Hybrid picking is a great way of adding another dimension to your sound. Players in many different styles such as blues, bluegrass, country, rock and jazz use hybrid picking when they play guitar. One of my favorite guitar players, Stevie Ray Vaughan, uses hybrid picking for his solo in the song “Lenny.”
What is hybrid picking?
As the name suggests, hybrid picking is a technique that is a cross between regular picking and finger picking (AKA fingerstyle). Hybrid picking allows for the guitar player to sound notes on separate strings without sounding the string in the middle.
For example, lets say you wanted to play something like this:
What would you do when you got to the red notes? Well a good option would be hybrid picking.
How to hybrid pick
Here is how I approach hybrid picking. I hold my pick like I would normally hold it, between my thumb and index finger, like so:
(I use a small pick, so it’s hard to see my pick, but it’s there)
But for hybrid picking I use my middle finger to pluck the lower string like so:
So in the tabs above I would pick the note on the G string and pluck the note on the high E string with my middle finger. To get the notes to sound at the same time I “pinch” them so my pick and middle finger both squeeze towards each other. Once you pinch let the strings slide off your pick and finger at the same time by moving your hand slightly away from the string. This will cause both strings to slide off at the same time. Presto! Hybrid picking!
Another great way to use hybrid picking is to alternate between using your pick and your middle finger. What is the advantage to this? Well it sure makes string skipping a lot easier, especially when you are skipping two or more strings. Try playing this A minor lick with hybrid picking. The red notes use a pick and the blue use your middle finger:
Experiment with hybrid picking and see how you can incorporate it into your playing. It is quite a cool technique
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Written by The Guitarresource see more at his website
Written by admin on December 27th, 2007 with no comments.
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Chords are built up by 2 or more tones. Most common chords have 3 tones. They are built on the 1st, 3rd and 5th tone of the major scale. They are called triads.
To understand chords better it is best to write down a major and minor diatonic scale. For example the C major scale and an A minor scale. Like this you will get a good overview on how the intervals are built up.
C major chord:
C D E F G A B C
1st C
3rd E
5th G
A Major Scale
A B C# D E F# G A
1st A
3rd C#
5th E
There are many combinations to form a chord. Here you will find a table of chords built on the A Major Scale.
| Notes: A B C# D E F# G#A
Numbers 1 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 8 |
| |
| Name |
Numbers |
Name |
Notes |
| Major |
1 3 5 |
A |
A C# E |
| Minor |
1 3b 5 |
Am |
A C E |
| dim |
1 3b 5b |
Adim |
A C Eb |
| aug |
1 3 5# |
Aaug |
A C# F |
| sus |
1 4 5 |
Asus |
A D E |
| 6 |
1 3 5 6 |
A6 |
A C# E F# |
| 7 |
1 3 5 7b |
A7 |
A C# E G |
| maj7 |
1 3 5 7 |
Amaj7 |
A C# E G B |
| 9 |
1 3 5 7b 9 |
A9 |
A C# E B |
| m6 |
1 3b 5 6 |
Am6 |
A C E F |
| m7 |
1 3b 5 7 |
Am7 |
A C E G |
| mmaj7 |
1 3b 5 7 |
Ammaj7 |
A C E G# |
| m9 |
1 3b 5 7b 9 |
Am9 |
A C E G B |
| 11 |
1 3 5 7b 9 11 |
Am9 |
A C E G B |
| 7sus4 |
1 4 5 7b |
A7sus |
A D E G |
| 13 |
1 3 5 7b 9 11 13 |
A13 |
A C# E G B D F# |
| 6add9 |
1 3 5 6 9 |
A6add9 |
A C# E F# B |
| -5 |
1 3 5b |
A-5 |
A C# Eb |
| 7-5 |
1 3 5b 7b |
A7-5 |
A C# Eb G |
| maj9 |
1 3 5 7 9 |
Amaj9 |
A C# E G# B |
| aug7 |
1 3 5# 7b |
Aaug7 |
A C# F G |
| dim7 |
1 3b 5b 7bb |
Adim7 |
A C Eb Gb |
| dim9 |
1 3 5b 9b |
Adim9 |
A C# E G Bb |
| add4 |
1 3 5 11 |
Aadd4 |
A C# E D |
| sus9 |
1 2 5 |
Asus9 |
A B E |
| 7sus9 |
1 2 5 7b |
Asus9 |
A B E G |
| 5 |
1 5 |
A5 |
A E |
Written by admin on December 25th, 2007 with no comments.
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Modes are used for melodic variation in music. They look the same as scales only the root note starts somewhere else.
You can use the modes as an alternative for the scales for your improvising. A lot of famous guitarists like Steve Vai Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani use modes for there improvisation. In the beginning it looks quite difficult. Just start with the most common modes like the ionian and the aeolian mode. After that practise the more difficult ones like the lydian mode. The mixolydian mode is like the pentatonic scale mostly used in blues.
Check the following tables with the right intervals. C is the root note coloured in blue:
Ionian mode:
This mode has the same intervals like the C major scale.
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
A |
B |
C |
-
Rootnote on 6th string
Dorian Mode:
This mode is a minor mode. It differs from the minor scale by adding the sixth note one step higher
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
D |
Eb |
F |
G |
A |
Bb |
C |
-
Rootnote on 6th string
Phrygian Mode:
This is a minor mode mostly used in Flamenco
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
Db |
Eb |
F |
G |
Ab |
Bb |
C |
-
Rootnote on 6th string
Lydian Mode:
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
D |
E |
F# |
G |
A |
B |
C |
-
Rootnote on 6th string
Mixolydian Mode:
This mode is commonly used in Jazz and Blues
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
A |
Bb |
C |
-
Aeolian Mode:
This mode has the same interval as the A minor scale
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
D |
Eb |
F |
G |
Ab |
Bb |
C |
-
Locrian Mode:
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| C |
Db |
Eb |
F |
Gb |
Ab |
Bb |
C |
-
An easier way to understand the modes with the right intervals is like this:
C D E F G A B C From C to C Ionian Mode C major Scale
D E F G A B C D From D to D Dorian Mode
E F G A B C D E From E to E Phrygian Mode
F G A B C D E F From F to F Lydian Mode
G A B C D E F G From G to G Mixolydian Mode
A B C D E F G A From A To A Aeolian Mode A minor Scale
B C D E F G A B From B to B Locrian Mode
Written by www.guitarstart.org
Written by admin on December 22nd, 2007 with no comments.
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