About Bill Palmer

BILL PALMER is a guitarist, composer/musician and an educational author. His style is a mix of rock tones, ambient sound-scapes and jazz-influenced harmony.

Along similar stylistic lines to Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson but with a voice all his own, Bill’s debut self-recorded album “Outlines” (ToneFreak records 2007) has garnered much critical acclaim from both music industry press and insiders and has been described as:

“Classic Satch style shred…” Australian Guitar Volume 64
“Face melting runs, complex arpeggios…” Rave Magazine 2008
“Your material is awesome, really great stuff…” Mark Holden – Aust. Idol Judge
“Great playing, writing and arranging – awesome!” T.J Helemerich (LA based producer)
“Bill Palmer’s “Outlines” is a guitar pickers heaven…” Manly Daily
“Tone, control and melody – epic sounding….” Australian Guitar Volume 64
“Plenty of heat, the songs are both catchy and original…” Manly Daily

Follow this link to reach Bill’s Website

Download Bill’s Songs from iTunes!

Video Guitar Lesson “Hybrid Picking Introduction” by Bill Palmer.

Hybrid picking is a technique whereby the plectrum is used in conjunction with the other fingers of the picking/strumming hand. We’ll take a look at some basics of this approach and highlight some “pros” of implementing it into your technique.

Why?

The question a lot of people ask is “why would I want to use hybrid picking?” Firstly, holding onto the pick rather than “palming” (placing the pick inside your palm, or worse, in ones mouth!) and going full finger-style has several advantages.
Firstly, it allows you to instantly switch to strumming if you need to, without having to fiddle for the pick in the meantime. Also, it allows you to “grab” a chord or to sound notes simultaneously much like a pianist does. Strumming a chord introduces
a very slight delay which sometimes, is preferable to avoid; “grabbing” also allows you to miss or leave off particular strings without having to mute them with your left hand.

Lastly, hybrid-picking has several clear advantages over strict flat-picking, primarily that picking hand fatigue is very much reduced and large string-skips are easily performed without the intense concentration and maintenances that alternate
picking requires. Hybrid-picking can be either minimal as in including only one finger, typically the “i” or index, or – can be more comprehensive by using all 3: index, middle and anular (typically called the “ring” finger) – it’s up to you. I would probably start with one finger and work up from there.

Transcribed Examples

The following are some transcribed examples of what was played in the video.

Example 1 above occurs at approx. 3:30 and is a good exercise just to get some independence happening in each finger. If this is new to you, trust me – it will feel weird and not at all “natural.”

Example 2 is much the same thing only this time, we’re trying to move smoothly from chord to chord. The picking hand in this example performs the same as example 1 – pick the bottom note using a downstroke, then i, m and a for the remaining 3 notes in that order.

The next example is an improvised classical sounding piece in the key of E-harmonic minor. It uses the open “B” string as a pedal tone and the melody moves on the “A” and the low “E” strings. Use your pick for the melody and your index (i) finger for the pedal tone.

The final example is an excerpt from Greenday’s “When September Ends.” We’re basically using our index finger in place of an upstroke.

Hopefully this has been a good primer for you! Hybrid picking is an excellent technique to try and work into your playing as it has so many uses. We’ve only really scratched the surface here but like anything, starting slow and getting the fundamentals down is the way to go.

Catch you next time!

Content Written Exclusively For:
http://www.learn-acoustic-guitar.com/

Questions? Comments?
Email – bill@billpalmer.com.au

Acoustic Guitar Flatpicking Tips for Faster, Cleaner, Crisper Playing
By Lee Griffith

Whether you pick bluegrass, fiddle tunes, and old-time music on a guitar like I do, or other styles of music, here are some good basics to learn that will get you on the road to playing fast, clean, crisp lead on an acoustic guitar:

1. The first thing you need to do is start with a pick that is thick enough! Use at least a medium pick–usually about .73-.81mm. This may seem difficult at first, but it is absolutely necessary, so that you’ll get strong, snappy notes that really make a statement.

2. Be sure to grip the pick firmly so that your thumb and index finger cover most of the area of the pick. Choke up on that pick! You don’t want to play little wimpy licks!

3. DO NOT rest the palm or wrist of your picking hand on the bridge or on the top of your guitar. Your hand needs to float freely so that you can keep the edge of the pick at pretty much a 90 degree angle from the strings. Keep your pinky or ring finger (or both) stiff so that one of these fingers glides LOOSELY over the top as a reference. This will definitely seem awkward if you are not used to it, but it is a must if you’re going to be a good acoustic guitar picker!

4. On the left hand (or the hand that works the fretboard): Keep those fingernails trimmed well! You need to be able to press the strings down with the least amount of effort in order to be a good picker–and long fingernails throw a monkey wrench into the works.

5. When you pick out guitar lead parts in the first position, the index finger will cover the notes played at the first fret. The second finger will cover notes in the second fret. The third finger will finger the notes in the third fret. And, “Mr. Pinkie” will finger the notes played on the fourth fret. As with most things in life, there are exceptions. This principle should be regarded primarily as a guideline. From time to time, you will find it
necessary to break this rule. Many chords, for instance, simplycannot be played unless the “one finger per fret” rule is violated. Certain licks will be played more speedily and cleanly by straying from the principle. But as a general rule, it is best to discipline yourself to abide by the precept of “every finger has its fret and
every fret has its finger.” Make exceptions only when there is a definite purpose in doing so.

6. Play the G Chord, not as it is commonly played, but like this: Put my THIRD finger behind the third fret of the sixth string, you SECOND finger behind the second fret of the fifth string, and MR. PINKIE behind the third fret of the first string. THE FIRST FINGER WILL NOT EVEN BE USED IN THE CHORD! This will allow you to switch
to the C chord with much more speed that ever before. And when you switch to the C chord, you have the option of leaving your pinkie behind the third fret of the high E string, which gives the C chord an entirely new dimension. Then leave it on the same way and go right back to G. Most importantly, playing the G this way leaves your first finger and other fingers in an ideal position to go quickly into lead licks. It may seem difficult to learn, but once you learn, you’ll never go back!

7. If you want to be a fast and clean flatpicker, one of the smartest things you can do is to practice using a metronome. You might say, “I don’t have a metronome.” Well, I will not allow you to use that as an excuse–because you can now go to an online metronome any time you wish, and it doesn’t cost you a cent! Just
go to:

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

These are, I believe, the most important basics. If you would like to read more details about these techniques and other valuable acoustic guitar information, plus some danged good recipes, read my articles at:

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lee_Griffith

Copyright © 2007 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee Griffith is an avid acoustic guitar player and a vintage instrument enthusiast. He invites you to receive a FREE REPORT on a revolutionary acoustic guitar lesson kit, along with his weekly newsletter via email. just click on http://optin.flatpickpost.com

Check out Lee’s blog, “The Flatpick Post” at http://flatpickpost.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Griffith
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Flatpicking Tips for the Acoustic Guitar
By Lee Griffith

The thing I love to do most on a guitar is to play old-time fiddle tunes with a flatpick. It was not until after I had played guitar for about ten years that I took a few lessons Mick Martin, an incredibly fast and articulate flatpicker in Pittsburgh. Mick set me on the right path toward getting those fiddle tunes to flow and to really ring out crisply and cleanly on a guitar. These principles are applicable to not only bluegrass or fiddle tunes, but to all kinds of acoustic guitar music played with a flatpick.

Let’s start with your picking hand. If you want to play fiddle tunes or do lead guitar breaks in a bluegrass band, the first thing you need to do is start with a pick that is thick enough! Use at least a medium pick usually about .73-.81mm. This may seem difficult at first, but it is absolutely necessary, so that you’ll get strong, snappy notes that really make a statement.

Next, be sure to grip the pick firmly so that your thumb and index finger cover most of the area of the pick. I use a standard Fender 351 Medium pick (or something comparable). Instead of holding it lengthwise, I hold the pick so that the top (that is, the shortest side) of the pick is lined up over the top of my thumbnail, so that the edge of the top of the pick is hitting the strings. This may or may not be best for you, but, in any case, choke up on that pick! You don’t want to play little wimpy licks!

Last, but not least, DO NOT rest the palm or wrist of your picking hand on the bridge or on the top of your guitar. Your hand needs to float freely so that you can keep the edge of the pick at pretty much a 90 degree angle from the strings. Keep your pinky or ring finger (or both) stiff so that one of these fingers glides LOOSELY over the top as a reference. This will definitely seem awkward if you are not used to it, but it is a must if you’re going to be a good acoustic guitar picker!

So, we have looked at some techniques for the picking hand (the right hand, assuming you are right-handed). Now let’s consider the question: What should the left hand be doing?

As to good left-hand technique, here is the first rule (which should be obvious): Keep those fingernails trimmed well! You need to be able to press the strings down with the least amount of effort in order to be a good picker and long fingernails throw a monkey wrench into the works.

Now, let’s start at the very beginning at the first position. The first position simply refers to musical pieces that are played, for the most part, using the first four frets. Thankfully, the kinds of picking I like to do (bluegrass licks and fiddle tunes) are often in the first position. This allows for lots of open strings to be hit often so that the tunes are anchored by the drone of the open strings. This gives the guitar a full sound even when you play all by yourself!

Now, when you pick out guitar lead parts in the first position, the index finger will cover the notes played at the first fret. The second finger will cover notes in the second fret. The third finger will finger the notes in the third fret. And, Mr. Pinkie will finger the notes played on the fourth fret.

Now, as with most things in life, there are exceptions. The above principle should be regarded primarily as a guideline. From time to time, you will find it necessary to break this rule. Many chords, for instance, simply cannot be played unless the “one finger per fret” rule is violated. Certain licks will be played more speedily and cleanly by straying from the principle. But as a general rule, it is best to discipline yourself to abide by the precept of every finger has its fret and every fret has its finger. Make exceptions only when there is a definite purpose in doing so.

Disciplining yourself to play within these guidelines may seem awkward and difficult at first (especially in situations that require the use of Mr. Pinkie). But the long term results of speed and precision will make it all worthwhile!

If you are new to picking, get started out the right way. If you’ve been playing for years, but it doesn’t seem to be happening for you, then unlearn your old ways and learn the way that works. You won’t regret it!

Copyright © 2007 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee Griffith is an avid acoustic guitar player and a vintage instrument enthusiast. He invites you to receive a FREE REPORT on a revolutionary acoustic guitar lesson kit, along with his weekly newsletter via email. just click on http://optin.flatpickpost.com Check out Lee’s blog, “The Flatpick Post” at http://flatpickpost.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Griffith
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