Country Lead Guitar - Picking speed and accuracy

Panama_Jack666

Now then,

I've recently taken up the challenge of starting a country project. I'm OK and country lead guitar but I feel my picking hand is my downfall at the moment. Do any of you have any tips or could you recommend any instructional videos to improve my country playing or picking hand?

Thanks in advance!

ElectroDan

I've seen great video's by:

Greg Koch, Albert lee, Johnny Hiland, Brent Mason and plenty of others.

Have a look at some on Youtube to find your particular flavour before purchasing.

For picking in general you'd be hard pressed to top Troy Grady's stuff, although this is not specifically aimed at country. 

koss59

The trouble is with the Troy Grady downward picking slant is it doesn't give the right angle with your hand to allow for hybrid picking so it's not that useful for country.

Stiff, pointed picks and chromatic scale with a metronome is the way to go I reckon.

octatonic

As with everything you have to have the right technique bolted onto your playing and then start transcribing a lot of tunes in the style you want to learn.

If you want to work it out yourself then look at some youtube videos on how to hybrid pick but I strongly urge people to find a good country player who can teach and get them to show you how.

Then start transcribing.

RedRabbit

Johnny Hiland has got a course on Truefire. It's pretty good but the parts I looked at were more focused on hybrid picking. Might be worth checking out if they still do the 30 day trial though.

benmurray85

two words. GREG KOCH. you know I love that guy

spacecadet

Greg Koch is cool but I've always seen him as more of a country rock player. If you want proper Nashville for me it's gonna be Brent Mason. Nashville Chops and Western Swing guitar. Old but insanely good. Be prepared however to want to give up playing completely!

ThePrettyDamned

Brent Mason is amazing.  I really like Brad Paisley, too, that guy has some mega skills. 

John 5 has some astonishing country licks, he blew me away for a solo at Download with Rob Zombie. He seems to have a very relaxed picking posture, but when you look closer, it's very controlled and has a great attack on each pick. 

John 5 has a few pieces on tutorial videos around, including Sugar Foot Rag, which is a country shred fest. Bonkers playing. 

Aidanspaghetti

Hellecasters tab book for firstrecord.. Cheap and amazing... Truly an epic buy!

Danny1969

Check out some Doug Seven

That guys immense and does some handy vids

Gassage

Good thread.

Can we also talk about picking techniques for the other type of music, Western?

ElectroDan

Danny1969 said:

Check out some Doug Seven

That guys immense and does some handy vid

Two better than John 5!

EricTheWeary

RedRabbit said:

Johnny Hiland has got a course on Truefire. It's pretty good but the parts I looked at were more focused on hybrid picking. Might be worth checking out if they still do the 30 day trial though.

the whole of one of his instructional videos is on YouTube. I tried about the first ten minutes of it once, goes into hybrid picking but it's one of those things that's a bit random - this is hybrid picking, this is my riff on suchandsuch, this is how I approach bending...
There's a lot of country DVDs and downloads on Lick Library, although obviously they cost.
To some extent that very fast, very clean Albert Lee style stuff is very dated in country music now - the country equivalent of shredding, made for a limited audience. It's gone much more into a roots style and it picked up some rock and blues influences on the electric stuff. Some of Eric Church's stuff is very rock - pinch harmonics, trem bar dives, the lot.

Panama_Jack666

I'm already a big fan of Brent Mason and the such like! Really like John 5's country stuff - it's a shame that you have to sift through some rubbish stuff (IMO) on his albums.

I worked my way through that Johnny Hiland HotLicks thing a while ago that's on You Tube. I understand the theory and note choice. I s'pose it's more of the bluegrass type picking speed that I need to get to grips with!

Going to attempt the metronome approach today and see how I get on with that!

All picking techniques welcomed in this thread. Maybe I should edit the thread title!

ElectroDan

Just watched a few of those Doug Seven vid's. The guy is a great Country player and explains his approach well. There is probably enough available information without buying the course to last you a few months.

He has definitely been added to my "Must pinch some licks from" list.

Wisdom awarded @Danny1969

Rocker

Is it really necessary to learn these complicated techniques? Probably yes if you want to be a hired gun, but perhaps not if you simply want/need to include a few country numbers in your bands' set list.

Panama_Jack666

Rocker said:

Is it really necessary to learn these complicated techniques? Probably yes if you want to be a hired gun, but perhaps not if you simply want/need to include a few country numbers in your bands' set list.

I already incorporate couple of country tracks in my current band's setlist, however, this is a new project. Got 23 country songs to learn by the end of May (With some different people to my current band). The rhythm parts are straight forward on most of them but there are a few faster country numbers which I'd like to put some quick solo's in to match. I don't want to over complicate it by any means but I would like to sound competent and my technique needs refining for that I think.

koneguitarist

Vince Gill is worth watching, but also check out Ray Flacke, Scotty Anderson and Steve Wariner.

koneguitarist

Also Steuart Smith who plays with the Eagles, one of the few strat playing country Pickers.

And Frank Reckard a LP special with B Bender picker!

xSkarloey

Totally agree with @koneguitarist on Ray Flacke. A lovely, lovely player. 

I have got his DVD done through Homespun tapes called Country Telecaster Virtuosity. Highly recommended. 

bingefeller

The Daniel Donato DVD looks great.  Some of the stuff he plays is ridiculous and he's only been playing for 5 or 6 years!

I have the Scotty Anderson Hot Licks DVD and it's good too.  As well as country he mixes in quite  a lot of jazz.