Those constant clicking noises during your talking are very distracting

I've been flat picking for 40 years. This lesson has been an invaluable lesson. Many thanks Éamonn

Im learning for 3 months now and i have been picking parallel to the strings AND NOW IM AT AN ANGLE AND IT HELPED SO MUCH THANK YOU

What I really like about Mike (besides the fact he's a killer guitarist) is he's a patient and highly dedicated teacher with a unique understanding of the things that baffle a lot of aspiring guitarists and the things guitar teachers rarely teach or even know how to teach. One more thing, Mike is a really decent and honest guy who actually cares.

You know you’re a badass when you can shred with 3/4” action. 😂

Thank you so much for this video. As a self-taught guitarist finding reliable information on the basic fundamentals of technique is surprisingly difficult and this has really opened my eyes. My practice has stagnated lately and I was mistakenly operating under the assumption that I was basically picking correctly.. just not well enough. This however has given me a tonne to work on as I realise the excess tension I was never able to shift (no matter how much I tried to concentrate on it) could well be alleviated by both de-anchoring my fingers to the body of the guitar and also concentrating on moving strings from the elbow and not the shoulder. As a side benefit this also frees up my fingers to mute the higher strings which should help clean up my playing as well. This all has me super excited to get back into practicing again with renewed energy and purpose, awesome stuff!

We miss you at F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I've been playing parallel to the strings all this time and was having trouble gaining speed, and then I tried picking at an angle and IMMEDIATLY saw a difference in speed and ease, and i'm picking so fast my left hand can't keep up so I have a new problem, but thank you very much, you helped me overcome an obstacle

Dude the action on ur guitar is soooooo high. wow. u are really good my friend. thank u for the work u do

2 hours of practice and there's a noticeable difference in my picking technique. Great video

I have been playing almost 12 years and bro you are absolutely the best teacher i have ever found for myself personally. You have explained bad habits i recently had found i was doing and helped me understand how to get passed them. Not only that, you explained the most important thing, once again for myself personally. How and why not to anchor my pinky or ring finger to the body. As well as being able to use those fingers instead for muting the high strings while playing. Man thanks so much for taking your personal time to make these videos. I will be watching many more to come my friend!!! Seriously thanks again!!!

I've been practicing for 5 years trying to get my speed picking technique in and watched a lot of videos, none of them really helped but this video has made a hell of a differenc, thanks man I appreciate it, I had a bad run to the point that I wanted to throw my guitars at the wall. Again thanks man really good advice

These techniques do work. I tried them and was able to experience why they work. If you are a long-time guitar player, it's going to take a lot of practice and a conscious, focused effort to change your old ways. For me the hardest part is actual picking accuracy. I found angling the pick and being accurate extremely difficult. Good stuff though.

You're awesome Mike! Keep going!

Excellent advice! Thank you.

Teacher: tell your hands to calm down during a break... Me: *playing bleed by meshuggah* **sweats**

Great tips, thanks

Good stuff! Thank you.

Great video, thorough explanations as always. Quick question: Do you have any comprehensive lessons on correcting fingerpicking mistakes and bad habits, or is this out of your purview? Thanks!

Wow you're really fast. I just started playing, and I feel like a snail going across the strings. I'm glad I watched this I was dong the majority of the wrong way. Thanks for the lesson.

Why so much high action?

Great video

Guys, if you're new to guitar and try to learn by yourself, please get a teacher. I've been trying to learn guitar for several years, without knowing that you should hold your pick in an angle. So I've been practicing my scales to perfection with my pick flat againts the strings. This tip was a revelation to me, and I instantly felt two ways: that I'm a god of guitar now, compared to before, and two: that I'm a complete moron.

is it just me or the action on that guitar seems high as fuck?

Great lesionado! You know your StuffIt!

Holy action batman

Wow I'm so happy I've watched it on my 1st day.

only thing is to me, having the pick parallel sounds better than having it angled. it's a cleaner sound as opposed to angled which is more scratchy. But I tried it angled and it was way easier to do faster alternate picking so im conflicted haha

I pick flat no problem. The problem you demonstrated as a flat picking problem was actually a hopping problem. Problem with angling is that it produces different sound and it requires bigger range of motion (the pick takes up more space when angeled). If you don't increase the range of motion you will be brushing the pick over the string which sounds just hideously. Pick with the tip of your pick which BTW already has and edge, avoid hopping motion and flat picking or very slight angle is actually a better technique than 45° angle or something.

Very helpful advice! However, I tried accessing the second part of the video, but the web page doesn't seem to exist anymore?

the only channel that i get improvements

there is something about the way he's holding his guitar that is driving me nuts

I have to anchor my pinkie I'm crap without it . I've tried not to but it just feels wrong and my playing suffers. Lol

Dave Mustaine picks totally flat/paralel as well because it sounds the best. As a bass player, it's the best!

Did anyone else notice the spider hanging off a thread throughout the entire video?

That is the sweetest unibrow ive ever seen

Fuck! I have flat picked for the last 20+ plus years. No wonder I’m shit and hit a wall years ago. Now I have to relearn how to play the guitar.

Couldn't make it through this video with the annoying vocal audio issues. You really need to (1) use a lapel mic or headset mic and (2) dial-in your gate and low limiter to eliminate ambient noise. Less than $100 spent for properly mixing 2 channels and your returns will be well worth it. Cheers.

Lol, this is hilarious. I don't know how anyone can actually learn from this, especially the part about forcing yourself, to remind yourself, to release tension in your picking hand when there is a "rest" during a solo. The anchoring part is fascinating as well, just babble.

the audio on this is ATROCIOUS. pops and clips everywhere.

Jesus... somebody show this guy how to properly set up a guitar. I could walk under those stings... 🤦🏼‍♂️🤣

Your full of it sir. Gypsy players don't edge pick and they're super fast and efficient.

Watch at 1.5x speed, this guy talks super slow

You are like some guitarists .. why u talk more and show nothing .. I always wonder ...???