Never thought I’d see Claus discussing “edging” 😂 that’s a bold move! Edging is truly game changing though for sure you just have to have discipline and control

About the advice at the end of the video: I have spent years practicing "internalized" licks. I could play them at moderate-fast speeds without a thought, but was never able to achieve shred speed no matter how much I practiced, and I did practice a lot. I hit a decade long plateau. Recently I found that my string skipping technique was absolutely wrong, regarding pickslanting and arm movement. I used to hop over strings and switch strings with wrist angle movement, not the forearm. Even with bad technique I could play the licks effortlessly at low speeds while watching TV, but no matter how much I practiced I could not speed it up. I have to partially disagree with what Claus when he says that if your brain is capable of playing it slow, then you just have to make enough repetitions to learn to play fast. Even if you internalize a lick or exercise, you won't be able to achieve shred speed with wrong right hand technique. You MUST evaluate yourself and make sure you got the correct technique before attempting to speed things up, if not you can spend decades with very little improvement. You can't ignore technique and "just play" it. Wrong technique can sound fantastic and easy even at moderate-fast tempos (16th notes 170-180bpm), you may feel you are doing it right and just need to speed it up, but it will not go past those tempos if you don't practice with correct technique! So, to complement: Figure out the technique FIRST, then learn to play the correct technique while watching TV, then speed it up.

Pick slanting is not meant as a short cut but as a way to alternate pick across strings in a way that requires the least effort from the hand. It is a more mechanically efficient way to alternate pick. For me reducing tension in my hand, arms and body has dramatically improved my picking precision, speed and stamina.

Here is a fact: There is not one master guitar player out there consciously thinking about the angle of their pick when they play fast. It's not even possible. Because when you're playing at that speed you cannot constantly be changing the angle up and down between every string - it doesn't even make sense. What IS happening - and to Clause's point - is that your fingers and wrist are automatically incorporating slight adjustments between each string. Be it slanting or angle changes. I ca play very fast and I NEVER think about slanting because my muscle memory is doing it automatically ever so slightly. The biggest falsehood Troy Grady is selling is slanting over economy picking. What I mean is that Grady is attributing speed and accuracy to slanting when it should be attributed, in large part, to economy picking. Every single lick he does has some economy picking in it which is how he can play so fast- not because of the very minute slanting that occurs.

Claus, you're a master. Always a joy to watch and always ends with me feeling a bit more secure in my own struggles.

Excellent advice ! I must admit, I didn't start improving my picking technique until I found your tutorials. A few years ago I purchased a few of your videos and they have helped me immensely! I still have a long way to go, as the journey never ends. But with your advice about the metronome game as well as other fantastic advice, I'm enjoying the journey a lot more. Thank you!

The auto-generated subtitles for this video are amazing. I've always wanted to use a slanted pig when playing guitar; now I know it can be done! In all seriousness, great video (as usual) Claus!

I like all the advise and practical tips you provide. A summary at the beginning and at the end would be highly appreciated.

Thank you that was such great advice. You have really helped me and I was having trouble in this area a lot. And now I have a good way to go forward because of you.

I hardly ever see an instructor talk about the "twist" of the pick, as related to not being parallel to the strings. Great video!!!

I'm years late to this party but my take on picking fast is for some guitar players. Claus has impeccable picking technique and he's one of very few out there with minimal slant in his picking if any. Paul Gilbert used to slant more in the early days but over millions of hours of play, he almost eliminated it. Yngwie is the epitome or slanting and he sweeps with the same slant up and down... he can do whatever he wants, he's Yngwie. Some fight the slant, some don't. For many people I bet learning how to pick is just a natural evolution process that isn't even conscious. I bet if you ask PG or Yngwie how they develop their picking technique, they will simply say they practiced a lot. In post youtube times with all the resources we have, this whole slanting thing has become a subject of obsession for many guitar players, including myself. Escaping strings, getting caught in between strings, etc... Thousands and thousands of hours of practicing but in the end, the brain kinda figures out the best way to pick fast. I've been at it for two years straight, and still not even close to Claus's level or any of the shredding legends but I'm definitely closer than 2 years ago haha. Some days I slant, some days I don't. My brain hasn't decided yet what's best I guess. And it makes me question if slating is really necessary to escape the strings... some times I'm convinced IT'S NOT! but then the next morning I question it all over again. Two years of practicing something might sound like a long time to some. It's not, and definitely not if you want to get to mastering anything. I've played guitar for many more years than that and alternate picking is definitely the trickiest thing I've had to learn. It will take me years to get to where I want to be. Patience is the name of the game. You kinda need to obsess over it period. Stop looking at the fretting hand so much and put the picking hand under the microscope. It helps.

Claus, I have never thought of this in the way as you explained it! I have been looking for why my alternate picking was never up to par with ..well......the picking. Thank you so much for this video.

Thanks for the philosofical approach and technical advice. Cheers, luc

Great lesson, as usual. Thank, Claus! Don't underestimate Claus' tips on practicing slow and perfectly, people!

I think pick slanting can be approached in two ways. One method is to start by practicing slanting your pick deliberately in either direction, depending on the string shifts involved ( the CTC method). A second way is to develop your picking technique by gradually speeding up precise and isolated movements,while keeping the pick in as neutral a position as possible. In the second method(which is probably what most efficient alt pickers have done before CTC), you will eventually develop some amount of slanting while shifting strings but you might not even notice it yourself ( I feel this is the case with Claus).I personally think that the second method is better as it enables our motor system to automatically bring out the most efficient movements, provided, the practice is slow and isolated initially with graded increase in speed. The benefit of knowing the CTC approach is that one knows now to avoid an initial exaggerated upward or downward slanting which can later compromise your picking versatility. PS. Knowing the mechanics of a motor skill does not guarantee better performance of that skill (same as in many skill based sports, many great players have developed their skill without knowing the specific biomechanics of their own movements.)

That was a really really useful and helpful video for me. Greatly appreciated

I can understand this dude’s explanation. Sometimes the Troy Grady stuff is too fast to understand. This man’s explanations are nice and clear. Good job!

Awesome lesson! Thank you! Cleared the fog on this topic for me!

Claus. How I wish I had seen your system of instruction 70 years ago when I began my guitar journey. I really appreciate the way you take the subject and break it down into bite size bits and demonstrate those bits. Even though I'm older than dirt I'm going to follow every bit of instructional material I can find that you teach and present. I will get to your paid courses and I hope and expect you teach in the same way in those courses. I recently puchased (though not expensive) a course I'm reall interested in. Texas Swing (like Bob Wills) music. I want to do that. But the teacher said now here are the substitute chords. And he played them and named them but now I have to go find some place to find what they are. Some I could recognize others not at all. Oh well. You are appreciated by me and I will spread the word.Thanks, for what you are doing. ~ jem

definitely agree. I had to spend a lot of time 'unslanting' and 'unedging' my mechanics... but it helped alot.

@guitarmastery This is one of the best lessons regarding the pick...

Hey Claus, Superb Lesson!! Thanks!!

Thanks, Claus. I found this very helpful.

I like this video so much L0L. Some techniques can make your hand more relaxed than others for sure. I like practice different dynamics sometimes when doing warmup stuff from Frank Gambale"s chop buolders which I really like for warming up with a pick. I like the technique you talked about. I like to slant the pick with not that much unnatural movement and over the years I realized how a technique like yours helps my hand so much. I was never told how to pick more relaxed. Ahh well, I recently got a leanred a better technique for my picking hand with a pick I think. Even when I play super hard with lots of downward picking I prefer a slant. I did it after I had been thinking of my health more and how I stay more could stay more relaxed while playing some things sometimes. 🤘

Claus I have to tell you. I don't think I ever seen anyone be so meticulous in their ability to describe the metal aspect of these mechanics. I am guilty of doing exactly what you have said not to do, call it out of being bored or want to progress further faster I don't know. I feel I'm on the cusp having my playing going to the next level though it just does not seem to happen. Yes probably as for most it gets disappointing sometimes. I totally get what you are saying and it makes perfect sense. Seeing these vids puts me back on the right track and feeling good about where I'm headed. Thanks and keep up the good work.

I think everyone has to find what works best for them. We're not all built the same way and we all have different levels of manual dexterity. Personally. this video is exactly what I needed to see and hear. I've been trying all these techniques but none of them felt comfortable. I agree with the premise that you will get faster the more you practice. For those who say you just practice slower, obviously you haven't put in the time. I've found that I've gotten faster without even trying just through repetition. Ask any professional musician and you'll find they say the same thing that Claus is saying in this video.

I've been practicing the Benson technique for over a month and I'm now at the crossroads of abandoning it to go back to flat picking, mainly because it's hard as hell to strum using the Benson technique. I now have the trailing edge pick grip and it feels foreign to hold the pick like I used to for the last decade. I'm scared I just corrupted myself. Glad to of seen this video, so smart and realistic. Shit.

@ClausLevin thanks for all videos man!! GOOD JOB!!

I dont think pickslanting is a shortcut, I think it is the way to go if you want to play fast with accuracy and clean sound. Fast and slow require two diffferent tecniques, just as walking and running.

The guy has some good points here, but I don't think that slant picking is necessarily a bad technique to use. A lot of very talented, successful guitarists use this technique. His explanation isn't the same as I learned though...a clean way to move from string to string quickly and efficiently while playing multiple notes on each string...not just sweeps. You can't argue with his picking though. It's brilliant. His opinions on the subject are definitely worth considering. What this video and those on slant picking have really taught me though, is that I haven't spent nearly enough time on my picking technique. Thanks Claus, great video!

thank you very much for that secret of picking !! it does them a lot !!! greetings

the best and the most passionate teacher I've seen...only 394 likes...guys ???? You're doing a great job sir....

Bravo. Great advice from Clause!

Great teacher, great channel

Huh. Came here 'cause I was goofing with sweep picking. Saw a video on how to angle it slightly to make it go down smoother. It does. Nicely. But going upwards was another matter. I noticed that I tilt the pick down when strumming down, and up when strumming up, 'cause if I don't tilt it it, it seems to hit the smaller strings way too hard. So adding the angle made it worse. I like how you went into why you tilted yours also, and that now you don't have to, but still do, out of habit. Thanks for the insight!

Good lesson. Sound advice & easy to grasp. It's hard a hell to unlearn a bad habit you developed over the years. 10X harder than putting work on some exercises. Steve Morse says if you can play it 10X slow, then you can play it fast. It's unbelievably hard to play something PERFECTLY 10X in a row slow. Steve is right. This is great advice, but there is more to it though....this isn't everything (exercises) you need.

Good lesson! Thank you!

This is one of the great advice..

Michael Angelo batio recommends playing the same minor arpeggio 1,000 times a day... can’t argue with his results 🤷🏻‍♂️

I agree with him!! I think what some guys find hard comes easy to some,and you just have to realize where you fall on that list,if you need more work with the metronome then put the work in,no one can teach you to play fast but you,there is always more than one way to do anything well,

GREAT VIDEO AND ADVICE! I have a problem of missing strings when trying to play. Will that eventually go away with time or is there something i am doing wrong?

This is the best advice you will ever get when starting from the bottom. I wonder how many guitar players will overlook this video, its funny really because at the end of the day this really is so simple. The rest is just up to you...

Great advice!

best Fender sound ever... what model / year is that Fender..?

Don't understand all the critical comments here. Claus isn't saying to not pick slant, he's saying don't exaggerate your pick slant to compensate for inaccurate picking technique because it will limit your tonal range.

Very enlightening

Thanks for this. I recently came across a video series touting this whole pick slanting thing. I think you just helped me avoid drilling bad habits into my technique.

I'been seeing your videos for years now and i really enjoy them... But here'sthe thing, in this video you give your point of view about picking techniques... And obviously you recommend yours. Here's my cuestion... would you please make a video playing somo stuff from another guitar players like John Petrucci or Eric Johnson, glasgow Kiss for example using your technique?? So we can have a more clear example of what you propose.

all this pick slanting business is overkill. its rocking motion with the wrist very relaxed that is key. guitarmastery has a perfect video on alternate picking, that shows it very well and he doesn't pickslant. His picking is effortless.

Hello, I am great fan if your playing. Please let me know what pick do you use in this lesson. Thank you, raj

I do it all "wrong" using the lightest gauge "squishy" picks and changing positions with my pick holding fingers. It works for me, that's all I know!🙃❓🙋🎶🎼🎸🙋

Mate you are fucking brilliant! One of the best guitar lessons in KZfaq! I would like to know which is the exact model of this strat??

Extra many thx for this Claus \m/

Clause has an upward pick slant. I can see it in his fast runs. He's an amazing player

The Einstein of picking is Tuck Andress. Look up his work. I ended up changing my picking after 33 years of holding it straight. I hold it like George Benson now.

Guys, the pick slanting in this video is NOT the same as what Troy Grady talks about. Claus is just saying to practice clean and slow and let your brain figure out how to pick efficiently through an organic process, which is probably how Malmsteen, DiMeola, and the other greats learned. Think about it, there were no pick slanting videos in existence when those guys were learning how to play...

Great advice brother. There are no shortcuts.

so, to play with the pick flatter to the strings vs slanted you want to barely touch the strings depth wise?

My fingers actually move alittle their angle just so every picking and string feels with the same resistance. s that actually what we unconsciously do to make every picking the same depth? Is that what happens, or do you think is actually some "cheating" to make it feel the same resistance while actually it is changing the sound of the pickings?

What pickups u use? How do the hot ones combine with the normal middle pickup? 🙏 Thx

I've been hoping to hear what you've got to say on this topic, big thanks!!!

So Claus is saying just focus on picking depth? I just started pick slanting both upward and downward and this slanting helps me to be more aware and accurate with pick depth. Also it seems that the faster you play the less slanting happens.

Uncle Ben gives you a closer look at slant picking

gracias

Genius!

In clean tones pick edging makes softer sounds, with distorsion it's completly the oppositte.

I'm a newbie. When I pick slant and play faster, I notice that the notes are far less in volume. Is this alright?

Ok. I’ve been playing a pretty long time. But I’ve never achieved the speed I would like. My natural angle of attack (not slant) is about 30 degrees......opposite of the way 99% of guitarists I’ve seen play. It’s served me fairly well for years. But I’m wondering if this is limiting my ability to play really fast? By fast I mean like the beginning of Metallica’s master of puppets solo. I guess it’s prob 210-220bpm. I don’t want to go on a wild goose chase of redefining my entire technique unless it’s totally necessary. Any help from people that can play fast fluidly would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I think you might be in the process of swaying my way of thinking on some of this. But one thing I still disagree with is that all these habits/shortcuts are 'bad." I think some of them are, but pick slanting will allow you to be faster than you ever could be without it, mainly when playing at speeds of 16th notes at 220bpm and above, especially when you have an even number of notes per string anyway. In that case, I would downward pick slant. And luckily with distortion the tone is nice with pick slanting lol

Al Di Meola approves of this lesson.

So with sweeps you edge and slant at the same time?

6:15 genius!!!!

That`s some low action!

great!

So many of these rules and/or principles are just silly, subjective opinions. Here's what I mean (with all love/respect for Claus, of course)... At 3:40 Claus launches into a detailed (and rather dogmatic) discussion about tilting/slanting the pick as opposed to holding it parallel to the strings (which Claus prefers). He says that slanting the pick gives a softer sound whereas a pick held parallel to the strings yields a very clear, bright attack. He then gives an (exaggerated) example of each method. When he picks with the pick slanted - viola!... soft, muted sound. And when he picks with the pick held parallel ... (you guessed it!) bright, clear sound. Here's the thing... At around 3:05 of his lesson on alternate picking, Guthrie Govan states the exact opposite! And he, too, gives examples of both methods. When Guthrie holds the pick slanted (which he prefers) he gets a bright, aggressive sound. But when he holds the pick parallel to the strings he gets a softer "rounder" sound. The lesson for me is to leave the dogmatic statements about nuanced subjects in church. But when it comes to guitar playing Yngwie said it well: "If it sounds good-it's good!"

You should let Troy put his slo-mo camera on you, Claus. You might be surprised by what you see.

I hope this theory is true, because I like to play with a medium pick, nearly parallel to the strings and not slanted. But I only can play accurate when I play slow - extreme,y slow. Nearly every picking tutorial now tells me to use a thicker pick, to edge it and to slant it and I ask myself "is this really the right way to become faster?" So, I really hope this theory (what you can play slow you also can play fast) is correct. I will try...

Dave Mustaine revealed something similar about his fast picking. If you are on correct lines maybe we, the followers of your technique will be benefited hugely. It is worth a try without tendon injury. And also the pick needs to be 1.50mm at least as I guess. Please mention it also because with speed thinner picks will wear out quickly and technique cannot be developed. Very good work. Keep on!

claus is right, as much as i like troy gradys videos all those players we idolize such as gilbert and malsteem have surely practice hours and hours just to master their technique, you can watch all the videos about how to pick a certain way but at the end of the day you gotta find your own way to things and that comes with slow practice and pushing the metronome in low increments

he got too many emails about troy grady

what pick are you using here sir?

Pick slanting and edging? What a weird combination!

I have to break the habit of pick slanting. To much Yngwie, at a young age! LOL!

EXCELLENT!!!🎶🎼MY FRIEND🚀

Great video! The main message for me is, that economic movements on guitar, that allow high tempo, are not the result of concepts, but of movements done a million times. They get unconscious and economize themselves...

I don't hear each individual note as he sweeps.

I think over the years of teaching myself these are things that I have just mechanically figured out on my own, and have their time and place for being used. I think a key is to really LISTEN to what youre playing. Of course, I suppose some people are tone deaf.

My pick slants up, not down. There are no examples I know of on youtube that show that. Just string scraping downward slant.

yo bro you are a f master re :) but see what a plectrum you have :) same as mine its the best one ist it :)

You're absolutly right my friend. This is the right way of doing it.

Which pick are you using?

Troy grady gave me a headache malmsteen doesnt over analysis his own picking

Listen to 2:10 w/ eyes closed xD nice vid btw

Which pick is that one?

edging

I edge my pick the other way

I played guitar for 2-3 years before I even realized that my pick wasn't supposed to be parallel to the strings. NO WONDER MY PICK STAYED SNAGGED UP IN THE STRINGS!!!! I'm not joking... Nobody told me to angle my pick. I'm self taught, and OBVIOUSLY NOT a very good teacher. LMAO

Clearly hasn't taken the time to understand Cracking the code. Pick slanting etc are the techniques used to escape the plane of the strings which, unless one sweeps exclusively, HAVE to be learned. In fact a cursory look at this guy's playing clearly shows that his picking follows exactly what Troy Grady is talking about.

It feels like there is some underlying resentment hidden in this video....

He says don't pick slant or edge pick. But then he says do it a little , then he says its ok to do it on top strings. It happens naturally. These are the things your brain figured out to make the movement more efficient and Troy just documented them. Claus uses them himself. Alot of contradictions in this video. Pick which ever way gives you the results you want.