Hey guys,

As a noob I'm paying close attention to getting scalpel picking right, but am sort of confused how it can work when the direction of the stroke is in-line with the plane of the pick (at roughly 30 degrees to the string). In the new video BASICS_1A_Picking_Technique.mp4, Pebber shows it very clearly, but when I do it his way the sound is really soft and dull, and is also scratchy on the wound strings. It seems like there's no release or "snap" to set the string vibrating.

Then as I looked closer, I began wondering: to get that snap off the string, do I need a pointed pick (like Pebber's Dawa, Jazz IIIs, et.al.) to make it work cleanly? I'm using the blunt-tipped Dunlop MaxGrip picks, and that blunt nose just rides over the string without getting a clean release. (Using wrist-picking holding the MaxGrip pick at the same angle to the strings but using a stroke angle roughly 90 degrees to the strings, the sound sounds much better cleaner.)

I'm assuming (but I not 100% clear as to why) that scalpel picking is superior to wrist picking, but doing some searching on other forums it appears that this topic is somewhat controversial. I'm hoping someone could explain the long-term benefits to me?

BTW, when Pebber gets up to full speed, it's really hard to see his thumb motion and stroke direction, so it "looks" a lot like wrist picking, but I'm assuming this is an artifact of the frame rate of the video.

Thanks in advance!

Peter

Hi All,
I am a 61-year old beginning guitar player, but I’m coming at it as an ex-orchestral trumpet player with 15 years’ recent experience playing classical, jazz, and Broadway literature and I know how to read music well and know at least the basics of music theory.

I ran across your website and YouTube videos and I think your stuff is head and shoulders above anything else I’ve found, so you definitely have a new acolyte! I signed up for the basic package.

I am hoping that you can answer a couple of quick questions:

1. I see you attended Berklee, so I assume you are familiar with the William Leavitt “Modern Method for Guitar” books. I am about 20 pages into Book 1 and, while I like it, I feel that alone it doesn’t teach enough fundamental skills (which led me to searching the Internet and where I found your stuff) and I don’t want to have to unlearn bad habits. Do you recommend this method, or should I put it aside for now and just work on your stuff?
2. I live in the Seattle area, so taking lessons from you sadly isn’t an option. However, I’d love to find an instructor nearby who uses your philosophy. Are there any teachers you know in the Seattle-Tacoma area who you can recommend? Also, is it important to get an instructor at this early stage? (I don’t want the “trail to get overgrown behind me”!), or would the money be better spent if I wait until I’ve developed my basic picking, fingering, and chord-grabbing skills to at least a basic level (following your videos and methodology)?

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Peter Pawlak