What is... Pickslanting?

[@YngolSonofYsgramor]

This is incredibly eye opening

[@karstenkrause5684]

Danke für diesen wertvollen Tip! 💖 Habe es oft unterbewusst richtig gemacht, aber auch oft unterbewusst falsch und habe mich dann gewundert, warum ich den einen oder anderen Lick auf einmal nicht mehr sauber spielen konnte :D

[@justin.hombach]

Freut mich sehr zu hören, das ich damit weiterhelfen konnte. :)

[@RobTackettCovers]

There is this song in Handel's Messiah, For Unto Us a Chid Is Born, and it has this ascending 16th note pattern that I think is used in all the vocal parts, but used at different times in each vocal part...I'll use numbers, like if the root is a 1 (major scale)...so it goes 3 2 3 4 3 4 2 3 1 7 (low to 1) 1 2 1 3 2 3 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 4 2 1 2 3 2 4 3 4 5 4 5 6 5 6 4 5 3 2 3 4 3 5 4 5 6 5 6 7 6 7 8 (or higher octave 1) 9 ( or higher octave 2) 7 ...and I thought after learning that in choir in high school (hard to sing...especially at the BPM that song is done in...there are no consonants in those parts, just changing from note to note singing the same vowel, so really tough, so our teacher would have us practice it singing lalalalalalalala...and when we got the intervals down, then take out the consonant...), I got to thinking that would be a great pattern to work out on guitar, so I did....but never got it down to where I could play it super fast...maybe this slanting picking technique would really help to do it quicker...thanks so much for the video, and hope you and yours are well!

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

Great video. Any chance you can do a video showing where and how you rest your right hand when picking? (Or does anyone else know of a video that shiws this?). Also, if your just playing lead over a chord progression, are there any tips about how to use pick slanting in "real time" when you dont know what you are going play until you play it, therefore you dont know before hand if that particular scale has odd or even numbers of notes on that string (even though you know the scale, you dont usually memorise how many notes on each string).... thanks.

[@iRaikaa]

Thanks a lot for the explanation 🙏

[@monsterzero1965]

Awesome playing

[@jakemf1]

You can see why economy picking became popular it solves so many problems crossing strings

[@larskronke]

It was such an eye opener for me when i first watched troy gradys video a few years ago. It brought my playing to a whole new level!

[@tobiaswolf6630]

Nice video. I have a problem with the downward pickslanting posture. I always end up muting the strings with my palm/ the side of the hand where the pinky is. I can't play open strings with DWPS. Do you have a solution for this problem? Other than taking the hand off the guitar body.

[@ds2544]

Justin, thank you very much. super video.) It is true that Paul Gilbert plays a alternate picking with a sweep Moving from the string. Please make born of osiris - follow the signs Solo, You promised))

[@buddyrobinson801]

Hes done the xiv solo thats a challenge

[@justin.hombach]

Hey mate, are you in my progressnation fb group? (Link is in the description) when my new streaming setup is ready I'm planing to do alot of live streaming where I explain solo suggestions :)

[@MichaelHayesGuitar]

Great videos and great fun!

[@justin.hombach]

Thank you :)

[@gintokisakata5756]

Hey man love you vids!!! Can you make a tutorial on room 137 solo by dream theater??? Thanks!

[@justin.hombach]

I did a cover of it... Yeah thinking about doing a tutorial on that one :)

[@chrisking6695]

I'm an upwards pick slanter. Doing it the opposite way is so hard for me. I can't even get a tremolo going. It feels so weird.

[@MikksRemix]

I am an upwards pick slanted too.. if you lead with an upstroke then it’s the same as downward slanting.. try it.. 😊

[@Shreddah]

Me too. I started practicing downward slanting since I have noticed that only upward slanting feels limiting and awkward sometimes when standing up and playing. I really struggle though getting rid of this "habit" of upwards slanting.

[@kenyonjohnson5595]

love it

[@uroboric]

Wenn ich also einen Lauf hab bei dem ich auf jeder Seite nur 3 noten hab, also ungerade, sollte ich dann lieber economy picking, statt alternate picking benutzen? Sonst müsste ich ja dauern den Pickwinkel ändern. Oder hab ich was falsch verstanden?

[@alafenetre81]

But when you pick fast, the slanting angle of your pick does not change...

[@MassimoAngotzi]

Finally, somebody noticed that. And, by the way, you have to be really clumsy to get stucked between two strings. Everybody naturally slants the pick. These video are a way to make easy things difficult through the useless.

[@jakaleban9638]

interesting

[@quinetastic]

Yes! I agree...

[@subhankarsaha9241]

What is the guitar pick name?

[@justin.hombach]

The video is a bit older, so I assume it is a Morgan pick? But I think the company sadly doesn't exist anymore

[@subhankarsaha9241]

@@justin.hombach ok sir

[@harypamungkas6619]

First comment... Good

[@ozymandias_88]

But does pickslanting matter as you get to higher speeds?

[@jakaleban9638]

Yes it is important mostly in the higher speed, becouse it is harder to adjust if you pick wrong, but your brain will probualy realise what they have to do and you will not have to think about it

[@justin.hombach]

Well said :)

[@ozymandias_88]

I've been practicing this alot yesterday and today and I can say that I definitely had a breakthrough consciously pick slanting! This helped my accuracy and consistency alot!

[@Stringprodigy]

Nope.

[@nachfullbarertrank5230]

lol hi

[@shanehen]

I pick-slant both ways.

[@followyourpassion8378]

It looks like Yngwie is playing with a down slant most of the time. How is that possible?

[@justin.hombach]

He is often including Hammer ons and pull offs with that he avoids 2way pick slanting

[@followyourpassion8378]

@@justin.hombach Thanks a lot, great insight!

[@SaintsCheat]

So in middle of a scale or run, your wrist is constantly rolling and thinking about up or down slanting?! Toooo much work. Straight alternate with a slight angle js best and easiest. I just don’t get this concept 🤷‍♂️😂

[@justin.hombach]

Thanks for the comment. The motion in my wrist is barely there but yes there is a motion. But it's really importan because otherwise you get easily stuck between strings when you have to change between inside and outside picking (what is the case when you play an uneven number of notes on one string). This is the concept of pickslanting, and since I've learned it my picking got so much better

[@chrisking6695]

It is not best or easiest. It depends on the number of notes played per string. Try playing there notes per string and angle your pick one way. You'll see that your pick will at some point get stuck between the strings. In order to play the next note most players hop over the string. And THAT slows them down. You have to learn both ways so you can play ANYTHING. That is the POINT. You're just too lazy to sit down and practice like most.

[@EsaValkama]

​@@justin.hombach Does the slanting ever become natural, or must you always figure things out first before you can start really playing something? How do you improvise with pick slanting if it doesn't come naturally, or are the fast improvised parts always familiar licks that you already know how to play, slants included? Any opinions on the effectiveness of just having no slant at all? Or am I doomed to having to learn it? :D

[@justin.hombach]

@@EsaValkama In certain lines and licks it is natural for me. But when I feel "something is of with my picking/synchronisation" I check if my pickslanting is correct or maybe I should be more aware of a certain slant. Yes you are doomed to learn it!!! 😂😂 No, if it works for you it works but when you realise that you aren't that clean or you get stucked at a tempo... thats the point were you should try some slanting. :)

[@Stringprodigy]

Not worth the time and effort IMO. Guitarists were shredding alternate picking long before Troy Grady and his marketing department came along.

[@irti_pk]

Sorry, but you missed the point of Pickslanting. Troy Grady didn't invent it, he simply gave it a name. Picking gods like Paul Gilbert, Yngwie or Eric Johnson naturally found a way to escape the strings smoothly, efficiently and consistently at high speeds. The way all these high level virtuosos accomplished this was ultimately the same, using pickslanting. A lot of us regular players use it too without knowing it, but not all of us. Just being aware of these escape motions can make you improve significantly with your alt picking. There are plenty of people who practice for hours a day to a metronome trying to improve their picking but they hit a wall. Even though they can pick great on a single string, it's the changes they struggle with at high speeds. This where it's worth it to learn about this sort of stuff. I know it seems like it's really complex, but ultimately it really isn't. Once you figure out and "feel" the technique, you'll be able to pick really fast right off the bat (provided you've been playing for a while). Then it's a matter of just cleaning it up and mastering it.

[@Stringprodigy]

@@irti_pk I don't believe any of that. If you put in the time with a metronome, you'll get results without worrying about the pick slanting nonsense.

[@irti_pk]

@@Stringprodigy If you do get the results, you're using the pick slanting movements. If you come about it on your own, that's great and a lot of people do. Otherwise, if and when you hit that wall, it's time to examine your technique. Troy has interviewed top level players and recorded their movements and confirmed that they do indeed incorporate escape motions into their playing. Some of them have even said that they didn't realize it before but once he talked about it they began to feel it a lot more and became aware of it. Look at it like this: imagine if you tried doing 3 note per string legato lines all over the fretboard, but you kept your left hand in a way where you had your thumb over the fretboard (like you usually do for bending). That's just poor and inefficient technique. No matter how many hours you practice with that flawed approach, you'll never be Allan Holdsworth. Once you figure out the correct left hand technique, things will instantly improve. Same thing with alt picking, if you don't figure out the correct movements then you'll never have true alt picking mastery. I'm not saying everyone needs to think about it or "learn" pick slanting, clearly all the greats figured it out on their own. But not everyone does and that's where learning about this stuff can help tremendously - speaking from personal experience and that of many others.

[@Stringprodigy]

@@irti_pk you sound like you work for Troy's marketing department.

[@irti_pk]

@@Stringprodigy Great job refuting my argument. My fault for trying to have a productive conversation I guess.