Your Alternate Picking Exercise SUCKS! This Is Why You Suck At Guitar 17

Downloadable TABS, bonus lessons, backing tracks, and MORE available on my Patreon page! / benellerguitars
instagram: BenEllerGuitars #weekendwankshop #thisiswhyyousuckatguitar
unclebeneller
skype lessons? [e-mail]
CONTENTS:
2:18: the regular 1234 chromatic alternate picking workout, and why it kinda sucks
4:50: how you should practice it instead
5:45: the secret all in 1 picking practice exercise you need in your life to become a shred god, THE PUNISHER
10:00: why THE PUNISHER works
12:11 the string skipping variation
Hey kids! Its a brand new episode of This is Why You Suck at Guitar, here with your best buddy, Uncle Ben Eller!!!
In this episode, i'm going to share a heartbreaking tale of an extremely handsome young man who spent his youth practicing the typical 4 note per sting 1234 chromatic exercise in his quest to build alternate picking power.... and failed, because that typical picking workout routine only works 50% of the potential string changing mechanics involved in alternate picking! Because i care about you all, i'm going to help you keep from repeating my mistakes.
I'm going to show you the BEST way to practice the traditional 4 note per string chromatic exercise, as well as show you all a brand new picking drill called the Punisher that is going to take you on a full-body workout designed to make you into an alternate picking MACHINE like John Petrucci, Andy Wood, Guthrie Govan, or Francis Bubbletrousers.
If you practice these things on the daily, i guarantee you'll be on speaking terms with your real dad again in NO time. What have you got to lose? Oh yeah, YOUR DAD!
Playing my Suhr Modern Satin into my Kemper Profiler, as usual.
Thanks for watching! What do YOU suck at that i should cover on a future episode of TIWYSAG?

[@BenEller]

Thanks everyone for watching! What do YOU suck at that i should cover on the next episode of TiWYSaG?

[@blodder]

Sounds silly but could you do a part on the metronome? For years I practiced without and last couple of months I try with metronome. Problem is that I play the notes with each tick and just speed up the metronome to go faster. I struggle with eight and sixteenth notes, not to mention how to play with metronome when you are not playing notes constantly... Really appreciated!

[@shodus]

Tremolo picking, please!

[@johnnyboy1232]

Sweep pick with multiple notes on each string.... like let’s say you have 2 notes on your high E string, 1 note on the B, 2 notes on the G, 3 notes on the D, 1 note on the A, and 2 notes on the low E..... The problem is not my fretting hand it is my picking hand. The main issue about the picking is having to pause on a string with multiple note on it and then moving to the next using the sweeping technique...... Can you help me?

[@CrackoorZ]

This is a really good exercise for guitarists. You could do the same thing with scale and integrate the learning scales. I am practicing it with that. Have you got lessons on how to sweep?

[@Jn1spion]

Legatos, How to get good sounding and consistent pull-offs and hammer-ons would be really useful

[@traveandre8877]

I just tried the punisher for the first time and my hand packed up her things and left me

[@Jonathan-L]

Think yourself lucky, things could have been worse. She could have taken your house and your last name as well!

[@sinnisyt]

I think you literally just described my biggest fears. Including my hand leaving me and not wanting my last name. Tha fuq. I FED YOU.

[@barberologycollegeofbarber3366]

Jonathan L ooooooojooooooo

[@barberologycollegeofbarber3366]

Jonathan L oojoooooooooooojooooojotttrtt

[@JPJamster]

LOL, try the spider exercise as well haha

[@guitarofdestiny]

Exercise: 6:40 ascending 8:47 descending 12:19 variation

[@basementmicrowave3989]

Underrated comment, thanks.

[@-AdiKsOn-]

You are my hero No homo

[@blizzbee]

This exercise sounds like an upset giant mosquito flying around in the room.

[@mosadni]

R&R has no P

[@arnabghose5441]

thanks man

[@DavidDiMuzio]

...so that's why my legs are still skinny!

[@600micsofacid]

Uncle Ben is officially my unofficial guitar instructor, officially.

[@shruumcotapotom3003]

Nice

[@seelvus7771]

I’ve been playing for 7 years and I’ve always struggled with alternate picking. I watched this video along with the chunking one, and it all finally clicked and I am making massive gains within hours. I cannot thank you enough Ben, your channel is a treasure.

[@bobravenscraft5376]

Alternate picking should be second nature. Keep it up its as easy as breathing. Peace

[@anjanakottaiveedu6416]

Omg same. When I was first learning I hated it so never practiced. Now 10 years late I really regret it

[@paulcasilio1119]

AzzalFox hang in there. Honestly, repetition and patience will make all the difference.

[@shredit_nyc]

Can you share the title of the "chunking one"? Very curious. Thanks!

[@gamingseason4252]

You ain’t gotta lie to kiss ass bro

[@Cam-yp7cn]

I definitely wanna get 2 birds stoned at once. I’m not the best at book learnin but I got my grade 10.

[@sethride9042]

Cameron Fisher you think season 12 was the last season

[@danielgrohl6971]

i would much rather be Uncle Bens 49 year old kid than pick like a step dad for all my days to get the respect of my real dad when attempting to do something harder than Chinese algebra ;)

[@fullmetalmma]

the fukn way she goes

[@AlanJWatkins]

my fav rickyism

[@outallnightTV]

Time to turnips in heat boys

[@waltersmetak]

This can easily drive one to the edge of insanity in no time.....

[@snogglemonkey]

I hear you ! It's about as melodic as a car crash...heheheh

[@naycnay]

Add some delay and a phaser. That'll help.

[@danilobatista1329]

Yep, ! but keeping Focus you achieve ZEN That's the challenge, and thats where practice growth happens.

[@loweffortproductions1985]

I like the Punisher because not only is it extremely useful to practice, but the dissonant melody is a lot more intresting than just straight chromatic.

[@clarkfeeley1959]

It's not chromatic, he's missing a note on every string change except G to B. It's also a complete waste of time.

[@matthewboyea]

@@clarkfeeley1959 i wouldnt say its useless, maybe for you, but its really good for separating the fingers, and also good for practicing string skipping and alternate picking (obv). and it is technically chromatic, cuz the notes dont follow a scale and they are in ascending order (doesnt matter if he skips a note except g to b).

[@clemclemson9259]

@@clarkfeeley1959 he said its more intersting than just chromatic bro not that is was chromatic LMAO-

[@Nightwalk444]

"chromatic 4 string exercise your step-dad showed you" lmao

[@dobermandude2522]

No it was my Grand dad....LOL!

[@fiachoconnor]

Later he's say "if you want your real dad to respect you again...." f**kin hilarious

[@szymonbalcer]

But John Petrucci showed it to me :((

[@jamiebakos816]

THE river shen? Its an honor, sir!

[@behindthen0thing525]

@@szymonbalcer he's a hack!

[@DanDelVecchio]

As a guitar teacher myself, I greatly benefited from this. Never ever too late to stop learning new things. Well done.

[@devc358437]

Two birds stoned at once. And doing the piledriver and reverse cowgirl had me dying. Love your videos

[@adamprovo5964]

Trailer Park Boys made that saying popular. Hilarious.

[@AndriyVasylenko]

This is also a great combo exercise for 2-finger bass technique. “Index or middle finger” is similar to “up or down” problem. I call the skill of moving easy in all direction “symmetry”. Been practicing “The Punisher” (damn, such a cool name) in different variations for several years, and it keeps my hands in shape, especially when I can’t practice a lot (well, it’s always now). Thanks for the video, Uncle Ben!

[@RadityoPramAdi]

I see your point! I will try this.

[@Cthulhu_Awaken]

Andriy Vasylenko I've always wondered if there's a channel like yours but about guitar. I think Ben is fine, but sometimes also too specific and covers stuff a beginner like me can't relate yet.

[@recipoldinasty]

Andriy Vasylenko hi frrrriend

[@bryanlettow4389]

Love your videos!

[@n8milliken]

Shows us a practice exercise... plays the riff Slayer has been trying to compose for thirty years.

[@weightoawesome3455]

“2 birds stoned at once.” Lol dude I was laughing so hard when you said that. Love you brother!

[@spivvo]

Reverse Cow Girl :).... I;m 54, this stuff is brilliant.... just quit my job so I can do more of this stuff!

[@thehonkening1]

no more picking like a stepdad!

[@TimothyPage06]

The one thing that really struck me the most in this video is how you brought up practicing with distortion. I always remember the 'rule' when I started guitar was 'always practice clean, the distortion will cover up your playing!". Let me tell you, I played only jazz for close to a decade, I didn't even buy a gain pedal until about 3 years ago, and what struck me first was that I sounded TERRIBLE the moment I turned it on. Like a decade of clean, practiced picking went out the window and I was baring every technical deficiency I had to the world.

[@ScottMartinD]

So you're saying the exercises you played clean for a decade sounded fine, but when you bought the gain pedal it made you realize what? That you actually play sloppy? And somehow the distorted sound made that apparent? Have I got that right?

[@truedarklander]

@@ScottMartinD yes

[@FacePomagranate]

If you really think about it, distortion will bring out more imperfections than it will hide. Distortion compresses your sound, so quiet mistakes get louder, plus it amplifies non-linearly, meaning unwanted frequencies will be created anytime there's a stray open string or harmonic ringing out.

[@derekcampbell4209]

Same here! I played mainly cleans and lately have been getting into a lot of metal guitar. And there’s just minor little things that having high gain has made me realize I do. Just little sloppy imperfections I wouldn’t hear when playing clean. But I like the “think AC/DC” tone. Not to distorted. Not to clean.

[@MrMetalhorse]

I feel so bad for you Uncle Ben. You had to practice those crappy exercises for hours back in the day. Us kids are lucky to be born in a time where we can have Uncle Ben and Master Troy Grady to give us the secret to shred awesomeness.

[@BenEller]

Mr. Metalhorse hahaha I suffered so you don’t have to!!!

[@serph2951]

True

[@vlt873]

Ben Eller guitar Jesus

[@furryz666]

Dude I’m so sick of Troy Grady I’m 55 and have met many stylists that play with great speed and articulation I often show struggling pickers that you can plat this stuff flat picking thumb and forefinger, thumb and middle finger, thumb and 3rd or 4th even holding the pick between any 2 fingers and fanning, no pick legato, hybrid, round picks, coins, palm mounting at the bridge, finger mounting like Michael Angelo Batio, no mount float, whatever, I once used the “stylus” pick for over a year it was probably the time of my cleanest and fastest playing and there was 0 tilt or goofy rules you just do it till it sounds like a balloon in the spokes of your bike to quote Paul Gilbert

[@MrMetalhorse]

Furryz I'd like to see that. I bet that we would be able to see that you don't actually use a flat picking angle when you shred you just think you do. The movements are necessary man.

[@mikekovacevic9337]

I actually came up with that exact same exercise when I was visiting in Serbia back in 1993. Except I named it the confusion breaker because of its complex pattern. I used it for a long time as a warm up. What a coincidence! Lol

[@DaveTaste]

Lol

[@AashmanThakur]

This Guy Just Directly Told Me That I Suck.

[@stephengreico2810]

Hes not wrong in my case

[@behindthen0thing]

But you do suck

[@mschecter0078]

@@behindthen0thing Says mr blyat

[@TobyKBTY]

....I was literally doing the typical chromatic exercise a few moments ago when I decided to practice while watching your video. Ah well, time to reaffirm how much I suck with good ol' Uncle Ben! :D

[@Xtrememan512]

The "Never ending story" song low key in the background, nice work! Quite ironic as well, as we guitarplayers always will find new ways to practice, complain, practice again. It's a never ending story! Cheers

[@surfdigby]

Been using this picking pattern as a warm up for years, and I usually follow it up with this one. A ---------------1--------------2---------------3---------------4- E ---1-2-3-4----2-3-4--1----3-4--1-2-----4--1-2-3-----After this "set", move it up to the A and D strings, and then the D and G strings, and so on. To descend, just play the thing in reverse.

[@marcelsenkowski8566]

Amazing! Thanks man!

[@digitos000]

That's a great warm up for the hand that goes on the fretboard thank you!!!

[@mathewkyser3903]

I think this exercise has really impacted my playing. Over the past year my alternate picking has transformed from something my stepdad would not approve of to something that may bring my biological-stepdad back from the corner store. Once I get sweeping down I may actually be able to nail some of those intense Dethklok songs. Thanks Uncle Ben.

[@djtokin3621]

I watched this video 6 years ago and it changed my playing for ever, this exercise is truly one of the best Ive ever praticed

[@BenEller]

I’m so happy to hear that. Cheers!

[@danielhughes3758]

GREAT metaphor with the gym there. This definitely explains my lack of technical improvement lately.

[@SCBiscuit13]

Thanks Uncle Ben for reminding me again why I suck at guitar.

[@Tanglangfa]

You can kill three birds by doing this with actual scales/modes. And again with chord tones. Nice exercise!

[@majestic_717]

get 3 birds stoned*

[@tedhinklater3203]

hey man I've been doing that petrucci chromatic exercise for like 12 years and never even realised I was only working the V and never the Λ - thank you so much it's lessons like this that are game-changers!

[@AndyPanda9]

This is really a helpful exercise. I've been working on the punisher where you skip over a string and it's really a great workout. In fact it has an added bonus - - I have annoying neighbors who like to hang out right next to my house and they yell and scream and annoy the hell out of me. I just turn up my amp a little and 5 minutes of that string skipping exercise gets them to go somewhere else! Thanks for such a useful exercise!

[@zenvideoscanada5245]

LMAO@ 5 minutes of that string skipping exercise gets them to go somewhere else! That's funny :)

[@BlitzFireSaber]

About time you made more video's on this series, I've learned alot, keep up the great work.

[@dillavou444]

I hate you for this. Thank you.

[@Gottiline_Ace]

He saved me a whole lot of brain cells and hours of coming up with my own little "exercise" to get me to the next level. They are definitely PUNISHERS!!! LOL

[@ThompsonOG]

Cool idea man, I've never looked at it from this perspective, makes a lot of sense

[@woolgum]

I usually practice unplugged while watching series or movies.

[@Nomadicsage1]

I do the same thing,kills the monotony of picking exercises.

[@stoOberp]

you should be concentrating on the muscles your using, but practice is still practice

[@benparsons4979]

@@stoOberp it should become muscle memory after a while

[@stoOberp]

@@benparsons4979 it will become muslce memory alot faster if you dont watch TV Haha

[@dalvoenriquescarpa]

me too!

[@inewsome4323]

Ah love the rickyism Get 2 birds stoned at once 😂

[@larswalther1902]

Lol I'm disappointed no one else in this comments section has mentioned it. One of the best shows I've ever watched. And re-watched, re-re-watched etc) 😂

[@inewsome4323]

@@larswalther1902 and rewatched and rewatched 😂

[@bobbyincidemetal]

It was great.

[@stephengreico2810]

Why have a couple of shit branches when you can have the whole shit trolly?

[@Galactic613]

Stephen Greico nice shit analogy rick

[@Dzyndzyryndzy]

Great stuff dude! I've also tried an exercise by Steve morse: do the chromatic, but use only 3 positions/fingers instead of 4. That breaks the symmetry and makes you once start from a downstroke and another string with an upstroke. Once again: great content, uncle!

[@axeofcreation]

You and me both. Damn you, Petrucci!

[@UrbanPlumbers]

Rock Discipline - got a feeling it was all done on purpose ;) Hold the suckers back.

[@guitarnoob4568]

To be fair, rock discipline did cover quite a lot of string changing and skipping picking exercises

[@vinlander8484]

the speed bursts helped me though

[@m15t3r_n8]

The major arpeggio exercise, hitting the same note multiple times that was just after the chromatic excersize on RD was a way better picking excersize... if you had just watched the whole video... Edit: Example 4; about 17 minutes into the video, great exercise. I'm still gonna blast my digits with "THE PUNISHER" tho, looks sweet. Another great exercise for string-skipping alternate picking is Jeff Waters' Spiderwalk excersize... what a finger destroyer kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKOoo42aj8Z6ptk

[@chadmwest]

"Get two birds stoned at once," lol.

[@blizzbee]

ikr

[@BluStrat22]

Hi Ben! Wanted to say thanks for this. I have been playing 30 years, and have always been more of a left hand fretting player...lots of legato. Efficient picking has always been a bug-a-boo for me. Recently I decided to try and focus on getting better at it, and your vid here really opened a big door. Just an hour or so into it and I already can feel a big difference. thanks so much for your extremely helpful insight!!!

[@Sixxiron]

“The reverse cowgirl” I’m DEAD!!!

[@drockvaashon1]

"Or you can get two birds stoned at once." Ha!

[@tasosdiaforetico7377]

It was great I know it in Chinese. Useful proverb. As a guitar teacher I have too say this is a great lesson. So we'll explained

[@californiamonster8877]

Trailer park boys Randy

[@newthrash1221]

Max Pinto It’s from trailer park boys. Ricky says it, not randy.

[@stevet.4974]

I caught that too

[@zenistermister9695]

It's a Rickyism. TPB! 🤘

[@jsk8et]

That punisher thing is a lot like an exercise Guitar World published from Steve Vai's legendary 8 hour practice regimens. Great type of exercise for sure and worthwhile to share! Now I need to go do it again...

[@fredsanford2952]

The four notes per string exercise is still a great exercise and I use it with my students, but it's not for building speed in your picking hand. (At least it shouldn't be.) The point of the exercise is to create perfect LH/RH synchronization. Developing this technique with a metronome makes chord changes, jumping in and back out of solos, etc., much smoother and gives you a sense of spare time / space between changes.

[@vatsaakhil]

Punisher exercise has made me improve a lot! It's the number one exercise that helped me get better at alternate picking, thanks Uncle Ben!

[@stevet.4974]

Dude it is so freakin cool that you pumped new life into that rotting carcass of the classic 1234 thing

[@funnyolsgaming1819]

That gym reference hit way too hard.

[@hhattingh]

Everyday is chest and arms day bru

[@yeetspageet5679]

hph081000 The Brofessor just confirmed that every day is in-fact armday.

[@asdfghjkldfghjhgcgyuigfyui9792]

not me. I have massive legs

[@adls04]

Ypu arent reading the swoly bible

[@spartacus09ful]

Don't forget leg day johnny bravo

[@professorchurros3199]

tried the punisher down and was like oh ok that's pretty easy, tried back up... nope

[@mutantkoffee]

Gracias Tio Ben.

[@BenEller]

LycanElite de nada!

[@lautix]

Hablas español? Jaja

[@MoztrOsauriO]

Ben Eller made a spanish tuto

[@franagustin3094]

@@BenEller Sos un capo che

[@_jovian]

thanks man, this is much better than other variations that I've seen on the tubes, and it has done wonders for my reverse cowgirl.

[@dashking5059]

I'm intermediate player and I struggle covering Petrucci Solo's at full speed. I'm adding this exercise to my daily routine and hope this helps me nail all those solos. Thank you

[@gstube1]

Originally part of Steve Vai's 8 hour practice routine!

[@KingTabor]

gstube1 indeed

[@breadyegg]

boy, that is going back a bit

[@richiekmusic-nottinghamgui6045]

@@breadyegg Guitar World c1990.....or thereabouts

[@SheaRecordmetal]

Yup. I remember that. I have a book of tabs i printed out 15 years ago. VAI’s 10 hour workout is in there. This was the first exercise if i recall.

[@ChainsawChristmas]

I think the expression "Practice makes perfect" is deceiving. "Perfect practice makes perfect" is more accurate IMO.

[@abstractheory1]

So profound and deep. You’re blowin’ minds, kid.

[@FuzzCHRISYFuzz]

I made that up 😒

[@squeece]

My orchestra teacher in school always used to tell me that lol. Practice doesn't make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect.

[@xx-knight-xx2119]

My band director used to say all the time "practice makes habit." So you can practice and pick up bad habits that have to be undone later.

[@yourbeardispatchyaf]

Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.

[@Metalltool]

It sounds even more crap than the regular chromatic exercise, but it makes so much sense and I can really tell this'll work! Thanks dude, much apreciated

[@Aaron-oq9qg]

I think it sounds kinda sinister.

[@mikemilone9138]

Only been playing for a few weeks, and EVEEEERY OOOOONE told me to practice the simple run. This is 1000% better. Definitely changing my warm up to this.

[@nospam1583]

Great exercise for warm up and stretch but with so many picking variables, I always found that I gained the most progress by muscling through and learning a variety of my favorite riffs.

[@Guithulhu]

The reverse cowgirl part is still uncomfortable. Makes my capo tired.

[@gustavofinkler1229]

You said a capoo?

[@jansley13]

I have started to notice some improvements in my playing already w only a few days subscribed. Appreciate your channel. Thank you

[@TobyKBTY]

Holy hell the ascending version of this is tricky as hell. This'll be a GREAT exercise to get down!

[@Wren6991]

Toby K. If you start on a downstroke, The Punisher is inside-picking on the ascent, and outside-picking on the descent, which might be why ascending is harder. You can experiment with starting this exercise on an upstroke, and confirm that descending becomes harder :)

[@joehessey7556]

Thank you. I appreciate the time you put in to these videos. I have been doing the 1234 chromatic for a while now, and noticed a drop off of progress for a while and just figured i needed to put more time in the same warm up exercise. This helped big time when I found it, and a couple of people I know found it useful as well. Thanks again.

[@jasonstallworth]

Solid lesson man! Those boring routines are ok for warming up but we have to expand far beyond that

[@illquasar]

“So your real dad will respect you” lmao!!!

[@mohamedsarhan4215]

Thanks a lot for this incredible exercise. I’m Mo from egypt

[@RetroHaul]

I see Steve Vai and Frank Zappa on the wall, i approve

[@Doggy-B]

After watching your video on hand synchronisation yesterday and making substantial gains during my practice session I have watched this video today and I am able to attempt the punisher almost instantly without fail (modest tempo) 👌🤘😎

[@logik4264]

I'm revisiting guitar playing after 5 years break, have alot of work to make up. This channel is a bliss! Thanks!

[@marielove5606]

Yes! I knew something was amiss in my life! It was Uncle Ben telling me I suck!

[@Sodacake]

That Punisher riff really reminds me of Erotomania.

[@Moozart]

Thanks, Uncle Ben! You're the best.

[@joshualoveless20]

Amen Brother! I've been struggling to break myself of this habbit. I'll apply your exercise and hope for the best, I recommend doing any finger streaching or picking exercise on an Acoustic guitar at first, until you have it memorized. Then when you play it on an electric it will be that much easier. Keep on Rocking in the Free World!

[@sellandinho]

This video is over 1 year old, but I found it just now, and I will certainly be using that "modified" spider excercise instead of the old one I've been using. Thank you for showing!

[@SKiNGE88]

So brilliant. I can feel it working already 😁👍

[@AndreiGrozea]

my brain hurts edit: it doesn't hurt anymore. practicing is wonderful.

[@jlsdust]

"harder than Chinese algebra" lol... Being working on economy picking speed. This are Great exercises.

[@bigtsshackfestival9563]

I’m a tele guy and not big on metal ....... but I absolutely loved this lesson. Soooo true man. Dude is dead on and a really smart player. Kick ass lessons man. I got that sub. . Thanks main !!!

[@Gottiline_Ace]

Dude... I sat down for hours yesterday coming up with a way to practice those exact skills, and you literally came to me the next day with the perfect idea I was working my way towards. I have a rekindled passion for playing guitar again! Thank you brother!! ROCK ON!!!

[@EvandroEstima]

Best alt picking exercise: flight of the Bumblebee

[@trevorammons343]

"if you always want to pick like a step dad then do this boring up down up down shit for all your days and enjoy that." - you have no idea how hard this hits for me and i appreciate you and your lessons. thanks.

[@loganpriest6029]

What did your step dad promise you a guitar lesson but ended up failing you time and time again?

[@knyggaplease1222]

Practice makes permanent, my dude. Only perfect practice makes perfect. Sh!t practice yields eternal excrement. Anyway, thanks for this. Maybe I'll finally git gud now.

[@jamesmccormick875]

I completely agree with you about the tone/ amount of distortion you use when practicing these types of exercises. It makes a giant difference.

[@brianolson_music]

Thanks for posting this video 4 years ago- I was looking for a new finger exercise for this year and for whatever reason this video came up on my feed today. Thanks for your impeccable timing Uncle Ben! Seriously though. Thank you for all the videos- they’re really helping me not suck much more better

[@3AdaptationAcademy3]

I want my real dad to respect me so I’m going to start doing this.

[@bestboy897]

This exercise is harder than my stepdad

[@paulbeahm3891]

69 likes

[@somos6430]

@DeSalvo 😂😂😂

[@jackbenson8228]

@Charles X coming form a guy who says YALL, that's pretty hilarious

[@jhellert1]

"2 BIRDS STONED AT ONCE!!!!!!" You. Rule.

[@Kenny-oy3yo]

Trailer Park Boys are geniuses.

[@wretchedtunes1972]

String skipping, upstroke downstroke variation..great exercise. Thanks for sharing!

[@mikeriesco6174]

Great exercise! But 1 suggestion -- when I hear your new pattern, I hear it in 5's, not in 4's (12345 - 12345 - 12345...). I think it'd be easier for students to understand it if you teach it that way - after you hit the "5", you then go down to a new starting (low) note and repeat the pattern of 5, but 1/2-step higher - and so on. Just a thought -- great lesson!

[@stevenaustin4591]

alternatively you can just play 3 note per string scales, you'll get your alternating picking both starting on up, and down, and you'll also have useful notes depending on what key you'll play in.

[@antdujar]

Agreed.

[@balrogDCLXVI]

Right, and you can do that at a reasonable speed quite soon, while this exercise can take hours to master on the fret hand

[@a9void]

5:45 Or you can get two birds stoned at once Had to sneak that one in didn't ya

[@bobsullivan5714]

Are you sure I suck at guitar? I mean, i have never played a guitar. Who knows, I might be great! Can I borrow your guitar? *Actually:* Your video makes a good point. Muscle memory learning CAN work against us depending on what repetitions we are chosing....

[@feebypeels2883]

Your channel will be a wealth of knowledge to players for years to come. Thanks for doing what you do, man!

[@OfficialJagPaw]

"If you always wanna pick like a stepdad..." baaaahaha, dude, you crack me up! Also, for a while I was rockin the stepdad role and I taught her kid that crap. Thanks for the upgrade. The Punisher is a good name.

[@MAGAMAN]

I've always wondered why people practice things they will never play in a song. It's like practicing soccer when you want to get good at baseball. To practice, you should practice with actual scales. Pick a key and start with open low E and work your way up in whatever pattern you chose until you hit the high E string, then go back down. Next move to F or F# depending on the key you are playing in. You can do all sorts of patterns, including string skipping, playing 4 notes per string (E,F,G,A on the E string, then B,C,D,E on the a string, etc.), play the notes backwards while going up the neck, or strings (a,g,f,e then b,a,g,f, then c,b,a,g, etc.) use weird fretting patterns such as shown in this video, play in 3, 4, 5 and 6 note patterns (e,f,g,a, f,g,a,b then e,f,g,a,b, f,g,a,b,c, then e,f,g,a,b,c, f,g,a,b,c,d, etc.). One of the best things you can do while learning a solo is pick all the parts that are very hard and make finger exercise out of them. Pick small parts that are extremely difficult to play and play them over and over until they become easy. Mr. Scary is a great example of this. He said that opening part was very difficult for him, so to get better at it, play that part over and over until it is no longer difficult. If you practice playing things you never want to play, you will get really good at playing things you never want to play. Practice playing things you want to play and you will get good at playing the things you want to play.

[@tonysouthdakotaha8728]

MAGA MAN Awesome advice. Hail!

[@bryanlettow4389]

Reminds me of what Guthrie Govan says

[@aryapanjidwiputra554]

Indeed, very effective. I used sidewinder accoustic solo for exercise when i started playing guitar, quite good improvement

[@rosshealea]

Is that the ghost of "neverending story" I hear tastefully in the background??!!

[@skyleranderson1984]

whats weird is that with this exercise I can do it ascending pretty decently but descending messes with me super hard

[@SaberToothGary]

"The Punisher" gave me a headache... but I like it! The Punisher, not the headache. Thanks, Uncle Ben! =)

[@Simotin]

I just yesterday thought about starting it with up stroke! Nice to hear that there are real benefits to it. Gotta nail those Gothenburg-style riffs someday

[@oisinmcphillips2090]

it is back, excellent

[@seanandben]

You are a master punisher Ben! I can't wait to get you and your good buddy to Ireland. On the subject of picking, is that a "new" type of pick you're using?

[@BenEller]

seanandben hell yes dude, looking forward to it! Yeah dude that’s a Dunlop Flow 1.5, my new addiction!

[@seanandben]

I just got some - very cool picks. I also got some of the A.J. flow picks - a bit of a step up for me as they're 2.0 and I'm used to 1.5, but I'll give them a go!

[@musicprallim3455]

Lesson starts from 6:43

[@shrednoob5233]

Thank you for this lesson. I never had time to practice since I was a college student so I just run this exercise any time of the day, like when drinking coffee or watching tv. Now I feel like my string hops became much easier now.

[@mikemph7779]

I just bought a metronome, This! will become my daily routine! Thanks So much👊😎