatest players to actually love to teach. Too bad we lost Randy. I heard he loved teaching too

[@marcjeanson]

Paul is one of the few where "those who can't do -> teach" doesn't apply. Great player, great teacher.

[@MusicMotivator]

Those who can do- teach teachers. ;)

[@Korus2023]

@@MusicMotivator I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@BTsNemesis]

Tbh I think it doesn't apply to a lot of greats. I know it's a regular saying, but it should actually be rephrased to end with "... for a living"

[@syty747]

"those who can't do, teach" is such a bullshit saying. usually the most patient and knowledgeable people get the drive to teach.

[@genesises]

@@syty747 agreed! i don't believe in this at all

[@fernandomiranda8125]

I can't believe the time he spends teaching us... Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@Korus2023]

I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@fernandomiranda8125]

@@Korus2023 how did it go buddy?

[@Korus2023]

@@fernandomiranda8125 I uploaded it here in my channel. Paul is my idol eversince and i just tried to mimic his style just for fun

[@fernandomiranda8125]

@@Korus2023I just watched it, good job!

[@Korus2023]

@@fernandomiranda8125 Bro thank you so much I appreciate it

[@padywac1970]

Of all the greats in the guitar world, Paul is by far just the coolest dude ever.

[@domanz1]

when he starts picking the lick lightning fast with his bare fingers I had to watch it 10 times and still didn't comprehend. He's like a piano sitting comfortably on the ceiling.

[@sokko67]

Yeah, I saw the same thing. Had to stop and watch it several times, thinking what the “heck” was that?

[@gothicuq470]

he is playing legato there. just plucking each string once

[@johnfarmingdale]

Paul always has the drill pick close at hand. Another great Lesson.

[@hrdrainfalls]

I have been fortunate to meet him 3 or 4 times in my life and he has always been a wonderful human being.

[@vapenshred]

Someday I hope!

[@ngtarz]

lucky you are!!

[@ryanthielbar77]

Well, was is 3 or 4 times? Smells like bullshit to me...

[@wlrIII]

His economy of motion is just sublime. What a beast.

[@abcdefghijk5095]

Paul Gilbert is one of the greatest players of all time but he is an even better teacher.

[@ramlihassan8238]

This racer x kind of style playing was always my fav.....

[@netnavigator149]

Direct and honest these kind of guitar videos i like. No business just a being himself.

[@V8LC100]

Paul is a great instructor and how lucky are we to see this kind of insight.

[@SouthernTemper]

Paul Gilbert is a legendary guitarist and a legendary teacher. Thank you for all your tapes, Paul!

[@nvader88]

I rarely ever say this about any stars. But, Paul truly seems like a legit nice guy.

[@nathanhunter1468]

everytime i watch one of his lessons, i feel like i need to pay the man. what a great guy and teacher. rock on Paul!

[@markbrady7532]

Thank you so much Paul. Used to read your column in Guitar Player magazine back the 80s. You’re still as clear and helpful and happy as ever. Appreciate it.

[@Korus2023]

I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@markbrady7532]

@@Korus2023 ima huge fan of acoustic renditions of typically electric riffs and licks. The resonance of an acoustic guitar just sounds so powerful, from Michael Hedges to Nuno Bettencourt to Van Halen’s Spanish Fly. Keep it up!

[@Korus2023]

@@markbrady7532 Thanks so much bro I appreciate it. I idolized Paul since I was 13 and it helped me a lot to improved my way of playing and I could truly say that I enjoyed playing music so much

[@vapenshred]

All of us fans love you Paul! For me it all started with the GIT admissions video! Keep on doing what you were born for and love to do Shreddin, Picklin and plucking and making great songs!

[@Korus2023]

I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@douglasnisbet1189]

Just an absolutely phenomenal player.

[@LeftSpeedPower]

Paul is the real guitarists' guitarist. He has so much wisdom on playing and he just shares it like it is no big deal, unlike youtube guitar tutorials these days.

[@trackerbuckmann1627]

I've watched this 50 times and see something new every time, or something in a completely different way.

[@jfo3000]

Lots of subtle changes in mechanics and motion happening. This is a goldmine.

[@lincthomas7178]

dudes such an innovator!!! BEST shredder in the world!!!

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Paul is so awesome and seems like such a great guy. I hope he gets more and more popular. His speed is still top notch.. guy still shreds.

[@alijala-o2y]

Thanks!Paul&Peter, for showing &sharing...~

[@johnnysag]

never get tired of this man's right hand lol

[@chimster1234]

Love the Makita in the background nice touch

[@bananacake7083]

I am Robert, and this was my VE from Paul Gilbert's ArtistWork's school. I did not post this video. Paul Gilbert is the best guitar teacher in the world, and I highly recommend his school. I have had several lessons discussing picking with Paul. I can tell you that he, and other fast guitar players do not think nearly as much about their picking mechanics as we and Troy Grady do. The only reason Paul is breaking this down, is because I requested it, and he is trying to reverse engineer it for me. The truth is, that he states that he focuses on the sound rather than the pick mechanics. . Obviously, I have watched this many times, and practiced this and still have not come close to this kind of speed. I think some people are just born with nitro in their blood.

[@typedeaf]

Yes. That is true. Seen it first hand several times. My best friend, other lead in my first real band could play Gilbert and Yngwie at 15 (at least) and he could play this stuff cold. It always hurt my pride. We both practived insane hours; like 4-10hrs a day when possible, but speed just came natural to him. Oddly enough, other things came to me more easily, like articulation and sense of rythmn, which made us a more balanced band. Believe it or not, many people liked me better as a player, even though he was clearly faster.

[@brians7604]

@@typedeaf sure bro...cap

[@RicardoMarlowFlamenco]

Thank you for letting the guy keep your lesson up here. It is revealing, and though I figured out the trick here (downward pick swiping two strings down blocking the unwanted noise with left hand, and clearing the strings on the up stroke) a while back, this is the best angle to prove the point of how he crosses strings. I realized too that swiping two strings gives a more percussive or aggressive sound to the attack that was also a big difference to the sound between Grady and Gilberts versions of this lick.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

I'm also still on the journey to be able to play fast licks by Paul and I discover small things from time to time. So far what I've discovered that is important to play his fast licks are: For your left hand: Place the thumb in the middle of the backside of the neck and don't grip with your thumb over the fretboard like Paul usually does because the size of his hands. Also press your fingers as softly as you can on the strings while still getting a note to ring. For the right hand: The position of the pick in your hand is really important here. The exercise that Paul show us here where you play only upstrokes are actually really good for this. Most people develope their picking techniques and pick position based on downstrokes. The problem then is that the pick doesn't stay still in your hand when doing upstrokes. Paul have mentioned this before that when he first started to play guitar he thought he could only play with upstrokes. I guess this is one of the key elements that made him such a fast player in the end because that gave him the right foundation gripping the pick the right way and also focused hard to play the upstrokes fast. So I practice very hard every day now on getting a good grip with my pick in hand doing upstrokes, also holding the pick and playing with my right and left hand as softly as I can while still getting the sound that I want. Also pickslanting is key to be able to play Paul's 3 notes per string licks or scales. Lastly the position on the right hand should be so that you can play the low E without having to bend the wrist that much. So I try to place the hand just where the low E attaches to the saddle.

[@gcruishank9663]

So generous with your time for showing this, thank you!

[@chimster1234]

Oh my God Paul this is absolutely incredible I'm so glad after two or three decades of watching you that I have this perspective thank you LOL

[@400_billion_suns]

Paul is such a treasure of a human being. He’s a god-tier guitarist of multiple decades but still has such a humble and enthusiastic desire to teach us mere mortals. This guy gave Buckethead lessons before he was Buckethead. Need I say more?!

[@frankorobinson1540]

Been a fan sence 1987 paul is a very accomplished guitarist ❤

[@albarron4022]

The right hand technique is so important and yet so overlooked in guitar education. This is the kind of stuff Troy Grady does a deep dive into in his Cracking the Code series. A supinated ( palm up) or pronated (palm down) posture will make a world of difference in how you approach the guitar! More vids like this!!!

[@trevor4533]

Yeah, seriously. I'm a lefty that learned how to play right handed, and definitely wish I would have put more emphasis on technique and endurance for my right hand.

[@RicardoMarlowFlamenco]

Notice that Paul is using downward pick slant. You can slow this down 4:36 and notice he swipes two string downward and clears them on the up stroke..meaning Troy’s “swiping” technique is employed, not two way slanting. That means the true secret is the left hand blocking the unwanted string

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

​ Exactly! I've been trying to play this lick for many years and with pick slanting but never really got it to work.. It's nice to finally see that Paul stays in one slant position all the time in this lick.

[@jfo3000]

​​​@@RicardoMarlowFlamenco At 4:47 is more revealing though. No swiping. His big thumb joint comes closer to the guitar to move his pick over the thinner string while obtaining a downward escape. Exactly what he talked about in the beginning of the video. But he didn't point out that he was doing thus on a smaller scale when up to tempo. This is what I stumbled on decades ago trying to do this stuff. Plus slowing it puts video and audio out of sync so that can be misleading. Beato had a short with Bukovac kind of explaining this method, look it up.

[@adamvigil8320]

Too cool, Paul. My arm burned just watching this clip.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Very cool. You really choke up on the pick as well. I do the same. Thanks Paul. You're a jewel sir and always good stuff that brings value to my life sir.. Regards from Southern Indiana USA

[@JoelChhangte87]

Thank You Mr. Paul.. You are my best Guitar Idol all time, learned a lot from you.. 👍🙏🎸👌

[@anaran4811]

I think I love this man.

[@dougsteeleguitar]

Such a lovely man. Major inspiration.

[@bevo65]

Master player, magical teacher, and an even better human being.

[@Korus2023]

I tried to imitate Paul Gilbert using an acoustic guitar

[@ronaldpapa8182]

I, agree 100% on the muted picking, the articulation is completely defined.

[@SuperSalvatore50]

Great player and humble.

[@DieDeej]

PG released one of the best instruction videos and this one tops all of em

[@naegleriafowleri2230]

his arm shifts when picking down or up because he subconsciously does upward and downward pickslanting, thats why he creates this space when he picks up, because the pick is slanted up and this forced the wrist and forearm to turn slightly creating an small opening, you can actually pick down and up without creating this arm rotation by not slanting the pick upwards when picking up

[@iganpparamarta8813]

Nice information. Have you watched Anton Oparin’s video that revealed Gilbert’s ‘mistake’ in his trademark picking lick? He didn’t explain it though. He only discusses the solution to that problem in his class

[@nipunkapoor883]

Thanks Paul for the insight, it’s amazing!

[@Kazyman]

He morphs a simple lick into a breath-taking audio display. Wow Wow Wow. - a decent lead guitarist.

[@freddylive4181]

whats notable is he gets a very similar result without the pick .. thats pretty darn awesome.

[@Dirtbiker-guy]

Paul is a monster to the monsters. Level insane, but super humble and cool.

[@agmsmith4079]

The speed of your picking is based on how fast you can lift the pick up (upstroke) not how fast you can bring the pick down (downstroke). Your up stroke is always fighting gravity where your downstroke is always being aided by gravity. I liked seeing Paul focus on upstrokes only to improve picking speed and consistency. It’s spot on!

[@giopereperez4532]

That’s weird for me I can play faster on the way back up lol on the way down slower

[@agmsmith4079]

@@giopereperez4532 ...you are tensing up too much.

[@giopereperez4532]

@@agmsmith4079 thank you for the tip I will definitely keep an eye on that 😃

[@menamgamg]

By that logic you should be able to pick faster if you were lying down on your back then :P I'd say it's just the fact that it's less natural to move the wrist up than down. The way i see it is that picking speed is about efficiency of movement and control, which you achieve by learning to isolate the movement to specific muscles in your arm to move the wrist.

[@cameron3525]

From a physics standpoint, the tension from your tendons and muscles negates all noticeable benefits of gravity in picking. (strumming is a different story). And yes, I just made all that up. xD

[@clanofhousecats8079]

Wow I liked watching his perspective on how he approaches the bridge with his right hand. We all have unique ways on picking attack.

[@JohnDoe-dp7sk]

Pauls a great guitar player and a really nice guy

[@jjjohny_a5965]

about the best guitar player i ever seen...super fast yet still plays with feeling

[@darwinswrong]

Met him twice and took lessons. Fantastic and very fun person very friendly not stuck up and as a teacher excellent

[@NACHOXVALLE]

I love this.

[@arthurmurfitt7698]

this is GOLD

[@rudygracia5573]

PG's right hand IS his weapon of mass destruction,not many others have it,or we'd surely see/hear it(on you tube).I especially love that percussive speed on the lower registers.ie;The song"Jesus will reign",by Darrell Mansfield(PG guested on guitar).I'm SO grateful PG played on that song.

[@carter358]

His playing of the synth line on Baba O'Reilly is amazing.

[@Soloist1983]

He is literally describing pickslanting. Troy Grady figured this all out. Maaaaan, would it be amazing to have Paul join Troy Grady for a picking special. Everything clicked for me once I understood that the ONLY way to get out of the string plane is to slant the pick and that TRUE alternate picking requires a 2-way slant that changes depending on the pattern. You have to internalize this SO much that your body knows which way to slant and when. You can use one slant angle, either down or up, but you will be limited to only certain patterns not alternating the angle.

[@shred4Him]

I was going to post the same thing but checked to see if someone had already. Cracking The Code changed my picking.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

And yet Paul use only downward pickslanting in this lick.. So he use the swipe motion to be able to do this.

[@jfo3000]

​@GabrielSkolderblad It's about the trajectory of the pick, not necessarily the slant direction. You can maintain downward pickslant and have a downward escape motion...if your slant is great enough, only a slight bit of wrist / forearm rotation can change escape direction, aided with, in Paul's case here using only the tip of the pick, the pick slant angle does not cross the threshold from upward to downward. I see him changing escape directions with small trajectory changes...but do not necessarily mandate a change in pickslant direction. Watch his thumb palm joint move in space to see the indication of pick trajectory change. It's what he discusses in-depth for the first part of the video. He was willing to show "the secret" and he did. We only need to see him use it later on at tempo without him accentuating it. He is not swiping here. He's figured out how to do it without swiping.

[@sEaNoYeAh]

A humble god.

[@gitarmats]

That upstroke exercise was harder than I expected.

[@powerseostrategy]

In just a few minutes, you explained this so well as opposed to Troy Grady's ultra technical weirdness!

[@curlzwalk]

Paul is fantastic!

[@dwill1970]

He is a monster shredder right out of the gate

[@mrmres]

The drill is on the floor, and it's ready!

[@Banzurit]

Thank you!

[@MuscleHorses]

Very cool, thanx for that excellent exersise!

[@tacofriday8272]

This is a truly unique and educational vid. Thank so much for this upload !

[@filupbowl1]

This is a great exercise to apply to 2 strings at a time as well. Very similar to old school blues players who played their guitars upside down. Their downstrokes being our upstrokes.

[@palbo7871]

what? i can't picture this haha

[@palbo7871]

oh i see what you mean, the steings are displaced upside down

[@jameskellam2980]

Wow. Really like that Paul's Eye View.

[@fredyrocazaurus8420]

Sensei

[@juanduplays]

What an awesome video!

[@scirasco1]

Hey paul u see this ,u look mighty young in this for your age excellent thank u;)

[@bubbles3161]

Paul talking about the things we think about. Confirms thing !

[@e321-g4q]

Paul is a badass.

[@CammedFox]

I tried to play Paul's upstroke exercise as fast as he does. I definitely need to put some work in

[@The-Trivela]

this is awesome

[@friendlamasyangtan994]

Best teacher

[@joesantana5704]

Thanks, Paul!! On, that note? A toast to you with a glass of APPLE 🍎 JUICE!!!!!

[@kengyang1908]

Love the old makida drill not far away Paul...great instructor u are...l need a lesson how to grow my pinky finger..lol

[@nickdog]

Great man

[@ic_clearly]

My right hand is the first thing to go if I dont play often enough.. Thanks Paul!

[@chrisx742]

Hes so cool!

[@JimDewdGuitars]

Love seeing the pick drill on the floor!

[@doormasterjohn]

I can't get over the nearly 50 year old vintage cordless drill on the floor

[@SinnGread]

very insightful ! thank you

[@3ngi_n33r]

Whaaaat? That just wrecked me. 😂

[@yeesenchai]

thank you for sharing this

[@brianlittle9202]

Absolutely among the very very best IN THE WORLD, one of my top 5 BAD*SS MONSTER PLAYERS. I love this guy's attitude and playing.

[@cbeserra]

Did anyone else fall off their chair when he played it without a pick. Wowza!

[@jonnyroxx7172]

Absolutely true: I actually caught myself cocking my head to one side like a confused German Shepherd while Paul was showing the difference in hand position between up-strokes only and down-strokes only picking. I have never caught myself doing this involuntarily before. I think this is important.

[@martysradioshow5979]

Mr PG one my Guitar hero Thanks 4 this video

[@mohammadrezabehaeen4925]

Excellent 👌🏻🤘🏻 thank you 👍🏻🙏🏻😍

[@craigcarroll3333]

4 years I have been struggling to not get my pick stuck in the strings. Every day I try, and fail until I saw your video. It seemed so simple at first I wasn't really going to try it but then just after a few minutes I couldn't believe this. I mean I'm ready to throw my guitar away forever bcuz I think I just don't have it. Thank you so much I am beyond thankful can't wait to delve into some Maiden \../

[@freddylive4181]

Thank You for sharing this .. very valuable insight.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

I'm also still on the journey to be able to play fast licks by Paul and I discover small things from time to time. So far what I've discovered that is important to play his fast licks are: For your left hand: Place the thumb in the middle of the backside of the neck and don't grip with your thumb over the fretboard like Paul usually does because the size of his hands. Also press your fingers as softly as you can on the strings while still getting a note to ring. For the right hand: The position of the pick in your hand is really important here. The exercise that Paul show us here where you play only upstrokes are actually really good for this. Most people develope their picking techniques and pick position based on downstrokes. The problem then is that the pick doesn't stay still in your hand when doing upstrokes. Paul have mentioned this before that when he first started to play guitar he thought he could only play with upstrokes. I guess this is one of the key elements that made him such a fast player in the end because that gave him the right foundation gripping the pick the right way and also focused hard to play the upstrokes fast. So I practice very hard every day now on getting a good grip with my pick in hand doing upstrokes, also holding the pick and playing with my right and left hand as softly as I can while still getting the sound that I want. Also pickslanting is key to be able to play Paul's 3 notes per string licks or scales. Lastly the position on the right hand should be so that you can play the low E without having to bend the wrist that much. So I try to place the hand just where the low E attaches to the saddle.

[@Taylor___]

That’s a great guitar tip. I’ve started working on my upstrokes now.

[@JohnWallsrockmusic]

Thanks so much for uploading!!

[@isMike999]

what a great guitarist and role model for OTHER guitarists

[@hanatavi9455]

every guitar instruction vids should use this view